queeranarchism:

Calling on every individual person to be aware enough of an issue to make the decision to change their behavior is never going to be as effective as changing the circumstances that created and stimulated that behavior in the first place.

Many left-wing activists have a vague understanding of this on the economic level, but still default to a focus on individual choice every time an issue pops up in their own community.

Some questions to ask yourself when you want to change the circumstances:

• What need motivated the behavior? (Be honest here, don’t triviliaze a need because you don’t like the behavior that resulted from it). 
• Why is this behavior the solution that is most often chosen in response to that need?
• How else could that need be met? How can that alternative be made into a more likely and more attractive option than the current solution?
• How is the behavior rewarded?
• How are people sheltered from the consequences of their behavior? (not to be confused with punishment, which is rarely an efficient deterrent)
• And last but not least: do the circumstances of your community allow for a change? do you have space for making mistakes and learning from them? Is honest self-reflection encouraged or treated as an admission of guilt?