I constantly see it...posts on social media complaining about the different social media/celebrity efforts to bring awareness to certain current events and social injustices. People constantly complaining that “your hashtag isn’t really doing anything to help anybody.” Or “I’m tired of seeing people jump on a bandwagon and not really care to do anything else about the issue.”
While there are certainly people who jump on the latest hashtag/awareness trend, the efforts of raising awareness are certainly not frivolous. Without awareness, there many different campaigns, organizations, and movements that would have a hard time furthering whatever it is they are doing.
Without awareness, the fight against human trafficking and slavery--for example--would be at least a few steps behind where it is now. Because people in the US have been made aware about the continuing existence of slavery and trafficking abroad and at home, they have gone on to fight this evil. Working in outreaches in strip clubs and the street. Visiting and making calls to local representatives in order to fight with the government against modern slavery, and more. These things, in many cases, would not be happening (or would be extremely slow in happening) were it not for the various hashtags and other awareness campaigns making the rounds on social media.
Yes, we cannot simply stop at the awareness piece. And yes, these hashtag awareness campaigns are not actually going in and physically rescuing or feeding or physically fighting for someone, but they are fighting for a light to be shone on something so that others who are equipped to rescue, feed, and fight can do so. And that’s an extremely important piece to the puzzle in fighting injustices.
