• 0 Posts
  • 120 Comments
Joined 7 months ago
cake
Cake day: March 12th, 2025

help-circle







  • militant leftist

    The word “militant” is interesting, particularly its use as a vague slur. It suggests extremism or even violence without requiring evidence of such (for example 15-20 years ago the term “militant atheist” got flung around a lot, referring to people who didn’t believe in God and were outspoken and unashamed of it).

    It caught my attention when encountering the Italian counterpart “militante” which means anyone who gets off their ass for something they believe in. Carrying a sign in a protest is definitely “militante”. And as such it’s not a slur, or suggestive of anything scary. I guess the meaning in English isn’t so materially different except for the bourgeois fear of activism which it conjures up.