What is a Social Justice Warrior?

[tofulove]

In my mind social justice warrior are people who claim to be for equal rights, but aren't. Women who hate men, people who are not white who are racist, so on so forth. They usually have a huge stick up there but and rant and rave and attack any one who disagrees with them. They clearly hate straight white guys, but hide behind a shield of i am for equal rights so i cant be racist / misandrist. The sad thing is most of them really think they are not racist / misandrist, and think there broad hatred for a huge segment of the population because a minority of that population are assholes. They offer many half ass excuses why they are not racist or misandrist, like the oppressed cant be racist, because you have to be in power to have misplaced hate for others not like you.

Most people who are for equal rights are not like that, but a vocal minority that sadly stands out alot and imo hurt the equal rights movement. I like to think of them as the malcom x's of the civil rights movements of the past. Hate filled bigots who are the byproducts of hate and bigotry.

In case you want my street creds, i am a non heterosexual white male. If i hated all heterosexuals because a portion of them are ass hole bigots, that would make me a bigot.

 

[Something Amyss]

It is a derogatory term used to discredit someone without adressing their argument. The new "PC" and I don't mean the personal computer.

Sadly, this is the most accurate definition I've seen.

It's a fast way to try and shut down a conversation or shut up a person.

Thanks to a variant of the euphemism treadmill, they'll soon need to come up with a new word, as it seems to be losing steam.

Thanks, Obama!

 

[Eddie the head]

It is a derogatory term used to discredit someone without adressing their argument. The new "PC" and I don't mean the personal computer.

Sadly, this is the most accurate definition I've seen.

It's a fast way to try and shut down a conversation or shut up a person.

Thanks to a variant of the euphemism treadmill, they'll soon need to come up with a new word, as it seems to be losing steam.

Thanks, Obama!

I guess you could define it that way but it has little explanatory power. The best way I can think to define it is; A way to describe social activist. Mostly has a negative connotation.

But by all means lets let both sides spin it however they want.

 

[FEichinger]

A social justice warrior will see an advertising billboard featuring a black person and scream "Tokenism! They're only using a black guy because ", and they'll see the same advertising billboard featuring a white person and scream "Racism! How dare they not represent other races!"

These are the kind of people that overreact to almost every single tiny perceived injustice and scream at the top of their lungs, usually rallying a mob to take down whatever they're opposing this time. Neither the original screamer, nor the rallied mob will give a shit about the truth, or listen to reason. If they have the slightest thing they can twist to be offended about, you can bet they will be offended by it and try everything they can to end it.

What surprises me, is that the Escapist seems to be the only place I've seen that a) has little idea what SJWs are, and b) tries to "reclaim" it, and even seriously discusses the origins of the term. I also find the quick dismissal of the term ("It's nowadays' PC!") pretty annoying. Spending a few minutes on tumblr shows you some very disgusting behaviours that are, sadly, getting a lot of traction purely by relying on mob mentality.

 

[bjj hero]

It is a derogatory term used to discredit someone without adressing their argument. The new "PC" and I don't mean the personal computer.

Sadly, this is the most accurate definition I've seen.

It's a fast way to try and shut down a conversation or shut up a person.

Thanks to a variant of the euphemism treadmill, they'll soon need to come up with a new word, as it seems to be losing steam.

Thanks, Obama!

I see it more about someone who bangs on about their pet issue online to massage their own ego and feel like theyre doing something... Rather than go out in the real world and do something about it and help make a difference.

 

[Kinitawowi]

"Social justice warriors" are to social justice as "men's rights activists" are to men's rights.

 

[bjj hero]

I see it more about someone who bangs on about their pet issue online to massage their own ego and feel like theyre doing something... Rather than go out in the real world and do something about it and help make a difference.

Funny tho. I see "SJW" mostly used in a context where someone brings up a good discussion topic and people flood the thread, yell "stoopid SJW" and try to silence any discourse by undermining the argument with a term that is nothing more than an attempt to insult.

But pray tell: Why can't I discuss certain topics that concern gaming in a gaming forum and at the same time do something about it 'in the real world'? Where do people get this bloody idea that there is some sort of exclusivity in how I can dedicate my efforts.

Discussing topics like the bullshitisement of Ubisoft and their shitty PR department does not cost me any energy. It is not such a giant effort that I can't go on and work on my personal projects, whatever they may be.

