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All opinions and views stated on this site belong solely to Corina Lynn Becker, and do not represent or reflects the views and opinions of any organizations, unless otherwise specified.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Expanding Activism Styles on Genderbitch

I highly recommend reading the post Activist Modus Operandi: Methods of Communication.

You remember the post I made not too long ago about the Temptations of Activism? I divided activism into passive and aggressive, and gave a warning about activating in a way that hurts the cause. In the end, I linked to a couple of other blog entries about Trolls. One of those was to Recursive Paradox's Genderbitch.

She also posted an entry about activism styles, but divided the styles up into four methods: Nuker, Appeaser, Logic Bomber and Emoter. She writes about the strengths and weaknesses in each methods, the likely personality traits that contribute to each, and gives some guidelines to maximize the efficiency. You can read more of her post, but I've quoted those guidelines below.

1: Keep Your Group Mixed: Have Nukers, Appeasers, Logic Bombers and Emoters present within your activist network, working for the needs of your group. Make sure you have at least some switchers around and people who walk middle lines. Having someone for every context is always a good idea and will maximize your success.


2: Be Mindful Of Flaws: Make sure you are self aware and externally aware about the disadvantages of your methodology. Specifically Appeasers, who are in the most dangerous position of all. Nukers, Logic Bombers and Emoters can’t effectively be turned against their own as weaponized tools but Appeasers can. If you practice Appeaser methods, be extraordinarily careful that what you see as progress isn’t just you being co opted and used to silence Nukers and others or used to conceal other problems through lip service progressivism. Nukers clearly have to be mindful of intersectionality and their own privilege as well as allies with anxiety or conflict issues. And the other two need to be mindful of who they’re speaking to and whether they’re wasting energy.


3: Don’t Infight Over AMO’s: Seriously, this is a huge fucking one. The biggest advantage the oppressors have over you (no matter what group you’re in) is numbers. They don’t have to all agree and they can infight all they want. There’s more of them and they already have more power. We can not afford to. Now if someone is failing at 2 above, then yes, criticize them. But keep it in house. Don’t make public spectacles of it, don’t silence, don’t attack. The bigots eat that shit up. And more often than not, such infighting isn’t even in the presence of a fuck up on rule 2 but simply philosophical disagreements. Quite frankly, philosophical disagreements are a shit poor reason to engage in energy sapping infighting. If your philosophy does not connect with someone’s methods, well that’s something to discuss on down time, civilly and without argument. Jabbing at people because you think their Nuking is violent and wrong or because you think their Appeasement is an utter useless waste is not acceptable. The infighting divides us and it’s part of why we’re staying conquered.


4: Tag Team: Using multiple methods of communication in your AMO or having different AMO Communicators to back you up when you’re in the field or on the front lines maximizes your potential. If you do a little bit of Nuking and the person is getting pissy and whiny or seems to be withdrawing, call in an Appeaser to put it in gentle terms. If you’re getting ignored completely as an Appeaser, call in an air strike from the Nukers to get the attention centered on your movement’s needs. Logic Bombers and Emoters working together are especially invincible, because what works better than rational arguments mixed with things that tug your heartstrings? Remember, the stakes are intensely high. It is worth it to manipulate the majority, because chances are that’s the only way we’re going to get what we need.


5: Always Have Substance: This I can’t stress enough. It doesn’t matter how much attention you get as a Nuker, or how well you can string together an argument and logic as a Logic Bomber if you aren’t right and you don’t have content within your method. It’s irrelevant how gentle and caring you are as an Appeaser or how well you can play the heartstring violin as an Emoter if you’re wrong or don’t have anything useful to say on your group’s needs. Always make sure you know what you’re talking about, don’t speak for those with different experiences and make sure you actually have something to say. Communication methods won’t save you if you don’t have anything to communicate or you’re dead wrong about something.


It's a very good read. So go ahead and give it a look!

15 comments:

  1. Based on what this says, I am definitely a Nuker. No doubt about that, given all the satirical stuff and blunt calling out that I've posted. And I've gotten some attention from some ableist anti-autistics. Logic Bomber vs. Emoter I'm not so sure about.

