Her husband is already doing something—committing experts and military personnel to the situation and trying to get the Nigerian government to do more, as well. I’ve mentioned that several times and no one seems willing to acknowledge that there are material steps being taken.

Again, you miss my point about the goals of the hashtag campaign. Given our recent history with war, if the President is going to do more than he is already doing—that is, if he is going to make the sort of military response that some of the posters here seem to advocate, then he will need the support of the American people to do it. He’s already been excoriated by his detractors for being too unilateral in his actions.

Ignoring a problem and giving mental and emotional space to it are not the same thing. But you’re dodging the point I’m really making: if the #bringbackourgirls verbiage is useless at best, yours is harmful. It perpetuates a level of disdain and hostility that we do not need.

If you don’t like what others are doing, fine, Ignore them. Pat them on the heads for at least caring and do them one better. But to denigrate them for not doing more, when you can do no more yourself—who does that benefit? What does the hostility accomplish except to make yourselves feel—what—better? More powerful? More righteous?

Do you understand what I’m trying to say? If the hashtags only create a spirit of unity and nothing more, what does your mockery create that is better?

What constructive purpose does it serve?

Maya,

The picture below illustrates why I feel such scorn for the “hashtag offensive”.

At best, the hashtags are useless; no President has needed hashtag support to launch any military operation, ever. The First Lady doesn’t need hashtags to urge her husband to do something he is already willing to do and capable of. You mentioned that there are things we shouldn’t just yawn and turn over for, and I agree. However, tweeting a hashtag, yawning and turning over is materially no different than yawning and turning over.

I’m not really talking about words directed AT Boko Haram. They like our hatred; it makes them feel justified. I was referring to the hostility and negativity directed at Michelle Obama and other Americans showing solidarity with the Nigerian parents and offering their heartfelt prayers and wishes for the girls’ safety.

As I said, it may help the parents to feel they are not alone; it may help to galvanize the American “hive mind” around the possibility of an even larger military response that President Obama has already made by sending 80 specialized operatives in.

You’re missing my point about who your scorn hurts. Even if the hashtag campaign does nothing directly for the Nigerian girls, whatever good is served by deriding people trying to use social media for a good cause?

Social media campaigns have catalyzed all sorts of movements and have had real effects in the world. Maybe this one will do no more than turn thousands of eyes toward Nigeria and remind us that we are not alone on this little dust speck. But it was worth a try and even that small a result may have greater repercussions in the future. If it makes us feel more empathy for others, I’d say it was worthwhile.

My empathy for those parents and my retweeting of Michelle Obama’s tweet isn’t about ME. It’s not about feeling better about myself. I suspect few people are that desperate for props that this makes their day. It’s about US. It’s about wanting to remind people that our bonds of family go farther than we imagine and that bad things happen in the world in the face of which we should not just yawn and turn over.

Maybe she should have used #PleaseGuysBeNiceAndLetThoseGirlsGoPrettyPlease.

Maya,

I have to partially disagree with you. Words can hurt, but only if we’re susceptible already. You were susceptible to insults about your weight, glasses and clumsiness because you were self-conscious about them; you thought something was wrong with you, and it hurt when other kids reinforced what you already felt. The words being employed against Boko Haram are not words they’re susceptible to. Maybe if the message was #bokoharamarebadmuslims, it would have an effect. But BH doesn’t care what we think about them. Our feelings about their act is no different than someone making fun of you for, say, wearing blue jeans at the mall. You’re not self-conscious about wearing jeans at a mall, so that insult wouldn’t work. BH isn’t self-conscious about anything we think, so our words don’t affect them. And the girls definitely aren’t affected. So what actual, tangible difference does #bringbackourgirls make, other than helping some people, in America, who are doing nothing at all to help the girls, feel better about themselves?