[A quick to this, a day later. My two points in this are: 1. If people (those you’re protesting against) expect A, give them B. When confronted with loud noise, people emotionally shutdown. Give them what they (those you are against, the media, the talking heads) what they’re not expecting. 2. And do 1 in a way which engages with others. Tie your work to a pole, put it on a t-shirt, put it online. Just start a dialogue. Use your work, your protest, as a “conversation starter.”]
Over the past few months, except for a few tweets, I’ve been publicly quiet about the Occupy, 99% protests. But, if you’ve spoken to me about it in person (or saw those tweets), you would very much be aware of that fact that I don’t support them. Which, maybe to a lot of people sounds strange or sancrosanct or totally uncool, but it’s true.
To me, the whole point of craftivism is to take an issue/cause you believe in and use your craft to speak out about it. Coming up to the table with no actual issue at hand or an amalgam was never part of it. An issue: war, famine, injustice, prison rights, homelessness, university cuts, torture, inequity, environmental damage, social rights, human rights, mental health, freedom, etc. I/you/we could go on, as there is no shortage of issues to rally against!
Craftivism is about making something that gets people on the other side to ask questions about an issue, confront their own engrained opinions on a subject, and if they are willing, start a dialogue. The craft is the activism because it stirs up thoughts about an issue in the minds of the audience on their own terms, they see the work, they wonder what it’s about, they ask questions. They bring the questions to the table and open the dialogue, instead of you rushing in first. The craft opens the door to the activism, truly making the process craft + activism = craftivism!*
I also think that in countries where we have the right to speak out and yell, using your craft/creative endeavors/silence (as in silent protests/sit ins) is loads more effective than making a giant fuss. Because 9 times out of 10, the side you’re fighting against? They’re not going to listen. They’re going to dig their heels in. They’re going to join forces with their peers which they already agree with. It’s when we have the freedom to speak out, that we should re-invent ways of changing things.
By making a quilt/pillow/tapestry/cross stitch, etc., you’re given a way to enter the circle that becomes closed once you raise your voice (or sometimes even just open it!). You let them into the conversation by not yelling, you catch them off guard, daring to subvert the paradigm and let the silence guide the fight, not the cacophony.
In a world where we’re constantly tweeting, texting, watching tv, seeing ads, busy, busy, busy, silence can become our biggest weapon. People close off when we yell, but are forced to think when we’re silent or present work that asks questions or act in a performance piece. Silence gives us the time to question what’s going on, we’re disarmed by it because we’re all kept so freaking busy by our gadgets and technology. Silence strengthens us directly because we have the right to speak up.
In contrast, what made the Arab Spring so powerful? That people who didn’t have the freedom to speak out spoke up, tweeted, joined en masse in public, and in many cases risked (or even gave) their lives to do so. They did what wasn’t done, and changed the future of their countries.
So, in order for us to truly, honestly change things, we need to stop yelling, and speak out in other ways. Stitch a banner, weave a tapestry, knit a scarf, crochet a hat, embroider an old sweater with questions you want to ask, things you want to yell, problems that keep you up at night. In order to create change in people’s hearts, you need to first disarm them by catching them off guard.
They are prepared for your words scribbled on cardboard, chants, marches, fights. They have shields to hold up, tear gas to shoot, pepper spray to aim. They are used to so many ways of protest, because we have the freedom to be loud. We have the freedom to be loud, and have used it such great effect that people don’t pay attention. So when they expect noise, be silent. When they expect a hard fight, bring soft craft.
Dare to find another way to speak out so those who expect your visible rage will be disarmed by your passionate silence. Dare to look in the opposite direction in order to find the back door to dialogue.
Dare to use your craft as your activism, whether you are the 99% or the 1%. Dare to envision a world without people digging in their heels, and instead one where we step ahead towards conversation instead of backwards in argument. Dare to do what they don’t expect out of a true wish to effect change, not to just vent your anger.
By lowering our voices and offering news ways of fighting, we can raise our voices without shouting by using things such as craft as our mouthpiece. We just need to bring silence back as a force of power, instead of noise first.
*The slogan craft + activism = craftivism came about around 2003, because when I first started writing about craftivism, a term that was literally made up, no one knew what the heck I was talking about. It was the only way I could get people to a) figure out what I was saying and b) spell it! These days, it’s less of a problem, but I’m glad the slogan stuck around nonetheless! Hurrah!
I think you’re ignoring a crucial part of silence–and that’s presence. If you’re silent and invisible, well, that’s just the status quo. Silence + absence hasn’t done us much good. Without presence, you’re just sitting in your house mumbling self-righteously to yourself while knitting. Presence comes with collective actions, public actions. Silent or noisy, they only work when they’re outside oneself.
