Quiet Protests and Offline Libraries

So here’s the thing. I’m not really interested in making the world “better” in that super political way everyone talks about. You know, the whole vote-or-die, blue-or-red, post-a-pretty-poster-made-in-Canva-and-feel-good-about-it thing. That’s not me. That’s never been me.

But I do think we each have a lot more power than we’ve been led to believe.

We’re taught to “make a change” through huge, loud gestures. Join a strike. Donate to this or that. Post your stance. Share an infographic. But real change, at least to me, looks a lot quieter than that.

It looks like volunteering—not for clout, not for the likes, not to say you did something. Just because maybe the school next door needs new toilets or a better STEM cabinet. Maybe someone down the street could use help. That kind of thing. That’s real. That’s tangible. That’s not a trending hashtag or a five-minute Canva graphic.

And for me? My blog is my quiet protest.

Everyone was freaking out about Jimmy Kimmel and freedom of speech and whatever, but to me, that was the final push. I realized, this is the moment I need to make something real. Not for a movement. Not for the sake of taking sides. Just because I want to say things. I want a space that’s mine, where I don’t have to apologize for what I think or feel.

And you know what else is a quiet protest?

Pirating.

Yeah, I said it.

Instead of paying for Netflix or Spotify or whatever, just… make your own offline library. I’ve done the student Spotify thing before, so I get it, but honestly? It feels better now to just own what I want to listen to or watch.

I’m not saying you have to boycott Netflix just because of the actor strike or Jimmy Kimmel or Israel or Ukraine or whatever. You can still use it. Maybe you want to check out a show before you commit to pirating it. Fair enough. But the point is: Netflix isn’t your only option. There are free streaming sites. There’s The Pirate Bay. There’s a whole internet out there where you can access the exact same thing—without giving your money to companies that literally don’t care about you.

For me, that’s what boycott means. Not screaming on Twitter/X or making posts about how woke or unwoke someone is. Just… deciding something no longer serves me and walking away. Not because of some big issue. Just because I’m done. Because I want peace. Because I want my five bucks to go toward something that actually means something to me.

They always say “vote with your wallet,” right? Well, guess I am. My way.

And I get it—some people still donate, still believe in protests, still think posting about a cause makes a difference. But I don’t. Not anymore. I used to. In 2022, I was literally making lists of apps to replace Canva and Wattpad just because they were publicly supporting causes I didn’t agree with. Mahsa Amini’s case was my breaking point. Not because I cared, but because I couldn’t pretend to care anymore. It didn’t feel like me.

I felt like I was being forced to take sides I didn’t even believe in. So I stopped. I don’t want to perform. I don’t want to explain. I’d rather be “oblivious” if that’s what people think it is. Because honestly? Oblivious people seem like the happiest ones. They’re not constantly scrolling doom. They’re not trying to fix the world. They’re just… living.

And maybe that’s enough.