"Black lives matter/human rights/equality isn't political!"

[Mekanos]

I see this sentiment a lot, even on this forum, and it confuses me. Usually as a defense when someone claims they don't want a discussion or topic to be too "political" when they discuss Black Lives Matter, LGBT Pride, etc.

Person A: "This company should say Black Lives Matter."
Person B: "I don't want politics in my XYZ."
Person C: "Black Lives Matter isn't a political issue!"

What is politics except a constant tug of war against the powers that be for who gets to have liberties, rights, freedom, and equality (or who doesn't)? This line of defense makes no sense on its face. Having an opinion on these issues, good or bad, or not having an opinion is a political stance. I guess the idea is that it shouldn't be political, but that's not the world we live in. It shouldn't be a dirty word or taboo for something to be "political" though. It doesn't say anything descriptive about whether that is a good or bad thing.

 

[Truant]

I think people from "both sides" say this, but with different intent. People on the left tend to use this rhetoric as an attempt to bypass "traditional" politics in order to appeal to humanity and decency. The other half use it to disregard something entirely because they believe it has an "agenda". My guess is that they're either a racist shitbag or too uncomfortable dealing with reality.

 

[Mona]

I've literally had people tell me that Nazism isn't a political opinion

 

[UnluckyKate]

I've literally had people tell me that Nazism isn't a political opinion

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nah, it was just about a small guy, his moustache and the german national socialist party... oh wait

 

[Deleted member 4452]

Everything is political. Nazis are political. The difference is whether we as a society accept certain political views as valid or not. Whether some lives are worth more than others, whether some are worth anything at all. It's all political. But claiming it's just a mere political difference in opinion exposes your arse.

 

[jay]

This is all politics and pretending it isn't masks the actual fight going on. There is deep rooted, institutional racism in governments and fighting the economic and political elites to change this is going to be political.

I've literally had people tell me that Nazism isn't a political opinion

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Why is it not? Being morally correct does not define what a political opinion is.

 

[LProtagonist]

Everything is political. To say that you want to be non-political or avoid politics just means that you're willing to accept the current state of society and you don't want to confront it's ugly truths.

 

[Stuntman]

Everything is politics, that's what a society is. I think the issue is that alot of people confuse politics with partidism.

 

[EMT0]

The reason why people on the left phrase it that way is because the goal is to silence all dissent on the matter; black lives and black rights isn't a topic for people to have opinions on, or to be debated. It must be true. And if it isn't, it must become true. This is our way of making sure that the worst of these racist idiots don't have any voice or legitimacy in a conversation that shouldn't ever be up for debate or that they should have a voice in.

It's not that it isn't a matter that's got political weight and attention, it obviously does. it's to make the statement that it should never have been up for debate to begin with and that anyone thinking otherwise is a fucking idiot

 

[Deleted member 6582]

When everything is something, nothing is. It stops being a meaningful label because the whole purpose of labels is help identify from the all. So if you believe everything is political then you should just stop using the term at all, it serves no purpose, PoliEra is just ResetEra. There's also the argument that just because people use the same words doesn't mean they have the same meaning (in fact if you think about it, they never do) and that tends to sail over a lot of heads, nobody actually has ownership over definitions.

 

[The Adder]

Everything is political until it affects you.

 

[Platy]

thinking that "black people should not be murdered out of nowhere" should not be a political issue
But everything PRATICAL to do about it is political

 

[MinerArcaniner]

Something being "political" has no bearing on whether it is right or wrong.

 

[Pancracio17]

Everything is politics, that's what a society is. I think the issue is that alot of people confuse politics with partidism.

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Yes, society is literally the byproduct of politics. Every stance on everything is political in some way.

 

[Dongs Macabre]

Saying it isn't "political" seems like a purely rhetorical trick to get people to stop doing that shit where they tiptoe around politics.

 

[Deleted member 5086]

Because those ("keep politics out of my games") people don't see privileged groups as political. A male protagonist isn't political. A heterosexual couple in a game isn't political. Only women and minorities are. It's just an argument to keep women and minorities in their place. They see the pleas for representation as unnecessary and uncomfortable, so they try to shuffle into something separate from their hobby. So when people say that, they're just trying to shut down those tired bigoted arguments by saying "we exist just like you, this isn't controversial or something that should be disputed". I think it's just as simple as that, though I get where you're coming from.

 

[Mekanos]

So when people say that, they're just trying to shut down those tired bigoted arguments by saying "we exist just like you, this isn't controversial or something that should be disputed". I think it's just as simple as that, though I get where you're coming from.

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Yeah I totally get that. I know not all marginalized people wants to think of their existence and their right to equality and freedom as a political stance or opinion, and framing the world through those lens might be exhausting for some.

 

[Sordid Plebeian]

If corporations wanna use it as a PR stunt they better be willing to put out money too

 

[Blah]

I've literally had people tell me that Nazism isn't a political opinion

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Not exactly in vein of this thread but even on non-political Reddit subs you see the defense of Nazis framed as it's just "another ideology" and a "difference of opinion". The hoops people go through to justify its existence is staggering.

 

[Mortemis]

It comes from people trying to avoid the "I don't talk politics" stigma we have in the US. Certain people do not want to talk anything to do with politics, and those that wish to call it out try to say that it isn't political to skirt around that issue. My thoughts are that instead of saying it isn't political, we should talk politics a whole lot more than we do. We shouldn't avoid political talks because it might make someone feel uncomfortable. Your political opinion isn't something that is only for yourself, that only affects you. What you stand for and who you vote for has repercussions throughout society.

"Black lives matter/human rights/equality isn't political!" shouldn't be the statement. It is political. We should instead say that it shouldn't be an issue at all, but since it is we have to get to work to fix it.

 

[Mekanos]

It comes from people trying to avoid the "I don't talk politics" stigma we have in the US. Certain people do not want to talk anything to do with politics, and those that wish to call it out try to say that it isn't political to skirt around that issue. My thoughts are that instead of saying it isn't political, we should talk politics a whole lot more than we do. We shouldn't avoid political talks because it might make someone feel uncomfortable. Your political opinion isn't something that is only for yourself, that only affects you. What you stand for and who you vote for has repercussions throughout society.

"Black lives matter/human rights/equality isn't political!" shouldn't be the statement. It is political. We should instead say that it shouldn't be an issue at all, but since it is we have to get to work to fix it.

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Yep, that's pretty much how I feel. You're right though that talking "politics" is still fairly taboo in the US, even in these hyper-polarized times.