Jan30
on January 30, 2018
SJC
I’ve always wondered why it’s “warrior” and not “paladin” or “knight”. It feels like a crusade of sorts.
I’m always amused how SJW gets thrown around as a pejorative. A warrior for social justice. As if the desire to try and improve justice in society is somehow bad or worthy of derision. It feels like insulting someone for saving puppies. (“Oh, ignore them, they’re just a Hungry Puppy Saviour.”) There is certainly some people who push the fight too the limits, who take the “warrior” aspect too far. But it’s not the cause that’s at fault. The issue is the same problem that affects people on both sides: extremism. Extremism and a refusal to compromise.
Mm, I think it’s not so much about so-called ‘SJWs’ wanting to improve society, but rather when the term is thrown around it’s used to describe people who use social issues as an excuse to harass and abuse others.
…So, you know, the troll in your comic is probably more of a ‘SJW’ in the pejorative sense than the cleric is.
The term is apparently old, but started being thrown around as a pejorative during Gamergate. There seems to be a lot of personal subtext that goes into it, with some using the term just on “left-wing activists”, others on people they believe are being disingenuous with their advocacy, and others thinking it just applies to more… trollish speakers. But its usage is almost always an insult thrown at people who are pushing a social agenda.
I’ve seen my fair share of trolls and bullies on the left. But anyone throwing around a pejorative term that explicitly includes their target’s politics isn’t a non-troll move.
I believe the etymology is derived from “Keyboard Warrior”, which refers to someone who gives in to the Internet’s ability to express rage and spew vitriol without fear of real consequences (also known as an “internet tough guy”), and while broadly and inartfully applied to just about anyone would best describe the extremest bullies and them alone.
As with most memetic terms of a disapproving nature, it’s been watered down and rendered a meaningless pejorative by overuse.
It’s synonymous with “politically correct”.
It’s an anti-free expression, pro-censorship movement focused on telling people what they can and can’t say, and “shaming” them when they get out of line.
It’s a case of the cure being worse than the disease. What’s worse, being a little bit rude to the blacks (or whoever) or undermining their freedom to express ideas?
Well, anonymous person who isn’t brave enough to use a remotely real email and stand by their beliefs, the right to free speech has very little to do with censorship. It’s about the right to criticise the government without facing legal consequences. And even then we commonly accept that there are certain limits to free speech, such as libel or sharing confidential information/ violating NDAs. But for the sake of argument let’s put that aside and pretend we have a right to say anything we want…
First off, just because you can say something doesn’t make that the right thing to do. If your best defence of saying something is that it’s not illegal, then that statement probably wasn’t worth saying.
People have the right to say what they want and believe what they want. But your rights end with another person. There’s no right mandating they have to listen to what you have to say, and there’s no right that says you can impact their emotions and make them feel bad. That’s infringing on their right to happiness.
Plus, the political correctness movement is not about enacting laws to limit free speech, it’s about encouraging greater personal restraint in speech. Which is pretty much how society works. When you grandmother gives you and ugly ass sweater for Christmas, you smile and say “thanks grandma, I love it.” That’s self-censorship. You are responding to the potential of being shamed for getting out of line. And avoiding hurting someone’s feelings. That’s just being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole.
Which is pretty much the intent of political correctness. Expanding the definition of things being said that makes one an asshole. It’s saying that “being a little bit rude to the blacks” is just as bad as telling your silver haired grandmother that her hand knitted sweater looks like ass and she should be ashamed of it. And if you’re not going to do the latter, you don’t get to complain about the former being rude.