Usually when we think of activists, we think of ‘active’ citizens leading protests and campaigns to bring about social change. We think of people gathering at certain places, holding signs and shouting mottoes. We think of public speakers who are never too afraid to speak their minds and think out loud. But, the truth is, there is no one type of activists. Even the one category of an activist can have many sub-categories depending on someone’s character and personality.
When you attend training sessions and workshops about leadership, public speaking, and communication and conflict resolution skills, they teach you how to become an activist by telling you that you need to be more out-spoken, you need to engage with the crowd, you need to go out and shout whatever comes to your mind. They indirectly tell you that it is not okay to take too much time developing ideas; that it is not okay to be socially awkward … At a certain point, you feel like there is something wrong with the person you are, and those workshops and training sessions start feeling more like therapy sessions. By time, things escalate, and it starts feeling more like you are in a mental institute where everybody is treating you like an insane person. While, in fact, you are just different and you have a different way of doing things; you are just an introvert, or perhaps an ambivert. Bottom line, they try to teach you how to become an extroverted activist as if there is no other way of being one unless you have all the qualities that an extrovert has.
In nowadays civil society, when you introduce yourself as an introvert, they think of you as someone with mental problems or with a history of a bad childhood that built you into a person lacking social and communication skills. It is like the word ‘introvert’ holds more of a pejorative meaning than a positive one. Introverts have become under-rated just because they prefer solitude over draining their energy on social events, or they have a small circle of people they engage with, or they are too quiet and don’t like small talks. But, the thing is, being quiet most of the time does not mean there are no good ideas to voice. There is absolutely no correlation between being a great talker and having great ideas.
Introverts can be great activists. But, the current situation gives the impression that society favors a person of action over a person of contemplation. There are many other ways following which one can become an activist. Take Sarah Corbett’s craftivism, “a quieter form of activism that uses handicrafts as a way to get people to slow down and think deeply about the issues they’re facing, all while engaging the public more gently.”
Another form of what I would like to call ‘Introvert Activism’ is writing! This is one of the ideas behind the Write For Humanity non-profit project. I consider this project as an opportunity for introverts and ambiverts to voice some of their ideas, especially the ones that are not found in the current narrative. They do not to have to attend civil society events or drain their energy trying to stand in front of a public and speak-up. All they have to do is write a small text in the form of a letter to the rest of humanity to voice those thoughts that have never been thought of before and never been heard. We want to create a solid generation of writer-activists.. However, this project is not exclusive to introverts and ambiverts. It is not our intention to discriminate against anyone. This project is also an opportunity to extroverts to take a pause and voice their thoughts individually so that everybody will be able to listen to them one at a time.
With all this being said, we would like to invite you all to take a few minutes to learn more about the Write for Humanity initiative, and support/join our cause. [click to go to link]
Thank you.
Write For Humanity 