i spent a lot of time knocking doors for bernie in 2020, as well as a left-wing city council candidate in my city. at that time I was pretty online, listened to all the “left” podcasts, had an actual DSA membership card. it was genuinely shocking to discover how disconnected all the online shit was to whatever was happening in the politics of my city and with the people involved in the Bernie movement in actual real life. the people i met canvassing were all ages, races, classes, etc. nobody knew who “aimee terese” was (tragically the names of all these people are still burned into my brain). it sounds so naive but i didn’t realize until then that all the people busying themselves online were not actually, for the most part, boots on the ground, and I found myself very saddened and embarrassed and disillusioned to have believed on any level that all the leftist infighting was helping anything. it’s not that I think people who post about who’s a Trotskyist or what is the correct thing to believe about Cuba are acting in bad faith, it’s that they’re cosplaying as influential actors out of desperation! we all want a better world and it’s easier to post and discuss and host panels than it is to engage in our communities.
i read a book by a monk once who said that people would come to her and ask “I want to change my life; I want to make the world better; I want to help. What can I do that will help?”. the monk would respond by saying: “well, why don’t you help your wife?” we can only change what we can touch, and online nobody can touch anything.
The vibe-shift discourse (not directly what you were talking about but certainly related) became tiresome rather quickly, and/or refused to get to the root of the matter, so this was a welcome read. Thanks. I also think there's something to be said about how "vibes-based" political culture generally has become, particularly for the centrist/liberal set.
Obviously those few weeks after Harris took over for Biden were the peak of all this, after which it suddenly dawned on everyone that she was no more of a shoo-in to beat Trump. The whole political landscape has come to thrive on the insubstantial, substituting spectacle for principle. I wonder if the internecine left nastiness is somehow an adaptation to the broader devolution of "how to do politics." Which doesn't discount any of what you said. The onus is still on us to act like actual human fucking beings to each other.
I think there is something extremely seductive about falling entirely into vibes-based online politics, especially when the alternative is grueling, and more often than not thankless, political work.
I pretty much spent the last five years of my life working with Germany's big tent left-wing party in one of the most conservative cities in the country. How did I end up there? A mix of vague political opinions I got by going to punk concerts and being enamored with the Sanders campaign because let's face it, the American discourse drags everything behind itself, even if it's barely applicable. Especially online.
The most 'success' that whole chapter of my political work saw was maybe helping out a couple of dozen people with getting their rent adjusted or finding someone who would represent them in a court case. But realistically, that kind of organizing isn't exactly the way to grow political movements in an already hostile political environment. It's basically charity with a political tinge.
In the end, I found myself at the far left of the party and jumped ship to a 'proper' communist party, which resulted in an even more hostile environment with even fewer results, but far more arguments about what are essentially disconnected theoretical points with no relation to actual organizing. We also managed to convince two dozen people in a small union to take part in one protest. That's about it.
Now I moved, and I'm politically aimless, but on some level I dread working in a small insular organisation again, even if it vaguely fits into what I see as correct political praxis.
In short: This shit sucks, and it's so much easier to fling shit at random people on the internet. And on the worst days, it doesn't really feel like there is much of a difference in effect. But I guess that's a result of the lack of a 'real movement' to actually orientate with and for.
Appreciate the article. Gave me some food for thought.
OK YES but-- (and?)-- it might not be a question of vibes but of strategy? Can leftists actually get more *attuned* to everyone else's vibes/stop policing everyone in a very carceral and off-putting fashion and be able to strategize thoughtfully?
I agree! My meta point in writing this is that the question of vibes is intrinsic to the question of strategy. Obviously the “vibe” the left has adopted is off putting and unattractive to a lot of people. I think there’s a political economic reason for that but it’s unquestionable (to me) that it’s been bad strategy. I think being respectful of people (and their identity ofc) and their lived experience is extremely important, and that’s the strategy most organizers adopt anyway. It’s turning it into something different tho, and it’s clear the ppl spearheading that _dont_ organize in any meaningful way bc they think we need to police, when really, you don’t!
