Azealia Banks admits she hates 'everything about this country'

[AverageJoe90]

253. My response.

I think extremism often helps the activist left.

I'm afraid it has far more often hurt than helped: even many of Malcolm X's actions prior to his April 1964 trip to Mecca are a good example of why. There are examples to be found in the pro-Palestine movement as well, as well as plenty of other movements; even Occupy had it's problems.

You can't get away with telling other people their experiences are not valid.

I honestly don't know what you've heard, but I know I haven't actually said and/or implied such, to anybody(I will say that I have pointed out that we should try not to let our personal experiences get in the way of facts and objectivity, which is a rather different thing altogether.)

The folks I like I consider friendly and funny and warm and kind. I don't consider them extremist. Extremists I feel aren't here talking on this message board.

We don't have a lot of extremists here, that is true; most people I've met are reasonable, from my own experience, regardless on whether or not we may disagree on certain things.....but unfortunately, the few extremists we do have here tend to be pretty vocal and in-your-face about it. I suppose you may not have noticed this, but I and quite a few others have, and I've had a few folks come to me voluntarily, telling me about their issues(and vice versa as well).

Either the current activist left learns to listen and get along with and benefit from different voices and not patronizing toward all different types of people now, or the current activist left will sink like a stone.

Somebody really should tell that to all the Ta-Nehisi Coates's, Chauncey De Vegas', Mikki Kendalls, Jessica Valentis and Brittney Coopers out there. (Especially the former three!)

Besides, I have more in common with people who might like similar music or similar likes than I might with people who have similar grudges or sex or skin color. It's a very mixed bag.

Unfortunately, a certain few people here have yet to get that memo.

Please don't get me wrong. I think there's room here for all here. I think we need it. I think it's necessary for us to build and grow. Something that may piss me off today, the next day I may laugh my ass off about it. I'm confident that I'd enjoy the personal company of pretty much everyone who posts here. I just wish that could be expressed here through language. It's often a poor substitute for real meetings offline. But since we're all in our separate areas, I guess we must do the best we can.

We can certainly try. But we do need to recognize that there is a serious image problem. I'm not about to suggest silencing people, mind, but the left really could do a better job of keeping our fringe elements better in check, and calling individuals out should they do and/or anything particularly stupid and/or wrongheaded(such as "all white people are racist" or "all men are potential rapists", for example); and once we do that, we can have a better chance at making more progress.

But at least I can say that, despite all the trouble, hope is not yet lost: same-sex marriage continues to advance across the country, to the point where even some Southern states are allowing it now. People are increasingly questioning police corruption and incompetence, whether it be in Ferguson, or New York, etc.....so yeah, even with all the problems, we can still be hopeful that all will work out in the end.