Memes - Angel Gonzales

The Art of Activism:

Quote: "When used by activists, the phrase “stepping off the curb” refers to the moment that one leaves the sidewalk and enters the street to join a protest, but in a broader sense it means making the step from passive indifference into active engagement."

Response: This quote really gives the sense of what joining a protest really is. When you join a protest you are done accepting what is or as stated "passive indifference" and are now going to physically make a change or "active engagement."

Quote: "You can probably feel this experience even better than you can explain it, and words (or even images) may feel inadequate for capturing it. That’s because its effect upon you was felt more than considered, sensed more than reasoned."

Response: The quote is very relatable as everyone has felt an experience in which they cannot describe it with words or make any explanation of it. When the author said "the effect upon you was felt more than considered" I think they mean that one did not think an experience would have much of an impact on them. 

Understanding Patriarchy by bell hooks: 

Quote: "The word "patriarchy" just is not part of their normal everyday thought or speech. Men who have heard or know the word usually associate it with women's liberation, with feminism, and therefore dismiss it as irrelevant to their own experiences." 

Quote:  "They assume that men are the sole teachers of patriarchal thinking. Yet many female-headed households endorse and promote patriarchal thinking with far greater passion than two-parent households."

Patriarchy: A political social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain the dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence. 

Activism: The activity of challenging and changing power relations. There are many ways of doing activism and being an activist, but the common element is an activity targeted toward demonstrable outcomes: changing a policy, mobilizing a population, overthrowing a dictator, or organizing a childcare collective.

Memes can act as a form of resistance and advocacy by addressing events that are occurring in the world. Considering how relatable and simple to read memes are, they attract more attention and spread their message better than a whole article would. Most people don't like to read and when a crucial event is happening in the world, people don't look up articles to better understand it, they get their information from social media. In the three memes that I posted above, they address AI, Project 2025, and deportation. While the memes are humorous, they give me a clear understanding of what is transpiring in society. In the article, Memes Are Our Generation's Protest Art, it states "You can express yourself with one picture of a meme better than a whole page of text." I find this quote to be very true. That one image can be more clear than three hundred words describing yourself. Memes are everywhere nowadays and cover topics from shows to sports to politics.