Social Justice on Tumblr

[ola.]

I guess this question is aimed at any Revleft users that have Tumblr blogs.

I personally don't have a Tumblr blog but a lot of my Google researches tend to direct me to a bunch of Tumblr pages and so, for the past few months, I've been checking out the "Social Justice" blogs/the "Tumblr Left" and their posts - bloggers concerned with matters of racism, sexism, heterosexism/homophobia, white privilege theory etc.

So I guess, if you are familiar with that section of Tumblr and have experience with them through your own Tumblr blogs or whatever... what is your general opinion of them?

I'm keeping my questions brief once again, so answer this question any way you want.

[consuming negativity]

There is a lot of bourgeois liberal nonsense and annoying conservatives arguing unsuccessfully with it. However, there are some good far-left blogs worth following and there are a wide variety of blogs on there that can be entertaining. It is more of a social networking platform based on sharing pictures and links than it is for serious research, though.

[Einkarl]

I guess this question is aimed at any Revleft users that have Tumblr blogs.

I personally don't have a Tumblr blog but a lot of my Google researches tend to direct me to a bunch of Tumblr pages and so, for the past few months, I've been checking out the "Social Justice" blogs/the "Tumblr Left" and their posts - bloggers concerned with matters of racism, sexism, heterosexism/homophobia, white privilege theory etc.

So I guess, if you are familiar with that section of Tumblr and have experience with them through your own Tumblr blogs or whatever... what is your general opinion of them?

I'm keeping my questions brief once again, so answer this question any way you want.

Liberals. most seem to have well intentions though.

[Sabot Cat]

They are young liberals who actually possess a surprising depth of thought and analysis, if not class-based or Marxist in nature, combined with at least a nominal commitment to equality or justice. For these two reasons I don't think it would be hard to convince them of the merits of socialism.

[0zgurluk]

There is a lot of bourgeois liberal nonsense and annoying conservatives arguing unsuccessfully with it. However, there are some good far-left blogs worth following and there are a wide variety of blogs on there that can be entertaining. It is more of a social networking platform based on sharing pictures and links than it is for serious research, though.

[Ann13]

So many asshole anti-social justice bloggers exist on tumblr who seem to get off on being prejudiced but most of the leftists on there seem to be well-meaning enough. I've noticed that a lot of them tend to be transphobic though.

[Tenka]

Agreed, they are generally well-meaning. Many make caricatures of themselves, however, like they imagine themselves heroes to all the disadvantaged in society with their reblogs and internet arguments. I am pretty disadvantaged but my own Tumblr blog is a SJW's worst nightmare (not going into details here--it is just that I have rather unique tastes).

Anti-SJWs are the worst scum; they come from all walks of privileged reaction.

[Remus Bleys]

http://borna*****-allthedaysandnights.tumblr.com/post/86508517702/on-white-women-and-their-henna-crowns (fuck its going to censor out ***** (b*tch), isn't it?). A lot of it seems to be liberals discovering third positionism - arguing for a certain Separate But Equal Doctrine, completely ignoring how cultures develop or how other cultures actively export their culture. It's a us and semi uk thing, lacking any and all worth to anything besides a small group of lefists that sound more like ultra nationalists (in a third worldist sense). Ironically enough they argue first world maoists are racists. This link is a mere example of the absurdity that is tumblr.
edit: also, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[Hermes]

I'd have to agree with tumblr having a ton of idiots on it, and seem to be equally likely to fall into any political position.

you can still find some alright people there, though

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

I'd have to agree with tumblr having a ton of idiots on it, and seem to be equally likely to fall into any political position.

you can still find some alright people there, though
Sounds like the Internet in general. :lol:

[blake 3:17]

It's a pretty terrible blog platform for most political stuff. I use it for looking at pictures & unfollow anyone with too many words.

[Sea]

Agreed, they are generally well-meaning. Many make caricatures of themselves, however, like they imagine themselves heroes to all the disadvantaged in society with their reblogs and internet arguments. I am pretty disadvantaged but my own Tumblr blog is a SJW's worst nightmare (not going into details here--it is just that I have rather unique tastes).

Anti-SJWs are the worst scum; they come from all walks of privileged reaction.This is pretty much exactly what I was going to say. They do jack shit aside from undermining the equality for which they argue by advocating equality without agitating for the methods of its achievement.
http://borna*****-allthedaysandnights.tumblr.com/post/86508517702/on-white-women-and-their-henna-crowns (fuck its going to censor out ***** (b*tch), isn't it?). A lot of it seems to be liberals discovering third positionism - arguing for a certain Separate But Equal Doctrine, completely ignoring how cultures develop or how other cultures actively export their culture. It's a us and semi uk thing, lacking any and all worth to anything besides a small group of lefists that sound more like ultra nationalists (in a third worldist sense). Ironically enough they argue first world maoists are racists. This link is a mere example of the absurdity that is tumblr.
edit: also, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
https://i.imgur.com/Bnc1qRD.pngIt's not working! Help me, Remus!

[BIXX]

This is pretty much exactly what I was going to say. They do jack shit aside from undermining the equality for which they argue by advocating equality without agitating for the methods of its achievement.
https://i.imgur.com/Bnc1qRD.pngIt's not working! Help me, Remus!


