Read on Twitter
Because an important part of my job here is demonstrating in public that the emperor has no clothes and you are this morning's teaching example.
Maybe don't run up to strangers on the internet and call them names if you can't back up your bullshit? https://twitter.com/enbitious/status/1345657909158547456
Maybe don't run up to strangers on the internet and call them names if you can't back up your bullshit? https://twitter.com/enbitious/status/1345657909158547456
This is actually incredibly revealing about some of the social mechanisms that is holding this bullshit in place.
People get a kick out of calling women names. And quite a lot of people also get a kick out of a discourse which posits them as morally superior,
People get a kick out of calling women names. And quite a lot of people also get a kick out of a discourse which posits them as morally superior,
allows them to perform self-righteousness, and to project their aggression/negativity on other people.
Which is kind of ironic, given that is precisely what they are claiming is motivating us.
All this brings us to the thorny question of the ethics of the pile-on.
Which is kind of ironic, given that is precisely what they are claiming is motivating us.
All this brings us to the thorny question of the ethics of the pile-on.
Let's be clear. Pile-ons are not neutral acts. They are a weapon.
And this is a war.
The function of that weapon is to change the shape of the discursive space underpinning this whole shitshow.
One of the primary ways trans ideology has been able to capture our
And this is a war.
The function of that weapon is to change the shape of the discursive space underpinning this whole shitshow.
One of the primary ways trans ideology has been able to capture our
institutions is through discursive hegemony. Which is a fancy way of saying 'knowing you can say a thing and no one will feel able to challenge you,' and in this case also 'you can safely denigrate anyone who questions it and win easy self-righteous points.'
Back in 2013 or so,
Back in 2013 or so,
when this shit came over the hill, some of us were out here shouting, and we had no traction. I could literally feel the discourse set like concrete around us. Completely unassailable. And then, like dominos, pretty much all our institutions fell.
Now, people cannot come out
Now, people cannot come out
with this crap without getting serious push-back.
They cannot call us names and everyone will feel ashamed and awkward and people will shuffle their feet and look sideways.
For better or worse, twitter is the public square. It is the ancient Greek agora. It is where our now
They cannot call us names and everyone will feel ashamed and awkward and people will shuffle their feet and look sideways.
For better or worse, twitter is the public square. It is the ancient Greek agora. It is where our now
global society does its political discourse, and it both creates and propagates the discursive field that underpins political action and possibility.
People are right when they say this conflict will not be won on twitter. But it will not be won without twitter either.
People are right when they say this conflict will not be won on twitter. But it will not be won without twitter either.
Which is all to say, this is where we fight, and every one of you contributes to that fight.
It is important to me that we fight with arguments, and facts, and critique, and not with insults.
But applying counter-pressure within a discursive field is not just people being
It is important to me that we fight with arguments, and facts, and critique, and not with insults.
But applying counter-pressure within a discursive field is not just people being
assholes for no reason.
It is a weapon, in a discursive war.
Know that it is a weapon. Try to wield it as carefully and precisely as you can. Try to avoid doing it for kicks. Know that you will fail at that sometimes. Try to learn from it.
And keep fighting on.
It is a weapon, in a discursive war.
Know that it is a weapon. Try to wield it as carefully and precisely as you can. Try to avoid doing it for kicks. Know that you will fail at that sometimes. Try to learn from it.
And keep fighting on.
