Thread by @Delafina777

why do men always act like people advocating for themselves is somehow this sketchy thing?

like, yes, people want their debt canceled, which is not somehow mutually exclusive with the student loan industry being predatory and bad for the economy

https://twitter.com/osuphantom/status/1464944232028942343

see also: "women want equal pay because they want more money!!!"

I mean: yes.

Status quo defenders are so used to creating layers of obfuscation as to why they want to maintain an unjust state of things from which they benefit so they can claim it’s actually just

that they’re shocked that anyone would admit to a personal, non-abstract stake in justice

It’s led to really skewed social justice discourse in which we all accept the privileged white male framing that defending the status quo is by default non-self-interested and that anyone arguing for change must prove their selfless, abstract purity

When the reasons privileged people have for resisting change aren’t neutral or abstract or objective

They’re personal and self-interested

And actually, “the system is negatively impacting my basic rights in order to protect other people’s privilege” is a fine argument

But so is “I need more money and I’ll take it at the expense scammy student loan agencies, thanks.”

This whole line of argument also ignores that it’s the responsibility of *policy makers* to figure out how to meet the needs of the populace fairly and responsibly—the role of advocates is to bring the needs to their attention and help them understand them.