"The thing about activism, though, is that it’s meant in part to be a performance." Would love to abolish the use of "performative" as a pejorative but I know that the fight is already lost. substack.com/home/post/p-... - ThreadSky

prisonculture.bsky.social • 5 days ago

"The thing about activism, though, is that it’s meant in part to be a performance." Would love to abolish the use of "performative" as a pejorative but I know that the fight is already lost.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-158269072?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Comments

gearpunkv.bsky.social•4 days ago

Protest has to be visible. It must be public. It must grab the attention and awaken the observer. Stay Woke my friends.

fifthdentist.bsky.social•5 days ago

I use "performative" as a pejorative when describing Susan Collins and her ilk.

I use "theater" more often in the context of protesting. It's a similar idea without the connotations.

handonthetiller.bsky.social•5 days ago

💯

tiarocket13.bsky.social•5 days ago

Remember when Goya came out as a big Maga donor and everyone switched to smaller brands? I still don't see as much of thier stuff around as it used to be. Boycotts work.

siyandawrites.bsky.social•5 days ago

Right! By definition a demonstration is a performance

jasonlivingston.bsky.social•5 days ago

💯

katyrex.meatjacker.social•5 days ago

This is fair! When I have used it as a pejorative it is because I am trying to point out its inefficacy and also, to some degree, value of what is being performed - if the performance is intended to make one look good AND NOT affect change, that's the issue I am ineffectively trying to communicate.

sapsquatch.bsky.social•4 days ago

I don’t know what to believe about the guy behind the one day boycott. People are definitely trying to take him down. Regardless I was under the impression that it was a coordinated group of black faith leaders that initiated the Target boycott, not some lone white guy.

leoemanuel.bsky.social•5 days ago

I agree with you. Boycotts are an educational opportunity to inspire class consciousness. But you can only channel that with a political program for what a better world could look like.

leosparkle.bsky.social•5 days ago

Good points. Actions can be meaningful for participants in building community and empowering the participants. I live that this boycott idea came from a meditation facilitator. An action can have a spiritual component by connecting people to something bigger than themselves.

mskanin.bsky.social•5 days ago

in my opinion, Dem leaders are drowning in cognitive dissonance-they can't understand how to do things differently. Maga is theatrical. We have to be, too. Why are there only about 10 electeds who begin to understand this?

prisonculture.bsky.social•5 days ago

"Actions aren’t just meant to push those in power. They can also be designed to rally people and get them further engaged. You draw people in, give them a sense that they can work together, and they may be ready to do more."

nohaengja.bsky.social•5 days ago

I’m with you. When you get right down to it, *everything* we do in public is performative on some level. It’s the *content* of the performance that is salient.

prisonculture.bsky.social•5 days ago

ALSO people spend trillions of dollars on PERFORMANCES. Like, come on! We love performance. It's part of storytelling. Human love stories.

nohaengja.bsky.social•5 days ago

People make sense the world through stories

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