How'd You Say That?

Blithe Riley's insightful lecture was wednesday night in the Briggs Theater. I am so glad that I was able to thoroughly listen and examine the perspectives of her activism. The lecture did a lot for me as far as curiosity in the area of activism and what goes along with the intent to voice and reveal certain issues that many hide from the surface.
What was most interesting to me was the topic on social media and its roll in activism today. Before the lecture I was having an in depth conversation with friends on the way our generation chooses to voice their opinions.  Something interesting we discussed was the fact that people (and not only just "our generation") were finding the confidence in their awareness, but in turn losing the "act" in activism.  There seems to be a boost of individuals who find it easier to voice their views (sometimes completely uncensored and inappropriately) through multimedia situations as opposed to physically standing up among others despite their vulnerabilities. I wanted to share a viewpoint on this however it was difficult to get the attention back on this topic after a few other questions lead elsewhere. This is something I'd like to discuss in the classroom because it is something that impacts the way we live today. The use of alternative voice methods such as the usual Facebook and Twitter really bring up important issues on HOW we will stand up for what we feel is wrong or right, good or bad, etc.
The issue of alternative ways of activism leads to the questions, how many people stand up for issues ONLINE and how many people physically STAND UP where ever they may be? These are two basic questions that may never be statistically answered, but I think what I was aiming at during the discussion with my friends was that ultimately people are fearful of their physical presence on an issue.  It is easy to type out what you think through whatever means you feel necessary, but ask someone to possibly get arrested or be affiliated with a group that may become a too noticeable, seems too risky for many.
I understand the fear of risks, and I feel conflicted.  The fact is that our government can sometimes scare us (well, lets face it...) ultimately brings a restraint on our freedom of speech whether we have something profound to say or not. The fact is, people DO feel more comfortable speaking their minds through their keyboards and find too many risks in the physical involvement of activism.  There are too many things to lose and not enough to gain in a sense, even though there is ALL to gain and ALL to lose.