|
Post by TheAvengerButton on Nov 9, 2016 23:04:19 GMT
This is indeed going to be extremely controversial, and long winded and all over the placd, but it has been sitting on my mind for an very long time and I have to get it out of my system.
For the past four or so years I've watched as the Obama administration helped bring progressive ideas and culture to the closest it's ever gotten to mainstream. The issues that black people, Hispanics, women, and the LGBT community face almost on a daily basis were finally being talked about on television and on the internet and in every day conversation, and that was unprecedented in recent memory, and also a very good thing.
I firmly believe that history is written by the constant evolution of society, and that evolution can't happen without new ideas to challenge us as a culture and species, and so American society was ripe for the challenge of finally solving a lot of the issues that laid dormant for decades.
Then something happened. A whole new language was popping up and a whole new way of thinking. That is the natural course of an evolving society. New generations are given a clean slate to look past present day society's prejudices and help build toward a better future...but instead of becoming stewards to development and helping guide society forward, the exact opposite happened.
It's easy to blame the other side of things for halting progress. We saw the Republicans lock up the government at least twice during the Obama administration, so it's not much of a stretch to imagine that the reason our society fell back on outdated ideals is that Republicans are able to successfully drag this country through the mud over and over again, but I've recently come to decide that the blame must be shared by those who made these last four years a battleground.
It took me a while to catch onto what people were talking about when they'd mention systemic racism, or the wage gap. These were new ideas to me that weren't being properly explained, because the people who championed those ideals didn't have the patience to guide me towards what I now believe is the truth.
Instead I've watched as progressives have bullied other Americans by throwing around freely labels like, "racist" and "homophobe" to people who, like me, were never given the proper due and taught what exactly these ideals were.
But, as I now had the knowledge that I before was missing, I could help steer conversations toward those ideals in a way that could benefit the listener to really understanding what I was talking about, so I tried to be a helpful little Button whenever I could.
I noticed it all start around the Trayvon Martin case. That's when I began learning about "systemic racism" and what that meant, and it really took me a while to catch on and the reason for that was that I could not have decent understanding discussions with people on (what was then) the other side of the conversation. Then GamerGate happened and the Ferguson riots and the Chik-Fil-A controversy. By that point I was in the know with progressive lingo--and I was always sympathetic to the plight of other human beings regardless of their sex or skin tone due to my own societal marginalization. I didn't have trouble accepting that our culture was bent towards certain groups of people over others, but the conduct of the progressive element online, in the news, and in my own family still bothered me.
Then, Trump announced his candidacy and very quickly garnered an almost-religious fervor. I couldn't believe the amount of backward thinking people that still existed. But then I began to pay attention to certain things. These people were angry. A lot of them are probably just average Americans trying to live their lives without much trouble.
I now think I understand that the introducing of progressive ideas into mainstream society had two consequences:
1. These ideas could be discussed freely without the fear of reprisal.
and 2. The introduction of these ideas has created a language barrier in our society, and because progressives were ill-fit to be stewards to lead society towards total acceptance of those ideas, they left many MANY Americans behind.
Those Americans are tired of the confusion and tired of being called backward and racist and homophobic when maybe they were just average people trying to figure out what this evolution means.
I've come to the conclusion that Progressive thinkers, of which I consider myself a part--failed to fight for our ideas by becoming narrow-minded and not accepting different points of view, not being able to have a dialogue with people without defining the rules of discussion instead of coming to an ideological compromise. We treated our newfound freedom to explore as a mandate to protect the gains we made instead of stepping back from the political field and patiently molding belief structures to lay a foundation for a future society. We tool qour anger and frustration at the injustices we perceived on a daily basis and used it unconstructively to attack those who didnt understand and put them down and we lost a large amount of white potential voters to our hubris.
This culture war and the insistence to control the dialogue made the people who supported Trump. It helped sway those who were disillusioned with the Party Line on a social and political level.
We have to accept this and learn from it so that when the time comes for society to once again move forward we are more careful with the truth. We don't force it down people's throats, we gently guide people towards the truth.
We don't control the dialogue and speak our own language, we talk to others in terms they can understand, and we don't leave anyone behind, but take as long as it takes to help them understand.
