Paris after 9/11
Why is today, Saturday November 14th Worldwide Selfie Day? Because we need it. The whole world needs it. We need to show the terrorists that they can’t take away our smiles. We need to show them that we will not hide. We need to show the Parisians that the rest of the world is there for them the way they were for us after 9/11. This week we will mourn those that died and mourn the sense of safety and security that we had when we woke up yesterday, but we will not fear.
Yesterday I saw someone on Twitter blame “social media” for the Paris attacks because terrorists have used social media to recruit members. Social media is a tool, like a hammer. With a hammer you can pound enough nails in enough boards to build a church or a school, or you can use that same tool to bash someone in the head. Social media is a tool that is only as good or bad as it’s users. We need a Worldwide Selfie Day to show the positive power of social media to heal and connect people. When the people of France go to social media today, let them see the rest of the world looking back at them.
Taking a selfie is an empowering way to show your pride in yourself. I wrote this post four weeks ago speculating on what selfies say about us, ultimately concluding that a selfie isn’t a narcissistic way of getting attention, but a way to capture a moment in our lives and show pride in ourselves. You know what else is great about selfies in this day and age? Once you place it on the interwebs, it’s there forever, somewhere. You become a part of a documented history that your children, grandchildren and alien races can see.
But how do we make this a worldwide phenomena so that our feeds and timelines on Saturday November 14th are filled with the smiling faces of everyone we know? Sharing. Share this idea. Share it until it spreads the world over, until it reaches Paris and they know that you and I care about them. When Parisians go online today let them see us looking back at them.
You can hit the Facebook, Twitter or re-blog buttons below. You can write your own Facebook or blog post about what a selfie means to you and what the terror attacks in Paris mean to you, but whatever you do, share. That is the essence of the selfie and of being human. We’re sharing ourselves and a moment in time with the world.
I may not win People Magazines Sexiest Man Alive title, to be awarded in a few days time, but dammit, the sexiest person alive isn’t some airbrushed, hair dyed, primped upon diva, it’s you and me. It’s the human race. On Saturday November 14th, post a selfie so the whole world knows it too. The terrorists don’t get to win, we do. All of us together putting our faces out there while those that spread terror hide in the shadows. If you’re a blogger reading this, post your favorite selfie on your blog. If you’ve found this on Facebook, put your selfie on Facebook. Twitter? Yup, you know what to do. Instagram, you do pics there, so I know you’re good to go.
