Fighting for a better world in a society beset by multiple injustices can be incredibly exciting and rewarding — and it’s obviously necessary. But can it also sometimes bring out the worst in people? Like a toxic quest for ideological purity? Or an overly judgmental tendency to call people out in divisive and dogmatic ways over even relatively small errors in judgment? In recent essays, “Excommunicate Me from the Church of Social Justice,” and “Why I’m Starting to Fear My Fellow Social Justice Activists,” writer and activist Frances Lee explains why the answers to these questions are often yes, and why it matters.
If we wish to build a strong and effective progressive left, we’ll need to find ways to support one another without striking a more-radical-than-thou pose; and we’ll need to re-focus our attention on structures and systems that maintain oppression, rather than attacking individuals when they make mistakes, inadvertently say the wrong thing, or fail to live up to the standards of some on the left.