I'm just so tired. I'm tired of seeing great ideas lost in ugliness, and I'm tired of people not owning up to it. I believe that we should re-tip the balance of society to make it a better place for people of all races, religions and cultures, but I am ashamed that being on the right side of things can make people so awful and smug.
|
|
Jinn
Member
Posts: 73
Original Join Date: April 4th, 1984
|
Post by Jinn on Nov 10, 2016 11:36:04 GMT
I probably will mostly have a different perspective on these things, considering that I'm not from North America or the UK.
I'm all for progressiveness, but not at the point where it becomes regressive (or fascist). I'm not sure if this fits in the context of what you were putting forward. Maybe we're on two different pages but similar content here and there? For example, I think the 'fight' for safe spaces on university campuses is really counter-productive. Apart from producing echo-chambers, it promotes an unprecedented level of 'thin skinned-ness' for potential pioneers and future leaders.
As Selena once scribed - "Anything that is not challenged, grows weak"
Its become a life principle yo'
|
|
|
Post by TheAvengerButton on Nov 10, 2016 17:46:46 GMT
I definitely think America has regressed, but not just on account of how strong bigoted fervor is, and nativism is definitely a force that is creeping back into society. I think progressives squandered their chance to lead society towards true change by having an attitude that was just as intolerable as the people they railed against. That's about the best summation of my thoughts above that I can give.
I think it was regressive to not be open to different viewpoints. I think it was regressive that if you didn't accept the party line you would be labelled a racist and a homophobe when really you were just confused. That doesn't make you backward. I think it was regressive to be so aggressive. Looking back it seemed like it was like trying to force something to happen that just wasn't going to happen.
I don't think the culture war battleground should be fought in the political arena. It's far too rhetoric-driven to really make that much of a difference, and as we've just witnessed, victories from either side just further entrench the other and divide us all. No, the battle is instead waged in our individual conversations and our willingness to listen to others no matter their economic class or skin color. People who want positive upward change should be ambassadors to the ideas that will make that change happen, and should not abuse the power we are given to force that ideology.
|
|
Selena
Admin
Odinsdottir
Posts: 318
Original Join Date: February 13, 2003
|
Post by Selena on Nov 12, 2016 20:37:55 GMT
I somewhat agree. I also partially think this is one of the reasons Trump ultimately got elected -- in a roundabout sort of way.
I'd like to think I've been culturally sensitive and open-minded for the better part of my life. I'm "woke," as the modern lingo goes. Most of the time, when people aren't open, it's just because they've never been around other cultural/ethnic groups before. Most of our "mixing pot" is in the big cities. The people who live out in the rural states might never personally get to know someone from a discriminated group. And when you're in an all-white town, there's a lot of awful "humor" that is tolerated simply because they never have to worry about actually offending someone.
Also not helping -- art almost exclusively exists in the cities. There's almost no cultural exposure in the rural parts of America, simply because art isn't made readily available out there. That's not the fault of country folk. That's the fault of people who don't bother trying to make art accessible. The more art you have, the more open your mind becomes.
A lot of the people who are involved in online activism / the "wokeness movement" / "social justice" are combative, hostile, and obnoxious. There is a zero tolerance policy for even the slightest things. Celebrities are blacklisted, people are harassed, avenues of conversation are closed -- because, heaven forbid, someone made a misstep.
Because the core problems are:
1) Activists want people to "get woke." Fair enough. 2) They harass and demean everyone who isn't. 3) They say "It's not my job to educate you; go educate yourself." 4) The other person has no idea where to start researching. 5) Because there's a ton of conflicting information out there. 6) Someone put on the defensive will not be open to new ideas. Period.
I have never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never ever changed someone's mind by yelling at them.
I have changed people's minds by calmly, rationally, slowly explaining things. Even if I'm personally furious or want to scream at them. Because activism and politics require strategy. It is frustrating and vexing and I understand why people don't like to do it. But in the entire time I've talked about social issues, it is the only strategy that actually works. It's worth being frustrated and upset if a mind is eventually opened.
With the zero tolerance policy, with all the aggression, people are now openly hostile to social justice movements. It's become fun for people to shit on social activism. It's not just due to increased cultural change. It's also due to this. I've found it increasingly difficult to rationalize with closed minds, because they immediately go on the defensive now.
And that's the thing. The majority group does not feel obligated to give a single shit about an oppressed person's life. Because they hold all the power. An oppressed group's feelings do not matter to them, provided they aren't personally impacted. And in an unwelcoming environment, they will continue to not give a shit -- if not outright push back.
