#burntout — Public Fediverse posts

(7/?) So to recap so far: People in the US aren't rising up en masse because we are living against the backdrop of an on-going #covid19 #pandemic that is harming our health, committed activists have been #traumatized and #BurntOut by their so-called "comrades" and #leftist groups uncommitted to care, and in general, people in the US tend to exist in a state of precarity to begin with.

Those are, to me, the big reasons why people aren't flooding the streets to stop #Musk's #coup or #Trump's blatant #unconstitutional overreaches. And of course, this is what the #fascists want. They want us tired and burnt out and precarious so that we will let them have their way, and they know full well that once they consolidate power, they will keep us even more traumatized, burnt out, and precarious as they continue to oppress and exploit us for their own gain. What do we do about this?

#USPol #USPolitics #MovementBuilding

As sort of a post-script--but not a subtoot!--to my most recent thread, but also a though that stands on its own, if someone tells you they are #burntOut and #traumatized from doing #leftist #activism, the most helpful response is not to accuse of them being a bad person in some way for not doing activism anymore. The most helpful response is also not to jump in and tell them why your activism is good and sustaining and different.

The most helpful response is #CompassionateCuriosity. Nonjudgementally ask them what happened and listen to what they say with empathy. Do not blame, shame or try to bully them into getting back into activism. They've already heard it, and you're only perpetuating a capitalism and white supremacy when you do. If you can learn anything from their experience, take it back to your own activist groups and try to mitigate similar damage to people in the future.

#PSA #leftist #activists #Socialism #BurnOut #trauma #empathy