So, you’ve seen the rousing images of climate activists shutting down business as usual to draw attention to their worthy cause, and you’re inspired. You want to add your voice to the movement, make “good trouble,” and stand for something for once in your goddamn life, but, unfortunately, you’re an introvert. You don’t have to feel excluded from the global push for change just because you’re a little afraid of putting yourself out there! Here’s how you can still be a climate activist even though you’re too shy to interrupt anything except climate catastrophe.
Start by making incremental changes in your own life.
Maybe you’re not confident enough to throw soup on a painting or superglue yourself to a wall, but you can start small! Yes, large corporations are the biggest climate offenders, and yes, they want you to think climate change is your own fault to take pressure off them, but you can still find joy and community in the climate movement by practicing what you preach! Join a carpool, start a community garden, and you’ll be making manageable small talk with one to three strangers in no time, which is honestly enough for today.
Throw your voice behind someone who isn’t afraid to interrupt things!
A shy fella like you isn’t going to spearhead a campaign to shut down the highway because you’re afraid of speaking in front of groups of five people or more, so try letting others do the hard stuff for you! Join an activist group where people who are comfortable with the talking get to do the talking, and you get to do the “sitting in silence holding a banner” part. There’s room for everyone in this cause, even people who don’t want to hand out fliers to people on the street, okay?
Take a vow of silence.
There is such a thing as playing to your strengths. If you don’t feel comfortable getting loud, why not get really, really quiet? Take a vow of silence until an organization of your choosing divests from fossil fuels, then annoy that organization with your quiet presence until they relent. It’s a foolproof plan that at once adds your powerful voice to the movement and also gives you a really good excuse to say nothing to no one ever.
Climate activism isn’t just for the loud and proud – it’s also for the quiet and demure! So, get out there and fuck shit up, you nimble, bashful hero!
