andromedalogic:

also, forever opposed to the weird trifecta of

– the personal is political / your existence is revolutionary, when used prescriptively or as a given

– if you’re not outraged you’re not paying attention / if you’re silent or neutral you must be on the side of the oppressor

– if you don’t care about these issues (for a narrow definition of caring, in a visible and strident way), you must not be affected by them

individuals whose lives are politicized against their will can reserve the right to be apolitical. to not accept that. people who are silent or neutral may be uninformed, scared, confused, necessarily focused on their own survival. opting out is not invariably a sign of privilege. opting out does not indicate a lack of empathy. instead of saying that our breathing is revolutionary or makes us activists, we need to say that it is ok for people not to be activists.

nothing makes my blood boil like posts that scathingly indict anyone who doesn’t visibly engage with ‘the issues’, accusing them of complacency and saying ‘it must be nice to have this shit not affect you’. withdrawing is frequently a reasonable response to this stuff affecting you. have you no perspective.