Borna*******-allthedaysandnights.tumblr.com

My sides

[Loony Le Fist]

...
(fuck its going to censor out ***** (b*tch), isn't it?).

Use an URL shortener http://goo.gl/BgFaWj

Enclosing it in [url=] tags doesn't work either (tried it), because apparently keyword processing for the term b*tch is done at the BBcode level.

[ola.]

Agreed, they are generally well-meaning. Many make caricatures of themselves, however, like they imagine themselves heroes to all the disadvantaged in society with their reblogs and internet arguments. I am pretty disadvantaged but my own Tumblr blog is a SJW's worst nightmare (not going into details here--it is just that I have rather unique tastes).

Anti-SJWs are the worst scum; they come from all walks of privileged reaction.

I have personally benefitted from some of the leftist SJ blogs of the more mature folk, even though I seriously can't stand the liberalism on there. But I agree 100% that the active anti-SJ gang is honestly gross. I can't believe there is an actual group of people out there that would actively campaign against raising social awareness. Most of their arguments and stances really amount to nothing more than "but not all men", "but not all white people", "but not all straight people", so they're useless anyway. I understand that the SJ bloggers can explain their positions in a more engaging tone and that they have their own flaws of course, but I still feel tons safer around people who are angered by racism or sexism than around people who are angered by others pointing out racism or sexism and work to silence them.

[BolshevikBabe]

The "social justice" movement on Tumblr are largely liberal/social-democrat, but they differ qualitatively to most other liberals in that they have some understanding of power dynamics and oppression that goes beyond a subjectivist notion of oppression being something that happens to individuals and not to groups. For that reason, they're better than most liberals, and are easier to bring over to communism - the only point one has to really attack is the discourse of "classism" which posits class as something permanent and class prejudice as being the only major problem, when class in itself is oppression. Some of the more extreme amongst them are probably unwilling to shift, but you'll find if you've been on Tumblr as long as I have that the 4chan/reddit stereotype of what the Tumblr SJ movement is largely incorrect.

The "anti-SJ" movement are also awful, revolting people for the most part and we should actively engage and attack their arguments.

[Rugged Collectivist]

Am I the only person here who finds the tumblrites unbearable? The "anti-SJWs" are almost always worse though. A plague on both their houses.

[SwiftEscudo]

The 'Social Justice Warriors' usually spout a lot of bourgeois liberal garbage and they tend to completely ignore class. Or if they do say anything about the class struggle, they tend to just point to 'classism' and snobbery as the main problem, not the exploitation of workers.

A lot of them also tend to act strange, using joke pronouns and identifying as bears or unicorns. Many take it seriously, but it's hard to tell who's serious and who's just trying to undermine them and be satirical.

The 'Anti-Social Justice Warriors' are mostly conservatives who think it's their god-given right to be assholes and that restricting that is clearly a precursor to a totalitarian dictatorship.

At the very least, the idea that the SJWs recognise oppression and inequality amongst sex, race, sexuality and gender identity is at least a start. Many of them could be won over to socialism, but many would also stray away and want to lead their own identity crusades.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

I don't really understand why any self-described leftist would oppose social justice. The idea of a society that strives for socially just outcomes through notions of inclusion, cultural diversity and the inclusion of social justice within educative institutions is one that should, in theory at least, be supportable across swathes of the political spectrum.

Social Justice for me is a vital tool to use in the classroom to teach History properly, rather than falling into the progressive v traditional, teacher-led v student-led etc. dichotomy that is old, wearisome and irrelevant. Notions of social justice - awareness of the origins, methods and impact of both discriminatory and exploitative behaviours - are pretty easy to integrate into a revolutionary worldview. I don't think it's necessarily necessary for every person to adopt a revolutionary worldview in order to support socially just outcomes in society, but I don't think the two are at all mutually exclusive either.

I'm not sure whether social justice is applicable as a discrete ideology, nor a general theory of how society should be run, and it shouldn't be critiqued as such. Rather, I would say it is a broad-brush - but NOT generalised - analytical tool that helps us to understand and critique the diversity of cultural, social, economic etc. groupings that exist around the world, the different ways in which people/groups of people experience events in history and in the present, and allow us to actually evaluate historical/current actions and events in terms of their impact - do they lead to more socially just outcomes or not? Why? Why not? How could/can they be altered? I'm a fan.

[DOOM]

It's rather liberal idealism than proper leftist criticism of the society. But of course, there are probably some good blogs on tumblr.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

It's rather liberal idealism than proper leftist criticism of the society. But of course, there are probably some good blogs on tumblr.

It doesn't really matter whether it's leftist or not, unless you want to reduce your entire worldview down to 'isms', which is rather reductive, sectarian and pointless in itself.

[Slippers]

I'm rather heavily involved in the "social justice scene" on tumblr. I don't see it as "bourgeois liberal nonsense" I see it as modern young people actually caring about things and I am happy to be a part of it.

Especially the more overtly radical elements of it.

