Does ‘Slacktivism’ Deserve Its Bad Rap?
Lazy Forms of Protest—From Social Media Posts to Bumper Stickers—Can Also Help Effect Change
This essay was published in tandem with the event “When Does Protest Make a Difference?” on August 22. View the recorded discussions here.
Earlier this year, activists opposing the war in Gaza marched onto the Golden Gate Bridge and Interstate 880 in Oakland. They blocked traffic for hours, some chaining themselves to vehicles or cement-filled drums. Twenty-six were arrested and charged.
Similar scenes played out across the country—perhaps most controversially on college campuses, where students found themselves banned, suspended, and expelled—in this latest chapter of the …
