There’s a weird “I’m paying attention to your silence” thought process on the left around heated events that’s emblematic of its backwards approach; the loudest person in the room is rarely the most effective.

The people “watching” for those who don’t rush to comment usually do nothing but comment. It’s become unconscionable in this mouth-watering “show your colors” climate that anyone would live their beliefs rather than shout them into the void.

The rush to comment on controversy & the suspicion of those who don’t is an ideological test, not activism. Commenting in a throwaway medium like social media, posting your battle cry today & your lunch tomorrow is not radical or even useful.

The people who don’t race to comment on every event are the ones worth hearing — they’re actually thinking before they speak.

You truly want to do something to improve a world you dislike? Look at yourself before you look at anyone else. What are you doing besides making sure others see you display your beliefs? There’s your radical activism.

Most people barely know themselves yet feel qualified to condemn millions of people & dictate how ancient problems should be solved. The arrogance that puts action where analysis belongs is the first problem people can’t solve.

If something happens in the world that immediately draws you to condemn others — be quiet. Go sit alone, in silence, & sort through yourself. Your automatic reaction is useless, but your introspection is vastly more powerful.

I’ve been avoiding social media for months now because every public tragedy invokes an outpouring of individual desperation; people become frantic for validation & figures to blame. It’s horrible to see.

It’s frustrating to watch tragedies be scavenged for personal narratives, to watch fear & sadness be masked with anger, to watch powerlessness be quelled with blame. We move so fast we don’t notice the road is circular.

I will never be a person who yells & outrages publicly. In chaos I look at myself & find what in me needs solving before I can claim to solve anything beyond me; it’s harder than hating the people who’ve failed to do the same.

If you are “watching” for me to ever offer some loud battle cry, what you’re truly looking for isn’t my politics, but validation & a herd to feel secure in. I’d rather help you answer for yourself.