[Ismail]

It doesn't really matter whether it's leftist or not, unless you want to reduce your entire worldview down to 'isms', which is rather reductive, sectarian and pointless in itself.Apparently it doesn't matter if an analysis of society is superficial or only partly accurate, we should uphold it anyway. Nevermind that leftists can work with those upholding such analyses, it's still somehow "sectarian" to constructively criticize them.

[Psycho P and the Freight Train]

Tumblr is a place for dumb liberals who just discovered "privilege" theory and want to make sure that they become certified professional privilege checkers.

The blogs are so unbelievably over-the-top and outlandish that it actually does damage to the social justice movement. I have actually seen people on tumblr claim that heterosexual sex is bad. (I'm gay by the way, so this is NOT me complaining about like "PC gone wrong" or something).

I have seen people on tumblr claim that people who aren't white cannot be rapists.

I have even seen people on tumblr claim that they are non-human and take on an "other kin" identity. Honestly that is so unbelievably insulting to transgendered people, I don't even know how to express it. They are going to fucking ruin all the social progress (barely any but still) that transgendered people are getting by claiming that they are actually a dragon or some insane shit.

Tumblr is a scourge on the internet. It is ruining social justice and making it into some kind of laughing stock.

[Hermes]

Tumblr is a place for dumb liberals who just discovered "privilege" theory and want to make sure that they become certified professional privilege checkers.

The blogs are so unbelievably over-the-top and outlandish that it actually does damage to the social justice movement. I have actually seen people on tumblr claim that heterosexual sex is bad. (I'm gay by the way, so this is NOT me complaining about like "PC gone wrong" or something).

I have seen people on tumblr claim that people who aren't white cannot be rapists.

I have even seen people on tumblr claim that they are non-human and take on an "other kin" identity. Honestly that is so unbelievably insulting to transgendered people, I don't even know how to express it. They are going to fucking ruin all the social progress (barely any but still) that transgendered people are getting by claiming that they are actually a dragon or some insane shit.

Tumblr is a scourge on the internet. It is ruining social justice and making it into some kind of laughing stock.

I think trying to pass tumblr off as one homogeneous entity is... wrong, I guess?

I mean, I don't think anyone in this thread is saying that there aren't people who have/share completely ridiculous or harmful ideas/opinions on tumblr. Both on the left, and the right, and those who don't identify with either, etc. Saying that, because these blogs exist, 'tumblr is a scourge on the internet', seems odd to me.

as well, I very much doubt that 'social justice'/social progress is 'ruined' by tumblr. people who don't support 'social justice'/social progress would do so even if they were only exposed to its rational side. It seems like saying everyone would be a communist if they only ever met the right communists, to me.

[consuming negativity]

This thread could be a Tumblr conversation. "Tumblr is a scourge." ; "both the right and the left are crazy"

[Hermes]

This thread could be a Tumblr conversation. "Tumblr is a scourge." ; "both the right and the left are crazy"

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding you, but I'd like to clarify that I was not, in any way, trying to say that 'both the right and the left are crazy'. I was pointing out that there are people, who consider themselves part of the left or part of the right, who have ideas/opinions that are 100% nonsensical.

[consuming negativity]

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding you, but I'd like to clarify that I was not, in any way, trying to say that 'both the right and the left are crazy'. I was pointing out that there are people, who consider themselves part of the left or part of the right, who are crazy.

I don't think it's appropriate to call people crazy in the first place.

[Hermes]

I don't think it's appropriate to call people crazy in the first place.

Fixed, I hope.

[Slippers]

I'm wary of a lot of blowback against "those terrible irrational social justice warriors" in leftists circles because I am very suspicious and critical of certain power structures that many would think me irrational for being suspicious and critical of.

Like, whether or not there's bullshit in the social justice scene, there are definitely reasons for a person like myself (a trans woman of color) to be drawn to it. And there IS overtly radical leftist thought among those interested in "social justice".

Honestly I don't know how radical and positive a "leftist" movement can be if it rejects "social justice". Then it's honestly just yet another exercise in intellectual masturbation for arrogant white dudes and that is NOT revolutionary.

[Tim Cornelis]

I'm wary of a lot of blowback against "those terrible irrational social justice warriors" in leftists circles because I am very suspicious and critical of certain power structures that many would think me irrational for being suspicious and critical of.

Like, whether or not there's bullshit in the social justice scene, there are definitely reasons for a person like myself (a trans woman of color) to be drawn to it. And there IS overtly radical leftist thought among those interested in "social justice".

Honestly I don't know how radical and positive a "leftist" movement can be if it rejects "social justice". Then it's honestly just yet another exercise in intellectual masturbation for arrogant white dudes and that is NOT revolutionary.

Who is opposing social justice? As far as I can tell it's a particular aversion against a particular type of self-proclaimed pro-social justice folk, and not an opposition to social justice.

[Quail]

Who is opposing social justice? As far as I can tell it's a particular aversion against a particular type of self-proclaimed pro-social justice folk, and not an opposition to social justice.

I think the problem is that people try to use outlandish tumblr blogs to discredit otherwise pretty sound ideas. So for example there always seems like quite a lot of reluctance to use trigger warnings because certain people abuse them, which is kind of genuinely harmful.