As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. I think the modern left has a big problem with impatience, and sees anything south of an instantaneous revolution as pointless (ie: "lib shit"). That can be true with some things, but even the left's most famous revolutionaries tell us that things like this have to start slowly.
Good take. I'm starting to feel like "tone policing" isn't inherently a bad idea, but only within the left. We can go ahead and be as awful and mean as we want to the bourgeoisie and fascists (in fact we should be) but I find people use that same snarky attitude against people who are ostensibly on their side. It takes some restraint, but I don't think it'd hurt for the left to be less hostile to the people they're trying to radicalize. Keep bullying the right tho
True. I didn't mean that tone should be our biggest priority, I just think it's important for solidarity. Our first priority is uniting the working class, and in order to do that we need to show them that we're on their side. Bluntly telling average working class people to read theory won't get us anywhere, but neither will scolding them for not already being class conscious. One of the right's strengths is how welcoming they are to new members regardless of how knowledgeable they are, and that's something we should emulate (within reason).
To add to that, this also explains why libs come across as so abrasive to non-libs. The "it's not my job to educate you" attitude is exactly the kind of individualist smugness we need to avoid when talking to alienated people.
While I’m entirely pro revolution, you need to get to a state where the vast majority of the proletariat is on your side. That is simply not the case in many countries. We’re going to have to wait, and we’re going to have to do things we don’t like doing, like doing actual physical work to convert the proletariat
Exactly. Look at the liberal discourse these days and you'll find hundreds of people who have got it in their heads that it's not their responsibility to educate anyone, and that the working class should be expected to figure it all out themselves. "Google is free" doesn't help anyone but your own ego. I'm not saying you have to turn everyone you meet into communists, but I believe we all have a personal responsibility as leftists to at least try to educate others.
“As revolutionaries, we don’t have the right to say we are tired of explaining. We must never stop explaining. We know that when the people understand, they cannot help but follow us.” - Comrade Sankara
As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. I think the modern left has a big problem with impatience, and sees anything south of an instantaneous revolution as pointless (ie: "lib shit"). That can be true with some things, but even the left's most famous revolutionaries tell us that things like this have to start slowly.
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Good take. I'm starting to feel like "tone policing" isn't inherently a bad idea, but only within the left. We can go ahead and be as awful and mean as we want to the bourgeoisie and fascists (in fact we should be) but I find people use that same snarky attitude against people who are ostensibly on their side. It takes some restraint, but I don't think it'd hurt for the left to be less hostile to the people they're trying to radicalize. Keep bullying the right tho
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True. I didn't mean that tone should be our biggest priority, I just think it's important for solidarity. Our first priority is uniting the working class, and in order to do that we need to show them that we're on their side. Bluntly telling average working class people to read theory won't get us anywhere, but neither will scolding them for not already being class conscious. One of the right's strengths is how welcoming they are to new members regardless of how knowledgeable they are, and that's something we should emulate (within reason).
To add to that, this also explains why libs come across as so abrasive to non-libs. The "it's not my job to educate you" attitude is exactly the kind of individualist smugness we need to avoid when talking to alienated people.
While I’m entirely pro revolution, you need to get to a state where the vast majority of the proletariat is on your side. That is simply not the case in many countries. We’re going to have to wait, and we’re going to have to do things we don’t like doing, like doing actual physical work to convert the proletariat
Exactly. Look at the liberal discourse these days and you'll find hundreds of people who have got it in their heads that it's not their responsibility to educate anyone, and that the working class should be expected to figure it all out themselves. "Google is free" doesn't help anyone but your own ego. I'm not saying you have to turn everyone you meet into communists, but I believe we all have a personal responsibility as leftists to at least try to educate others.
“As revolutionaries, we don’t have the right to say we are tired of explaining. We must never stop explaining. We know that when the people understand, they cannot help but follow us.” - Comrade Sankara
Yet another reason to love Sankara