sqbr:
“Call out culture, a phenomenon that casual readers might not even notice, is to me, the most toxic aspect of blogging. Not because it is set to correct wrongs and engage in meaningful ways to actually enact change. No, call out culture is toxic because it has developed as a tool to legitimize aggression and rhetoric violence. Its intent, at the root, is seemingly positive. Constructive even. It works more or less like this: I say something ignorant. Perhaps I make a statement that can be constructed as bigoted or maybe “problematic”. A favorite word in call out culture, problematic is more often than not, used to mean “I didn’t like it” or alternatively, “I disagree with you”. But instead of saying you, the audience disagrees with me, you will call my statement “problematic”.”—
Feminist and Social Justice Blogging as performance and bloodshed | Tiger Beatdown (via apiphile)
just gonna reblog everything you quote from this article because it’s fantastic
it’s easy, once you find a system that seems to explain everything, to find ways in which that system justifies behaving cruelly towards other people. did you know: it is possible to be horrible to other people in ways which do not run along axes of oppression, and it’s no more justifiable. I believe deeply in the aims and goals of the various social justice movements, but I generally choose not to participate in the debates as they go on in this neck of the woods, because the culture makes me so uncomfortable (or, favourite word, unsafe).
(via aeromachia)
Bluh, call out culture callouts. See, I think there are issues with the way social justice activists criticise each other, but unfortunately most loud, public criticisms are like this Tiger Beatdown post: made from entirely within this culture, using it’s tools, and by people who are entirely happy to do nasty callouts against those they consider to be “bad”, but who suddenly get all offended and “concerned about the culture” when those same callouts are directed at themselves (nb this is not aimed at you, aeromachia, since I’ve never seen you be mean to anyone. Nor at aphiphile, who I don’t know)
I mean, I hate the way certain words become, effectively, politically incorrect. Because some people use “problematic” to mean “BAD EVIL WRONGNESS I REFUSE TO EXPLAIN” I can’t use it now? The problem is not the word. The problem is dogmatism, not criticism. It’s critisising others more than we criticise ourselves. It’s expecting others to take responsibility for the effects their actions have on us, but refusing to do the same. It’s changing who we decide is the “bad guy” (from bigots to those who criticise bigotry “the wrong way”) rather than letting go of the idea of good guys and bad guys altogether, and admitting that we are ALL flawed and we ALL have a responsibility to deal with the consequences of our flaws, and of the effects of our actions, even when it’s not our fault.
Nnng…this whole topic irritates me, because it just goes round and round and everyone ends up feeling more self righteous and put upon than they did before and nothing changes for the better.
