QueerDefenseFront

This is true. I’ve seen it in the CrossFit, Jiu-Jitsu, and Olympic weightlifting spaces a lot. And as a straight cis male who likes being strong, it’s a constant upstream swim to counter these sometimes very subtle right-wing narratives.

I do so by simply asking a lot of questions and playing the Socratic method with them. It takes a lot of time, patience, and energy, but it works, more often than not.

Like, there’s nothing wrong with masculinity, self-improvement, stoicism, achievement, strength, hard work, prosperity, or competition. But people sometimes need reminding what all this self-improvement and achievement is for.

I try to remind my friends that one gets strong so that one can protect and bolster the weak, not in order to dominate and exploit them. With masculinity I try to embody “firefighter” values instead of “police” values, if that makes sense.

If you’re in these spaces, please speak up without being preachy or combative out the gate. Be curious and ask genuine questions - people just want to be seen and heard first. Even when they have misguided or even hateful opinions, it does often start as a seed from legitimate complaints (that’s what the right exploits). People are often more open-minded than you think, it’s just that they don’t have as much personal exposure to lefties who value them (mostly working class and petite bourgeoisie white guys) as people with inherent value and default decency. Interact with them in person, without disdain by default, and find things about which you can agree, and you’ll break their Fox News-inspired demonized stereotypes of you.

That’s how you un-cultify a person, one at a time. Like, when they find out I’m very much not a Trumper, but also not a screaming blue hair soy boy satanist furry or whatever, it cooks their noodle.

So often we just turn our noses up, and our backs on, these kinds of people. And they in turn hate and resent us for it when the right swoops in and gives them a sense of belonging and purpose.

The right is really good at this shit. We kind of suck at it. We’re too busy doing purity tests and fighting each other over language.

Anyway, this isn’t my space, I’m just offering my 2¢.

Edit: look, I hate Fascism, but I try to remind myself that many of these working class folks have been tricked and manipulated by very powerful well-heeled interests. I try to reserve my ire for the specific billionaires and politicians who have architected this shit. I often fail at this (as my comment history can attest), and feel very angry at my neighbors for their stupidity. It’s a daily battle.