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  2. Logic Bomber just bombs the opposition with information.
    An Emoter goes appeals to the emotions, plays up the anecdotes.

    I'm a combination Appeaser and Logic Bomber, as I'll take people to task for not applying their self-proclaimed master degrees and education.

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  3. Corina, I'm the same as you. Isn't that funny? SBWG, you are definetly the nuker type. Be careful SBWG.

    I am willing to take folks to task as well. I say when folks say someone is right because they're a psychologist or it's in the dsm that's called an appeal to authority.

    Just because an authority figure says something does not mean it's accurate. In fact, if the DSM was always right why have we had revisons?

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  4. SBWG, will you take the myers briggs personality test please? http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

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  5. I just took it and I'm INTJ. Here are the URLs below:

    http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=5&c=mastermind

    http://typelogic.com/intj.html

    The second one's description sounded a lot like something someone would write about me after following me around for a month. It was really scarily accurate.

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  6. SBWG

    I'm an INTP.

    http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=5&c=architect

    http://typelogic.com/intp.html

    There are plenty of problems but I did attempt that you could prove you could divide by 0.

    http://cubedemon.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-math-proof-it-may-be-possible-to.html

    http://cubedemon.blogspot.com/2009/08/more-math-crapola.html

    http://cubedemon.blogspot.com/2009/08/nothing.html

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  7. http://cubedemon.blogspot.com/2009/05/workplace-value-being-able-to-multitask.html

    I ended up in a debate with Billy Cresp about this. He thinks multi-tasking is all fine and dandy. My thinking was off a bit, and I had to recorrect my math.

    SBWG, as you see in my type I'm usually trying to convince myself as well as the other person. This is true for me. A lot of times I 2nd guess myself.

    The truth is I can be wrong so I go by the the philosophy of Socrates which is two things. 1. I know nothing. 2. I know that I know nothing.

    I am aware of my own ignornace. If I think I'm wise then am I truly wise? I would close myself off if I think I'm wise. Look at JBJr. He thinks he's the wisest man on the planet.

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  8. The people from autism speaks do not know how to deal with someone like me I think.

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  9. SBWG and Corina

    http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/moderneugenics.html#gTGEMeIVHrIi

    This might interest you two. I think the eugenics movement moved underground. There are those this movement considers "undesireables." They're trying to get rid of racial miniorities as well.

    Personally, I think we need to be teaming up with other miniorities as well. I am now a believer in Jesus Christ. His word makes perfect sense to me now.

    I've been going to a predominently black church for a while now. This is going to sound strange but when the pastor preaches he seems to know how to speak "asperger/autie english." I understand him perfectly. He is a racial miniority. Everytime that man preaches I cry. I think he is a man of God.

    Will you two do me a favor please? There is a young african-american woman named Kierra who is addicted to drugs and living in motel rooms with her abusive boyfriend. Please Pray for her. I feel bad for her and I want to cry for her everytime I think about her. I want to help her.

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  10. for the record, as I posted here I'm ISFJ/INFJ/INFP. Primarily INFJ/P.

    Cube Demon, I go by a bunch of different philosophies, one of which is Socrates I know nothing, I know I know nothing. It has reminded me to keep an open mind on things, for who am I do say what is the definite truth?

    Anyways, yes, I don't think that Autism Speaks can handle with a large body of outspoken autistics in general. The way they handle us is to ignore us, but I don't think it's going to work anymore.

    Kierra? I'll keep her in my prayers.

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  11. "And the other two need to be mindful of who they’re speaking to and whether they’re wasting energy."

    I definetly need to follow this as a logic bomber. I let that man John Best Jr, get into my stomach and I should not have let him done that. Sometimes I need to back off and just realize it's not worth my energy. You seemed to have realized that.

    Most likely no matter what logic I use I will never change that man's mind. I think it will take a miracle of God and Jesus to do that.

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  12. I need to say something else as well. It should not be just about us. Other miniorites who are NT are having major problems as well. My opinion is we need to team up with them.

    We need to love others as much as we do ourselves even our enemies. If we can do this we will be a force to be reckoned with.

