Read on Twitter
When I was a kid I started hanging out with a bunch of older leftists. I didn't know much about politics, but I really didn't like Bush. They gave me some good zines and talked to me about capitalism and imperialism.
At some point I made some shitty racist joke. They explained to me that wasn't cool and why it was harmful. They treated me with respect but also made it clear that if I was gonna say stuff like they wouldn't want to hang out with me. They gave me zines on systemic racism to read
I think if it had been a few years later and my exposure to leftists had been on twitter, and the same thing had happened, people would have been really mean to me and I doubt I would have ever been introspective and thought about my own relationship to racism and privilege.
We act like the online isn't real life l, and our interactions on here don't matter... but it's real people on here that we talk to and I would really like them to become socialists, because we need more socialists. If radicalising people isn't our goal, then what is our goal?
Is the point of online discourse to just pat eachother on the back for having the proscribed set of "correct" opinions? Or is it to get folks who agree on some things but not others on to our team so we can all grow and become better?
If someone like Bernie, but has some mininformed opinions on trans folks, I want them in the community. If they talk about shared values with actual trans folks they will most likely come around. We have to make distinctions between a person ignorant about trans issues and a TERF
And for fucks sake, stop calling everyone a lib for having a slightly different opinion on tactics than you. Just because I don't think we should have an armed insurrection tomorrow doesn't make me a liberal. I've been a leftist for 13 years, it's absolute nonsense
