After publishing my essay about my life as an anarchist a few weeks ago, I got a message from a stranger on Instagram that read: “I’m trying to decide if you’re secretly a centrist.” I told her that I had a whole pile of essays and podcast episodes where I openly shared my politics, but she told me she wouldn’t read anything of mine until she decided whether we were sufficiently politically aligned (which seemed a tad cart-before-the-horse to me).
For what it's worth, although I'm sure there are conservatives who draw a distinction between leftists and liberals, everyone I've personally encountered who's drawn such a distinction has been left of center, and most of them have been self-identified leftists criticizing liberals. These days, I mostly try to avoid the spaces where this kind of behavior is common, but I've still encountered it as recently as today.
I still identify as significantly more left-leaning than moderate, let alone conservative, but people who identify as leftists rather than liberals are not rare, and are not people I can easily operate as part of an effective coalition with.
This is largely why the right is rising like it is. They operate on the principle of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. My concern is, having been a part of the religious right years ago, that once the right establishes their power they WILL become puritanical again, and all the allies of convenience they made will end up in the cross hairs.
I tell this anecdote all the time but one time I was trying to explain how punitive leftist culture is to my non-political friends and one of them said “yea I’ve always steered clear of those spaces because it just seems like a circular firing squad.”
I recently read a piece on the history of intersectionality and how, when the pursuit of power for the disenfranchised becomes the ultimate goal, it can corrupt the movement entirely. Without a higher virtue—such as peace or freedom—guiding it, the focus on power distorts its purpose. Seeking allies turns into a zero-sum game, where everything is judged as either intersectional (good) or not (bad). This binary approach warps the moral fabric of society, elevating mere existence as a virtue while dismissing those who have made meaningful contributions simply because they belong to the “wrong” identity group.
I deeply long to ignite passion and inspiration within social justice movements, but it feels impossible when they are so entrenched in valuing the wrong things. This misguided focus only drives them further into nihilism and self-destruction, leaving them unable to achieve the meaningful change they claim to seek.
Not sure if it's like that everywhere, but I'm seeing this fear of having your worldview challenged in a lot of radical leftist groups. Like, it sometimes may be okay to listen to the other side's arguments (too much would be a waste of time of though), but don't you dare trying to do so in good faith.
Unorthodox thinking is seen as poison that can easily subdue all your noble convictions if you let it come inside. Which. sounds. insane. to me.
Do you believe that your philosophy is unable to stand a challenge? Or that your audience just isn't intelligent enough to tell right from wrong?
Leftist/SJW, while crying: "It's not my job to educate you!!!!"
Alt Right Guy: "Here, I have a dozen charts and studies on why $Thing is good actually, and here's a link to several long video essays on the subject".
I have been a proponent of a plant-based diet for on and off the last 15 or so years. Recently, I have been introducing real butter for the vitamin D and went to purchase it at a local farmers market.
I was chatting with the man who was ringing me up, and I mentioned being a mostly plant based person who was now… there was a slight pause just enough for him to interject- “do the right thing”
And then just instantly I knew. I also lost my appetite for the butter entirely.
I've clearly lost touch. I had no idea and concluded that the left has become scattered, rudderless, and increasingly irrelevant. Now, by reading your work, I realize it is I who lost focus and relevance. What I didn't know was that younger leftists had grown increasingly perfectionistic, judgmental, and paranoid; relentlessly purging those labeled substandard.
You know, Jerry, I've even noticed a lot of younger leftists—specifically of the social justice persuasion—are quite suspicious of and condescending toward activists of previous generations, because they don't always use the very latest vocabulary. It's a huge loss for everyone involved because there's so much to be learned in intergenerational organizing. But I don't blame any older folks who don't want to stick around and get scolded by activists in their early twenties!
I'm beginning to learn that about generational semantics. But as time passes I think individuals have a chance to develop a broader perspective. Plus, I'm a really nice guy. Just because someone becomes angry or impatient, or even cusses me, I try to stay patient. We need to be together to defeat the oligarchs and white supremacists. Our problems on the left have always been about leaders with too much ego and the strange effects movement groups exert on us as individuals.
