Thread: People react differently to having a personal encounter with wokeness. Generally, people go one of two ways. Yes, some take a middle path, I know. I'm not talking about that middle path right now.

1. They notice the woke overreach on one topic (trans and women's rights, or critical race theory, for example), and fight against that. But they see no connection between that specific problem and the fundamental characteristics of leftis politics.

2. Others (I'm one of them) see a connection between the one specific woke overreach that affected them, and the general tendencies of leftist politics. These people start examining *all* contemp. leftist politics and find the same structural rot.

Both camps are frustrated with the other. Yep, I'm v. frustrated with those who think 'it's only the trans issue' or 'it's only CRT in this specific context.' I believe they're willfully looking away from how this is baked into modern liberalism.

But the frustration is not symmetrical. As frustrated as I am with people who say 'Yeah but cops really are usually bad,' for example, I don't 'hate' them. I don't think they're morally deranged.

They do not feel the same way.

Former friends and associates on the left are much angrier with me than I am with them. They act as though I've betrayed fundamental moral principles by questioning modern liberalism, and walking away from it.

They're still locked in the dynamic that says, 'If you disagree, it's because you're morally corrupt. Don't you dare question the premise of liberalism because it means you hate health/safety/women/people of color'.

And they go to some lengths to besmirch your character and stoke anger in other people. You're an apostate who can't have ANY good qualities now that you've left the church.

Sure, I get intensely frustrated at them. I think they're not reckoning honestly. I think emotional allegiance keeps them tied to liberalism. I think they fear that they won't be good people if they ask uncomfy questions.

But I don't hate them, or think they're 'bad people.' I don't call them out, obsessively screenshot their social media, parade it in front of other friends and gin up struggle sessions.

They do. They're aggressive, dishonest, mean-spirited, and drunk on in-group hate. Yet it's people like me, former liberals, whom they call deranged, unbalanced, hateful, 'a powder keg waiting to go off'.

This isn't a symmetrical dynamic.