Activism gatekeeping

Hopefully this post doesn’t get moved into a group of obscurity, but I wanted to discuss the topic of Activism Gatekeeping.

Activism Gatekeeping is exactly how it sounds… when an individual or group gatekeeps or criticizes someone for perhaps not being as active or aware as they are. Since the RoeVWade overturn, I have seen a LOT of this. There has obviously been a collective outrage amongst women and some men with this, and I’ve noticed some individuals are upset with this. NOT because they’re happy with the Supreme Court decision, but because they think this newfound outrage is somehow hypocritical or not quite “woke” enough. (I say woke in quotes because for me that’s a new term… I’ve always heard “social justice warrior” to mean the same thing).

Here are two examples of what I mean, if I’m not making any sense:

So, this irks me for a few reasons. 1) I don’t think it’s helpful or necessary; is your goal to alienate like minded individuals? Are you mad not everyone is as politically aware as you? As a black woman AND a veteran, of course there a lot of issues involving race, sex, and class that I’m aware of and angry about… but I’m not mad about Becky and Susie suddenly becoming aware and feeling outrage too. Good for Becky and Susie! They can now join several activist movements. 2) It doesn’t make you a “better” activist to have been aware of issues longer than someone else, you don’t get extra stars on your chart. 3) We can only get somewhere politically if we are a collective movement; what is the problem in welcoming new and more activists to a cause?

What are your thoughts on activism gatekeeping? Do you see it harmful or not a big deal? Eye-rolling but nothing to fret about? Let me hear it.