chavisory:

mothermayhem:

commiekinkshamer: basically emotional manipulation and guilt tripping as social justice praxis is pointless and not sustainable imo. it doesn’t promote real growth or solidarity if the entire basis of your activism is stemming from guilt or fear it’s also worth pointing out that it turns “social justice” into something uncomfortably like religion. it establishes patterns of behavior that you’re expected to follow, not necessarily because you understand them or agree with them, but because you are afraid of the consequences if you don’t. it turns communities of “activists” into self-aggrandizing moralistic pissing contests, where the pecking order is defined by who knows more of the rules, and who is more willing to enforce them on others (usually, by any means necessary). it encourages ideological purity and discourages debate, discussion, education, and subsequent individual and community growth.

And not just religion (because honestly, a lot of religious communities do not function like this at all), but like some of the most insidious and damaging aspects of evangelical fundamentalism.



(I had always noticed, well before I could put my discomfort and disgust with the whole thing into words, that the people I knew who had some kind of experience with cult-like groups or evangelical fundamentalism were much more resistant to these dynamics in social justice than the people I knew who didn’t. Who I suspect largely just had no way to recognize what they were dealing with and resist it for what it was.)

