I don’t think that most progressive groups doing actual organizing are doing these kind of purity tests, I think that’s mostly online spaces or non-political-organizing spaces that are setting out their own boundaries for acceptable behavior.
I’ve never once been asked to make a statement of e.g. trans support before being allowed to attend a protest or DSA meeting. It’s mostly assumed/ trusted that you’re showing up because you support the work.
If, however, someone seeing a Pride flag in a coffee shop window or at a protest is enough to make them leave, then you don’t want them there, not because of the morality of their beliefs, but because they are creating an ultimatum that you must abandon or hide your beliefs in order to gain their support, and that’s not solidarity on their part.
Solidarity is a two-way street.
Bernie Sanders or AOC don’t mention support for e.g. LGBT+ people in every speech, but they will if you ask them. They won’t feign or adopt indifference to the issue to gain a false solidarity.
We can help any grouping and gather support from any grouping, without needing to say we need to put the brakes on and help some other more virtuous-to-advocate-for grouping instead.
I’m interested in what examples you are thinking of, for this.
So, if we’re assuming that what I can find is representative of what the real issues are, it sounds to me like it’s a little less about “LGBTQ issues versus economic issues” than I was saying, and more about “work with the Democrats versus abandon the Democrats” which causes the rift between the activist left and the established union membership.
We can help any grouping and gather support from any grouping, without needing to say we need to put the brakes on and help some other more virtuous-to-advocate-for grouping instead.
I’m interested in what examples you are thinking of, for this.
Any Democrat? They talk frequently about issues of social justice, race, LGBTQ (with trans issues as maybe an outlier they hesitate to touch on), and very very rarely do they touch on economic justice with anything but the most oblique of “we have to get inflation under control” references.
I don’t think that most progressive groups doing actual organizing are doing these kind of purity tests, I think that’s mostly online spaces or non-political-organizing spaces that are setting out their own boundaries for acceptable behavior.
I’ve never once been asked to make a statement of e.g. trans support before being allowed to attend a protest or DSA meeting. It’s mostly assumed/ trusted that you’re showing up because you support the work.
If, however, someone seeing a Pride flag in a coffee shop window or at a protest is enough to make them leave, then you don’t want them there, not because of the morality of their beliefs, but because they are creating an ultimatum that you must abandon or hide your beliefs in order to gain their support, and that’s not solidarity on their part.
Solidarity is a two-way street.
Bernie Sanders or AOC don’t mention support for e.g. LGBT+ people in every speech, but they will if you ask them. They won’t feign or adopt indifference to the issue to gain a false solidarity.
I’m interested in what examples you are thinking of, for this.
Maybe not. The leftist people I know definitely do, to the point that it’s pretty obnoxious, but they are also not involved in any protest.
I read up about whether there’s any reality to this issue I imagine, and found this kind of stuff:
https://jacobin.com/2021/09/occupy-wall-street-ows-zuccotti-park-nyc-labor-movement-unions-collaboration
https://newrepublic.com/article/175645/left-labor-emerging-political-coalition
So, if we’re assuming that what I can find is representative of what the real issues are, it sounds to me like it’s a little less about “LGBTQ issues versus economic issues” than I was saying, and more about “work with the Democrats versus abandon the Democrats” which causes the rift between the activist left and the established union membership.
Any Democrat? They talk frequently about issues of social justice, race, LGBTQ (with trans issues as maybe an outlier they hesitate to touch on), and very very rarely do they touch on economic justice with anything but the most oblique of “we have to get inflation under control” references.