Blog post week 3

The Osorio piece from this week reflects on topoi related to autism and the use of social media to inspire change in how it is viewed. She notes that there can be instances in which advocacy may hurt a message as opposed to helping it. This is a critical point to consider for any movement as with the world of social media and quick speed at which a given message can be spread, accuracy in portraying social movements is crucial. Osorio describes the ways in which activists for the movement responded to the video depicting autism: “Autistic activists have taken to social media to generate, circulate, and impart their own novel topoi that counter the dominant beliefs of autism and create space for autistic activists and their allies to generate novel lines of argument” (2). What is notable about topoi, as Osorio points out, is that the topoi is subjectable to change. Through activism via social media, mainstream beliefs about the social movement can be adjusted. From looking at the March For Our Lives Movement, I have found that the topoi in this movement can have varying messages. For instance, some may use the hashtag to advocate that steps be taken to prevent mass shootings and other posts have used the hashtag when specific threats have been made to raise awareness. The post I found actually uses the hashtag to advocate for prevention of gun violence beyond mass shootings but refers to suicide as well. This reflects the extent to which advocacy can reach and bring awareness of not just one but many issues within a single hashtag.