Be counted, armchair revolutionaries

The Revolution happens in hearts and minds, not STREETS.– @sagadasun

Jim Paredes hits “armchair revolutionaries” in facebook and Twitter:

Netizens should do more than click the ‘share’ button or tweet about burning issues like the Ombudsman’s impeachment or the reproductive health bill, celebrity Twitter user Jim Paredes (@jimparedes) on Wednesday said.

Paredes’ appeals come less than a week after he engaged Sen. Gringo Honasan in a heated discussion on Twitter.

“A lot of people think that just because they tweeted, they already helped,” Paredes said in an interview with GMA News Online. “We have to translate it into action.”

Describing some netizens as “armchair revolutionaries,” Paredes emphasized the importance of physical presence in a number of issues.

When unprecedented flooding inundated Manila and parts of Luzon in 2009, Paredes urged his Twitter followers to go beyond tweeting about the disaster and to go out and help.

At that time, Paredes — whose growing number of followers is now at 86,889 — said he put up a center in his residence where people could drop their donations and work as volunteers.

“You have to get out of your comfort zone,” Paredes added.

The importance of physical presence is indeed important but that is not possible for many citizens. Some work. Some have families. Some are far from the center of issues. I still believe that tweeting and sharing/liking a facebook link is the first step to the realization of issues. How many times have a facebook friend thanked me for awakening their minds to current issues? Yes twitter and facebook or medium of information and it should not stop there. Action needs to be done. Action can be taken to be : having the issue move to another stage, lobbying in congress, or rallying.

@sagadasun says “The Revolution happens in hearts and minds, not STREETS”. He added that “The greatest Filipino revolutionary I have ever known did his best work in an armchair!” @mongster adds “a Conservative revolutionary is more dangerous than an armchair revolutionary. beware of these fake revolutionaries”

I am with @IMGoryo “may kanya-kanyang papel ang bawat tao sa lipunan, kung pagiging ‘armchair revolutionaries’ ang bet ng isang tao. so be it.” Each of us have our roles in life, big or small. Let us inspire people to do action instead of belittling their efforts. Be the example.

The fact that some tweets were picked up by mainstream into news, then translated into action says that some work can be done online. Remember Pilipinas Kay Ganda, the Ayala Alabang prescription on condoms, my blog entry on UST students given bonus grades if they made an anti-RH Stand.

Here is what others are saying about the “armchair revolutionaries”