No. While the term "SJW" may imply something it has only one use: The one I described.

You can certainly look after your pet projects but, lets be honest a lot dont. SJWs are those who "like" a few messages and forward bits of tat to feel good about themselves for doing "their bit". Explain how theyre better than their less educated and socially aware peers. Its ineffective and its lazy. Heaven forbid they get off their arse and raise some money for a womens shelter, attend marches, protests, talks and the like, maybe even lobby parliament take part in a campaign or approach their mp.

There are people who do this, activists. Sjws are just making the noises to gain attention and feel fuzzy and superior inside. At best its a con, people believing theyre doing something positive without making a difference. At worst its narcissistic and lazy.

 

[Vegosiux]

But pray tell: Why can't I discuss certain topics that concern gaming in a gaming forum and at the same time do something about it 'in the real world'? Where do people get this bloody idea that there is some sort of exclusivity in how I can dedicate my efforts.

The same place, I suppose, where people get the idea that those who don't want to constantly run into these discussions online are trying to hinder the cause in real life as well.

Remember what the content creator's official stance was when the WGDF comic went up? "If you're offended by this, then you're part of the problem" or something like that. Insinuating that the only reason one would take issue with it was because they felt it talked about them...and if they weren't like that, like those WGDF bird-brains, they'd have nothing to complain about and the only reason to get upset was if you felt that you were uncomfortable with how that comic reminded you of yourself, pretty much.

Soooo, if people are offended when the term "SJW" is used to describe a particular kind of obnoxious behavior...

Alright, I'm just being cheeky here, but I hope you get what I'm trying to say. I understand the expression to mean "You're being obnoxious and holier-than-thou. Quit it" when utilized.

Not "I oppose what you stand for and you should not talk about it anymore."

No. While the term "SJW" may imply something it has only one use: The one I described.

Not really, there's been a thread where the OP used the term to refer to themselves (and talking about reclaiming the title)...so they definitely used it differently. You might say it's predominantly used for what you describe, but that doesn't make it "the only use".

 

[Cousin_IT]

They seek out injustice, stand fast against intolerance, hound out hypocrisy & fight for your rights because you're welcome.

 

[sonofliber]

Someone who finds something to ***** about (no matter how small) will make a huge fuss about it, treating it as the most important thing in the world, asume a holier than you attitude, never admit wrong, and usually leaving the party they are "defending" (which, the party doesnt really care, cause, you know, they are actually defending their shit were it matter) looking like ultra sensitive asshats that want everybody to adapt to their whim (even if they are actually striving for real equality, and are a perfectly sensitive and smart group)


like they say, a moron shouting in your group makes your group look like morons

 

[newfoundsky]

Sorry for asking, but I haven't paid much attention to these threads, as they tend to be very long and filled with too many words and not really getting anywhere. So it's quite a simple question, what exactly IS a SJW? What defines him? (Or her).

There are two types of social justice warrior. Martin Luther King, Jr, and the person that accused me of being attracted to children because I said a young girl was ugly.

In all fairness, she was pretty ugly, too.

 

[Twinrehz]

Sorry for asking, but I haven't paid much attention to these threads, as they tend to be very long and filled with too many words and not really getting anywhere. So it's quite a simple question, what exactly IS a SJW? What defines him? (Or her).

There are two types of social justice warrior. Martin Luther King, Jr, and the person that accused me of being attracted to children because I said a young girl was ugly.

In all fairness, she was pretty ugly, too.

In all fairness, you should be allowed to have an opinion on beauty. Not everyone is born a supermodel, and not everyone is special either. Speshul, perhaps, but not special.

 

[McMarbles]

It is a derogatory term used to discredit someone without adressing their argument. The new "PC" and I don't mean the personal computer.

*applause*

Because to address someone's argument, one would have to consider for a fraction of a second that maybe, just maybe, you might be wrong about something.

People don't want to debate anymore. They just want to shout the other guy down.

 

[Redd the Sock]

I sum it in the term "warrior". A warrior is someone that fights, but that can be both good and bad. Captain America fought to protect others, Thor started wanting to show off and get glory. A warrior monk would say violence might be a necessary last resort, a neocon hawk might want to bomb a country that looks at us funny.

