Stance-mongering: The new Infantile Disorder

A re-evaluation of the word "praxis"

Social media and the internet more broadly has been an undeniable boost for basically all anti-establishment ideologies, from communism to fascism. What were once obscure world positions had been given the chance to make their voices heard for those who felt discarded by mainstream political discourse. The “disillusioned” have found a home among ideologies that validate their feelings of failure, hopelessness, and betrayal. It allows for clear targets to be determined, whether the class-based bourgeois opponents of the Left, or the identity-based scapegoating of minorities by the right.

However, there’s an issue in how social media is used that I believe is an active detriment to the objectives of building an anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist movement, which I’m going to call “stance-mongering.”

Stance-mongering is a tactic (conscious or otherwise) where individuals believe that the primary means of social change is simply to have more people believe in what they consider a good thing, and that the more people who agree with them, the more likely change will happen. This manifests in two primary forms: an obsession with social media posting, whether on the timeline directly or by responding to another person/organization, and through the prioritization of protesting. The stance-monger believes that the awareness of an idea is a sufficient cause of change.

“If more people see my Russian flags and see the Neo-Nazis in Ukraine, then they’re bound to tell their government that’s bad, and that’ll end US support for the proxy war." This is one example of that trend. Another would be “if I spend all my time quote tweeting transphobes about how much of a transphobe they are, i’m making the world a safer place for trans people.”

As much as I wish it were that easy to support both of these things, the reality is far more complex. Waving Russian flags outside the White House will not even make government officials flinch, much less actually do anything about their proxy war. The only way to actually concretely oppose the war is to obstruct the flow of resources that goes to Ukraine, the non-adventurist ways being labor strikes from workers tied to the military-industrial complex, the boycotting of goods that come from MIC companies, such as the anti apartheid movement in South Africa and the BDS movement against current Israeli occupation of Palestine, and obstructive acts of civil disobedience such as blockages that actually halt or slow down the passage of goods from one location to another, which even if done non-violently and non-destructively will probably result in arrest. The way to make the world a safer place for trans people is by laying material foundations for a safer community, such as hosting community events, building a network of safe places, opposing local politicians if they promote hateful scapegoating, creating networks of aid funds, and of course having the ability to defend whatever infrastructure you create through whatever legal and financially available means you can.

The issue with stance-mongering and placing a higher emphasis on the ideas people hold rather than on the material ability to force your political position to manifest on the ground is that it is fundamentally idealist. It doesn’t matter if even 99% of people hold an idea, it won’t manifest into reality unless a significant amount of people are mobilized to make it happen and force the hand of those in power. All politics is power dynamics at the end of the day, regardless of what position you fight for. Do you want to end the US proxy war in Ukraine? 99% of people opposing it in their heads is not a sufficient condition for it. Nothing short of bringing the CEO’s of the military-industrial complex to their knees will make that happen. Want to protect trans people? 99% of people supporting trans rights in their head is not a sufficient condition. Nothing short of bringing the politicians who scapegoat trans people for their failing economy to their knees will make that objective complete.

The primary issue with a lot of movements right now is that they are inextricably stuck in this stance-mongering cycle. First, something bad happens, then everyone posts about it on social media, then various organizations set a date for everyone to come out and protest, the protests garner about 10K participants at most (usually a lot less, in a country of about 330 million people), everyone goes home, and Washington does absolutely nothing. And why would they? Protests as they currently exist in this country are just an empty threat. It’s like a school yard fight, and the bully gets to be be like, “Oh, you’re mad I keep taking your lunch money? What are you gonna do about it, nerd? Hit me?” (I’m aware most bullying among Gen-Z tends to not be as cliche as 80s and 90s kids, but we all recognize the archetype)

What can any of us actually do in response? If we punch back, we get beaten up (by the cops) and the other kids (the broader masses) make fun of you. There’s no teacher or school administrator we can tell in this situation either. The bully is the principal’s kid.

Putting the bully comparison aside, handling this situation will require a lot more outside the box thinking that I simply don’t think most of the Left right now is equipped for. For the rest of the article, I’ll be using the US-Ukraine proxy war as my subject of study, but it applies to virtually any issue one might be passionate about.

There’s been a lot of discussion with regards to the controversies surrounding Rage Against the War Machine & ANSWER Coalition’s Peace in Ukraine rally. I’m not going to get into that issue at all. There’s people far better suited for it. What I am going to do is point out the issue in both schools of thought, because both essentially commit a stance-mongering error. Regardless of the correctness of either, it ultimately doesn’t matter at this stage of struggle.

Even though opposition to the proxy war is increasing in American consciousness, how likely is it that your neighbor will actually risk their job and reputation for future jobs to oppose the war? Will they risk not being able to feed their kid or pay the bills to stop the proxy war. No, of course they won’t, at least not right now. Basically everyone I’ve met who attends protests either has a job that is flexible enough to let them attend or attends if it happens to be on their day off. No one is going to risk their livelihood for a protest that’s probably not going to go anywhere, progressive or conservative. And why would they? There’s very few support networks if people get fired.

And even if you can get several thousand people in one city to oppose the proxy war, what basically happens? You have a few nice, charismatic speakers say their bit in a megaphone, people clap and cheer in response, and the politicians you’re suppose to be antagonizing just walk into the office without a single care, along with their staff. There’s no threat of losing their jobs, if things escalate the police will protect them. Your protest is just standing on the sidewalk and being really loud. It’s a minor inconvenience. Then when everyone gets tired you go home and carry on with your life, maybe plan a second rally (maybe), and the war machine just keeps on going.

