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Social Action through the Internet
The Internet can be and frequently is a powerful tool for Social Action.
Here is an example.
You may already know the story of Amina Lawal, sentenced (2003) to death by stoning for adultery. She was divorced and got pregnant by a man she hoped to marry. The father? Said he didn't do it, was released on his word, and left the country in a hurry! Amnesty International began a letter campaign to encourage the Nigerian government to behave justly and humanely in this case and other similar ones.
Millions of people like you sent postcards, telegrams, and email to government officials in Nigeria in an attempt to save Amina's life.
It worked!! Due to intense international pressure and interest, the higher courts decided on appeal to spare Amina's life.
Long before the Internet existed, Amnesty International (AI) was at work trying to eliminate torture and the death penalty. Sadly, they still have not succeeded. Several of my friends from my time in New York are alive only because their cases were brought to international attention through AI. Many other people whose cases were not publicized by Amnesty International or similar groups were not so lucky and were tortured and/or murdered by their own governments or police/military forces.
Nowadays AI and many other social action networks use the speed and flexibility of the Internet to strengthen their work for human rights. Local activists here in Puerto Rico also use it, in both English and Spanish, as a tool for getting their messages to a wider audience than ever before. You, too, can do this if you have a cause you believe in.
More recently, there were a number of sites dedicated to helping the victims of the Tsunami in different ways from giving money to doing volunteer work as doctor, nurse, teacher, construction worker, etc. CAREFUL, there were also some fake or scam webpages asking for $ that were put up by clever thieves.
You may wish to consider how you would create a webpage for such an effort as one of your class assignments.
Examples of sites fighting for social justice in one way or another:
Center of Concern : Ethical perspective on social and global issues based on Catholic teachings.
Habitat for Humanity : Dedicated to providing decent affordable housing to all who need it. Uses volunteer labor, local initiatives.
Greenpeace : Ecological activists hoping to protect nature from exploitation and abuse by people with no conscience.
