The Activist Will Return After This Break

Hey, glad you're here. Grab something to drink. I need to talk to you about something that's been sitting on my chest.

You know that person on your timeline.

Every time something blows up, they're there. Flag in the bio. Infographic in the story. Caption talking about silence being violence. Comments going crazy, followers loving it. They're everywhere.

And then two weeks later? Gone. Onto the next thing.

That's what I want to talk about today. Because it's been bothering me.

Here's how it always goes.

Something happens. Someone is killed. A community is getting crushed. And at first nobody with a big platform is saying anything. They're just... watching. Waiting to see if it's safe to care yet.

Then it hits TikTok. Goes viral. And suddenly everybody has always cared about this issue. Suddenly your favourite influencer is reposting, your mutuals are sharing, the hashtag is everywhere.

And I get it, visibility really matters. I'm not saying everyone who posts is fake.

But be honest with yourself. There's a difference between something moving you and waiting for the crowd to show up before you say anything.

The real tell is what happens after.

After it stops trending. After the sounds change. After the timeline moves on.

Who's still talking about it?

Not the ones who went viral for it. They've moved on. Next cause. Next hashtag. Meanwhile the people who were actually affected are still there, still dealing with it, just without an audience this time.

That's the thing about selective activism. It's not about picking your battles. It's about only showing up when there's something in it for you. And honestly? This happens with most African issues.

A crisis has to be massive before it's worth posting about. A movement needs a blue tick to cosign it before people take it seriously. And even when something is clearly terrible, people with platforms will still wait. They'll calculate. They'll decide if it fits their brand.

If it trends.... they engage.

If it doesn't.... you won't hear a word from them. Not until the whole country is on the streets. Not until staying quiet would make them look bad.

By which point the real work has already been done by people with smaller accounts and bigger consciences.

I'm not trying to guilt anybody. Forced solidarity isn't it anyway.

But I think we need to be real about what's happening. Sometimes the outrage is genuine and sometimes people are just doing what the algorithm rewards, performing care because care, right now, is getting them something.

So just ask yourself honestly:

Would you still care about this if nobody could see it?

If yes, say something. Please.

If the answer is complicated, that's okay. Sit with it. Figure out what you actually believe versus what you've been performing for the timeline.

Because the things that actually need our attention are rarely trending. And the people who need us most are usually the ones everyone forgot about three weeks ago.

Anyway. You know I had to say it. See you next week.