While We Were Fighting...

A world outside continues to decay.

Image from Pinterest

Like a lot of writers now, I have a Tik Tok account (‘Hermindonline’), almost completely dedicated to sharing my work with more people, in addition to a few unwritten opinions from time to time. It’s definitely quicker, and there’s also this feeling that you don’t have anywhere near as much of a responsibility to be as …neat. Of course I’ll always try to be, but in a 2 minute long video you don’t have to cite your sources, or double check your grammar and spelling. Plus, there is a certain pressure lifted when you remember that even if you intend to share your thoughts in a reliable manner, that people will buy into just about anything.

But unfortunately, there is a subsection of content creators emerging out from the left with the loudest voices, that have not only realised this fact long ago, but have also chosen to exploit it, building their entire platforms around…

‘Call out content’.

And I get it. Building a platform in an oversaturated sphere isn’t in the least bit easy, and so it’s certainly easy to fall into making these kind of videos, especially if you spend a lot of time on there, and so inevitably continue to fill the folder labelled ‘videos to stitch’, because it’s easier than coming up with stuff to post. But for me, I made a decision to stay away from this kind of content specifically, for the many ways in which it continues to prove unproductive. There’s almost a new ‘call out’ post every day, where a culture of ‘calling out’ possesses an insatiable need to be satisfied at all times, lest we take a moment to realise how futile the practice has become, not to be mistaken for ‘Cancel Culture’ which despite its flaws has some benefits too. The difference is, call out culture rarely proposes any action, usually because the issue isn’t grave enough to warrant any kind of exile from the digital sphere. A lot of the time it’s never even really about politics, because let’s be clear, this is in-fighting between people on the same end of the political spectrum, or circle or horseshoe or whatever. But call-out content creators are far too scared to say ‘Hey! I think this person sucks’, because nobody cares, and so they politicise their own personal grievances. It’s a little self-centred, but more importantly clogs the part of the app reserved for important discourse with video after video focused on de-pedestalizing people that aren’t in reality any kind of threat to the ‘movement’, whilst the opportunities for discussion continue to shrink with increased censorship on the app.

Photo by Chad Estes

But the world outside continues to decline into an early 20th century-like chaos, and while we were fighting, Trumps administration saw a number of life-changing events take place:

(To name a few)...

19th Jan: Elon Musk gives back to back Nazi salutes at Trumps Inauguration.

20th Jan: Trump's administration takes action to end "radical and wasteful" government DEI Programs.

27th Jan: U.S. stock market loses almost 1 trillion in one day after 'DeepSeek', China's superior A.I. language model is introduced.

28th Jan: CNN's Jim Acosta announces departure from the news outlet, warning viewers 'don't give into the lies'.

29th Jan: Caroline Kennedy urges Senate against confirming RFK Jr for Us Health Secretary, on account of predatory behaviour.

30th Jan: Trans people removed from the U.S. State Department's travel page, initiating a series of complications and obstructions to renewing passports for Transgender citizens.

(Including those willing to be identified on their passports as their gender identified at birth).

31st Jan: 9 countries (Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, and Malaysia), have come together under The Hague', to impose legal and economic sanctions on Israel, holding the nation accountable for its 'violations of international law' following pressure from the ICC.

31st Jan: Robert F Kennedy Jr doubles down on racist claims about black people, aka 'black Capitol Hill, in discussing the COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, based on theories founded in scientific racism.

31st Jan: Trump signs order authorizing drastic tariffs of up to 25% on Mexico and Canada's exports to the US. (update 03/02, 1 month pause on Tariffs announced).

2nd Feb: Elon Musk's 'government slashing' crew gains access to the U.S Social Security Payment System, exposing the sensitive personal data of millions across the U.S. including citizens and direct competitors to Musk's own businesses.

Is this why we wanted to save TikTok?

So that amidst the erosion of the human rights to dignity and autonomy, we could distract ourselves with a series of inconsequential and reductive ‘call-out’ posts?

So many campaigned against the proposed ban just a few weeks ago, because so many almost lost their livelihoods and therefore their means for living, and the work they had put in for years was thought to face a bigger threat. Honestly, the concerns didn’t even have to be based in anything that pivotal to remain valid. The clear threat of censorship was enough to fight the ban, and most importantly, the concern that Americans wouldn't be able to communicate with each other and those of us across the world as efficiently, specifically about those crucial socio-political issues was terrifying. And yet, for weeks after this specific threat has been dissolved, we fail to use the app for one of its most vital purposes at a time where this is the most crucial.

I mean a big part of the issue is we’ve come to believe that if you disagree with somebody on even the minutiae of an issue, then you’re officially on opposing sides. In leftist online spaces, accountability is rightfully prioritised, but has unfortunately led to this necessity to lump everybody in one of two categories,

There is only black and then there is white.

As educated, politically correct, and morally upstanding as you might consider yourself, your place in the ‘clear’ isn’t guaranteed. At any given time, depending on the discourse, you find yourself kicked swiftly to the other side, even as a dedicated leftist. But in reality, whether for a moment we stand on the black or white side within the leftist camp, we’ll find we all share similar perspectives when it comes to all those vitally important pieces of news I’ve just mentioned, as well as some others I haven’t.

Still I have this theory that as we watch democracy disintegrate before our eyes, a lot of us feeling as though we’re out of control, it is far easier to focus on that which we seemingly can control, like solving non-problems by calling out [insert leftist creator here] day after day. If we feel we can’t do anything about Trump's rehabilitation of Guantanamo Bay for example, we can certainly do something about that one leftist creator… who poses no real threat.

This isn’t to say “We should all hold hands and just get along! :)”, should discrimination and marginalisation take place in house. For example, self-proclaimed male ‘feminists’ on the ‘left’ often reveal themselves to possess the same narcissistic tendencies as right–wing opponents, with their supposedly reformed values seeming to feed ideas of grandiosity. The continued marginalisation of sex-workers even in spaces that recognise capitalist exploitation across all industries is as destructive as it is ironic, not to mention the recent perpetuation of harmful narratives around poly relationships, and the uptick in casual homophobia we’ve been witnessing. Still, I hope it’s clear that when I talk about sitting somewhere in between the black and white, I’m not talking about these issues, those linked to fascist ideals that continue to grow strong under Trump’s administration. (I have faith in my readers regarding your discernment here).

But as far as discernment goes, we must find a way to see the difference between those important collective discussions, paired against what are essentially individual choices, like whether or not you like Hannah Han or Christian Divyne. But outside of our arena, (TikTok Live), there are the architects of a real threat sitting side by side, eroding civil liberties one law at a time,

Until there is only black.

Gustave Dore : Mouth of Hell, Paradise Lost (1866)

Asisa