The Problem with Social Justice Trends

By Feliz Moreno

Let's all think back to 2004 when everyone was walking around with those yellow silicon Livestrong bracelets. The little yellow bracelet that sold for $1 a pop helped the Lance Armstrong foundation raise $25.1 million in six months. All of a sudden it became fashionable to spread cancer awareness.

More like it became fashionable to walk around wearing cheap rubber bracelets. I never had a problem with those rubber bracelets, nor did I have a problem with people who were interested in contributing to cancer research. I do have a problem with people who like to splurge - if you call $1 splurging - on a social justice fad just because everyone else is doing it.

It's like our national moral conscience is driven by Oprah. She has billions of dollars to waste on whichever organization can garner the most sympathy out of people. I mean, if Oprah is concerned about starving children in Africa, then I should be too. And if Oprah is concerned with the harmful effects of dieting, I should be too.

Social justice issues come and go in waves. Just look at every single natural disaster that we has happened in the past 12 years. Remember in December of 2004 when the tsunami in the Indian ocean hit India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia? Everyone rallied together for about three months to raise money and give aid to the countries that were the worst off. Again, in 2010, when a 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti, everyone rallied together for about four months to raise money to help the impoverished country get back on its feet.

All that hoorah-ing is good and well, but I think we all know after witnessing the at-home disaster of Hurricane Katrina that it takes a lot more than some money and a few months of time to put your life back together after everything you owned has been destroyed. It takes a lot more than some cash and a few weeks to compensate for the loss of a loved one. It takes a lot more than the buying of a silicon bracelet to truly understand the despair one feels after losing a loved one to cancer.

I don't want to sound like a hater, I do appreciate that people take the time to spring into action to help people in need. But I fear that most of us don't realize that for the people that liveed through those natural disasters, it isn't just a fad.

We may buy Toms shoes because we think they are cool and we think we are doing a generous thing, but for the kids who have gone most of their lives without ever owning a pair of shoes, that is their reality.

I wish people would stop indulging in social justice fads in order to fulfill their own sense of purpose and self-satisfaction. I wish people would stop indulging in social justice fads only because it is the cool thing to do at the moment. If you really want to feel like you're making a difference, pick a social justice issue or two and dedicate your life to them. Lay claim to an issue. Non-profits like American Cancer Society, MADD, Invisible Children, Habitat for Humanity and more are trying to get people to really care and work towards a goal that really can't be achieved in the three to four months that our popular culture allows.

And if you are going to spend a dollar on cancer research or buy posters to "Cover the Night" and spread awareness about corrupt dictators, do it because you actually believe in it, not because it is the cool thing to do at the time.

Feliz Moreno is a sophomore English major and editor of the Opinion section.