Jul 4, 2022·edited Jul 12, 2022Liked by Inverse Florida
This kind of thing leads to a new type of progressive liberal I've started encountering in the wild: the "sanewashed". They've basically only ever absorbed Left (as in "Leftist", "Leftism", etc) ideas through sanewashing and social proof, which creates a distinct problem: they have no idea the original ideas actually exist. If you try to tell them about Abolish the Police or "ACAB means ACAB" or any similar matter on any other issue, they straight-up refuse to believe you until you sit them down and give them a potted educational session on the history of left-wing ideologies and ideas. Even then, some of them will continue to insist that the sanewashed position they were bullied into holding is the "real" one, and that the actual Leftists generating and disseminating the ideas are some kind of conspiracy theory.
This kind of thing leads to a new type of progressive liberal I've started encountering in the wild: the "sanewashed". They've basically only ever absorbed Left (as in "Leftist", "Leftism", etc) ideas through sanewashing and social proof, which creates a distinct problem: they have no idea the original ideas actually exist. If you try to tell them about Abolish the Police or "ACAB means ACAB" or any similar matter on any other issue, they straight-up refuse to believe you until you sit them down and give them a potted educational session on the history of left-wing ideologies and ideas. Even then, some of them will continue to insist that the sanewashed position they were bullied into holding is the "real" one, and that the actual Leftists generating and disseminating the ideas are some kind of conspiracy theory.
“Defund the police” ended up funding half the writers on Substack. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
This is one of the most enlightening things I’ve read. I’ve been stuck in conversations like this myself and I couldn’t figure out why. Thanks!