If you want to “dare to find another way to speak out”, you’d better be doing it in public in some way, and you’d better have a lot of people with you in order for it to matter. Why not work *with* those who are part of the demonstrations to achieve something, rather than complain that they’re too noisy, and not doing what you want?
Excellent points, Robin, but I’m talking about making and displaying (around town, online, at a gallery) work, and most imperatively, engaging in discourse.Â
Systemic, sustainable changes occurs when the person/group starts to ask themselves the questions that are being asked by those that disagree. They need to be able to process it, which means changing the paradigm.Â
In many Arab countries, they did the opposite of what had been done. We, as people who’ve been raising our voices in protest (as it is our cultural right) need to think about new ways of action because those you’re yelling against have become immune to that kind of protest- so much so that they dismiss it.Â
And that, is a direct impediment to what’s trying to happen.Â
Thanks for your thoughts, Judith! I think my main thing is that yelling is more ignored than doing other more quiet actions. People don’t listen to yelling, and why should they? Especially when there have been studies done that show that when you’re angry, your IQ drops? In our technocrazy culture, I think we’re more disarmed by silence because there’s nothing to fill that void… Making our brains scramble to figure what’s going on. And in order to create change, we need to get our brains thinking, not shutting down. :)
While part of me is behind the 99% movement (because it stirs people into action, when apathy seems rampant), it does disturb me that it is less focused. Maybe because the problems are so systemic? But I like the concept of catching attention and making change by quietly putting it out there. Problem is, silence is easier to ignore. Sigh . . .
Thank you for giving me another way to look at it, Betsy.
Such a needed and well-written blogpost. Thanks for sharing Betsy, I’m going to email it to some select few activists I know and want to challenge but in an emotionally intelligent and encouraging way.
I remember my friend telling me, often shouting at me in an aggressive way over and over again that I should stop drinking Coca-Cola because of it’s human rights record. She would then follow the pointing and shouting with a huge amount of evidence to back her up but because she was not entering into dialogue with me or asking me questions my immediate reaction was to ignore her facts and figures, not listen to her case but to get defensive and angry back. It wasn’t until years later that I saw something on the internet about Coke and then I used my initiative to look up their human rights history and be open to what I was reading. Taking ownership and choosing to hear that side made me boycott coke not my friend telling me I was wrong to drink it. This experience sticks with me a long others that makes me love craftivism and truly believe it as a much needed role in activism.
If we continue to demonise people and see the only way of creating a more just and fair world is to pigeon-hole people into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ and fight this war, sadly I don’t think we will achieve much. We need to encourage people to tap into their intrinsic values and use their talents and passions for good, help transform each other into always being on the side of the most vulnerable people in on our planet and lovingly challenge each other in equal and respectful dialogue and give space for people to come to the right conclusion
Keep up your crafty activism Betsy and challenging us in what we are all doing x
As part of the Arts & Culture group at Occupy Detroit, it makes me pretty sad to read this from someone I really respect and admire. Your points are all awesome and well thought out, except that they level charges at Occupy that don’t fit. Our Occupy, and many others, is more diverse than simply cage-rattling. We have meditation sit-ins, clothes mending stations, free yoga for health, a library, holiday candle-vigils, actions on any number of issue in both confrontational and non-confrontational manners, more hugs than I can count and even a craftivism meeting. No one is harmed or turned away and there are few angry shouting matches: even folks that disagree do so over a cup of coffee or bowl of soup.
The Occupations are really more about community building and experimenting with communal living than they are about punching cops. That’s a very limited, mainstream media perspective. I hope you’ve had a chance to visit a camp since then and have perhaps seen the real thing in action.
Thanks for your honest, heartfelt comments, Maggie! While I support community learning and development here are my thoughts on your response.Â
1. No, it’s not all yelling and/or destruction, but there has been some of that. My argument here is the same people you need to be talking to  did nothing but shutoff at the beginning of the protest. Mass demos do not help you sway the opinion of people you are trying to reach, ESP in this case. (Not because you aren’t doing good, but *solely* because of the negative stigma of activism.) You want to be talking to that 1%, too, as if you get them on your side… Things will roll. If you don’t, their negative stance  isn’t going to change, it’s too ingrained. So, it puts you at an impasse, which is not where you need to be.
2. You know that saying, “How do you eat a block of cheese?” The answer being “One chunk at a time.” By presenting a host of things to fix, you’re heavily diluting your message if you want change,. Yes, *lots* of things need changing, but they all won’t change at once, you need a starting point, action steps to change and start seeing change before you move to the next item on the list. The swath is too wide and therefore will be harder for people to grasp. Pick one issue and you garner more support.Â
I hope that I continue to have your respect, and do honestly appreciate your passion for change, your energy to fight and your honesty in your comments.Â
And a craftivism group there! Rad! Curious to know more!