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> I think the same could be said for the commercialized version of anti-racism that’s been embraced by brands both personal and corporate. The kind that emphasi

> I think the same could be said for the commercialized version of anti-racism that’s been embraced by brands both personal and corporate. The kind that emphasizes microaggressions and representation over social and economic emergencies. Politically speaking, niceness is good, but kindness is urgent. Clapping for essential workers is nice, paying them a liveable wage is urgent. Using the right pronouns is nice; ensuring rights, safety, and protection for trans people is urgent. “Nothing happens after the pronoun check-ins and the icebreakers,” Green, who is Black and non-binary, wrote. “It's rare we make sure that people's immediate needs are addressed.” 23 ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practised without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! 29 ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, “If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.” 31 Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors.

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adamrezich 5y ago
my thoughts exactly. one of the biggest problems in contemporary times is politicians who pat themselves on the back (and encourage everyone who voted for them or who supports their party to also pat them and themselves on the back) for accomplishing something politically that Sounds Nice And Good On Paper but in reality doesn't change anything about anyone's situation. this problem long predated social media of course but it's pretty obvious that social media has only exacerbated things, because advocating for something that Sounds Nice And Good On Paper gets lots of user engagement (likes, retweets), which only goes to further the illusion that it's any sort of solution to any sort of problem. why spend lots and lots of money to actually attempt to fix institutional, structural, or otherwise endemic issues for any group of people, when hollow PR-friendly gestures get you reelected just as easily? in fact, it's even better to do make hollow, PR-friendly, Sounds Nice And Good On Paper-type gestures than to actually do anything, because in the process of promoting such maneuvers, you get to convince everyone "on your side" that you're doing something Necessary, Right, and Just, but, more importantly, anyone who disagrees with the empty gesture or calls you out for making hollow PR-friendly gestures to begin with can be easily dismissed as some kind of -ist Political Adversary! then you get to posture yourself against them and their -ism which leads to further back-patting (or, if you prefer, circlejerking). it's hard to see a way out of this mess—where would one even begin to try to change this metastructure that prevents the change of further structures by incentivizing ineffectual bullshit gestures over Actual, Measurable Change That Improves Peoples' Lives?
- hprotagonist 5y ago
  > it's hard to see a way out of this mess—where would one even begin to try to change this metastructure that prevents the change of further structures by incentivizing ineffectual bullshit gestures over Actual, Measurable Change That Improves Peoples' Lives? One person at a time, without making a big fuss about it, realizes that to be first you must be last, and gets the work done and learns to ignore the bullshit. It’s not glamorous, it’s likely to be ignored completely by the powers and the principalities, and it’s one of the few things on this earth that keeps you human because it keeps you in relationship and community with other real life complicated people.

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adamrezich 5y ago

my thoughts exactly. one of the biggest problems in contemporary times is politicians who pat themselves on the back (and encourage everyone who voted for them or who supports their party to also pat them and themselves on the back) for accomplishing something politically that Sounds Nice And Good On Paper but in reality doesn't change anything about anyone's situation. this problem long predated social media of course but it's pretty obvious that social media has only exacerbated things, because advocating for something that Sounds Nice And Good On Paper gets lots of user engagement (likes, retweets), which only goes to further the illusion that it's any sort of solution to any sort of problem. why spend lots and lots of money to actually attempt to fix institutional, structural, or otherwise endemic issues for any group of people, when hollow PR-friendly gestures get you reelected just as easily? in fact, it's even better to do make hollow, PR-friendly, Sounds Nice And Good On Paper-type gestures than to actually do anything, because in the process of promoting such maneuvers, you get to convince everyone "on your side" that you're doing something Necessary, Right, and Just, but, more importantly, anyone who disagrees with the empty gesture or calls you out for making hollow PR-friendly gestures to begin with can be easily dismissed as some kind of -ist Political Adversary! then you get to posture yourself against them and their -ism which leads to further back-patting (or, if you prefer, circlejerking). it's hard to see a way out of this mess—where would one even begin to try to change this metastructure that prevents the change of further structures by incentivizing ineffectual bullshit gestures over Actual, Measurable Change That Improves Peoples' Lives?

hprotagonist 5y ago
> it's hard to see a way out of this mess—where would one even begin to try to change this metastructure that prevents the change of further structures by incentivizing ineffectual bullshit gestures over Actual, Measurable Change That Improves Peoples' Lives? One person at a time, without making a big fuss about it, realizes that to be first you must be last, and gets the work done and learns to ignore the bullshit. It’s not glamorous, it’s likely to be ignored completely by the powers and the principalities, and it’s one of the few things on this earth that keeps you human because it keeps you in relationship and community with other real life complicated people.