atomicpoet on Nostr: Here’s the story about how well-intentioned progressive ideals almost pushed me ...
Here’s the story about how well-intentioned progressive ideals almost pushed me into the far-right social media sphere.
Now I’m wasn’t totally an innocent party, but hear me out.
It was December 2011, Christmas. I was on Reddit, specifically on the AskReddit forum. I made an off-color joke—edgy and, in hindsight, not a good joke. I’m not repeating it, but at the time, I thought it was just that—a joke.
That joke somehow ended up on a left-leaning political subreddit. I won’t name it because that subreddit is dead now, and I’ll explain why later. At first, I thought it was strange that people were tagging me and discussing my comment in a thread. I messaged the moderators, admitted the joke was inappropriate, removed the original comment—and asked moderators to take the thread down.
They didn’t.
Over the next few months, people from that subreddit followed me around Reddit. They wouldn’t let it go. These were very progressive individuals, and it became clear that nothing I said or did would make them happy.
That’s when I started to get angry—really angry.
These people were calling me a Nazi. Let me be clear: the joke was off-color, and I own up to that. But I didn’t say anything racist, sexist, or homophobic. Being called a Nazi hit particularly hard because I’m Jewish. Calling a Jewish person a Nazi is deeply offensive—it’s not just an insult. It cuts at the core of my people’s history (not that Jews can’t be Fascists, but that’s a different story).
But they wouldn’t stop. These progressive Redditors followed me, pinged me, and called me a Nazi over and over. It felt like harassment.
Around this time, I noticed there was a counter-community forming—a group of people who were also being targeted by this progressive subreddit. This group identified as the “anti-SJW” (anti-social justice warrior) crowd. They claimed to be liberals who believed in anti-racism, egalitarianism, and anti-homophobia but opposed the tactics of the “SJWs.”
At first, I bought into it. I thought, “Progressivism is good, but these extremists are taking it too far, and someone needs to stop them.”
But over time—about a year—I began to notice cracks. Slowly, I realized many in the anti-SJW crowd weren’t as liberal as they claimed. They were wearing masks. Eventually, the truth became clear: some of these people were actual Nazis. The original SJWs weren’t wrong to call them that.
It was a slow realization, but one day, I looked around and thought, I’m in a room full of Nazis. Am I a Nazi? No, I wasn’t. I wanted nothing to do with Nazis or anyone who would harm me for existing.
The anti-SJW crowd had presented themselves as allies, but over time, their true colors showed. They were using identity politics just as much as the SJWs—they were just better at it. They thrived on radicalizing people like me, people who felt attacked and wanted to fight back.
Meanwhile, the original progressive subreddit that harassed me fell apart. It turned out one of their moderators was problematic—engaging in discriminatory behaviour, sexualizing people without their consent, and even illegal activity. When their user base found out, they revolted. But the moderators defended this person, leading to a civil war within the subreddit. That community is now defunct.
But the anti-SJW subreddits? They’re still around. Still kicking, still complaining about SJWs. Over time, the term “SJW” has lost its original meaning. It no longer refers to extreme leftists—it now refers to anyone left of far-right, even moderate conservatives.
Here’s what I’ve learned: playing identity politics doesn’t lead to meaningful change. Using shame as a tactic doesn’t work—especially against people you think are extremists. When you attack someone, they double down. I know because I doubled down.
When you feel attacked, you have two choices: you can delete your account and walk away, or you can fight back. I chose to fight, and in doing so, I lost sight of truth and right versus wrong. It became about winning.
What ultimately pulled me out of the anti-SJW sphere was the realization that the people there weren’t my friends. They didn’t care about me—they saw me as a pawn in their game. Once I understood that, I left.
Now, I believe that if we want to create positive change, we have to focus on unity. We have to show people—even those we don’t like—that we’re all being screwed by the system. That guy working a blue-collar job? He’s being screwed too. He just doesn’t realize it because all he sees are people attacking him for who he is, and so he doubles down.
But when he needs help, those so-called “friends” of his won’t be there. They’re just using him. Hopefully, one day, he’ll wake up and realize the goodness in those he deems “other”.
