Most Social Justice Advocates are Not Social Justice Warriors

[rug]

January 28, 2015
Posted by Jack Vance at 5:30 AM

The term social justice warrior has a specific meaning that is clearly distinct from "social justice advocate" or "social justice activist." Most social justice advocates are not social justice warriors. I tried to address this distinction previously, but I did not do a very good job of it. In fact, I did a rather poor job of it. Among other things, I made the mistake of sticking too closely to an imperfect definition and focusing too much on internal states (e.g., motive and intent). In this post, I'd like to take another stab at highlighting the primary differences between social justice advocacy and "social justice warriorism."

Why is this a relevant topic for an atheist blog? First, we regularly encounter it. Many atheists have been affected by social justice warriors at least since the emergence of Atheism+. More recently, we have seen it in #GamerGate, #ShirtStorm, #manspreading, and even in the aftermath of Ferguson. Second, the distinction continues to be widely misunderstood. I regularly see atheists and humanists complaining that they are being criticized for advocating for social justice. This is almost never why they are being criticized; they are being criticized for engaging in specific behaviors associated with social justice warriors. Third and most important, the behavior of social justice warriors undermines valuable social justice advocacy on a number of issues about which many atheists are concerned. Thus, much (though certainly not all) of the criticism of "social justice warriorism" is coming from people who care about social justice issues.

Setting aside the murky issues of intent and motive as much as possible and trying to focus more on observable behavior, what are the most important differences between someone who is advocating for social justice and a social justice warrior? This list is not exhaustive, but here are some good candidates:

1.The social justice advocate is inclusive; the social justice warrior is exclusive.
2.The social justice advocate shows us that he or she is willing and able to recognize that others who do not share his or her priorities are not necessarily bad people; the social justice warrior is unwilling or unable to do this.
3.The social justice advocate strives to be reasonable and sometimes fails; the social justice warrior strives to be provocative and usually succeeds.
4.The social justice advocate seeks opportunities to engage in dialogue with others; the social justice warrior shuts down dialogue.

Inclusivity vs. Exclusivity

The social justice advocate has a goal in mind that involves some sort of social change. He or she can point to a problem with the current state of affairs, propose solutions, and identify what progress would look like. Thus, the social justice advocate is working toward a particular goal with a series of positive outcomes in mind. In doing so, he or she recognizes that a broad coalition of allies will be crucial in making real progress on this goal. Not only does the social justice advocate recognize that many people be required to achieve meaningful change (i.e., strength in numbers), but the social justice advocate genuinely values diversity. He or she recognizes that there are many ways to approach a problem and that different people bring different perspectives in problem-solving, different talents that can be utilized in different ways, and so on. For the social justice advocate, bringing as many people as possible on board is a critical part of the process. And here's the key: the social justice advocate behaves in ways that foster inclusivity, reaching out to others.

http://www.atheistrev.com/2015/01/most-social-justice-advocates-are-not.html

[TM99]

1. Excellent thoughts on the subject.

I see Social Justice Warriorism as a definite evolution of the post New Left's vocabulary and psychological positioning.

http://publicautonomy.org/2014/01/27/the-rise-of-the-post-new-left-political-vocabulary/

This older article describes the difference well and really is talking about this very same difference - the Social Justice Advocate versus the Social Justice Warrior.

SJA's are mature, empathic, and strive for real change. SJW's are often immature, narcissistic, and believe that changing a 'thought' changes a 'reality'.

[MisterP]

2. you mean that a white suburban college sophomore lecturing, say, a hypothetical gay black person

Last edited Thu Jan 29, 2015, 11:30 PM - Edit history (1)

working their fingers to the bone with the poor on their "cis privilege" on Tumblr because they had two quarters of gender theory *isn't* advancing anything?

though to be fair they're often white suburban HS sophomores

[backscatter712]

3. Any time some moron uses "social justice warrior" as a pejorative.

I automatically conclude that he has nothing intelligent to say, and ignore him.

Helps to screen out freepers, gamergaters, red-pillers and the similarly brain-damaged.

[rug]

5. I feel the same way about UNIX.

[backscatter712]

7. Heh!

[cbayer]

4. This has always seemed like some kind of internecine war to me...

and this article has done nothing to clear up my confusion.

I wish someone would provide cliff notes.

[cbayer]

6. I don't even understand what the phrase "social justice" has to do with any of this.

I read this again, and if I am getting this right, he is describing a subgroup within "new atheism" (used for lack of a better term) that is exclusive, intolerant of those that don't share their POV, provocative and uninterested in dialog.

It is clearly being used as a pejorative, but what does this have to do with social justice?

Clearly the group he describes exists and I think he describe them exceptionally well. That's a good thing, because I think they inhibit progress and create disruption and discord. I think a descriptive word or phrase is needed but I find this particular one confusing.

At any rate, my experience is that this group will reject any and all descriptive words that one might choose, but that is part of the whole MO.