Which of these traits of forum "Democrats" is worse?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Bigots must be called out for being bigots. Nobody here is overreacting, as far as I know. I don't lose my sleep because I think about how horrible these internet bigots are, and 99.99% of the time I couldn't care less about either of them, but when this subject comes out I see no reason not to fully express my feelings about them.

Also, "social justice warrior" is not an insult. In fact, the people who actually fight for social justice are to be admired. Of course, neither me nor anyone on the forum AFAIK has actually done anything like that.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Also, "social justice warrior" is not an insult. In fact, the people who actually fight for social justice are to be admired. Of course, neither me nor anyone on the forum AFAIK has actually done anything like that.

I've been involved in gay rights campaigns for 14 years. I've marched and protested and picketed and been spat on. I've spoken out for every letter of the LGBT movement, I've fought church groups who make people's lives hell, I've worked with church groups that try to make them better and I've had to face petty bigotry during an election campaign. I just do it, I just get it done because it's a part of my life away from here. That's why I'm not the greatest fan some of the mini flag waving behind a shield of internet anonymity that passes for 'social justice' on here.

It's absolutely great that you are an actual militant and you obviously deserve more credit than  we do, but how does this make taking social justice stances on the internet a bad thing? We can't be all activists, you know. Some of us just don't have the right mindset for that, or have different priorities. But does that make out support for social justice causes worthless? Isn't it always somewhat good to have the right views, even if you don't actively work to advance them?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Afleitch is a militant? He's a good guy, and I'm happy to hear that he has protested and such, but that doesn't make him militant. He doesn't strike me as a violent person at all. The prude brood needs to spend some quality time with a dictionary before they start diagnosing people.

Come back to me when you speak French and Italian as well as I speak English.

Anyway, it's obvious I mean activist. Thanks for pointing that mistake out, I'll make sure not to do it again.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Also, "social justice warrior" is not an insult. In fact, the people who actually fight for social justice are to be admired. Of course, neither me nor anyone on the forum AFAIK has actually done anything like that.

I've been involved in gay rights campaigns for 14 years. I've marched and protested and picketed and been spat on. I've spoken out for every letter of the LGBT movement, I've fought church groups who make people's lives hell, I've worked with church groups that try to make them better and I've had to face petty bigotry during an election campaign. I just do it, I just get it done because it's a part of my life away from here. That's why I'm not the greatest fan some of the mini flag waving behind a shield of internet anonymity that passes for 'social justice' on here.

It's absolutely great that you are an actual militant and you obviously deserve more credit than  we do, but how does this make taking social justice stances on the internet a bad thing? We can't be all activists, you know. Some of us just don't have the right mindset for that, or have different priorities. But does that make out support for social justice causes worthless? Isn't it always somewhat good to have the right views, even if you don't actively work to advance them?

That's not really what I was suggesting. I think it's great that people take a stand and social media is fantastic for it but I think some people mistake that for having actual experience. It happens on the right too; 'I support our troops' because I have a bumper sticker that says so. Job done. You then end up with strange tumblr wars between people who've not been involved in anything other than changing their profile pic or sharing a banner. Sometimes people that actually do stuff get drawn in and criticised because we don't do such gestures or criticise the relevance of them.

Well, it would obviously be pretty hypocritical for a person like us to attack and denigrate someone like you (though even internet activists can provide worthwhile criticism toward real activists). I understand why some internet social justice can get obnoxious and self-righteous, but I don't think this is the case for most people on this forum. And people like Memphis or Cory absolutely deserve to be attacked and denigrated.

[Antonio the Sixth]

After reading Memphis' quotes, it appears the only crime he is guilty of is insufficient pedestalization.* Most of the evidence that 20RP12 provided are reasonable statements taken to hysterical conclusions. Seriously, how on earth does "you should take steps to avoid being a victim of _____ " = "I approve of _____"?

* Ok one of the quotes is bad, but one impromptu statement doesn't make a pattern

I think you pretty much missed the point.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I don't especially wish to come into HockeyDude's defense, but I must point out that a dislike of religion based on experience and rational reflection is not bigotry in any way. Religion is a societal phenomenon and everyone is free to judge whether its impact on society is fundamentally positive or negative. This is not in itself an attack on religious people.