Episode 10 - Frances Lee on Social Justice Activism, Call-Out Culture and the Pitfalls of Progressive Proselytizing
b'Fighting for a better world in a society beset by multiple injustices can be incredibly exciting and rewarding \\u2014 and it\\u2019s 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, \\u201cExcommunicate Me from the Church of Social Justice,\\u201d and \\u201cWhy I\\u2019m Starting to Fear My Fellow Social Justice Activists,\\u201d 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\\u2019ll need to find ways to support one another without striking a more-radical-than-thou pose; and we\\u2019ll 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.'