Coloring Your Avatar Is An Empty Gesture

I am not going to change my avatar color, nor am I going to change the color of my tweets for your worthy cause.  I didn’t change my avatar to green to show my support for democracy in Iran, and I’m not going to change my avatar to red to show my support for World AIDS day.  Sorry, but I find this to be an empty gesture.

This is not to say that these two campaigns are without merit.  I find them both to be important.  But if you want me to color up my avatar for the cause of the month, then you are first going to have to explain to me how my avatar will make a measurable difference in anything like that.

Seriously, did the drama of the Iranian elections stop because some people colored their Twitter avatars green?  Did the Iranian powers-that-be pause in their atrocities after they caught wind of the wave of green avatars on Twitter?  If they did, I didn’t catch that news release.  Going “green” didn’t accomplish anything other than maybe a blurb in a few blogs about green avatars.

Now today the trend is to change the color of your tweets and avatar to red in order to raise awareness of World AIDS Day.  I’m going to pass up on this day trend as well.  I can honestly say that I haven’t run across one single person in the last 25 years who wasn’t aware of what AIDS is or what steps they can take to prevent contracting the virus.  I just don’t see what changes can occur by turning the text of the fluff I tweet into red.

If you really want to do something that will bring about change, then skip the avatar changes and actually do something.  Instead of just coloring a picture, try pressuring your lawmakers into responding to these international crises.  Donate to organizations that help in these areas.  Start a fundraiser and donate the funds to medical research.  Do something tangible.

Let me digress for a minute and further explain this concept with the empty gesture I despise the most: the “I Support Our Troops” bumper stickers.  Now I myself am completely grateful for the service that the men and women in the military do for us on a daily basis, and I think that everyone should feel this way regardless of their opinion on the war.  I don’t envy their role, and am thankful that people like them have stepped up and volunteered in that capacity to serve our country.

So when I see that yellow ribbon bumper sticker I have to wonder if they really do support the troops, or is it just another emblem on a car.  Because sadly, I’ve yet to see a sticker with that kind of ability.  But I’m fully aware that people do have that potential.

You want to support the troops? Try writing a soldier, any soldier, a letter expressing your gratitude.  Send care packages to those stationed in the Middle East.  And remember that the families our soldiers leave behind are hurting as well, both emotionally and financially.  Helping a soldier’s family while they are risking their lives thousands of miles away can be hugely uplifting, for them and for you.  Actions like these will speak volumes more than any little sticker can do.

Maybe I’m just cranky this morning, but after logging on to Twitter and seeing this I had to get this rant off my chest.  I’m really not against anyone showing their support for worthy things, I’m just against promoting the use of empty gestures as a way to bring about change.  Real action is required if any good changes are to come.

So what do you think?  Do you support the process of coloring your Twitter avatar to show your support for a cause?  Is this just the rant of a person who hasn’t had enough coffee yet?

Tagged as: avatar, Twitter