to wince at ‘everyday activism’?

[Suprima]

a bit of an odd one, I feel a bit of dick for my wincing but just wondered if anyone has encountered the same?

Background: I have been a member of a political party since age 12. Door knocking, letter stuffing, attending party conference as a weird child in a suit (I am not William Hague btw). Politicsy degree. Onto a very politicised profession. Still a vaguely active member as an adult. Ward meetings and stuff. I love talking about politics and current affairs over dinner drinks, etc.

However- I’ve moved to a new area and I have joined a few hobby related whatsapp ground

Go on...

AGHHH posting the rest

Joined a few hobby related WhatsApp groups…

and not a day goes by without multiple people spamming guardian links or petitions completely unrelated to the group.

In the mum groups I’m in, it’s constant ‘Petition for Universal Childcare!!!’ as they have only just realised this is an issue once it effects them. And more guardian links from 8 years ago.

Generally I agree with the sentiments, so I don’t understand why this irks me so much.

feel a bit of a knobhead, can’t put my finger on why.

Is it the context shift? Am i doing some sort of subconscious horrible gatekeeping?

does any of this make sense?

Not sure what you mean but I wince at "I am an ally." Is it similar?

*affects

Oh you mean spamming. Yes, that's irritating.

I think you need to accept people generally only get fired up about issues that affect them.

And out of this kind of “mild” “armchair” activism comes a lot of good like awareness and fund raising.

But is it serious, well thought out, politically positioned issues debate? No of course not.

Is it that you're annoyed that people are only waking up to issues as adults or when it affects them directly? So a lack of social conscience?

Yeah, I'm kind of with you on this. I've used other mums' sudden feminist awakenings to spread the word. Why yes, it is very difficult for women to get back to work... Have you ever wondered why we have fewer women than men in Parliament? Why yes, men who don't pull their weight at home are a complete liability. Have you thought about the media diet you're feeding to the next generation - I recommend steering clear of princesses who need rescuing... It doesn't stop the spam from being annoying, but what can you do?

Incidentally, never sign a Greenpeace petition. They actually phone you😮to talk about it.

I think this is a bit unfair and if you’re really honest with yourself, a bit snobbish.

Most people aren’t heavily politicised. They may be undecided as to which party they support. They may be turned off by the culture of politics or feel intimidated by it. They may simply not have the time or the bandwidth.

I consider myself a politically aware person and I am interested in politics (and I am a member of a political party). But for various reasons I have not gone to many meetings and events, have never done canvassing or letter stuffing etc.

This is partly because I’m fairly lukewarm about the party I support even though I’m clear that I would vote for them. It’s partly because I am a single mum who works FT and I simply don’t have time. And it’s also because I have always found the dogmatic nature of people who are heavily invested in any one political party off putting.

Am I fickle and lazy? Maybe. But a lot of people are like this. In large part I think the culture of politics really turns people off (and this applies to all the main parties). The tunnel vision, the cliques, the inside jokes, the misogyny. Both of our main political parties in this country have done a lot to alienate their supporters in recent years.

A lot of people choose to engage only in areas where they feel personally invested as opposed because they just don’t have the time or the emotional space to commit themselves to an ideological monolith which they are far from certain will work in their interests. I think this is understandable.