Journal of Other Forum Analysis (Volume II, Issue 2)

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/bernie-sanders-defends-graham-platner-calls-him-an-%E2%80%9Cexcellent-candidate-and-the-next-senator-of-maine%E2%80%9D.1330780/page-20#post-146886832

On the contrary, specificity of one's beliefs and positions is a necessary building block for creating meaningful, efficient, and trusting coalitions. Blindly assuming that "we're all on the same side" only serves to muddy the actual goals of any given movement and put more vulnerable people and populations in positions where they realize they may have to undermine not just their beliefs but their sense of identity. It is dishonest, anti-intellectual, cruel, and frankly a waste of everyone's time when the inevitable red lines are approached while doing the work because the standard is simply "if you're not a Republican, you belong in the tent."

No. The reality is that "the left" is an extremely wide swathe of various and sometimes competing and contradictory beliefs and movements that widely are related by trying to build an entirely new society altogether, not simply reform the current one so Black and queer people are still doing imperialism, and it is inane to not deal with that reality at all. If you are too afraid to clarify your positions and to align yourself with movements that actually serve your interests and goals because you're afraid of division and judgement, then that is an issue with your immaturity and inability to self-reflect and constantly test and rethink your positions and beliefs, not with others' for "labeling you."

I am extremely comfortable with openly saying that I am in full support of the destruction of capitalism. If you're an exploited worker who nonetheless still unfortunately believes that capitalism needs to stay, I need to know that upfront before I potentially waste my time with you in "working together" towards whatever ends we could possibly work together as two individuals with diametrically-opposed ends. There's more shit to hash out first before we can get to actual material work, and I'd like to do that upfront than when we're in the planning phases of action.

Why even bother to engage with something like this when you eliminate 99% of people in the conversation because they don't want to destroy capitalism entirely? Is it just an absolution of guilt so that you can reject allyship in the name of pure ideology because you know it means absolutely nothing will happen and you don't have to do any actual work while riding a high horse of moral superiority?