Empowerment

     The videos and the readings were very inspiring this week. One of the readings, The Liberal Millennial Revolution from The Atlantic, made me realize just how many millennials there are and how different they are from older generations. This generation is so much more left and liberal than the older generations. The article said this has to do with the fact this generation is so diverse and other factors. It probably also has to do with the internet and the easy access to information. The more knowledge we have, the easier it is have an open mind and stand up for what is right. That said, as mentioned in Professor Sepp’s blog, many people are guilty of “click-tivism” in which “often we are tempted to call out the circumstances in some way (social media, for instance) and vent our irritations – then move on.” I found myself questioning whether I am guilty of this and I realized that I am, in a way. I often find myself so wrapped up in my own life and school work that I will make a big deal about something but not do anything to try and fix it. For example, when the election was going on, I was very much against Trump and would talk and talk about how bad it would be if he won and how we have to stop it from happening, but at the end of the day, I really did nothing about it. I didn’t attend any protests or anything. Was I not empowered enough to do something or did I just not care enough? Maybe a little of both.

     One of the TED talks that I found really interesting was by Vernā Myers: How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them. In her talk, she discussed the ways in which we can help society overcome its biases, particularly against black men since they seem to be the population with the most biases against them. She mentioned names of recent innocent black men killed by officers and said there are three ways we can prevent this from happening. One of the first things was to get out of denial and admit that we all have biases. That is such a hard thing to do, especially when you try to be an open minded person and would like to think you don’t have any biases. The next thing she said to do was to “move toward young black men instead of away from them.” The third thing she said was “when we see something, we have to have the courage to say something, even to the people we love.” I have a hard time with this one, especially when it comes to standing up to a family member or friend. When it comes to standing up to a stranger, it is a little easier because you don’t have to worry about seeing them later or ruining a relationship, but you can make the most impact by standing up to a loved one.