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1) stop funding/platforming/amplifying grifter reactionary class reductionists like dirtbag "leftists" and Jacobin
2) read some bell hooks and sit with that shit
3) start funding/platforming/amplifying intersectional liberatory organizers with experience on the ground, esp WOC https://twitter.com/dprest0n/status/1281979578034974725
2) read some bell hooks and sit with that shit
3) start funding/platforming/amplifying intersectional liberatory organizers with experience on the ground, esp WOC https://twitter.com/dprest0n/status/1281979578034974725
Let me be clear that those are just initial steps for coming down and detoxing off reactionary dirtbaggery.
Normally I'd say "oh go out and take action," but part of the problem here is that privileged folks haven't begun to check their privilege or understand why they should.
Normally I'd say "oh go out and take action," but part of the problem here is that privileged folks haven't begun to check their privilege or understand why they should.
A lot of the toxicity and also the appeal of class reductionism dirtbaggery is that it assures privileged people that class is the only identity that matters at all, and that they are therefore excused from being accountable on racism, misogyny, ableism, and transphobia.
If folks coming down off dirtbaggery aren't checking, examining, and at least beginning to work to challenge their own participation in those oppressive behaviors, they don't belong in liberatory movement space.
(Ally white dudes, btw, this is your time to shine. A lot of folks swept up in dirtbag culture have internalized narratives that are triggering and difficult for women, POC, and disabled people to help them process and challenge. We need you to help them do that work.)
So once that self-work has been done, it's time to re-orient.
If you're coming off dirtbaggery and you've started steps 1 through 3 and you're listening to intersectional, liberatory movement folks with an open heart and mind, you're already on your way there.
If you're coming off dirtbaggery and you've started steps 1 through 3 and you're listening to intersectional, liberatory movement folks with an open heart and mind, you're already on your way there.
Do a little research, read around to see which orgs in your area talk the talk.
Then do a little more research and ask around to find out who walks the walk.
Then do a little more research and ask around to find out who walks the walk.
Figure out what your capacity is and what you have to offer.
Before you contact them, see if they're making public asks that are within your capacity to meet-- showing up at a rally, signing a petition, volunteering, donating, whatever.
Before you contact them, see if they're making public asks that are within your capacity to meet-- showing up at a rally, signing a petition, volunteering, donating, whatever.
Finding the right org/group/collective to grow in relationship with is a bit like church shopping.
An org might look great on paper, but the people might turn out to be assholes.
Or, an org with a shitty website might actually be the community you realize you need.
An org might look great on paper, but the people might turn out to be assholes.
Or, an org with a shitty website might actually be the community you realize you need.
And real talk, especially right now, when funding has all but dried up and there's very little way to relationship build offline?
You may just not be able to find the perfect space that feels right for you.
Keep checking in honestly with yourself about why that is, though.
You may just not be able to find the perfect space that feels right for you.
Keep checking in honestly with yourself about why that is, though.
Get used to doing gut checks.
Get in a place where you can say, everyone including me absorbs racism/misogyny/classism from this toxic atmosphere, am I tempted to reject this for legit reasons, or am I letting those absorbed narratives deter me from justice work?
Get in a place where you can say, everyone including me absorbs racism/misogyny/classism from this toxic atmosphere, am I tempted to reject this for legit reasons, or am I letting those absorbed narratives deter me from justice work?
Keep trying, keep participating and engaging to your capacity with groups that seem to be closest to walking the walk and talking the talk.
Keep talking to people, keep relationship building, keep finding fellow travelers.
Keep talking to people, keep relationship building, keep finding fellow travelers.
Orgs are never going to be perfect, and you don't need to think of them as permanent homes.
They're spaces for holding relationships, and the relationships are more important than the space.
With time, those relationships become organizing compasses.
They're spaces for holding relationships, and the relationships are more important than the space.
With time, those relationships become organizing compasses.
Like, if I see an event or org in Philly and I see that @NijmieZD and @AnlinWang are attached, I know it's probably a project worth investing time or money (when I have it) in.
I know which leaders I trust, which comrades I want to share space with.
I know which leaders I trust, which comrades I want to share space with.
That comes from participating in a whole lot ofprojects that worked, and seeing who made them work.
It also comes from participating in my fair share of lemon projects and seeing the dynamics and people that killed them and learning who/what I definitely don't want to be around.
It also comes from participating in my fair share of lemon projects and seeing the dynamics and people that killed them and learning who/what I definitely don't want to be around.
Getting engaged in organizing necessarily involves a lot of trial and error.
It also involves the humility to say, I can't go church shopping and expect to be made the pastor on Day 1.
It's understanding you have to invest time before expecting to be treated as a shareholder.
It also involves the humility to say, I can't go church shopping and expect to be made the pastor on Day 1.
It's understanding you have to invest time before expecting to be treated as a shareholder.
It's also understanding that in some spaces you will *never* be a shareholder, and that it is often most important to show up to. those spaces in solidarity anyway.
Take BLM.
As a white person, I'll never be pastor in the church of BLM.
I'll never even be a member.
Take BLM.
As a white person, I'll never be pastor in the church of BLM.
I'll never even be a member.
That doesn't mean it isn't important for me to show solidarity by coming to the services when that church is under siege and making that ask.
I know this isn't as easy as just saying "subscribe to Chapo, vote for Bernie, phonebank."
Like, vote for Bernie and phonebank for sure, if that's all you can do!
