"You can not have a government for and by the people if it is not represented by all of the people"

[JHan]

36. There's another element of "Identity politics" which doesn't get discussed..

And this is the one that's toxic.

The whole boycott vs attend hearing dust-up is a case in point.

What is this thing that makes people assume that engagement with the system is not a form of direct action?

This is where identity politics and consumerist politics meet and is expressed through how people signal themselves to the world - Like the pseudo-revolutionary who is too cool to respect reformers. Who wants to "fight" and take it to "streets". All fine and good but nary a word about how to change systems in impactful ways i.e ways that will actually work.

And anyone engaging with the system, or just doing their job effectively ( or an incrementalist) is too milquetoast, too mild, too "cautious", too "weak".

And this posturizing has a gendered element to it because Democrats - the party with more women and the party which prioritizes social justice, gets hit with the "weak" accusations - no matter the situation, no matter the occasion, no matter if there's a Dem president or not, or if Dems have a majority or not.