gonna put this here too because a lot of these thoughts arose because of recent events, given that what kicked things off was some some users experiencing cisnormative discomfort and in reaction displayed some heinous liberalism (bordering on reactionary), and things got out of hand because of how we (myself included) went about combating that liberalism. for the most part, everyone's heart was in the right place but we let ourselves get blinded by anger and instead of reaching out in empathy we pointed in rage. We sabotaged the message we intended to send, and were not careful with our words leading to misunderstandings, pain, and discomfort. These things are important for us to discuss without us throwing ourselves into chaos, and for my part I'm sorry that I added to it. There is no way for anyone to undo bad things they've done or mistakes that they have made, but they can accept them for what they are and fight with everything they have to avoid the same traps they've already fallen into. And sometimes you'll fall back on old habits, or make a mistake again, but that's okay. From each according to their ability; you aren't lesser or evil for trying and failing at something, so long as you're trying.

How we grow

Do not let reaction and liberalism pass by uncontested when you see it in your fellow posters, call it out, but do so with empathy and the understanding that we're all at a different point in our journey, learning about all sorts of different things they haven't encountered before or might never had to think about before. And in that situation, especially for the majority white American cis male userbase, those hot takes about new or unfamiliar topics are likely to be reactionary because of how we're raised living in the imperial core.

That does mean, if you're someone who feels that you fall into the group I just described, its on you to be aware that your unvetted thoughts and takes have a decent chance to be reactionary, and to have the courtesy to stop and think for a moment to run the thought through your beliefs and see if it matches up. Analysis isn't just for political events and material conditions, its for our own actions. Your body is your temple? Sure, but I am my Party, and it's my duty to hold it accountable.

But that's why we're all here. We're here to help each other grow, to hold each other to our shared ideals and not to strike each other down for not being good enough, or as conscious or developed or capable as we'd hope. That is not what leftism is about, and letting our tempers get the best of us caused a lot of damage

Seeing liberalism or reaction and not intervening is liberalism

You might be thinking, but wait! I don't feel like I know enough to really know if this or that is liberalism or reactionary, and that's fine! asking questions and holding each other accountable for the way we treat each other on this site is up to us as much as the admins, and only through asking questions and expanding your horizons can you become more confident in your knowledge.

We grow as people by helping one another, no one is good or right about everything, but together we can all improve and cover each others blind spots. But calling out liberalism and reaction is only half of the battle, the rest is on the person who made the misstep. We've all done and said shitty ignorant things before, its not a contest of never ever making a mistake, and I cannot fault someone for expressing a thought with a thought process they didn't know was tainted by reactionary imperialism, as long as when confronted with that information they take a step back and a moment to reflect.

Self criticism is incredibly important, without it you're doomed to resist powerful and productive change, and to repeat past mistakes.

And yeah, we're the dirtbag left, and yeah bullying works, but the thing is they work to shut people up and drive them away, and that is not what we aim to do for our comrades, even those who are struggling in some ways (short of outright bigotry, hatred, or otherwise over the line chud stuff obviously)

If you don't wanna listen to me, listen to Mao :chairman:

"The people, too, have their shortcomings. Among the proletariat many retain petty-bourgeois ideas, while both the peasants and the urban petty bourgeoisie have backward ideas; these are burdens hampering them in their struggle. We should be patient and spend a long time in educating them and helping them to get these loads off their backs and combat their own shortcomings and errors, so that they can advance with great strides. They have remoulded themselves in struggle or are doing so, and our literature and art should depict this process. As long as they do not persist in their errors, we should not dwell on their negative side and consequently make the mistake of ridiculing them or, worse still, of being hostile to them. Our writings should help them to unite, to make progress, to press ahead with one heart and one mind, to discard what is backward and develop what is revolutionary, and should certainly not do the opposite." -Mao, Talks at the Yenan Forum

(I tried to bold some parts but it ended up basically being the whole ass quote, so just read it libs

tldr: mao says do self crit and help your comrades do the same patiently and empathetically