[The tone of this post is earnest, not in any way meant to be a complaint. I want to be a better comrade]
I’m someone with a very dense cross-section of privileges. (If i didn’t grow up poor i might win the least oppressed demographic trophy)
This makes me feel as though I cannot speak on anything important without coming across like I’m whitemansplaining, regardless of whether I consider myself knowledgeable on the topic.
Should i just accept that my voice isn’t really needed in most conversations? (A white guy telling an iranian expat that Reza Pahlavi was actually not good for iranians isn’t ever going to accomplish anything, is it?)
Not to say I’m an encyclopedia of theory but i consider myself well enough read to apply dialectical and historical materialist analysis to most topics.
I spend a lot of time around people of all walks of life and I feel as though it’s kinda disrespectful of me to pipe up and correct the record on basically any topic beyond the mundane like videogame strategy.
I guess i don’t even really know what kind of answer I’m looking for here. Maybe just validation that it’s ok for me to be silent when someone is just plain wrong about an important topic? Idk. Thanks for reading
Telling people that they’re wrong is generally the absolute worst thing to do, if you want to change their minds. If you’re having a public debate it’s done for the sake of the listeners.
Being blunt lecturing is reserved for people who already want to listen to you. It takes skill built through experience to be able to determine a way to approach someone, without setting off their “fight or flight” mode. Material contributions > Words when it comes to building trust within a community that you care about approaching, always. Otherwise you inevitably come across as a speculator.
Yes you can educate people who are willing to learn and are ignorant of a topic, but often people forget that the person they’re speaking to has already heard all the arguments, if they’ve been in a space for a long time changes are they know everything you do and they still believe what they do, you won’t be able to change their mind. From the point of view of Neuroscience and Psychology you’re only strengthening their already existing stance. There is literally material evidence that supports this. Yes I am a lib and you will have to search it up yourself, because I am too tired and my health is quite poor. Sorry
No apology needed I’m the one looking to learn.