One of the most annoying things about the online left is that people tend to treat "Optics" like it is the ultimate layer of reality. Optics should not be the metric by which we measure ultimate morality. That is neoliberal thinking.

Optics are what you perform, who you are, your intentions, proclivities and convictions are a lot harder to detect. This obsession with optics allows truly corrosive behavior to slide beneath the surface, whereas surface mistakes are amplified to PROVE someone's innate EVIL.

Obsession with optics is an obsession with performance that obfuscates EVERY other area of reality to the detriment of the truth of any situation. Bad Optics does not always = Bad person, Good optics does not always = good person.