One of the most helpful things I picked up years ago was that people don't care about your emotions (unless you're personally acquainted with them in some way). That sounds awful. But it also draws up clear battle lines -- it gives you a framework to base your activism off of. You can't expect people to suddenly care just because you or I feel bad.
You have to get them to invest their feelings. In whatever way possible.
And yeah. "We have tried calm resistance before." ....But that doesn't somehow mean open, borderline violent dissent or aggressive yelling will work. So far, it hasn't. If anything, it feels like it's gotten worse. You will be yelled at. You may be harassed. You may do everything right as far as civility goes and still be met with hostility. That's how it always is on the upward climb. I'm white, so I know I have an easier go of things, but so far the big rallies and protests haven't done much to sway public opinion.
|
|
Egann
Member
Posts: 124
Original Join Date: Sometime in 2008
|
Post by Egann on Nov 12, 2016 23:05:12 GMT
Trump's election was a vote of no-confidence in the DNC and to a less extent the mainstream media. Don't overthink it. The real problem I have with modern social justice is that Watterson inured me to this decades ago. A culture of victimhood does not a victim make; at the end of the day you have to live your own life, and "I'm a victim of the white male patriarchy" isn't a life, it's an excuse to do nothing except sit there with your hand out. I'm white. I'm male. Heck, I graduated from university Magna Cum Laude. None of that guaranteed me a cushy white collar job with benefits; I fry fish for a living at Captain D's for a pittance above minimum wage. I don't mean to dismiss legitimate discrimination cases; I know they exist, but social justice complaints leave people jaded to them. Your own hands are the only things which can make your future. If you do nothing but complain about how the white male patriarchy is ruining your present, you will build yourself no future.
|
|
Selena
Admin
Odinsdottir
Posts: 318
Original Join Date: February 13, 2003
|
Post by Selena on Nov 12, 2016 23:11:54 GMT
My position is based on the actual statements often made by the Trump supporters I personally know. Hating "sissy, whiny SJW libtards" is right up there with hating "Obummer." They equate all of it with the left. Your Trump supporter friends may vary.
|
|
Egann
Member
Posts: 124
Original Join Date: Sometime in 2008
|
Post by Egann on Nov 13, 2016 0:05:26 GMT
^ If so, fair enough. I can't speak from experience everywhere and low information voters are all over the place.
The people I know mostly voted for him out of hatred of mainstream media. There are a lot of anecdotes of more mainstream media outlets not covering or barely covering conservative issues, but many just felt betrayed when they got the "due to Obamacare your healthcare plan has been cancelled" letter when most news outlets took Obama's word at face value at the time. It's only if you do digging do you find out that places like FactCheck.org called this out all along...and no one reported it. Anti-mainstream media sentiment has been steeping around here for a long time.
Then along came Trump, whose campaign is best described as negative attention-whoring. The man fed his campaign off the hate and fear the mainstream doted on him in spades. I think if asked to explain why they voted for Trump, most people would say something nice and plausible about jobs. Possibly something not-nice about the border. Very few would say the real reason--assuming they even understand it--he's a Chinese finger-puzzle the mainstream media couldn't figure out, so voting for him was a vote for revenge.
|
|
wisp
Admin
Posts: 203
Original Join Date: February 18, 2004
|
Post by wisp on Nov 13, 2016 0:24:50 GMT
I... feel similarly to Lena and Button. It gives me a lot of anxiety to engage in debates because it seems like things so often turn sour on both sides, but I've actually been coming closer and closer to speaking up about this issue over the past year or two. I'm afraid to speak up when I disagree with friends in the social justice movement because I'm afraid the conversation will blow up with accusations about my privilege and my concerns will be dismissed as "-istic" and "-phobic," and that people will think I'm whitesplaining when I'm just trying to share my opinion, and I'm afraid to speak up with conservative friends about important issues like racism and transphobia because I'm almost sure to be dismissed as a "libtard" or "SJW" or "PC Police." Part of that fear comes from having depression, generalized anxiety, and social phobia disorders, all somewhat refractory to treatment (particularly with all the shit that's happened to me over the past 5 years). But there's also a great deal of unnecessary hostility on both sides, both of which have basically become hiveminds, so my fears aren't entirely unfounded or irrational.
