The ‘END IT Movement’ is organized by a coalition of
national and international anti-human trafficking organizations and NGOs. This
tactic is based on the idea that millions around the globe will mark his or her
hand with a red X on a particular day (it was yesterday, January 27th)
to “use their influence” to “join the fight for freedom.” People take pictures
of their red Xs and post on social media (i.e. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter,
etc.) to express outrage against human trafficking and to spread the word that
slavery still exists. Take a look at the campaign video on their website to get
the vibe (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7yFuLxoldU ) Participants of the “END IT Movement’ range from students to Hollywood
celebrities.
As a GPP student, of course I am a little skeptical about
this tactic. Is this a result of “slacktivism” rather than activism? After
January 27th, when pictures of red X’s blow up on social media
sites, what happens afterward? It seems like most people will forget and resume
with their lives, until the next “END IT” day of advocacy occurs a year later.
Besides donating to the coalition organizations, the ‘END IT Movement,’ the website
provides few direct actions for participants to undertake afterward. It seems a
little weird to me that the website commends individuals for “fighting” against slavery, by simply drawing a red X on his or her hand.
Also, slavery is an extremely complex problem…shouldn’t
participants learn more about the systemic causes such as poverty, inequality,
cultural norms, or gender issues? The main reason for the “red X’ is to express
‘outrage’ over trafficking. But there are no individuals who support human
trafficking…. Of course, most people want to end slavery and experience
outrage. I think it’s important to ask HOW we can “end it” and also to educate
people about the issue itself.
As people in my GPP 105 class may know, I am going to Ghana
this summer to work with an NGO who administers a school and rehabilitation
center for child trafficking survivors. Since high school, I’ve been interested
in the fight against human trafficking. Although I have these reservations
about the END IT Movement, perhaps I am being too pessimistic. After all, the
END IT Movement starts a conversation about modern-day slavery for people who
may know nothing about the issue. One may
ask “Why do you have a red X on your hand?” and awareness spreads. I do think
this is important…For example, once I learned that 33 million people are
enslaved in our world, I became very passionate about this issue for the past 4
years. Is the END IT movement better than doing nothing?
Chloe, I completely understand your position on this movement. In a way, you can compare it to other awareness campaigns such as the wear pink campaign for breast cancer. This is where I get pessimistic. The value of what such movements represents is tremendous. Human trafficking like breast cancer is a large scale and serious problem. What irks me is when they become half-hearted trends that devalue the original message. Without a doubt, everyone can agree that it is a problem and they (students, celebrities, etc) will all want to be perceived at progressive, moral, and good examples. But does that matter? Does that detract from the positive effects, however small or large, in the long run? Even if not everyone is passionate about or fully understands what the symbol represent, the goal is in reaching as large a population as possible. To what effect, as you question, I cannot say. What definitive action will take place? Bottom line is, quiet movements like this can only help.
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