Over at Skepchick, Amy Roth has issued the first of her “Do Better” challenges:
I challenge YOU to go out into the world either in real life or online and just say something positive to someone else. Baby steps, people. Baby steps. Just get on twitter or FB or tell your co-worker in the next cubicle, or that person at the coffee bar, or the bus driver, that you appreciate them or the work that they do. Tell someone you support them. Tell that person you know, that has been attacked online or in real life or has simply been given an unfair disadvantage in life, that you are there if they need you. That’s it. It’s literally that easy to start to change how the world is and change how the godless are perceived.
I try not to toot my own horn too much (in public) but I’ve been trying to take this positive approach for years now. I’ve written posts supportive of people who would never think to reciprocate, such as Rebecca Watson and Greta Christina and PZ Myers. I’ve also written posts supportive of my friends, such as AmbrosiaX and Justin Vacula. When David Silverman went overboard calling out a friend of mine, I made a list of only the positive things that he got right. I’ve got sunshine to spare over here, people.
All that said, trying to push positivity from within the rage-driven call-out culture is the perfect example of a modern Sisyphean task. If you choose to limit your expressions of positivity and support solely to those with whom you agree on most substantive matters, you will find that saying something positive will not get you very far. If your efforts at positivity are admixed with a relentlessly negative siege mentality which promotes ganging up on new people and accusing them of trolling and “JAQing Off,” you will find that saying something positive will not get you very far. If your media platform is famous as “a place for anger and uprising in social change” then you will find that saying something positive will not get you very far.
I want to end this on a positive note, so I’d like to praise Amy Roth for trying to encourage people to foster positivity within the movement. I sincerely hope that I am dead wrong about whether this project will have the intended effect. I wish the very best of luck to everyone who chooses to undertake the challenge.