I'm so overwhelmed by the amount of internal debate I'm having on this topic in my OWN mind that trying to pick out the most relevant thoughts and put them in the right order is like trying to whittle the contents of a whole textbook down into half a chapter. So bear with me if I seem to be contradicting myself at any point in the discussion, because my opinion is evolving.
|
|
|
Post by TheAvengerButton on Nov 13, 2016 15:25:25 GMT
By all means, wisp, if there is more on your brain feel free to say it when you get a chance. I'm glad that it seems I'm not the only one who feels this way. I also want to say that it wasn't my intent to try to demonize concepts like social justice or progressive-ness.
Starting this has made me brave enough to try to talk about it elsewhere with other people on other forums, and so far that's kind of been a mistake. At least, I think it was kind of too early to begin talking about it. Emotions are high from Election day results, still. I don't know if they will ever stop being angry.
Selena, you make a good point about emotional output. Even though being a decent human being would seem the logical thing to be, to change someone's mind you must first change their heart. I don't think the average person makes any decision based on any reason that isn't heavily influenced by what they feel. And if you make a person feel like a piece of shit, that's not going to convince them that you're right about whatever it is you're trying to convince them you're right about.
And hey, wisp. What you said about the struggle to speak to people on both sides, I know how that feels--maybe not the part about the anxiety. I've struggled with anxiety before, but it has never been prevalent enough to disrupt my life in any meaningful way, so I'm sorry to hear that you've had to deal with that. Mostly I struggle with severe paranoia--but I digress. I definitely think its hard enough on its own to try to speak to or even moderate conversations with people on both sides about whatever.
|
|
Wolf O'Donnell
Member
I am alive!
Posts: 36
Original Join Date: 14 Sep 2004
|
Post by Wolf O'Donnell on Nov 13, 2016 19:57:51 GMT
The internet does seem to have a polarising effect on people that helps reinforce this sort of behaviour. Heck, if it weren't for these very Contro forums (or rather, the ones on the old boards) I might have ended up in that so-called SJW camp. I once spent so much researching arguments for a rebuttal, I suddenly realised I was wasting my time. I wanted to do something else at the time and suddenly found I no longer had time to do that. And for what? As the below quote says, I wasn't going to change any minds. Even though being a decent human being would seem the logical thing to be, to change someone's mind you must first change their heart. I don't think the average person makes any decision based on any reason that isn't heavily influenced by what they feel. So I don't get too invested. You just end up soaking way too much time for little value and the conversation goes down the drain, anyway. Sometimes, I wonder, does the internet reinforce this behaviour? On the internet, you don't have to listen to the other side. In fact, it's easier to ignore the other side on the internet.
|
|
Delphi
Member
Posts: 38
Original Join Date: February 18th 2002
|
Post by Delphi on Nov 14, 2016 19:36:46 GMT
This is something I've really struggled with as my opinions have changed radically in the last ten or so years. A lot of it thanks to my sister while she was taking sociology classes from a Nepalese woman who had a unique perspective being pretty much the only Nepalese woman in 100 miles or more. She learned a lot and we talked a lot so I learned a lot. My sister and I know how to talk to each other though.
I want to learn more but along with social anxiety like wisp I'm also autistic so I really, REALLY don't pick up on some important "wtf is wrong with you?" body language unless I'm actively looking and processing their body language and expressions. Which is really exhausting and why I've been less likely to venture out socially as I get older. I just don't have the energy.
Unless someone has come in specifically to he a jackass troll I do try to approach it like this is the first time they may have heard this and tell them to let me know what they already know. I guess I've had practice being a somewhat wishy washy advocate for mental illness awareness. I'd do more but honestly I'm scared I'll get denied jobs and rumours of me being dangerous will start. Which is what I want to try to prevent but I don't want to starve and it's this awful catch 22. People won't treat the mentally ill better unless we speak up. But when we speak up we are considered dangerous. So I try to speak about "people I know" but that nebulous concept doesn't stick.
I'm lucky, I suppose, because I can "pass" for what mainstream white Americans consider normal. But other minorities can't.
So I'm trying to be a patient educator and keep the mantra don't attribute to malice what can be explained by ignorance in my mind as I try to shift attitudes in my head until it's proven otherwise.
But I'm also in a situation where I can gently educate because my live and livelihood aren't on the line so that's also a place of privileged and I don't want to feel like I'm stepping on anyone's toes coming in like mighty whitey to save the day.
