Monday, June 20, 2022

On compromising with fascists

Some people say that "identity politics" causes the left to lose elections and that the left should compromise away the interests of certain groups to attract more centrist voters so they can win elections.

It's wrong on principle:

Which may signal either that the leaders don't actually hold these principles or that they expect their voters don't:

artistic representation of the word NO

If you do hold principles in support of trans people, then compromising them is wrong for pragmatic reasons:

Noah Berlatsky wrote on June 30: "You can’t save democracy by letting fascists pick their victims."

Thus, here's a recommendation that you have conversations with people. (Of course, consider whether it's safe for you to do so and if it won't be a total waste of your time.)


Unfortunately, sometimes the conversations can't be productive. It's not that they don't know facts. It's that they have different values.


The voice of civility isn't leftism. LinkedIn


"It helps to think of Nazism and Fascism as both political projects and also a benders. Here, we have ideologies that are intentionally and relentlessly opposed to self-criticism or introspection. Both rely on crafting entirely incoherent and imaginary realities, stocking them with myths and pleasing stories that heroicize those who subscribe to the project. White, patriarchal, nationalist supremacy, which is integral to these authoritarian projects, works the same way. You don’t have to do anything to be special. You just are because you were born a certain race, a certain gender, and within a certain country. Because of those things, you should be given everything. Through this lens, you can see why their attacks on multiculturalism and things like DEI are so vehement. They’re projections of how they feel about themselves." — Jared Yates Sexton, November 2025

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