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social justice rumination
2005-06-08 @ 10:20 p.m.
Part of the problem, I think, with social justice movements and sub-movements is that they (and by they, I mean we) are so damn self-absorbed. Feminism Central, for example, thinks every woman should be a member of the organization�but really, even that�s not good enough. Every woman should be an activist in a chapter. And not just an activist, she should have a leadership position. We talk shit about the people who only write checks. As if cash flow into the movement is a bad thing. But, oh how we love our activist snobbery and martyrdom. We (and by we, I mean I) have access to such a beautiful superiority complex from all the sacrifices we make to do good things for the world. But, back on the self-absorbed �the world revolves around my issue and organization� bandwagon. It seems like in order to be a good activist, you�ve got to really believe that your organization is like the new messiah. If everyone got our action alerts, came to our conferences, read our press releases, went to our crazy chapter meetings, the world would be a better place. In all reality, there is no one organization that everyone will ever be a part of. And it�s almost ridiculous to assume so. While so many awesome (and those that do awesome work but are internally so fucked up) non-profit organizations exist, no single one of them has every answer, covers every issue perfectly, nor is any one of them the right way for even a third of �everyone.� Tunnel vision isn�t helping us any. If I�m so committed to feminism and all these organizations like Feminism Central, BCA and more, why isn�t everyone in my life, I wonder, a member, an activist, a fervent check writer? Why don�t I proselytize everywhere I go, attempt conversion with every new person I meet? Number one, that�s a whole lot of fucking energy. Number two, I�m not sure I want to be that obsessed with one thing that I lose all social skills and never stray from my organizational talking points. I used to be so judgmental about people who say I�m not political. Now I�m beginning to understand a little better (I think). Or maybe, what I�m really beginning to understand most is, well, what is it I�m beginning to understand, actually? Still, I couldn't help being political even if I tried. Ang�s mom, for example, says she just wants to be left alone. My mom has told me, on more than one occasion that the two things you shouldn�t talk about with people are religion and politics. Next to existential ponderings, that�s where the good shit is. Besides, I learned it from watching you, Mom. I keep coming back to this question: Is it detrimental to our causes to think that everyone should be a part of them? Are we less of an activist because we don�t sign up everyone who has ever refilled our water at a restaurant? Maybe I�m just responding internally to what I feel is an expectation that if I�m not promoting organization x and issue y with every breath, I have no business calling myself an activist. Really, I would like to be a well-balanced person. I don�t want to be one of those crazy ladies who threaten to chain themselves to the door of their organization and call the Washington Post because of a perceived internal injustice. At some level, if the group isn�t working for you, get the hell out. How do people get to be such wackjobs, as professional activists have been known to say (but, of course, which we would never admit to in mixed company) of our grassroots, our people in the field. And isn�t it kind of shitty that we talk about them this way. Name-calling, even from top levels, is so juvenile. Yet we all do it. Wacktivists, I once heard someone say. This is how we talk about the people we organize. These are some of the buzzwords of social justice movements. We�ve even been known to say things like, the problem with democracy is that people are stupid and crazy. There�s a little penchant for totalitarianism, it seems, in all of us. So, regime change begins at home? Maybe we should start looking at ourselves a little more. Maybe we should stop talking shit about the people who are talking shit about us, because so much of the shit we�re talking is like oh my god I can�t believe she�s talking shit about me. Maybe we should consider either putting aside our old rivalries to get the work done, or stepping away entirely from places we can�t be peaceful. And let me just say, I�m one to talk. I have huge vengeance and neediness issues around why I get involved in, oh say, Feminism Central's internal election stuff. One person about whom I said stupid shit like, I�m going to bring that bitch down. Whatever, who am I? I�m from the suburbs and went the Catholic high school. I have no street cred to talk like that. An eight-year old could probably kick my ass. Also, why do I have a need for that kind of venom? Why do I let myself get roped into that? It�s addictive, yeah. But it�s also like this weird swirl that, once you�re in it, has different rules, different standards, different levels from the outside world of what is acceptable behavior. Like the fact that it�s a social justice movement or a feminist organization gives it some sort of exemption. Maybe, on some level, it�s a little like religion. The spirituality is beautiful; it�s just the organized, collective institution of churches, for example, that fucks it up. This is, in no way, a deterrent from being an activist and working toward effecting change. Because it�s crucial work. These have just been some of my thoughts based on working on the inside.
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