So basically a long post to say I dont know what the fuck to do either.
|
|
JRPomazon
Member
Posts: 162
Original Join Date: 14 Jul 2003
|
Post by JRPomazon on Nov 15, 2016 5:33:31 GMT
I agree a lot with what you're talking about Button. I've known more than my share of people who share a very strong liberal belief that is very much in line with SJWs and the like. I always try my best to let them do what they do and not start picking fights because I'd be straight lambasted as some sort of bigot if I did. Honestly, some folks who subscribe to this manner of thinking are no better than the kinds of trolls you'd find on 4chan. I want to quote Jinn on what he posted earlier: I'm all for progressiveness, but not at the point where it becomes regressive (or fascist). I'm not sure if this fits in the context of what you were putting forward. Maybe we're on two different pages but similar content here and there? For example, I think the 'fight' for safe spaces on university campuses is really counter-productive. Apart from producing echo-chambers, it promotes an unprecedented level of 'thin skinned-ness' for potential pioneers and future leaders. The term "thin skinned-ness" really nailed this statement for me, especially in what I've seen in recent days. I made a political status update on facebook (mistake number 1) that was called out on by someone I knew back in college. I urged people to recognize that if things were about to get even a fraction as bad as they were feared to become, that the things they wish to preserve and hold dear must be fought for. And I should say that I truly believe this statement. However, my college acquaintance took the time to scoff at me, telling me to repeat my rhetoric to people who were killed for fighting. I tried to engage the comment with some level of peaceful discourse and was unfriended by this person. No response, no discussion, just another influence removed from the echo chamber. Perhaps I wasn't being sensitive enough or maybe I was just presenting myself as a target for this person to let off some steam, I don't know. But the thing is that no one discusses these things anymore. No one takes the time to get to know someone or learn about another person's perspective. There are people who will literally write you off the face of the planet if they learn that you don't prescribe to the same beliefs they do and this is something that can be said about both sides but I find it more and more prevalent in this day in age in people who claim to be progressive. And if you even try to open your head to new ideas, it feels more like people pouring in their own agendas and views than it does a melding of the minds or a sharing of experiences. I feel I could keep going on this subject for a while so I'll stop myself now. The long and the short of it is that, oddly enough, people don't like being told they are wrong and these criticisms being reinforced constantly when there is no part done to explain their view point. It's hard to issue or offer respect when no one offers it in return.
|
|
wisp
Admin
Posts: 203
Original Join Date: February 18, 2004
|
Post by wisp on Nov 15, 2016 6:47:12 GMT
I'm probably considered to be an SJW. I fit into several marginalized groups, and it sucks. So I try my best to be politically correct and respect how other people want to be identified and interacted with, and I hope that other people will do the same. I think there's a serious problem with casual, institutionalized, and generally unacknowledged bigotry of all kinds in the US right now, and I try to participate in intersectionality and working together to achieve our civil rights goals. I acknowledge that "Black Lives Matter" doesn't mean others don't. I think that a valuable discussion could be had about the idea of microaggressions. I believe marginalized people have every right to be angry about their situation. I believe in the importance of safe spaces. But that's where the conversation usually stops, either because my conservative friends have already stopped listening or because I'm too afraid to tell my liberal friends the rest of the sentence. Like that I think we need to take a serious look at how we define and categorize our safe spaces, and that I do think that inside our liberal echo chamber, our definition of safe spaces and our very well-justified anger are evolving into something that actually stifles discussion and intersectionality, to our detriment. And that I believe tone and manner ARE important, at least when you're having a personal conversation with someone. And that in most cases (MOST, not all) I don't think it's right to get people fired from their jobs for comments they made in their off time. But I'm generally afraid to say all that, because dissenting opinions aren't well received even from people who are more marginalized than I am, so with my relative privilege (white, "passing," cisgender) I'm likely to be told my opinion is unwelcome. I've gotten so exhausted from trying to have disagreements without offending anybody that I've stopped voicing my disagreement altogether. And often, the worst offenders in this way are well-meaning allies who in their attempts to be intersectional have been overzealous in their approach. Like this "able-bodied blogger": I can't imagine how this approach will ever convince our friends and family to stop calling us SJWs and actually listen. Edit: So while I was spending way too much time writing that, I'd gotten off on a tangent about safe spaces, but then I decided to save that for later, but since you brought it back