- 27 Dec, 2025 *
I am a white leftist in America; ergo, I am insufferable.
I’m insufferable to people who don’t pay attention to politics or the news, because I encourage their engagement. It bothers me how disconnected people are from our own realities. A lot of people ignore the news completely, because they feel its only goal is to rile us up. And sure, that’s one of them; some media companies are more guilty than others, but none have clean hands in the click-bait game. Still, the news (in its many formal and informal forms) has a function of informing the masses, empowering us to become active participants in our societies, and building community. Pointing that, or anything, out to people who don’t want to hear it is insufferable. Simple advocacy is insufferable to anyone w…
- 27 Dec, 2025 *
I am a white leftist in America; ergo, I am insufferable.
I’m insufferable to people who don’t pay attention to politics or the news, because I encourage their engagement. It bothers me how disconnected people are from our own realities. A lot of people ignore the news completely, because they feel its only goal is to rile us up. And sure, that’s one of them; some media companies are more guilty than others, but none have clean hands in the click-bait game. Still, the news (in its many formal and informal forms) has a function of informing the masses, empowering us to become active participants in our societies, and building community. Pointing that, or anything, out to people who don’t want to hear it is insufferable. Simple advocacy is insufferable to anyone who wants to maintain their status quo uninterrupted.
I’m insufferable to people who like to make jokes of their racism, homophobia, or transphobia. Their jokes aren’t funny and I always try to make a point of letting them know why what they’ve said is hurtful. It’s not that I shout in their faces "THAT’S OFFENSIVE, YOU BIGOT!" but sometimes it seems like that’s how they interpret my "Oof, that’s not cool, man." I am the killjoy that can’t just let a joke be. I love to laugh, but bigotry isn’t amusing.
I’m insufferable to other leftists who are further along on their decolonization journey or more confident in their vision for a post-capitalist society. How dare I claim to be a leftist with only a vague sense of the world I want to help build! It’s like leftists expect everyone to have it all figured out already, and anything that doesn’t align with their conclusions are wrong, short-sighted, or ill-informed. I’ve been there, though. Sometimes I can be that way, too. When passion takes control, I lose some tact. I don’t mean to be condescending. Truly, I would love more than anything to meet on a bridge with a mutual respect and understanding of one another. I’m better at this with leftists than I am with a-political folks, but I still struggle. It’s something I need to work on continuously. Understanding that I can be insufferable doesn’t negate my insufferability.
Lately, it seems like the only thing leftists can agree on about each other is that we’re all a bit insufferable. The most recent discourse I’ve seen is specifically related to Marxist-Leninists vs. Anarchists. Both sides are talking down to the other, indignant and haughty. Coalition-building is really difficult in that environment. So while we keep lobbing insults at each other and burning bridges, the capitalist oligarchs will keep winning. And that’s the most insufferable part of all.