Technology is political.
If your project or organisation has a “no politics” clause, you’re saying you’re happy to exclude people whose very existence is political in our societies.
It’s only defensible if you’re coming from a place of privilege where the dominant politics are to your advantage so you can take them as given.
There is no such thing as “no politics”; there is only “no politics other than the politics of the status quo that I benefit from, which I’ve internalised as normal.”
@aral "No politics please!" is the sort of argument a politician would make.
Actually, as a person who was a politician for several years, I can tell you that "no politics" is something people trying to feel noble say to avoid responsibility for taking a position. I became a politician so I could fight for a position and, yes, against another one. I needed all the allies I could get. Every group, person, or institution that said, "We're not political" was saying, "We're of no use to you at all."
Yes, politics please! Lots of it!
@Professor_Stevens @aral My shithousery antennae start twitching furiously whenever I hear the "no politics please!" line. It suggests someone's pulling the con, and someone else is about to fall for it.
I do think that's wise. But I also know that it is used by lots of people seeking to portray themselves as "above the fray." I think that's naïve of them, in most cases.
When I was in elected office, I got asked over and over to meet with advocacy groups. If their position was aligned with my party, I'd offer to hook them up with local party leaders. Sometimes, they'd say, "We're not political." To which I'd say, "Then you're ineffectual."
Not always popular, but true.
@Professor_Stevens @aral No one is above the fray. NO ONE AT ALL.
Agreed. We have meet the fray, and he is us.
But I grew tired pretty quickly of groups (almost always new ones that had been formed by someone with little prior experience with advocacy) that made that claim.
The problem is that many of us just take it for granted that politics and politicians are somehow ethically tainted. There's a craving for some sort of ideological purity.
We need to demand that purity of our politics, though, not assume it doesn't have any.