My mom used to do environmental activism.
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"If its not perfect its shit!". All or nothing. No seeing practical intermediary steps.
Back when i participated on Reddit, I loved hanging out in /r/vegan. plant based or cultured alternatives? Yes please! super exciting (Im not vegan but I cook and shop for one) and I love hearing about all the new vegan things.
I'd post something positive in the vegansphere but couch it like
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"we're not entirely a vegan household.. yet.. this is a big step towards it super loving this." or heaven forbid mention that we use sustainable natural bee honey, and inevitably i'd get that ONE person going REEEEE REEEEEE YOUR IMPERFECT IMPLEMENTATION OF WATSONS 1947 MANIFESTO IS FLAWED AND YOU'RE A HYPOCRITE YOU ANIMAL MURDERER, and Im like hey, I was just pointing out that cultured salmon could quickly scale to be cheaper than the real thing back off.
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"we're not entirely a vegan household.. yet.. this is a big step towards it super loving this." or heaven forbid mention that we use sustainable natural bee honey, and inevitably i'd get that ONE person going REEEEE REEEEEE YOUR IMPERFECT IMPLEMENTATION OF WATSONS 1947 MANIFESTO IS FLAWED AND YOU'RE A HYPOCRITE YOU ANIMAL MURDERER, and Im like hey, I was just pointing out that cultured salmon could quickly scale to be cheaper than the real thing back off.
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My litmus test for anything animal related, or environmental related is: Is what Im doing net better for the planet (no matter how insignificant)? If yes, then shut the hell up. Im making things better.. Are you? or are you just standing around complaining about how people could be doing it better?
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My mom used to do environmental activism. All by herself, she got earth day started, got a recycling center going in town, and was a whistleblower about Dow chemical using agent orange. She was mentioned in Time Magazine for it.
Then she went to a barbecue for environmentalists. They put her down for wearing red lipstick and long nails.
And then her activism days petered out because she didn't want to hang out with these people.
Make sure you can see the forest for the trees.
@smutmag Had a small scale version of this recently. I told someone I canceled my Apple iCloud and Apple Card because of Apple's political donations, and the person I was talking to harangued me that I haven't boycotted the other 30 companies that did something similar.
Apple was the company I had a relationship with, and I ended it. I'm sorry that I can't perfectly protest everything.
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@smutmag Why does the left shoot itself compulsively?
In the case of my mother, it boiled down to two things: She had the audacity to get things done without their help, and she wasn't even wearing the "uniform." So they had to belittle her accomplishments and make her feel like a poser. The club wasn't REALLY about environmental justice. It was about having a group to hate on "pretty, vapid" people. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are more motivated by social standing in a group than by altruistic acts.
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@smutmag Had a small scale version of this recently. I told someone I canceled my Apple iCloud and Apple Card because of Apple's political donations, and the person I was talking to harangued me that I haven't boycotted the other 30 companies that did something similar.
Apple was the company I had a relationship with, and I ended it. I'm sorry that I can't perfectly protest everything.
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My mom used to do environmental activism. All by herself, she got earth day started, got a recycling center going in town, and was a whistleblower about Dow chemical using agent orange. She was mentioned in Time Magazine for it.
Then she went to a barbecue for environmentalists. They put her down for wearing red lipstick and long nails.
And then her activism days petered out because she didn't want to hang out with these people.
Make sure you can see the forest for the trees.
@smutmag I'm so sorry she was subjected to that - and what an amazing person to have achieved all that she did.
This kind of narrow-minded and exclusionary attitude is, sadly, I think typical for so many activist and advocacy movements.
But doing the work is what matters - and for that, from here in Ireland, I am grateful to your mother.
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My mom used to do environmental activism. All by herself, she got earth day started, got a recycling center going in town, and was a whistleblower about Dow chemical using agent orange. She was mentioned in Time Magazine for it.
Then she went to a barbecue for environmentalists. They put her down for wearing red lipstick and long nails.
And then her activism days petered out because she didn't want to hang out with these people.
Make sure you can see the forest for the trees.
@smutmag That's awful, having to put up with that.
Thank you for sharing your mom's story, and I hope it reaches the people who need to hear this the most.
Wishing your mom all the best!
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My mom used to do environmental activism. All by herself, she got earth day started, got a recycling center going in town, and was a whistleblower about Dow chemical using agent orange. She was mentioned in Time Magazine for it.
