Question N

A good activist requires an individual to be committed to working with others "by building relationships and coalitions that will bring about social change" (Collins, pg. 604). Each of us should find an area of specialization that we are passionate about changing while then working outside other areas of interest in order to build coalitions across differences. An effective and positive change agent must remember that "we do not all have to do the same thing in the same way. Instead we must support each other's efforts, realizing that they are all part of the larger enterprise of bringing about social change" (Collins, pg. 607). Realizing this is the only way we can begin to work towards a future worth living for. Other important qualities a social change agent must encompass is building empathy, this is hard and often we don't see need for it. We often don't see how and why we are connected to all people and therefore apathy fills us instead of empathy. I do believe that coalition building and understanding are key, I admire that about Gail Dines who came to our campus last semester; we talked with her before her presentation she is a strong and smart woman very open to coalition building.