This was great -- thank you! A couple of my own pet peeves:
* Increasing empathy towards some groups (yay!) but failing to cultivate, or even diminishing it, towards others (including yourself)
* Defining someone's value, love-deservingness, and basic-human-dignity-deservingness based on an absolute moral scale (while claiming to believe that these are things all humans are entitled to)
* If someone doesn't share your values, it's because they're being intentionally hateful, ignorant, stupid, lazy, malicious -- couldn't possibly be because they just haven't had access to the same information as you have, or haven't had the resources to dedicate to dismantling/rebuilding their belief systems
* Assuming that there is one right answer to social issues and that we know it now (instead of hmm, our understanding of social issues has been evolving since humanity began, so maybe we don't have all the answers and future generations will continue to build on our generation's progress)
If you grew up on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, your journey towards anti-racist ideals is going to be longer and more difficult than if your parents are professors at a liberal arts college. So, is it really "just" to compare two people's moral virtue without the context of their backgrounds? AND, is it ever actually possible to fully understand someone's background as it informs their present, anyways? AND, does telling someone they're bad/stupid/ignorant/hateful actually motivate them to reevaluate their values? Who does morality-policing benefit, anyways?
!!!!!!! Absolutely all of this Casi!! Especially your point about access to the level of education that's expected in social justice spaces being a privilege, not only in terms of formal education but in terms of amount of time/mental capacity to keep up with the ever-changing 'rules' of these spaces and never fall behind.
Absolutely and totally with you .. as someone who has worked with marginalised communities for many years, you have to make that choice that you’re not infallible. I have got absolutely roasted on feminist groups for supporting transgender people ( I got called a ‘dickpandering handmaiden’ for refusing to say trans women were men. Marvellous . Even though I’ve run women’s groups for years. I got burned for asking why pussy hats were racist (who knew) too in a feminist craft group. Meh
If the people who are all online being holier than thou really supported the people they were allying, they’d realise that all people are flawed, we none of us know everything, and advocating is about doing rather than wittering on about doing. They tend come from a position of privilege which allows them to morally sit on their high ground. You though, Megan are amazing. Don’t let them get you down just continue to be you x
This is so well put! Thank you for sharing, even though/especially because it's scary and like treading on freaking eggshells. Your newsletter is literally one of the best things that lands in my inbox week in, week out so thank you Megan!! 💜
Judging from the comments, I think this resonates with a lot more people than you’d initially imagined. Including myself, btw. Especially cancel culture - there have been cases where someone was cancelled that I genuinely didn’t understand the reasoning for but I was/am just too scared to ask because I didn’t want to be next to receive public outrage… so many learning opportunities going to waste. This whole article really puts into words so well what I’ve been thinking about lately!
Incredible work. I started to see what was happening to me after listening to Trust Me the podcast. Highly recommend. I think it was the combination of COVID, isolation, intense pain and social media work. I’m sure they would love to have you on the podcast. Beautifully articulated 💚
Thank you so much for this! So insightful and wise and many things I have felt but have not had words for. The progressive world is scary with canceling anyone who does anything anywhere at any time and it’s exhausting! It’s a reason why I’ve become so much more quiet on social media because I’m afraid I’m not going to do social justice exactly right and there is little roam to grow and learn. You nailed it!!!
This was great -- thank you! A couple of my own pet peeves:
* Increasing empathy towards some groups (yay!) but failing to cultivate, or even diminishing it, towards others (including yourself)
* Defining someone's value, love-deservingness, and basic-human-dignity-deservingness based on an absolute moral scale (while claiming to believe that these are things all humans are entitled to)
* If someone doesn't share your values, it's because they're being intentionally hateful, ignorant, stupid, lazy, malicious -- couldn't possibly be because they just haven't had access to the same information as you have, or haven't had the resources to dedicate to dismantling/rebuilding their belief systems
* Assuming that there is one right answer to social issues and that we know it now (instead of hmm, our understanding of social issues has been evolving since humanity began, so maybe we don't have all the answers and future generations will continue to build on our generation's progress)
If you grew up on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, your journey towards anti-racist ideals is going to be longer and more difficult than if your parents are professors at a liberal arts college. So, is it really "just" to compare two people's moral virtue without the context of their backgrounds? AND, is it ever actually possible to fully understand someone's background as it informs their present, anyways? AND, does telling someone they're bad/stupid/ignorant/hateful actually motivate them to reevaluate their values? Who does morality-policing benefit, anyways?
!!!!!!! Absolutely all of this Casi!! Especially your point about access to the level of education that's expected in social justice spaces being a privilege, not only in terms of formal education but in terms of amount of time/mental capacity to keep up with the ever-changing 'rules' of these spaces and never fall behind.
Very very pleased to have you here 💜
Absolutely and totally with you .. as someone who has worked with marginalised communities for many years, you have to make that choice that you’re not infallible. I have got absolutely roasted on feminist groups for supporting transgender people ( I got called a ‘dickpandering handmaiden’ for refusing to say trans women were men. Marvellous . Even though I’ve run women’s groups for years. I got burned for asking why pussy hats were racist (who knew) too in a feminist craft group. Meh
If the people who are all online being holier than thou really supported the people they were allying, they’d realise that all people are flawed, we none of us know everything, and advocating is about doing rather than wittering on about doing. They tend come from a position of privilege which allows them to morally sit on their high ground. You though, Megan are amazing. Don’t let them get you down just continue to be you x
This is so well put! Thank you for sharing, even though/especially because it's scary and like treading on freaking eggshells. Your newsletter is literally one of the best things that lands in my inbox week in, week out so thank you Megan!! 💜
Thank you Beth!! Appreciate you being part of a supportive ground that isn't made of eggshells! 💜
Judging from the comments, I think this resonates with a lot more people than you’d initially imagined. Including myself, btw. Especially cancel culture - there have been cases where someone was cancelled that I genuinely didn’t understand the reasoning for but I was/am just too scared to ask because I didn’t want to be next to receive public outrage… so many learning opportunities going to waste. This whole article really puts into words so well what I’ve been thinking about lately!
This is one of the beautiful articles I’ve read in this subject, thank you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! 🙌
Incredible work. I started to see what was happening to me after listening to Trust Me the podcast. Highly recommend. I think it was the combination of COVID, isolation, intense pain and social media work. I’m sure they would love to have you on the podcast. Beautifully articulated 💚
This read was so validating. I’ve experienced this culture online and offline. I’ve struggled to find my voice to speak up out of fear. Thank you!
This is fantastically put. Thank you thank you!
This is amazing and needed to be said.
Bless you. Thanks for this
💜💜💜💜💜
Thank you so much for this! So insightful and wise and many things I have felt but have not had words for. The progressive world is scary with canceling anyone who does anything anywhere at any time and it’s exhausting! It’s a reason why I’ve become so much more quiet on social media because I’m afraid I’m not going to do social justice exactly right and there is little roam to grow and learn. You nailed it!!!
Thank you thank you thank you, 1000x thank you for unpacking this. ❤️
This is a wonderful analysis and shows the nuance perfectly. Thankyou for giving words to complex issues!
Wow, just wow