You know what actually prompted swift action by the US government? The railroad strike. When thousands of workers tied to a crucial industry went on strike for better pay and conditions what happened? The government signed a bill to make the strike illegal. That’s how crucial it is to their power. The railroad workers refusing to contribute to the transport of resources was such a serious blow to the order of things that it couldn’t be ignored. Protests are emotional damage at best. The strike was physical damage to the capitalist infrastructure of the United States.

Now obviously it takes a lot of work and the right circumstances to initiate a labor strike, or any kind of labor organizing really. But this is exactly my point. The tendency towards sidewalk protests are because people naturally gravitate towards the path of least resistance. You want to raise consciousness, so the easiest way to do that is to protest and make your stance a big deal. It’s already significantly harder to set up meetings with union reps, to salt a workplace so that you can set up a union vote, and fight the boss in a propaganda war. And on top of that, not everyone will have the same access to those actions, but that’s all the more reason to start now.

I’m not saying we need to abandon protesting as a strategy, far from it. We need to get people out into the streets to protest the proxy war and raise awareness in the US. It’s the only way to actually raise the stakes and raise the tension between the working class and the imperialist politicians (I will discuss this idea of tension and meta-narrative in a future article). It helps draw clear lines in the sand, which are needed for people to make decisions.

All I’m asking is that we recognize the limits of this tactic, and spend more of our time within and outside our respective organizations discussing ways to expand our strategic arsenal, to be willing to tackle a problem both head on and indirectly, to act as both the blunt force strike of a proletarian hammer, as well as the precise cut of an agrarian sickle, a blade.

Not everything has to be confronted 1 v 1 in an open field of battle, where both sides call upon their champions to represent their army and fight for the life of Helen of Sparta. Sure, it feels good to speak your mind behind the megaphone. It feels like you’re sticking it to the elites by unleashing your pent up rage against them, followed by the thunderous applause of your audience as they transfer their life energy into you. But we both know that this is just a show, and so do the politicians. Otherwise if you were a threat they would eliminate you somehow. You get your little stage piece yet the war goes on.

But despite spending that last paragraph criticizing that tactic, I do genuinely believe it doesn’t have to be that way. And here’s how.

Instead of viewing protests as the end all be all, what we need to do is recognize protests as what they are, focal points. The objective of a protest is to draw eyes onto a particular subject, in this case the proxy war. While I am critical of how much actual reach a lot of protests actually get, they do get some and that is enough of a reason to keep doing them.

However, we can optimize and extend the reach these events have by engaging with bystanders way more. We should encourage participants to approach bystanders with flyers about the purpose of the protest, the demands, and most importantly of all, how it relates to the local community. Is your protest in San Francisco? How does it relate to the average community member? Does it take place in New York? How does the protest relate to the average New Yorker?

Once engaged with people, use the opportunity to gather intel. Learn more about the bystander. What are their opinions of the event? What is their general occupation? What’s their background? You’d be surprised how much people information people reveal to people they seem comfortable around. Once you learn some of these things, use that information to make the struggle personal. Make it about their daily lives. The proxy war in Ukraine is hurting average Americans because it robs them of the crucial resources necessary to have a just and stable living. Our roads and buildings are falling a part but Azov Battalion deserves more Javelin missiles? Little Jimmy can’t have lunch because he’s overdrawn on his account but Zelensky can shame Americans who don’t want to contribute more? That is what will lead to a more effective protest.

However, while these protests go on, we need people to work outside of the protest framework to plant the seeds of material opposition. We need more people salting workplaces to unionize, we need to organize tenants into unions, we should be discouraging young kids from joining the military, and help them get into college or trade school. Organize the house-less and support them so that in return, they’ll be your eyes and ears on the streets.

When it comes to the war in particular, we need to have a list of potential targets we can go after. The obvious first ones are the companies of the military-industrial complex itself. You can see them here with this link. 99% of us probably don’t have direct connections with the workers of these companies, so let’s try something else. What about the extraction? Mining? Here is a list of mining companies in the U.S. If that’s a no go, then here are the iron and steel mills within the U.S. Then there’s the tech industries.

All of the above, if workers were organized to strike, could have serious ramifications on the U.S’s ability to fund war abroad. And again, most of us don’t have direct access to the workers of these companies (I don’t at the moment, unless something comes up). But think about it in terms of an interconnected supply chain. You’re bound to at least know someone who works in an industry that has some kind of connection to the MIC. Your own job might even be tangentially connected. Even if you or your friend’s labor is not directly tied to the MIC, it probably has a connection which can affect it. And even if it doesn’t, organizing your workplace could inspire workers who are connected to the MIC to rebel and strike.

None of this work is as sexy as getting behind a microphone with loud speakers and going on an explosive rage. Nor is it as sexy as posting a scathing meme on Twitter humiliating your favorite target politician. You will often not get recognized for it, no one will sing your praises by liking your posts. But it’s work that needs to be done, work that will lead to actually crippling the military-industrial complex, to grind the war machine to a halt by withholding its life line of profit.

The unity of the protest and the strike, the head on and the indirect, the hammer and the sickle (the blade) is what will achieve long lasting change, and ultimately victory.

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