Ever hear of cointelpro?

Mockingbird?

Mkultra?

I think people think about activism in the wrong way.

Yeh, what's going on in the name of "activism" these days?

Activists are by and large privileged intellectuals who're comfortable enough in their liberal naivete to still believe our government is a republic that can be petitioned to change.

All activism seems to be today is pandering on about nonissue crap. All the while, letting the government step on us, kill children, and strip us of our rights.

And when activists do protest tyranny, oligopoly, and oligarchy, the pseudo activists scream for there heads. History will not be kind to this era.

What if all of the "activism" of today was about real issues?

I think "activists" today would tell you they were fighting the real, important issues.

Walt Hippyland: Not Even Once.

Completely agree, I think the majority of Western 'issues' today focus on trying to treat symptoms of wider systematic issues (i.e. I think women are less successful in the workplace due to an overly competitive atmosphere in most workplaces that women are generally not prepared to thrive in by society rather than some kind of inherent sexism...) that go largely ignored by the activist crowd. There's still some hope in the privacy/internet-rights community I feel but this has been side-lined over the last few years to a depressing degree.

Yes. Even the term "social justice" has been hijacked. It's a calculated move.

No, it is what it is.

I'm speaking from some experience here. I attended a Friends school. Quakers are notorious advocates of "social justice" and have played a historical role in the prohibition of slavery and civil rights movements in addition to anti-war and more contemporary justice movements.

I watched at my own alma mater and have spoken with friends from numerous other affiliated schools who have had the same experience, where social justice movements focused on addressing the needs of those abused by power have been coopted to refocus on ego-driven emotional needs. Where the quakers have traditionally worked for justice in palestine, these educational institutions are being prompted to shut down those programs and focus on gender issues. Where previously critics were addressing the sale of small arms to african countries by the US government and defense corporations, they are now being told to focus on the ousting of "oppressive regimes".

It's a manipulation of a peace movement and a generation to focus on the wrong things.

Quakers are notorious advocates of "social justice" and have played a historical role in the prohibition of slavery and civil rights movements in addition to anti-war and more contemporary justice movements.

I like how you use "social justice" as a generic catch-all term for the causes you like while feigning surprise that others--with whom you disagree--might do the same.

Anti-war, for example, is not "social justice" but rather simply "anti-war."

You can accept or reject this reality. That's fine with me. You're free to make believe, but playing pretend will always just be playing pretend.

Look no further than Occupy...

Youre right in that the term is abstract and can be used however people want. You're wrong in that war is addressed by social justice and that those who believe in social equality have been and are traditionally focused on the underprivileged and those abused by government institutions.

What happened to free speech? In 1978, neo nazis were given permission by the Supreme Court to march through a Jewish neighborhood where many people were holocaust survivors.

While I don't agree with neo-nazis, I respect their right to free speech.

The American two-party system has successfully created a perpetual "us vs. them" mindset amongst the population which effectively stifles any kind of actual development. It turns everything into a debate that lacks an in-between, conveniently camouflaging the actual issues at hand.

If you have zealots on both sides of the pro-life debate (for example), you don't have nearly as many people asking why this debate is still going on in one of the (apparently) most developed countries in the world. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is looking on in sheer confusion, wondering how America became such a baffling contradiction.

We see this with party leaders being considered "generous" when they make any strides towards a reasonable center as the people praise them for listening while nothing actually changes. Reasonable decisions shouldn't be disguised as massive compromise, the rest of the modern world is well-beyond dealing with the issues that seem to generate an inordinate amount of attention in America.

Well said. It's ridiculous.

Well-said. Agreed.

I think it's all by design. TPTB want these idiots to protest about dumb crap, so that when we protest about important issues nobody will care or listen. It's being done to desensitize the sheep to protesting.

I'm speaking from some experience here. I attended a Friends school. Quakers are notorious advocates of "social justice" and have played a historical role in the prohibition of slavery and civil rights movements in addition to anti-war and more contemporary justice movements.

I watched at my own alma mater and have spoken with friends from numerous other affiliated schools who have had the same experience, where social justice movements focused on addressing the needs of those abused by power have been coopted to refocus on ego-driven emotional needs. Where the quakers have traditionally worked for justice in palestine, these educational institutions are being prompted to shut down those programs and focus on gender issues. Where previously critics were addressing the sale of small arms to african countries by the US government and defense corporations, they are now being told to focus on the ousting of "oppressive regimes".

It's a manipulation of a peace movement and a generation to focus on the wrong things.