So...it does not elude me that it seems rich that I criticize SJWs for attacking more moderate lefties who have different ideologies but who want the same thing, but I went after Hillary Clinton over abortion rights and gay marriage and not having the same ideology/worldview as me at the time.
So, let me just say, that first of all, I have evolved a little on this issue. In 2016 I was still an angsty atheist who purity tested people based on religion and the fact that clinton and kaine had a primarily religious worldview was offputting for me. Their religious worldviews had them do a dance where they did this "public/private position" thing, and I wanted the left to represent...the left worldview. I didn't want someone to debate the issues on conservative terms, I wanted to encourage people to shed religion as a primary influencer in their worldviews.
Nowadays, having a worldview that is in itself a little spiritual, I have relaxed this somewhat.
Still, i do want to explain what makes my opinions on this different from SJWs as there are some differences. First of all, let me just say that politicians should have different perspectives than VOTERS. Voters can be moderate. Moderates are going to inevitably be an important part of any coalition and it's important to win them over. HOWEVER, moderates shouldnt represent the mainstream position of a party. The party should represent a more ideological, principled left wing stance on issues. They should unapologetically be for abortion rights and gay marriage and trans rights, etc. Unlike what SJWs think, I dont advise the left to abandon these issues. I just think that they are a bit too abrasive in their approach to advocating for them.
Like, murder is bad right? Well how often do you hear people talking about murder being bad in politics? Not often. Well, imagine despite that, you have some weird self righteous group who goes on constantly about murder being bad and you need to make murder being bad your number one priority and your opponents wanna legalize murder and if you dont prioritize murder as your #1 priority, youre a bad person.
You would probably think this person is a jerk that's actually harming their cause. Murder is assumed to be bad, but being so self righteous youre actually creating a bunch of people who start reconsidering their views on the issue because these guys are so self righteous it pisses people off. And then you end up making this a huge issue it doesnt have to be.
Im not saying, in this case, the right isnt regressive. They are. They do want to go back in time on abortion and gay marriage, but despite those being their perspectives on those issues, i dont believe they're mainstream at all. The fact is, the left WON on those issues, and when you WIN on these issues the best thing you can do is drop them and move on to the NEXT thing. Like, after gay marriage was legalized, the answer for the left was to accept the progress, defend it enthusiastically, but otherwise DROP IT. SJWs are, on the flip side, grievance makers. They literally try to make mountains out of mole hills and keep grifting based on past issues. They start saying it's no longer enough to accept gay marriage, but if you arent as enthusiastic as they are, then youre a bad person who lacks empathy. It's obnoxious and alienating.
Meanwhile, clinton and kaine were open christians (and post 2012 christianity was like my #1 ideological foe) who seemed clearly uncomfortable with gay marriage and abortion. They seemed to actually agree with the right morally, but accepted the issues transactionally. And given how "compromise" happy centrist dems are, it was not at all inconcievable that if the right came for these rights, that the "left" would bend over backwards to meet them half way. Because these politicians didnt even like those things anyway, and if dealing with a republican congress, they were going to be on the table as bargaining chips. We saw this in the 90s a lot, dont ask dont tell, welfare reform, etc. We didn't want THAT.
This seems a lot different than a passive VOTER like me who actually ideologically supports those rights (for my own reasons) but am being lambasted for not being more enthusiastic and empathetic. And I guess you could say that at the end of the day my voting behavior sells out those rights, but there is a really simple answer to that: actually appeal to my concerns. I would ideally prefer to work with other lefties of different ideologies than the right. But when my ideological preferences are not fulfilled, I start looking for the best fit options, and certain compromises may be made if I cant find anyone who ticks ALL of the boxes.
The fact is, despite enthusiastically being for many of these social issues from a "left" perspective, theyre not my top priorities. My economic agenda is. And if the left intentionally ignores my priorities, well, I'm going to shift my voting accordingly. What SJWs do is shame me for not PRIORITIZING THEIR issues. ANd for believing in them from a different but parallel ideological standpoint. I think the fact that i support the right position from an ideological standpoint even if it's the "wrong" one puts me a good step above clinton/kaine. They didnt even believe in the issues and would probably sell out the issues for next to nothing. Centrist dems often do this when facing republican congresses. They shift right to meet them half way, and then come off as some great compromiser.
Again, Im not gonna be compromising with republican politicians any time soon. Heck, my distaste for compromise is why im fine sitting on the sidelines as a cheerleader for my own issues. I dont have the makings of a good or effective politician. To make a biblical reference, I'm more that morally pure prophet who sits on the sidelines and tells the political leadership the direction to go in, I'm NOT that leadership myself, nor do I desire to be.
But I do want politicians who fight for my priorities, and I will vote for the closest fit. Maybe SJWs hate me because their line in the sand issues differ from mine, but tough crap. Politics is coalitional, and the best way to resolved this issue is to work with people like me despite our different priorities, not shame me for not thinking like you.
At the end of the day i understand a lot of pro choice and pro gay marriage liberals are gonna be a lot like Hillary CLinton and Tim Kaine. And that's fine. Not everyone is gonna be morally pure. I just dont want them representing the mainstream opinion of the party as the republicans keep shifting right.
I also would have no issues voting for an SJW type if they also support economic priorities of mine. Hell many lefties i support are more extreme than i am on these issues. Marianne Williamson is for reparations, for instance. I aint gonna vote against her simply over that. So it goes the other way too.
The fact is, I'm a leftie who supports left wing priorities from a non social justice oriented mindset. CLinton and Kaine were centrists who didnt even believe in the issues, but accepted them for transactional reasons, and are infamous for compromising and selling out contentious issues to the radical right. We are not the same.
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