You can tell you should be worried because they use scary words and CAPITAL LETTERS. I also love how they put “it opens the door to activists” like it’s a bad thing. Personally I wouldn’t mind if Australia Day were replaced with a Treaty Day if that came to pass. It’s just an excuse to get absolutely pissed around a barbie anyway.
That’s exactly the point, activist is neither inherently good nor bad - it’s dependent on your stance on whatever matter is being advocated for. But the general stance of portraying activism as a bad thing implies that the idea of change and advocacy (by usually disenfranchised or ignored groups) is something to be viewed poorly.
Perhaps the view is that activism implies ‘outside of the system’ activity, where ideally all people should be able to use formal channels to make change? In which case the argument misses the broader picture on how social change occurs, and the idea that formal systems may disenfranchise individuals or groups inadvertently (and sometimes intentionally ofc).
You can tell you should be worried because they use scary words and CAPITAL LETTERS. I also love how they put “it opens the door to activists” like it’s a bad thing. Personally I wouldn’t mind if Australia Day were replaced with a Treaty Day if that came to pass. It’s just an excuse to get absolutely pissed around a barbie anyway.
Well “activists” aren’t automatically a good thing by default.
That’s exactly the point, activist is neither inherently good nor bad - it’s dependent on your stance on whatever matter is being advocated for. But the general stance of portraying activism as a bad thing implies that the idea of change and advocacy (by usually disenfranchised or ignored groups) is something to be viewed poorly.
Perhaps the view is that activism implies ‘outside of the system’ activity, where ideally all people should be able to use formal channels to make change? In which case the argument misses the broader picture on how social change occurs, and the idea that formal systems may disenfranchise individuals or groups inadvertently (and sometimes intentionally ofc).