Hi Lua! From what I can see, the right is more willing to put differences aside in order to win common goals (the election of Trump, for example) whereas people on the left are constantly accusing each other of not being Real Leftists. I'm sure this is an overgeneralization, but when people express wanting to get involved with the left, it's common to see people putting them down for not already having been involved, for having a perspective on any issue that does not fit neatly into their conception of the left, and accusing them of not being authentic in their interest. If we are serious about growing the left, behaving like this is shooting ourselves in the foot!
I was rewatching the 2004 Yes Men documentary, and I was struck at how jovial and fun their antics were. What happened to satire and social justice? Where are the modern Jonathan Swifts?
Once you see a movement turn on comedians and not allowing apolitical art or writing (everything must serve the central message at all times), that is the clear signal to jump ship before the purity centrifuge gets so intense that no one is spared.
Can the material left recover from the stench of these insane wokescolds? How long will it take to wash that stink off?
I hear you. To be honest, I had so much fear and doubt when I first wrote about leaving social justice in early 2022, but nothing since then has convinced me that I made the wrong choice. I don't know how long it'll take the left to recover but I take comfort knowing that a growing number of people seem to be working on it ;)
Remind me which party has been kicking out people for being insufficiently loyal? Which one talks about Rhino hunting? Liberals, on the other hand, have welcomed conservatives in with open arms.
I'm Canadian. Are you referring to American political parties? I've never heard of rhino hunting here. Glad you've experienced liberals as welcoming, but I'm discussing leftists in this piece, which is an important distinction.
Ah, the mythical leftists. That elusive creature that is both there and not there at the same time. A leftist is just a liberal, and conservatives only pretend that they are different in order to straw man. There are just as many radical liberals as radical conservatives and they both suck. The difference is who is in power and what they do with it. Democrats have successfully staved off the Bernie bros and welcomed moderate Republicans in while all across the US Republicans have been hard at work kicking out moderate Republicans. Just look at the number of censures among Republicans vs Democrats. If it's different in Canada, that's great. But I doubt it.
Cultural puratinism is certainly a thing all across the spectrum but I do find that the Overton window is smaller on the left.
I have two trans woman friends who after the Pulse nightclub massacre each founded groups to teach members of the LGBTQ+ community gun safety, self defense, advocacy, etc. They have both told me that they have been entirely ostracized by (almost) all progressive organizations and many people who claim to be inclusive of trans rights. In contrast, they have been more accepted by many right coded organisations, including the NRA at high levels, who have materially supported them in their organisations' goals. An interesting byproduct of their interacting with the gun rights community is that they have developed friendships with rightwingers who otherwise would have been very unlikely to have found common ground, or even met, openly trans people.
Many left coded groups would be more successful in having material impacts on the world if they would be willing to work with right coded groups on issues of common interest. For example, animal rights groups have accomplished practically nothing because they tend to be purists. However, many right leaning groups and individuals such as hunting organizations and Christian groups would support efforts to improve animals' conditions on factory farms. However, leftists typically won't work with carnivors or the religious to obtain partial steps towards their long term goals, even when such steps would make the lives of millions of animals better today. Sigh
"I’ve lost track of the number of times that a reader has told me they have a friend who would benefit greatly from reading my writing, but that they’re too nervous to send it because of the potential for backlash. I understand this—the younger me would have revelled in cancelling the current me—but it also haunts me, that the people who most need to think critically about social justice culture are the least likely to do so."
A couple years ago, an acquaintance of mine from undergrad was dealing with some accusations about being a Bad Person (I don't know what they were, they seemed kind of vague and weird), and I recommended Clementine Morrigan's work to them because for me, reading it had been soothing, healing, relatable. I had only been following Clementine for about a month then and I didn't know the full extend of how widely known or divisive they were.
Other commenters on her original post filled it up with "yikes. Problematic," weird nonsense accusations, and other canned responses. My acquaintance disavowed all interest in my recommendation, and that was the last time I ever offered support of that sort to someone outside my circle of close friends.
(Two weeks later I did notice that this acquaintance was quietly liking CM's Instagram posts, though.)
This really illuminates that until someone is ready to dip a toe out of line, they'll likely have a reactionary response, and it's very difficult to tell where someone is at until they're confronted in the way you describe. I've had people share and then immediately unshare my work on Instagram, and it makes me wonder if someone said something to them, or if they just panicked and decided they weren't ready. I'm supportive of people processing privately until they're prepared for potential backlash, but it is really nice when people unapologetically share "controversial" work that resonates with them!