To me a social justice warrior is someone that skews closer to the second choices in the sets. They're aggressive, angry, uninterested in middle ground and understanding, self victimizing, and usually out for some personal gain. Or in other terms, they're life isn't perfect, but all they want to do is wallow in self pity about how someone is keeping them down instead of building themselves up. The spout about empathy but show none to their opponent. They criticize, but hate being criticized. They're most active where the press coverage is, to the determent of lessor known issues (ie black Captain America = great move for diversity, the nearly all minorty team of Avengers = no one cares.) They dogpile on minor slights and faux pas. And at the worst end, they seem less interested in the end goal than in getting attention, either by the complaints themselves, on in the only acceptable solution being something big and profound (ie: who cares about ubisoft giving us a female lead in child of light if they didn't in Assassin's Creed). Oh, and it's also a bit of an ironic term, as warriors are mighty and face adversity, while SJWs are only mighty behind twitter, tumblir, or in safe spaces, and their causes are often about how little they can handle an outside reality that might trigger them.

Yeah, it's a bit of a pejorative to shut down someone, but for me, it comes out when someone needs to be stopped. they've shown no desire to meet in the middle and are just trying to vilify, guilt, shame, and otherwise yell at people until they get full agreement. The guy that emailed Nintendo about including gay marriage in Tomodachi life wasn't an SJW. The people that shouted homophobia, passed along misinformation about the bug originally patched out, and wrote lengthy editorials about how "problematic" is was that nintendo didn't affirm their orientation, that's SJW territory.

We need fewer social justice Warriors and more Social Justice Diplomats.

 

[LobsterFeng]

SJW is a stereotype of people that think everything needs to be diverse or else it's sexist/homophobic/transphobic. Thanks to Anita Sarkeesian the attitude has crept into the gaming industry and now every game is sexist. They can usually be found on Twitter and/or Tumblr.

They are currently the biggest boogeyman that 4chan faces. But at least it's spawned some pretty funny videos:


This video portrays a very accurate representation as to what people think a SJW is btw.

 

[Erttheking]

Yeah, I think this thread sums up everything wrong with this website right now. Way too many people assuming that the people who disagree with them are idiots, selfish, hypocrites, insert other nasty words here...was this website always like this?

 

[DOOM GUY]

...was this website always like this?

Can't say for sure that it has always been, but it's certainly been like this for the past few years.

 

[Erttheking]

...was this website always like this?

Can't say for sure that it has always been, but it's certainly been like this for the past few years.

Isn't there some law that says that after awhile a community will be distilled down to only the most hardcore members?

 

[newfoundsky]

Sorry for asking, but I haven't paid much attention to these threads, as they tend to be very long and filled with too many words and not really getting anywhere. So it's quite a simple question, what exactly IS a SJW? What defines him? (Or her).

There are two types of social justice warrior. Martin Luther King, Jr, and the person that accused me of being attracted to children because I said a young girl was ugly.

In all fairness, she was pretty ugly, too.

In all fairness, you should be allowed to have an opinion on beauty. Not everyone is born a supermodel, and not everyone is special either. Speshul, perhaps, but not special.

My point.

Exactly.

Having an opinion on whether or not a child is pretty does not make one a pedophile. Pedophilia makes one a pedophile, and I think this is where I and the social justice warrior community have a misunderstanding.

I'm a feminist. I'm also a cisgender male that will comment on how closely your child bares resemblance to a potato. The two are not mutually exclusive.

 

[Aurion]

Sorry for asking, but I haven't paid much attention to these threads, as they tend to be very long and filled with too many words and not really getting anywhere. So it's quite a simple question, what exactly IS a SJW? What defines him? (Or her).

In real life, a Social Justice Warrior is someone who has dedicated a lot of their time and effort to pursuing social justice projects.

On the Internet, "Social Justice Warrior" can mean anything from "wholly sincere equality advocate" to "kill-all-<group they aren't part of> insane Tumblr troll". Since it's the internet, the term has been appropriated to mock people of the second type, with an unfortunate bleed-over (it is the internet we're talking about after all, strawmen are inevitable) onto the first type of people. As a result, it's a phrase that's honestly pretty much lost all real meaning, at least in the realm of internet discussion... but that doesn't stop people from using it incessantly in both positive and negative contexts in an effort to prove how smart and/or witty they are.