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  13. @Cube Demon: I actually read another person's description of life belonging to multiple minority groups and described it as being like being cut up into little pieces. He is black and gay, but when he goes to a "black event," he is discriminated against for being gay. If he goes to a "gay pride event," then he sometimes meets gay people who are racist towards black people. I am autistic and female and often, feminists that I have encountered spout out a lot of hate speech about autistic people. So I'm allowed to be female there, but as an openly autistic person, I am met with pity and discrimination. Likewise, I have met some pro-neurodiversity people who are sexist.
    Think about that.

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  14. "@Cube Demon: I actually read another person's description of life belonging to multiple minority groups and described it as being like being cut up into little pieces. He is black and gay, but when he goes to a "black event," he is discriminated against for being gay. If he goes to a "gay pride event," then he sometimes meets gay people who are racist towards black people. I am autistic and female and often, feminists that I have encountered spout out a lot of hate speech about autistic people. So I'm allowed to be female there, but as an openly autistic person, I am met with pity and discrimination. Likewise, I have met some pro-neurodiversity people who are sexist.
    Think about that."


    We do have a problem though that I have pointed out a while back. What about the sociopath? Check this man out but be very careful with him everyone.

    Should we be inclusive with this man and accept him for what he is? http://www.sociopathworld.com/
    http://www.sociopathworld.com/search?q=aspies

    This man is talking about us. He sees us like his distant cousins.

    This man will hurt people to get what he wants. He doesn't care and give a rats hinney.

    I ask how far should tolerance go?

    We have major, major problems all of us miniorites whether ASD or non-ASD.

    Do you have any answers Corina? This is not easy.

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  15. Ah, Cube Demon, you like to ask the interesting questions. Also, please excuse the delay in answer: I have three assignments due by Monday, two of which I need to have done if I want to go on my city's Zombie Walk, yesterday I was at an Annual General Meeting at a city 3 hours away, and today a new front door is being installed. So I'm not exactly at my best, but here goes.

    Let's see, I disagree with his comparison of autism as a personality disorder. There is a difference between a personality disorder and a developmental disorder. However, given that it looks like he is working with incomplete data on ASD, I'm not entirely surprised that he has reached that conclusion. From his point of view, I can see how certain autistic traits do appear to be similar to sociopath.
    (I do know that Asperger Syndrome used to be called, and possibly is still called in some areas of the world, autistic psychopathy, so the similarities have been recognized professionally)

    Now, in terms of accepting him as a part of neurodiversity. I can't claim to know anything about sociopathy outside of what I learned briefly skimming my roommates' Abnormal Psychology textbook and what I learned in Literature and Social Change: Crime as Critique, where we examined sociopaths and psychopaths in literature.

    However, even though I disagree with some of his opinions, I do recognize that his viewpoint is valid and that sociopaths are a part of Neurodiversity. I don't know whether this man will hurt someone. I don't believe that simply because he is a sociopath, that he automatically will hurt someone.
    One of my professors, a psychology professor, has stated that there are a larger rate of psychopaths and sociopaths in the general population than the general public realizes. Not all sociopaths and psychopaths are violent or hurtful.

    Kind of like how being autistic doesn't automatically mean you and I are devoid of empathy and are aggressive.

    Now, I don't condone any acts of violence, abuse and harm, and I would criticize him for doing any of said acts just like I would criticize an NT or an autistic. I'd take his diagnosis under consideration when examining the series of events, but I wouldn't automatically excuse anyone who clearly knows better and had the means to act differently if they commit a crime.

    But in terms of Neurodiversity, yes, I would consider sociopaths and psychopaths as a part of neurodiversity, based on my current knowledge. Doesn't mean I have to agree with them on their opinions. But if he's willing to work for our common goals, I'm willing to work with him.

    Also, on the topic of Mr. Best. He isn't the most malicious person I have met on the Internet, however, he does deploy troll mannerisms. Therefore, I treat him as such and realize that he is trying to cause an emotional reaction. I think part of why I've been so good at dealing with him is that I see him as a troll and don't let him put me on the defense. I don't need to justify anything to him; neither do you.
    So instead, I concentrate on what he says, or rather, what he doesn't say, and won't let him distract me.

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