For what it's worth, although I'm sure there are conservatives who draw a distinction between leftists and liberals, everyone I've personally encountered who's drawn such a distinction has been left of center, and most of them have been self-identified leftists criticizing liberals. These days, I mostly try to avoid the spaces where this kind of behavior is common, but I've still encountered it as recently as today.
I still identify as significantly more left-leaning than moderate, let alone conservative, but people who identify as leftists rather than liberals are not rare, and are not people I can easily operate as part of an effective coalition with.
This is largely why the right is rising like it is. They operate on the principle of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. My concern is, having been a part of the religious right years ago, that once the right establishes their power they WILL become puritanical again, and all the allies of convenience they made will end up in the cross hairs.
I tell this anecdote all the time but one time I was trying to explain how punitive leftist culture is to my non-political friends and one of them said “yea I’ve always steered clear of those spaces because it just seems like a circular firing squad.”
I think that’s the perfect metaphor
I recently read a piece on the history of intersectionality and how, when the pursuit of power for the disenfranchised becomes the ultimate goal, it can corrupt the movement entirely. Without a higher virtue—such as peace or freedom—guiding it, the focus on power distorts its purpose. Seeking allies turns into a zero-sum game, where everything is judged as either intersectional (good) or not (bad). This binary approach warps the moral fabric of society, elevating mere existence as a virtue while dismissing those who have made meaningful contributions simply because they belong to the “wrong” identity group.
I deeply long to ignite passion and inspiration within social justice movements, but it feels impossible when they are so entrenched in valuing the wrong things. This misguided focus only drives them further into nihilism and self-destruction, leaving them unable to achieve the meaningful change they claim to seek.
Not sure if it's like that everywhere, but I'm seeing this fear of having your worldview challenged in a lot of radical leftist groups. Like, it sometimes may be okay to listen to the other side's arguments (too much would be a waste of time of though), but don't you dare trying to do so in good faith.
Unorthodox thinking is seen as poison that can easily subdue all your noble convictions if you let it come inside. Which. sounds. insane. to me.
Do you believe that your philosophy is unable to stand a challenge? Or that your audience just isn't intelligent enough to tell right from wrong?
There is a meme that goes like this:
Leftist/SJW, while crying: "It's not my job to educate you!!!!"
Alt Right Guy: "Here, I have a dozen charts and studies on why $Thing is good actually, and here's a link to several long video essays on the subject".
Now extrapolate this tendency.
moderate the middle
https://christspiracy.com
Omg. Can’t wait to read this.
I have been a proponent of a plant-based diet for on and off the last 15 or so years. Recently, I have been introducing real butter for the vitamin D and went to purchase it at a local farmers market.
I was chatting with the man who was ringing me up, and I mentioned being a mostly plant based person who was now… there was a slight pause just enough for him to interject- “do the right thing”
And then just instantly I knew. I also lost my appetite for the butter entirely.
I've clearly lost touch. I had no idea and concluded that the left has become scattered, rudderless, and increasingly irrelevant. Now, by reading your work, I realize it is I who lost focus and relevance. What I didn't know was that younger leftists had grown increasingly perfectionistic, judgmental, and paranoid; relentlessly purging those labeled substandard.
You know, Jerry, I've even noticed a lot of younger leftists—specifically of the social justice persuasion—are quite suspicious of and condescending toward activists of previous generations, because they don't always use the very latest vocabulary. It's a huge loss for everyone involved because there's so much to be learned in intergenerational organizing. But I don't blame any older folks who don't want to stick around and get scolded by activists in their early twenties!
I'm beginning to learn that about generational semantics. But as time passes I think individuals have a chance to develop a broader perspective. Plus, I'm a really nice guy. Just because someone becomes angry or impatient, or even cusses me, I try to stay patient. We need to be together to defeat the oligarchs and white supremacists. Our problems on the left have always been about leaders with too much ego and the strange effects movement groups exert on us as individuals.
Can you speak more to your thinking and feeling on the title of this post?
Hi Lua! From what I can see, the right is more willing to put differences aside in order to win common goals (the election of Trump, for example) whereas people on the left are constantly accusing each other of not being Real Leftists. I'm sure this is an overgeneralization, but when people express wanting to get involved with the left, it's common to see people putting them down for not already having been involved, for having a perspective on any issue that does not fit neatly into their conception of the left, and accusing them of not being authentic in their interest. If we are serious about growing the left, behaving like this is shooting ourselves in the foot!