up... I think we absolutely need spaces where we can retreat and be in a bubble for a while and take a rest and vent without fear of being judged for it. Clubs, support groups, meetups, therapy sessions, adult kindergarten, whatever. We need to create areas where we can go and be in our safe bubbles for a while and let it all out and validate each other's concerns and recharge our batteries so we can go back out into the world and do what we gotta do. And I think that of course, we need our universities and schools to remain civil and free of hate speech and harassment. But the whole university shouldn't have to be that kind of heavily moderated "safe space" where you're kicked out of the room if you say the wrong thing. In a learning environment, people need to be free to grow, take in new information, consider opposing views, and learn to think critically. We worry so much about making sure our spaces are safe and we don't feel "challenged" or uncomfortable, to the point where in some groups we now put trigger warnings on virtually ANY post that even mentions the mere concept of depression, negative self image, assault, or anything of that nature. I believe in the use of trigger warnings for really graphic descriptions or images of these things, but over the past few years I've seen an increasing number of "TW" posts where the content was no more graphic or disturbing than the words of the actual trigger warning (for example, a post entitled "TW: negative body image" that basically says, "I don't like the way I look sometimes. But I hope I'll eventually love my body even though I feel really bad about it right now"). And I have slapped TWs on posts of my own before even when I didn't believe they were warranted, because I've seen how Twitter or Tumblr can blow up over that kind of thing, and since I live in a progressive bubble it just became, in my mind, a thing I was now supposed to do in order to be viewed as a decent person. I don't think it used to be like this?
|
|
|
Post by TheAvengerButton on Nov 16, 2016 1:27:38 GMT
No, it really didn't. Maybe it's because I have the emotional capacity of a tree, but watching people cry during the Trump winning announcements was something new to me. I don't recall this ever happening to this extent before Election 2016, but I also may be out of the loop. I mean, yeah. Trump won. That's pretty upsetting. I wasn't a fan of Hillary either, but Trump seems to be the winner of the bad choice award. I don't doubt those emotions are authentic and if people feel like they are in danger then they have my sympathy and support.
It just seems like we are becoming rhetoric spouting caricatures (and to this I'm referring to people on both sides).
BTW regarding the ableism talk: I don't think anyone knows what to do with the disabled community. The Left doesn't like the many voices of disabled people who are pro-life and the Right doesn't like how disabled people readily accept government healthcare. I see people with disabilities ignored.
|
|
Selena
Admin
Odinsdottir
Posts: 318
Original Join Date: February 13, 2003
|
Post by Selena on Nov 16, 2016 1:53:32 GMT
The people I know who got teary-eyed were:
* People within discriminated / marginalized groups who feared loss of rights / benefits / ethical treatment. * Those same people who also feared that they'd be harassed or intimidated in the wake of the election. * People whose faith in humanity face-planted so hard they burrowed through the earth. * Any combination of the above
I personally know people who have been harassed or threatened within the last week or so -- and they had never really been bothered before. I'd say their fears were right and genuine. My fiancee is Native American, and she already didn't like walking around by herself in a predominantly white area. Because she always notices the glares. Now that other Natives around her have been screamed at and verbally berated by Trump hardliners, she's even more anxious.
And at this point, it's probably not even "anxiety," but rather a grounded fear. She's already accepted it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. And that alone is depressing.
To the greater subject at hand, I also understand why some get mad about "tone policing." Which is saying to not get so upset or hostile in conversations even if the subject is very serious. A way for a white person to say, "Calm down now, deary, it's really not worth getting that worked up over." Even if it's a matter where people are being hurt or killed.
I get it. I really do. When you're angry, people get defensive. When you're civil, you're ignored.
It boils down to striking a balance, I guess. Be assertive so that your issues aren't ignored, but also be open enough to where the opposition doesn't mentally entrench themselves. It can be difficult to hit that point. I try my best.
In the same way, social media movements and boycotts and solidarity marches are good. But it can't end there. There needs to be follow-up punches -- namely, getting actual policies and laws passed now that you've got some momentum. And that's the part where things tend to stall out. On both sides.
I like to see activists pair solidarity marches with community outreach efforts, if only so the majority can get to know people on a direct level. There are some nutjobs who insist on spouting hate-speech at some of those things, but I feel like a greater number of people are merely ignorant instead of malicious. Ignorance can be mended with enough effort and patience. Not for the faint of heart, but it does a lot of good.
|
|