When we talk about good radical activist cultures (sustainable, compassionate, based on mutual care and solidarity) versus bad radical activist cultures (perfectionist, controlling, disposability, lashing-out, based on oppression olympics), it is not enough to say ‘this is good’ and ‘this is bad’.

We have to acknowledge that people are much more likely to engage in ‘bad’ activism when they are in hyper-vigilant survival mode, when they are struggling with unprocessed traumas and when they lack emotional and material support and safety.

And we have to acknowledge that the oppressive systems we fight against purposely push people into this constant survival mode precisely because that makes us less likely to build the kind of activist communities required to create revolutionary change.

If all we do is get angry at individual bad activists or at bad activist cultures without acknowledging the role of these oppressive systems in creating the harmful behavior, our attitude towards ‘bad’ activists is neither radical nor compassionate, so we’re not practicing the activism we preach.