Identity politics—it’s dangerous.
Now I’m wasn’t totally an innocent party, but hear me out.
It was December 2011, Christmas. I was on Reddit, specifically on the AskReddit forum. I made an off-color joke—edgy and, in hindsight, not a good joke. I’m not repeating it, but at the time, I thought it was just that—a joke.
That joke somehow ended up on a left-leaning political subreddit. I won’t name it because that subreddit is dead now, and I’ll explain why later. At first, I thought it was strange that people were tagging me and discussing my comment in a thread. I messaged the moderators, admitted the joke was inappropriate, removed the original comment—and asked moderators to take the thread down.
They didn’t.
Over the next few months, people from that subreddit followed me around Reddit. They wouldn’t let it go. These were very progressive individuals, and it became clear that nothing I said or did would make them happy.
That’s when I started to get angry—really angry.
These people were calling me a Nazi. Let me be clear: the joke was off-color, and I own up to that. But I didn’t say anything racist, sexist, or homophobic. Being called a Nazi hit particularly hard because I’m Jewish. Calling a Jewish person a Nazi is deeply offensive—it’s not just an insult. It cuts at the core of my people’s history (not that Jews can’t be Fascists, but that’s a different story).
But they wouldn’t stop. These progressive Redditors followed me, pinged me, and called me a Nazi over and over. It felt like harassment.
Around this time, I noticed there was a counter-community forming—a group of people who were also being targeted by this progressive subreddit. This group identified as the “anti-SJW” (anti-social justice warrior) crowd. They claimed to be liberals who believed in anti-racism, egalitarianism, and anti-homophobia but opposed the tactics of the “SJWs.”
At first, I bought into it. I thought, “Progressivism is good, but these extremists are taking it too far, and someone needs to stop them.”
But over time—about a year—I began to notice cracks. Slowly, I realized many in the anti-SJW crowd weren’t as liberal as they claimed. They were wearing masks. Eventually, the truth became clear: some of these people were actual Nazis. The original SJWs weren’t wrong to call them that.
It was a slow realization, but one day, I looked around and thought, I’m in a room full of Nazis. Am I a Nazi? No, I wasn’t. I wanted nothing to do with Nazis or anyone who would harm me for existing.
The anti-SJW crowd had presented themselves as allies, but over time, their true colors showed. They were using identity politics just as much as the SJWs—they were just better at it. They thrived on radicalizing people like me, people who felt attacked and wanted to fight back.
Meanwhile, the original progressive subreddit that harassed me fell apart. It turned out one of their moderators was problematic—engaging in discriminatory behaviour, sexualizing people without their consent, and even illegal activity. When their user base found out, they revolted. But the moderators defended this person, leading to a civil war within the subreddit. That community is now defunct.
But the anti-SJW subreddits? They’re still around. Still kicking, still complaining about SJWs. Over time, the term “SJW” has lost its original meaning. It no longer refers to extreme leftists—it now refers to anyone left of far-right, even moderate conservatives.
Here’s what I’ve learned: playing identity politics doesn’t lead to meaningful change. Using shame as a tactic doesn’t work—especially against people you think are extremists. When you attack someone, they double down. I know because I doubled down.
When you feel attacked, you have two choices: you can delete your account and walk away, or you can fight back. I chose to fight, and in doing so, I lost sight of truth and right versus wrong. It became about winning.
What ultimately pulled me out of the anti-SJW sphere was the realization that the people there weren’t my friends. They didn’t care about me—they saw me as a pawn in their game. Once I understood that, I left.
Now, I believe that if we want to create positive change, we have to focus on unity. We have to show people—even those we don’t like—that we’re all being screwed by the system. That guy working a blue-collar job? He’s being screwed too. He just doesn’t realize it because all he sees are people attacking him for who he is, and so he doubles down.
But when he needs help, those so-called “friends” of his won’t be there. They’re just using him. Hopefully, one day, he’ll wake up and realize the goodness in those he deems “other”.
Identity politics—it’s dangerous.