But I feel like a lot of folks come around to dirtbaggery looking for community, not just action steps.
Like, vote for Bernie and phonebank for sure, if that's all you can do!
But I feel like a lot of folks come around to dirtbaggery looking for community, not just action steps.
That's an impulse we all have, and the key is finding a community that's grounded in liberatory movement values.
That can be a very difficult adjustment for those with deep privilege, because it necessarily means the community isn't going to revolve around or center them.
That can be a very difficult adjustment for those with deep privilege, because it necessarily means the community isn't going to revolve around or center them.
I say this as someone who is very obviously opinionated, gets excited, has ADHD-related impulsiveness, & with the best of intentions can forget myself and my role/privilege sometimes.
Shutting the fuck up in organizing space that isn't about me is a discipline I struggle with.
Shutting the fuck up in organizing space that isn't about me is a discipline I struggle with.
(One reason I'm very tweet-happy is that I've learned to use Twitter as a way to channel that energy and excitement in a way that doesn't take up limited oxygen in a small room. I often tweet on the ground & at events because it helps me stfu offline when I shouldn't be talking!)
The appeal of dirtbag "leftism" is that it assures relatively privileged people that they're the victims and that anyone asking them to challenge themselves is the enemy.
These podcasts give those relatively privileged people an excuse not to grow.
That's the product they sell.
These podcasts give those relatively privileged people an excuse not to grow.
That's the product they sell.
There's no liberatory movement version of that.
Liberatory movement challenges all of us to grow, all the time.
There's no "okay you're good now," because none of us are free until we all are free.
The chains of learned oppressive behavior don't unshackle selectively.
Liberatory movement challenges all of us to grow, all the time.
There's no "okay you're good now," because none of us are free until we all are free.
The chains of learned oppressive behavior don't unshackle selectively.
That's why step one is just, stop supporting this shit.
Stop patronizing and amplifying and spreading and defending a toxic, regressive discourse that materially damages the work of movement.
Stop patronizing and amplifying and spreading and defending a toxic, regressive discourse that materially damages the work of movement.
That's why step two is read a pre-existing resource that's accessible and challenges you.
Because until bring yourself to do that, you don't belong in liberatory movement.
Better you figure that out by throwing a book across a room than making an organizer do wasted labor.
Because until bring yourself to do that, you don't belong in liberatory movement.
Better you figure that out by throwing a book across a room than making an organizer do wasted labor.
If you can't stomach hooks, at least you've stopped participating in something damaging and learn something new about yourself.
If you can find your way onboard, step 3 is a first toe dipped into community, in a way that's somewhat familiar but actually helpful.
If you can find your way onboard, step 3 is a first toe dipped into community, in a way that's somewhat familiar but actually helpful.
If you amplify and support liberatory organizer voices, especially marginalized voices, you learn to listen and support and show solidarity.
And honestly, that's a lot of growth right there.
And honestly, that's a lot of growth right there.
That helps you with the babysteps of being in community.
It also helps you learn the language and expectations that can help you get engaged offline and/or locally without unwittingly stepping on people's toes as you walk in the front door.
It also helps you learn the language and expectations that can help you get engaged offline and/or locally without unwittingly stepping on people's toes as you walk in the front door.
There are a million "101 easy ways to be an activist" books out there that will tell you how to start a petition or a food drive.
If you want to be a part of liberatory movement, though- of structural change work- you have to find your way to liberatory community & relationship.
If you want to be a part of liberatory movement, though- of structural change work- you have to find your way to liberatory community & relationship.
The good news is, community is what we need, where we thrive.
The bad news is, it can take time & commitment & humility to find the right community and our place within it.
The difficult but awesome news about liberatory movement community is, it will never not challenge us.
The bad news is, it can take time & commitment & humility to find the right community and our place within it.
The difficult but awesome news about liberatory movement community is, it will never not challenge us.
Unlike dirtbaggery, there's no "do x y and z, be absolved."
True liberatory movement doesn't sell indulgences.
If you're looking to passively buy and passively wear a readymade leftist clothing brand, liberatory movement isn't going to give you what you think you want.
True liberatory movement doesn't sell indulgences.
If you're looking to passively buy and passively wear a readymade leftist clothing brand, liberatory movement isn't going to give you what you think you want.
The flipside is, you're not going to have buyer's remorse, because liberatory movement is not an outfit or a product.
It is a discipline, a practice, and a community.
It doesn't get raggedy with time, because it is a tapestry always undergoing renewal & revision.
It is a discipline, a practice, and a community.
It doesn't get raggedy with time, because it is a tapestry always undergoing renewal & revision.
So, from where I stand, that's the solution.
At the very least, drop out of the toxicity, tune in to the frequency of liberation.
Challenge yourself to do the work internally, learn to do the work externally, find a community project within the work that makes your heart sing.
At the very least, drop out of the toxicity, tune in to the frequency of liberation.
Challenge yourself to do the work internally, learn to do the work externally, find a community project within the work that makes your heart sing.
It's not a one-and-done thing.
It's a journey with some beautiful sights, but it can also feel tiring and arduous or even impossible at moments.
You can't do it alone, which speaks to the challenge but also to the incredible importance and value of relationship.
It's a journey with some beautiful sights, but it can also feel tiring and arduous or even impossible at moments.
You can't do it alone, which speaks to the challenge but also to the incredible importance and value of relationship.
