It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these
posts; but with school, work, and doing fun college things I’ve been busy…or at
least I’ve been spending most of my time wishing I could hole myself in my room
and watch BBC Sherlock on a continuous loop.
Speaking of Sherlock, it’s a TV show that I’ve recently
become acquainted with (I live in North Dakota so culture takes a while to get
to my area). And I’ve become enthralled with the actor playing the Sherlock:
Benedict Cumberbatch. Now it’s not because of the high cheekbones or his rather
handsome physique that I find enthralling—it’s the fact he did something,
multiple times, during the shooting of season three that makes him stand out to
be (although being British, tall, and handsome looking does score some points
in his favor).
One day Cumberbatch was annoyed with the paparazzi, so he
took a piece of paper and held it to his face telling them to go take pictures
of Egypt (back when Morsi was having trouble). He did the same tactic again
except to criticize the UK government for detaining a journalist’s partner. (Check the details here:
So now you might me wondering what exactly Benedict
Cumberbatch has to do with the average person being politically active. That’s
the beauty of it—he simply held signs and the world listened. (Granted in terms
of the one where he told them to go report on Egypt, I’m not sure I’d want
entertainment writers discussing Syria—The West Wing did a good job of
explaining why in an episode Season 3 when a fashion/entertainment reporter
tries to cover a bombing in Tel-Aviv.)
Putting a Human Rights Campaign or a candidate bumper
sticker on your car or computer is a great start to becoming civically engaged.
It means you've taken the step to publicly take a stance on an issue or
candidate.
You may not think people notice—but they do. For example I
was at a speech tournament earlier this year and I was working on my computer
and a girl who has volunteered with the HRC for several years came up to me and
we had a lovely conversation. In another instance I was working at a high
school tournaments and one of my students asked what LGBTQ safe zone meant and
I was able to explain to an eighth grader about the concept of a campus that
has a network of allies and supporters.
All in all, putting a sticker somewhere prominently on a
belonging or wearing a t-shirt is a great way to start the conversation.
Paparazzi may not swarm you like they do Cumberbatch—but showing support for causes
you believe can make you feel like you can...I don't know-I'm trying to come up with some joke dealing with Sherlock Holmes or Hobbit or Star Trek, but I can't think of anything that clever.
Until next time!
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