#accessible activism

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If you're looking on bringing someone into activism who's been kinda turned off by it, either because someone tried to beat them over the head with it, or because they don't see how it affects them, a recommendation:

Start by talking about the positive changes you've seen in your personal life by personally doing activism, without calling it activism, and then invite them to join you. Once they're more engaged, then you can start talking about how helping your community is activism, because the point of activism is creating a better world, and that working small is just as important as the big stuff. But start with a casual invitation to do an activity with you.

To the extent you can, stay away from moral obligation stuff. Most people will get a serotonin kick from helping others, but it's going to come off as preachy when you start using phrases like "obligation" and "have to" and "if you don't, you're a bad person."

Some examples

"Dude, I love volunteering at the food pantry when I'm off work, it helps make me less stir crazy and it's satisfying how much gets done. Wanna join me next time I go?"

"There's a group of us that goes and does river clean-ups once a month, and there's a guy there who's also super interest in [something the person you're talking to is interested]. If you wanna come with next time, I can introduce you; I think you'll hit it off"

"So you know how you were saying you wished they'd change that intersection that's super dangerous? Well there's a public comment period that's coming up, basically people get to bring concerns like that kind of thing to the city council. I'm planning on going, but if there's two of us, it's more likely to get noticed. You interested?"

NOTE: if they say no, don't push it. If you can gently ask why, you might be able to get some useful information to understand how to tailor invitations better to their interests, but only do that if you're pretty sure you'll avoid being confrontational. You can try another invitation to a different thing at a later time.

Activism is about being able to coordinate to get something larger done. The point of this approach and being gentle is to overcome as many of the obstacles that come with this as possible:

Uncertainty about doing something new: by inviting them to do something with us, it means there would be a familiar person and they won't be expected to know what they're doing right away

No personal connection: tying it to something they're interested in, either by topic or by positive outcome means that they have a reason to go other than "they should." This also helps with long-term engagement

Potential avoidance of politics: Yes, politics and activism go hand-in-hand, but at the end of the day, people still have the same basic needs, and bettering our little corner of the world doesn't mean that we have to tie ourself to a large movement that doesn't necessarily have the exact same goals we do.

Negative association: Activist spaces can get pretty toxic. No one's going to have a good time in that. Giving people a more fun exposure to activism can help undo some of that negative association, and show that this kind of stuff can be super fun and rewarding, as long as you're picking something that meshes with your interests

The Quiet Protest (or 9 reasons people don’t go to a demo)

Keep in mind that every voice that speaks out on an issue whether online or down the pub is contributing to protest. Every signature on a petition is a voice made clear. Projects like Millions Missing that used empty shoes to represent those who couldn't attend and organised simultaneous timed Twitter posts provide creative ways for people to get involved. People are writing to their MPs and attending local meetings. There is even the notion that, for those who really struggle to get involved in activism, that merely existing and being in anyway visible if you are part of a minority or targeted group is a form of protest. And that's awesome. Standing in front of a town hall is just one way of pushing back. Support and hold up every fight no matter how small and quiet. They add up to a rebellion. 

My old writing posts can be found under the #olive's writing vibes tag. Below the cut are original posts and reblogs that I contributed to that pertain to more accessible activism. More will be added as I track them down.

Alternatively, feel free to click on any of the tags at the bottom of this post to see all related posts (regardless of whether or not I contributed to them).

Last updated November 27, 2025