Then she went to a barbecue for environmentalists. They put her down for wearing red lipstick and long nails.
And then her activism days petered out because she didn't want to hang out with these people.
Make sure you can see the forest for the trees.
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@miki_lou She doesn't consume much and doesn't have a car. But she stopped doing organized things because it was required that she change her personality and aesthetic. I think your message should be sent to people who would reject help because they look down on women who wear lipstick. And she still did more in her lifetime than any of them, or any current environmental activist I know.
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@psh This was the 90's and it was a start, and it wasn't just plastic recycling. At the very least, recycling advocacy was the first time people even thought about where their garbage was going.
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@smutmag Why does the left shoot itself compulsively?
Almost all human groups do this. It is as soon as the purists gain control in any way, then they play the "no True Scotsman" game until only one person is left standing.
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In the case of my mother, it boiled down to two things: She had the audacity to get things done without their help, and she wasn't even wearing the "uniform." So they had to belittle her accomplishments and make her feel like a poser. The club wasn't REALLY about environmental justice. It was about having a group to hate on "pretty, vapid" people. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are more motivated by social standing in a group than by altruistic acts.
You mother was a good example of the power of marginal gains, and how all positive improvement ever happens.
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@WriteDragon @woltiv @smutmag I see this on Mastodon from time to time where people will be discussing a movement and some reply-guy will come in and chastise them because their cause is the most important thing in the world.
They then double down when replied to with the perfectly logical statement that more than one cause can be supported at the same time.
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R relay@relay.infosec.exchange shared this topic
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@psh This was the 90's and it was a start, and it wasn't just plastic recycling. At the very least, recycling advocacy was the first time people even thought about where their garbage was going.
@smutmag Oh absolutely, sorry wasn't meaning to be a negative response - she sounds like she was an amazing advocate; especially during that time frame. I've talked with many environmental advocates who were fighting at that time for estuary health, bird sanctuary conservation, river conservation, no-spray zones, pesticide reduction, etc etc. It's dumbfounding just how idiotic our society as a whole was and still is to environmental wastes. That can definitely cause people to spiral into some sort of perfectionism...which is basically impossible to achieve today. You'll see much infighting like your mom experienced. And more often than not, it leads many of us who over think to an all consuming nihilism. Community shouldn't be that judgemental.
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My mom used to do environmental activism. All by herself, she got earth day started, got a recycling center going in town, and was a whistleblower about Dow chemical using agent orange. She was mentioned in Time Magazine for it.
Then she went to a barbecue for environmentalists. They put her down for wearing red lipstick and long nails.
And then her activism days petered out because she didn't want to hang out with these people.
Make sure you can see the forest for the trees.
@smutmag Much respect for your mom. Purity tests like the ones she faced are the kiss of death to so many movements.
Brava! From another lipstick-wearing activist.
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@smutmag Committed activists never stop, they just change strategies when barriers or people get in the way. Hope your mom is still standing up for Mother Earth. She needs all of our help these days.
Committed activists welcome as many people as possible into their movement.
Committed activists don't get hung up on unimportant stuff, and don't alienate potential allies.
Committed activists pay attention to the community they are creating.
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My mom used to do environmental activism. All by herself, she got earth day started, got a recycling center going in town, and was a whistleblower about Dow chemical using agent orange. She was mentioned in Time Magazine for it.
Then she went to a barbecue for environmentalists. They put her down for wearing red lipstick and long nails.
And then her activism days petered out because she didn't want to hang out with these people.
Make sure you can see the forest for the trees.
@smutmag legend
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My mom used to do environmental activism. All by herself, she got earth day started, got a recycling center going in town, and was a whistleblower about Dow chemical using agent orange. She was mentioned in Time Magazine for it.
Then she went to a barbecue for environmentalists. They put her down for wearing red lipstick and long nails.
And then her activism days petered out because she didn't want to hang out with these people.
Make sure you can see the forest for the trees.
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My mom used to do environmental activism. All by herself, she got earth day started, got a recycling center going in town, and was a whistleblower about Dow chemical using agent orange. She was mentioned in Time Magazine for it.
Then she went to a barbecue for environmentalists. They put her down for wearing red lipstick and long nails.
And then her activism days petered out because she didn't want to hang out with these people.
Make sure you can see the forest for the trees.
@smutmag Extremist people can be dangerous. In every group, there are always some who go too far to the other extreme. And ironically, the most harmful people for any group are often those who are the most intense and fanatical.
