Can I just be frank in saying that if you're shaming others for not being a "good enough activist," you are the actual bad activist here.
I see a lot of people acting like the only way of getting stuff done is through the most extreme of extremes and let me just. Let me put in perspective how many people CANNOT just afford to put their lives on the line. Not even because they're a minority, but like.. To list a few reasons:
Some people are disabled in ways you cannot immediately see. This doesn't make them less disabled or a "faker."
Some people have things they cannot afford to miss. Family to take care of. Hospitals to go to. School events for their kids. Jobs to work. To SURVIVE. Yes, even at companies that are bad. Sometimes, that is their only option. Them working there is NOT ENDORSEMENT.
Yes, many things of the daily life need to take pause for the more important and stressful matters. Yes, many do not have those (or similar) things preventing them from a less peaceful protest. Yes, peaceful protest is not the only method of protest, nor should it be, nor should people always try to be "polite" and stay in the center. We'd get nowhere if that was the only method people utilized.
However, I have seen a noticeable dismissal of groups who cannot attend for a variety of reasons, and I find this whole concept of shaming others to be the absolute OPPOSITE of helpful for the cause. It ESPECIALLY pisses me off when people howl at others and prattle on about what they've done and what YOU should be "doing." I find it insanely performative and thoughtless. There's more nuance to protesting than people realize. There are still things of use thar the average leftist can grab from an "overly peaceful protest." There is still validity in a protest full of emotions and actions fueled by adrenaline and a need for change. These two methods of protest are not mutually exclusive, and I am BEGGING for certain folk to realize that.
It is as unfortunate as it is natural to admit this truth: Many people are not motivated by terror, no matter how much you try to explain. They will not respond by immediately joining and linking arms with you and taking a stand. They will hide in their rooms and think of giving in to despair. They will feel lost and hopeless. This doesn't mean you should write them off or call them a bad person.
People are motivated by love and desire. Motivated by seeing a better day come. Motivated by getting that job. By winning that competition. By want. By indulgence. By partners, parents, friends, or the notion of them. Be there for others as you want—need them to be there for you.
Now, you can mix the two, of course.
But why on Earth would people want to save a world if your description of it is nothing but a desolate, corporate wasteland that's already (or about to be) a lost cause?
You can NOT stand around and blame others if you fail to utilize your words properly. The world is a beautiful place in spite of what ugliness MAY possibly tarnish it. Fight for a better day, for clearer skies; not for revenge, not for "getting back" at those you hate.
As one post I absolutely adored put it:
You have to love more than you hate.