I was rewatching the 2004 Yes Men documentary, and I was struck at how jovial and fun their antics were. What happened to satire and social justice? Where are the modern Jonathan Swifts?
Excellent question—I participated in a Billionaires action back around 2012 and it was a blast!
Once you see a movement turn on comedians and not allowing apolitical art or writing (everything must serve the central message at all times), that is the clear signal to jump ship before the purity centrifuge gets so intense that no one is spared.
Can the material left recover from the stench of these insane wokescolds? How long will it take to wash that stink off?
I hear you. To be honest, I had so much fear and doubt when I first wrote about leaving social justice in early 2022, but nothing since then has convinced me that I made the wrong choice. I don't know how long it'll take the left to recover but I take comfort knowing that a growing number of people seem to be working on it ;)
Remind me which party has been kicking out people for being insufficiently loyal? Which one talks about Rhino hunting? Liberals, on the other hand, have welcomed conservatives in with open arms.
I'm Canadian. Are you referring to American political parties? I've never heard of rhino hunting here. Glad you've experienced liberals as welcoming, but I'm discussing leftists in this piece, which is an important distinction.
Ah, the mythical leftists. That elusive creature that is both there and not there at the same time. A leftist is just a liberal, and conservatives only pretend that they are different in order to straw man. There are just as many radical liberals as radical conservatives and they both suck. The difference is who is in power and what they do with it. Democrats have successfully staved off the Bernie bros and welcomed moderate Republicans in while all across the US Republicans have been hard at work kicking out moderate Republicans. Just look at the number of censures among Republicans vs Democrats. If it's different in Canada, that's great. But I doubt it.
Cultural puratinism is certainly a thing all across the spectrum but I do find that the Overton window is smaller on the left.
I have two trans woman friends who after the Pulse nightclub massacre each founded groups to teach members of the LGBTQ+ community gun safety, self defense, advocacy, etc. They have both told me that they have been entirely ostracized by (almost) all progressive organizations and many people who claim to be inclusive of trans rights. In contrast, they have been more accepted by many right coded organisations, including the NRA at high levels, who have materially supported them in their organisations' goals. An interesting byproduct of their interacting with the gun rights community is that they have developed friendships with rightwingers who otherwise would have been very unlikely to have found common ground, or even met, openly trans people.
Many left coded groups would be more successful in having material impacts on the world if they would be willing to work with right coded groups on issues of common interest. For example, animal rights groups have accomplished practically nothing because they tend to be purists. However, many right leaning groups and individuals such as hunting organizations and Christian groups would support efforts to improve animals' conditions on factory farms. However, leftists typically won't work with carnivors or the religious to obtain partial steps towards their long term goals, even when such steps would make the lives of millions of animals better today. Sigh
Very insightful—thanks for sharing!
If only one wing flaps around in circles we go...
"I’ve lost track of the number of times that a reader has told me they have a friend who would benefit greatly from reading my writing, but that they’re too nervous to send it because of the potential for backlash. I understand this—the younger me would have revelled in cancelling the current me—but it also haunts me, that the people who most need to think critically about social justice culture are the least likely to do so."
A couple years ago, an acquaintance of mine from undergrad was dealing with some accusations about being a Bad Person (I don't know what they were, they seemed kind of vague and weird), and I recommended Clementine Morrigan's work to them because for me, reading it had been soothing, healing, relatable. I had only been following Clementine for about a month then and I didn't know the full extend of how widely known or divisive they were.
Other commenters on her original post filled it up with "yikes. Problematic," weird nonsense accusations, and other canned responses. My acquaintance disavowed all interest in my recommendation, and that was the last time I ever offered support of that sort to someone outside my circle of close friends.
(Two weeks later I did notice that this acquaintance was quietly liking CM's Instagram posts, though.)
This really illuminates that until someone is ready to dip a toe out of line, they'll likely have a reactionary response, and it's very difficult to tell where someone is at until they're confronted in the way you describe. I've had people share and then immediately unshare my work on Instagram, and it makes me wonder if someone said something to them, or if they just panicked and decided they weren't ready. I'm supportive of people processing privately until they're prepared for potential backlash, but it is really nice when people unapologetically share "controversial" work that resonates with them!