OPINION
Let me just say, I am captivated by the instagram account @DearOVS (changed as of this morning to @dear.ovs). And I am engrossed by the idea that someone simply started this account and was immediately and randomly assigned the responsibility of choosing whose story deserves to be told.
More thrilling still is the shifting guidelines that the editor has used: initially including names and then removing them within a couple of hours; publishing all stories, to choosing which should be shared; including trigger warnings; fixing spelling mistakes. It is all fascinating to me, the fact that this anonymous person seems to be making things up as they go, hopefully arriving at something that benefits the community by trial and error, which is uniquely compelling.
The comments section brims with passion and debate. And it is engrossing because I want so badly for it to succeed. I want so badly for this community to change, to grow, to deal with injustice and prejudice swiftly and decisively, and I know that this account could very well be instrumental in making that a reality. But it could also be disastrous. It has already opened cans of worms that were probably better left closed, it can delegitimize the experience of OVS’s few people of color, it can fundamentally change the way our community works. But perhaps most interestingly, I think this account could easily go the way of the “Braindead Megaphone.”
So, this summer I read an excerpt from George Saunders’ The Braindead Megaphone, which states that in a perfect world “Mass media’s job is to provide this simulacra of the world, upon which we build our ideas. There is another word for this simulacra-building: Storytelling.” In essence the Instagram account @DearOVS is doing just that, telling stories. Storytelling which we, the OVS community, use to build our ideas. The power of this storytelling is easily visible: people are talking about serious problems at OVS in a big way, and that is a potent, incredible thing. But as a community we need to consider the storytelling on which we are predicating our ideas.
Unfortunately the stories being told on @DearOVS are limited by their platform–they have not had time to ruminate, to settle, to be refined–they fly off the press into the hungry minds of our community. The stories don’t even have to be true, or vetted for truth. It can be fun to watch: it’s happening, fast, dramatically, and dangerously. However, it reminds me distinctly of Saunders’ metaphor which compares the 24 hour news cycle, to a guy at a party with a megaphone who controls the conversation simply by stating inflammatory things loudly.
The only way around devolving into such a braindead megaphone is to be slow and deliberate. Careful investigation and deliberate action are the only ways OVS can move forward. First of all the administration needs to take extreme measures to cut out any racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and any other things that trouble this community. It also needs to be held responsible for the experiences of community members.
OVS has taken its first step in appointing a Diversity and Inclusion Liaison, and establishing a committee to explore these important issues. And truly it is a good first step but the OVS community, and especially its BIPOC and LGBTQ members, deserve big, tangible change. On the other hand, @DearOVS is also a first step in telling the stories that may be the impetus for change. But both of these first steps are exactly that, first steps. They do not address the entirety of the problem. The liaison speaks on behalf of the school and is inseparably a member of the community and thus cannot present a truly unbiased understanding of the issues that the school deals with.
An outside diversity consultant would truly be the only way to tackle this issue in an unbiased way but seeing as those firms are extremely expensive, we have to use the position of liaison as a stepping stone on our path to equity. @DearOVS presents a contrasting view of the school, complete with complaints about student workload, pointless name calling, and issues that are entirely separate from the true prejudice-based problems in the community. But the account is also able to tell the stories of students who otherwise would remain silent, and the importance of that cannot be understated.
@DearOVS has the pulpit, it has the microphone, and with it an inherent decision of who to amplify. It’s true OVS needs an account like this, but it also needs this account to be perfect. Amplifying the wrong voices drowns out those who need to be heard. The place where this has become the most noticeable is in the discussion of ableism on the account. The trouble begins when you look at the fact that voices speaking up about how their experiences as BIPOC or LGBTQ people have been minimized, are once again being minimized by the scale of OVS’s problems with ableism. Because in the end, the point of an account like this is to provide a microphone for those who have not been heard. So when there is an onslaught of people talking about ableism it makes me, as a POC, feel that even in the spaces where minorities are supposedly given amplification, a larger minority (that seems suspiciously white) is able to drown us out. However, in the end though there is room for all victims of prejudice on this account but what needs to be addressed is which voices get amplified and how often they do. What is so intriguing about this whole situation is that we as a community have arbitrarily decided that this anonymous editor is worthy of making those decisions.
Taking care in choosing the right voices to amplify is at the heart of what Saunders’ wants for our society, and it is also the lesson on which @DearOVS must focus. @DearOVS is fast paced, captivating, and in some ways much like the 24 hour news cycle. Both hold an immense power because they serve as a place where people build the foundations of understanding. In the same way the 24 hour News Cycle is slowly killing good journalism by asking journalists to fill airtime with attention grabbing material, @DearOVS has the potential to become a braindead megaphone simply by amplifying voices that undercut the good that the account can do. But importantly, @DearOVS can also be an agent of lasting change that works to make the OVS community better, it can be the stepping stone that our community uses to finally do away with the prejudices that have plagued us since our founding. To achieve this @DearOVS needs to focus on storytelling, because it is the stories the account shares that have the potential to shape our community’s future.
Storytelling is what can save us. Whether it is done right or wrong by @DearOVS time will tell, but I believe that there will always be those who bring good stories into the light. After I read The Braindead Megaphone I texted OVS journalism teacher Fred Alvarez, who told me, “I love what Saunders says about STORYTELLING. That’s what has fallen by the wayside, blasted nearly out of existence by the Braindead Megaphone and the need to feed the 24 hour news cycle. Storytelling takes time. It can’t be put online, aired, shared within a specified amount of time. It must unfold, develop and, in the end, go where the story directs it to go. There’s a whole army of reporters out there (not journalists, reporters!) still doing it well, still telling stories, still developing them and still able to keep the megaphone at arm’s length. Long may they run.”
Truly I don’t envy whoever sits behind the handle @DearOVS. They face criticism at every turn, weighty decisions flying by faster than they can be identified, and an obligation to do their very best to benefit their community. So, Dear anonymous editor, I hope you wield the immense power of storytelling with the deftest touch; your community depends on it.