I love that you have taken an issue, and very clearly dissected it down to the foundations. Having read this, Imcan think more clearly about all the dissassociative noise that's spewed everyday. Well done. Even your opening metaphor works.
i spent a lot of time knocking doors for bernie in 2020, as well as a left-wing city council candidate in my city. at that time I was pretty online, listened to all the “left” podcasts, had an actual DSA membership card. it was genuinely shocking to discover how disconnected all the online shit was to whatever was happening in the politics of my city and with the people involved in the Bernie movement in actual real life. the people i met canvassing were all ages, races, classes, etc. nobody knew who “aimee terese” was (tragically the names of all these people are still burned into my brain). it sounds so naive but i didn’t realize until then that all the people busying themselves online were not actually, for the most part, boots on the ground, and I found myself very saddened and embarrassed and disillusioned to have believed on any level that all the leftist infighting was helping anything. it’s not that I think people who post about who’s a Trotskyist or what is the correct thing to believe about Cuba are acting in bad faith, it’s that they’re cosplaying as influential actors out of desperation! we all want a better world and it’s easier to post and discuss and host panels than it is to engage in our communities.
i read a book by a monk once who said that people would come to her and ask “I want to change my life; I want to make the world better; I want to help. What can I do that will help?”. the monk would respond by saying: “well, why don’t you help your wife?” we can only change what we can touch, and online nobody can touch anything.
The vibe-shift discourse (not directly what you were talking about but certainly related) became tiresome rather quickly, and/or refused to get to the root of the matter, so this was a welcome read. Thanks. I also think there's something to be said about how "vibes-based" political culture generally has become, particularly for the centrist/liberal set.
Obviously those few weeks after Harris took over for Biden were the peak of all this, after which it suddenly dawned on everyone that she was no more of a shoo-in to beat Trump. The whole political landscape has come to thrive on the insubstantial, substituting spectacle for principle. I wonder if the internecine left nastiness is somehow an adaptation to the broader devolution of "how to do politics." Which doesn't discount any of what you said. The onus is still on us to act like actual human fucking beings to each other.
Also, on the subject of channeling hate, you may well have already read this but China Mieville's A Spectre, Haunting is very good on that front. Again, you very well may already have read it, but just in case... https://jacobin.com/2022/11/china-mieville-a-spectre-haunting-hatred-capitalism-communist-manifesto
I think there is something extremely seductive about falling entirely into vibes-based online politics, especially when the alternative is grueling, and more often than not thankless, political work.
I pretty much spent the last five years of my life working with Germany's big tent left-wing party in one of the most conservative cities in the country. How did I end up there? A mix of vague political opinions I got by going to punk concerts and being enamored with the Sanders campaign because let's face it, the American discourse drags everything behind itself, even if it's barely applicable. Especially online.
The most 'success' that whole chapter of my political work saw was maybe helping out a couple of dozen people with getting their rent adjusted or finding someone who would represent them in a court case. But realistically, that kind of organizing isn't exactly the way to grow political movements in an already hostile political environment. It's basically charity with a political tinge.
In the end, I found myself at the far left of the party and jumped ship to a 'proper' communist party, which resulted in an even more hostile environment with even fewer results, but far more arguments about what are essentially disconnected theoretical points with no relation to actual organizing. We also managed to convince two dozen people in a small union to take part in one protest. That's about it.
Now I moved, and I'm politically aimless, but on some level I dread working in a small insular organisation again, even if it vaguely fits into what I see as correct political praxis.
In short: This shit sucks, and it's so much easier to fling shit at random people on the internet. And on the worst days, it doesn't really feel like there is much of a difference in effect. But I guess that's a result of the lack of a 'real movement' to actually orientate with and for.
Appreciate the article. Gave me some food for thought.
there is nothing worse than a DC liberal tbh
This is all a lie New York hasn’t existed for a few years now
OK YES but-- (and?)-- it might not be a question of vibes but of strategy? Can leftists actually get more *attuned* to everyone else's vibes/stop policing everyone in a very carceral and off-putting fashion and be able to strategize thoughtfully?
I agree! My meta point in writing this is that the question of vibes is intrinsic to the question of strategy. Obviously the “vibe” the left has adopted is off putting and unattractive to a lot of people. I think there’s a political economic reason for that but it’s unquestionable (to me) that it’s been bad strategy. I think being respectful of people (and their identity ofc) and their lived experience is extremely important, and that’s the strategy most organizers adopt anyway. It’s turning it into something different tho, and it’s clear the ppl spearheading that _dont_ organize in any meaningful way bc they think we need to police, when really, you don’t!
Danny Fetonte innocent!!!!!!
Wow this is my experience too, almost totally.
ok but your vibes are great. im throwing my next golf ball at you
I love that you have taken an issue, and very clearly dissected it down to the foundations. Having read this, Imcan think more clearly about all the dissassociative noise that's spewed everyday. Well done. Even your opening metaphor works.
Great writing