The fear of hypocrisy leads to silence, & worse compliance. It's better to be a hypocritical activist than a non-hypocritical passivist.
A hypocrite is somebody who preaches one thing but does another. For example, a parent who tells you not to smoke, but is a smoker themself, or a friend who preaches about being eco friendly but never turns off the light.
There is a good reason why nobody would want to be caught as a hypocrite, because it makes whatever cause you are trying to advocate for appear meaningless - the fact that you (the preacher) lacks willpower to see through your own ideals, leads others to question why they should.
✊🏽Especially with activism, nothing is worse than being caught contradicting your beliefs because it can be a huge setback for your cause. Critics are always armed & ready to fire all your inconsistencies and contradictions in your face.
But what matters is the "message". So if we believe in the cause, shouldn't we focus on the message regardless of whether the preacher practices it themself?
Although I agree that it is very important to practice what we preach and set good examples in order to create actual behavioural change, I also want to highlight something I've found to be problematic (& counterproductive) with fearing hypocrisy.
🤐 The fear of hypocrisy leads to silence, & worse, compliance
Example, a celebrity who is genuinely concerned about climate change might be reluctant to voice her concerns for fears of being called out on her lifestyles or how frequently she flies, hence she might feel it’s better off staying silent.
Another example is in regards to animal welfare & suffering. I know most people care very deeply for animals but are afraid to explore or talk about animal welfare/suffering because they are not vegan themselves.
The fear of hypocrisy has silenced those who want to align themselves to a particular movement. & so I think it’s very important to not let the fear of hypocrisy silence you. 📣 To speak up for what you believe in NOW. 👋🏽⏳There is a sense of deep urgency with all the issues.
We cannot wait until we are completely aligned with our ideals to talk about it.✨✨We will never be aligned because it is impossible to be completely ethical in an unethical system but the 1st step towards change is to speak up.✨✨