Unproblematic or Unhelpful?
I’ve managed to stay unproblematic and nonpolitical on social media so far for the most part. Is this intentional? Not at all. Would I like to voice my political opinions on this platform and talk more about really important things happening in the world? Yes, I would.
I have this huge platform, which I never asked for or ever expected to have. And with that I definitely feel a due diligence to use it for the better. My boss is a great example of a figure in the fashion world who is constantly at the forefront of activism & I admire him so much for it. He manages to always know the perfect thing to say, the correct way to respond and how to be unproblematically politically correct - ALL while genuinely being the biggest sweetheart of the fashion industry.
Being in his presence for the past few months, and organizing all the influential media outlets that he’s been speaking on, has given me better insight into how to navigate the world of using your platform to be a catalyst for good. But at the same time- I’m so very apprehensive to do the same on a smaller level. He makes it look so easy and effortless, but how does he do it?
To set something straight- I’m not scared to offend individuals or lose followers (which is the reason that most people/influencers/content creators are generally apprehensive about posting). I couldn’t give a literal single fuck about the number of followers I have or what people think of me.
It’s more so, that I’m so very scared of sharing ~misinformation~ on such a large platform. For example, I did hours and hours of research on ways that people could help with the disastrous public health crisis that’s happening in India. However, I never ended up posting anything, because I had contradicting information coming in from everywhere. Some outlets shared organizations to donate to, but others said that the only way to donate was through the government. And then finally, I ended up reading that the only way to donate is personally though direct family in India. That’s a lot of contradicting information- and I’m pretty sure even my grandfather who’s been a doctor for 50 years in India probably couldn’t decide which one is the correct way to proceed.
Therefore- most of my apprehension/anxiety stems from a very specific scenario. What’s worse than posting something? Posting something in hopes of educating others, but accidentally sharing the wrong information and confusing lots of people. Moreover, infographics are educational, but an overload of information can end up more unhelpful than helpful.
As an individual human being- I’ve been doing my part in calling my family in India very often to check in and make sure they’re okay. However, as a platform- I would like to do so much more to spread awareness and resources to help. It’s just that I’m so confused on where to start.
So how can I tell others to help, if I’m not sure how I can help? So far, in fear of misinformation, I‘ve ended up not posting anything. Is that bad? Is that wrong? Let’s acknowledge that I’m human and definitely make mistakes. I’d like to do better though.
After doing all the digging, I’m still so confused as to what resources to forward you to. However, here’s what I can tell you right now:
Explain what’s up:
India’s at the peak of their spread of the virus, and neighboring places such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bahrain and the Maldives are taking massive hits as well.
To put it into perspective: If the US struggled with containing things and medical resources, imagine how these countries with far smaller GDP’s and resources are doing?
The one thing (other than medical equipment) that would make a larger difference for these countries would be: more vaccines.
Most countries don’t have any left! And tons of people are left with only half a treatment (first dose, but not second).
The more vaccines there are, the slower the virus spreads and the less people that go to hospitals. (Obviously there’s not much you can do to help with distribution of vaccines, but it’s so very important to know this!)
As for how scary things are, let me put things into perspective:
The amount of deaths has been so overwhelming that India has had to start cremating bodies in parking lots. Kinda hard to imagine without being there in person, but just imagine that happening at the large parking near your house. Just the thought of that is way more scary and apocalyptic than how the US’ months of lockdown felt.
What do I think you can do?
If you have friends, acquaintances, co-workers, etc who are Indian or have extended family that live in these areas- reach out to them and ask how their family is doing. I didn’t know how big of a deal this was, until I received an unexpected text from my friend asking about my family. Then I relayed the message to my family in India, and it meant a lot to them. Sometimes, going out of your comfort zone and reaching out (as simple as it sounds) can make a difference.
Now that you’ve heard a bit- maybe do some research and see if there are ways you can help? I’m not gonna direct you because I’m still trying to figure it out too, but I’ll keep you updated! And you keep me updated too! If you find a very trusted and 100% reliable place where donations would genuinely make a difference, let me know.
People very often throw around money, and then feel good about helping. But sometimes it doesn’t always make it to the places it needs to (especially, when dealing with far away countries). Isn’t that a bummer?
Be empathetic, and understand that even though your country might be done with the worst of it, other countries are facing the worst right now. However, I also understand that it’s just so hard to imagine unless you’re there.
That’s all I have to say.
Maybe actually one more thing.
I don’t like to say sorry for things I didn’t do wrong, but I’d like to apologize for not speaking up earlier.
This platform is the last thing I ever imagined to have. And it’s not massive, but it’s not small either. I‘m so grateful for this little corner of the internet that we’ve made- and I would like to use it to do good on every level.
If you can’t tell- I’m still figuring this whole thing out.
But better late than never.
Sending so much love your way.
xoxo RGR
p.s. Still doing my research about things happening in Palestine & Israel, so I’ll get around to speaking on that. But please please forward any articles, personal insight, experiences, etc. you may have, because I definitely need more reliable resources to understand better!
