by Claire DeRoin—I’ll admit it – I “shared” the image of the pink equal sign on a field of red on FaceBook to show my support for gay rights. I felt good about sharing the picture and even wrote “Have a gay day!” as the caption.
Let’s get real – that act probably didn’t further the gay rights movement.
“Raising awareness” means nothing. Let’s look at colonial America, for example. The entire population was aware of the slavery issue. Nothing changed until there were active protests and real action taken against the issue.
Just because a person “likes” or “shares” a page or image on FaceBook doesn’t necessarily do any good. Instead of partaking solely in viral movements such as changing social media profile pictures to symbols promoting movements, supporters of the gay rights (and any other) movement should also take real action, such as writing letters to lawmakers or joining a support group for those affected by discrimination.
Being bold enough to show your support of a downtrodden, grossly mistreated group of Americans is a start. That alone is not enough. What else can gay supporters do? Write letters to lawmakers! Challenge your religion’s outdated and bigoted teachings! Reach out and be a friend to a gay person struggling with discrimination! Have an intelligent conversation with classmates that challenge your views! Donate to a gay rights charity group!
In short, do something to prove your support.
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