A new comrade with a lot of energy and creativity has joined my organization. It is a joy to work with them and they add a lot to our work. However, they have years of critical theory academy time in them and it makes it difficult to discuss politics...because I do not understand anything they say. I am seeking advice on how to handle this constructively. If I am alienated speaking to them, certainly the community we work in will be too and I want to avoid that situation. An emblematic example is below:
For instance, we were having a good conversation about disability activism and suddenly a switch flipped and they entered jargon mode. When I told them I did not understand they got very apologetic and seemed hurt. I do not know how to proceed.
There have been a few similar instants and now I am starting to dread when they raise their hand. Clearly some of the issue is in my reaction, too, and I am trying to work on that. Any advice is appreciated!
Can you think of a time where this person got too jargon-y and lost everybody, then was able to go back and explain the idea in a more understandable way? If so, then a good approach might be to remind them of that time and tell them that you appreciate their contributions to your group and that you appreciate their effort to be more understandable to people who aren't from such a hyper-academic background. Be sure that you're making it clear that you value them as a member of your group, while encouraging them to continue to work on grounding their conversation more in terms that everyone can understand.