I loved how you phrased that. I actually think that’s the perfect metaphor. And to be fair I do think the frustration is warranted; for me, my perspectives are I guess coming from a place of feeling really fed up with a lot of social justice narratives this year especially — obviously not core issues of racial justice/gender justice/etc etc but of how more tactically these are being expressed. Like the underlying pain is very real and extant like a scab that’s constantly being reopened, but how the “movement” has started operating has been really upsetting me. I think as it’s become more mainstream and influential (to the degree that now even shitty neoliberal pubs like CNN will parrot the prominent rhetoric that circulated among these circles), it’s taken on a greater responsibility where I think it warrants more accountability. That doesn’t mean individuals who are feeling triggered don’t deserve to be listened to as they vent from raw pain, but I think it does mean that thought leaders and “allies” especially who are writing articles and tweeting or posting to large audiences about this kind of stuff should probably understand the broader implications of what they’re bemoaning or advocating for. And I don’t think that responsibility should fall on only a few peoples shoulders, but that’s why I’m trying to provide another take.

I am certain there are many who would disagree with my approach but this past year especially I’ve felt really strongly that the only way to scale and apply the aspects of social justice that are so imperative is to be holistic and as rational as possible, while still honoring and being compassionate to people who are experiencing various forms of marginalization. To me that means taking into consideration the things that do seem reactionary coming from the Left (but which are often presented as facts and sacrilegious to disagree with) and to think about them in a bigger picture way that has empathy for the outrage but also ideally a more practical/reasonable approach. I don’t know if that’s right for anyone else but it feels like what I’m called to in this moment.

Anyways thanks again for your perspective, I really loved that metaphor you said and I will try to keep that in mind when I’m digesting info because I think I’m guilty of holding leftists/activists to a higher standard since it’s my community, but that’s not always fair.