DISCLAIMER: I am NOT an anti-SJW. This post is not to harp on SJWs. This is just my personal opinion on how the term is used.
<sigh> Yeah, I kinda had that coming. That said, this has been bothering me for years now; almost a decade actually. I’ve seen this argument thrown about time and time again, particularly when a big budget movie dares to be more progressive in it’s storytelling and characters. It’s not just with movies though, people in general have been labeled SJWs because they have the audacity to promote their personal views on everything. But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s start at the beginning.
For those who don’t know, a social justice warrior is a person who fights for a political cause they feel needs to be rectified. At the very least, that’s what the term is SUPPOSED to mean. But in doing my research, I found that the term has been used as an insult since early in the 2010s. Specifically around the time of Gamergate. I’m not going to get into it here (tl;dr it involves sexism, harassment and belittlement of women in the gaming industry), but this is roughly around the time I first heard of the term SJW. I’ve longed remained silent about this topic until Stefan “Mr. Coat” Ellison dismissed this term in a video addressing politics in film (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNSaHOJL1Gs). He mentioned how he thought of heroes like Robin Hood whenever he heard the term social justice warrior and that got me thinking: what other popular heroes can be considered “SJWs?” Well let’s gather up a few candidates.
Dr. Martin Luther King, jr.: You can argue how much of a fornicator he was back in the day all you want (I know, I was shocked when I found that out too), but there’s no denying he had a legitamate reason to lead marches in Alabama, give his famous speech in Washington D.C., and make his voice heard around the nation. Dr. King was a civil rights activist fighting for equal rights for African Americans. He and many others fought for injustice in our society and kept fighting up until his death. I don’t know about you, but that sounds and awful lot like a social justice warrior.
Stan Lee: You’d think I was pulling this out of my backside, but there is actually evidence to suggest Stan Lee was a social justice warrior in the best way possible. Stan made it no secret that he was against any form of bigotry, and it showed when he co-created the X-Men with Jack Kirby. He also wrote soap boxes with inspiring and encouraging messages to his readers to be respectful of other people. He even broke new grounds by co-creating the first mainstream African superhero, Black Panther (again, with Jack Kirby). Ask anyone who’s collaborated with him and you’ll find nothing but positive things said about the guy.
Walt Disney: Contrary to popular belief, Walt Disney was NOT a racist, anti-semite, or homophobic dork (nor was his head frozen under Disneyland, he was cremated). He treated everyone as an equal and wanted nothing more than to see creativity become the norm of society. Case in point, EPCOT was his idea for a city that would be focused on creating the future. It was an ambitious yet exciting project that ultimately became Disney World Resort and a theme park right in Florida. Also, his early films had subtle messages about growing up, following your dreams and being a good person; you know, morals anybody can relate to.
Malala Yousafzai: If you don’t know the story of this young girl from Pakistan, here’s a brief round down. Malala is an advocate for free education for young girls in her country. A terrorist group known as The Taliban hated her guts and one of them shot her in the head while she was on the bus. She made it out alive, her story became viral and now boys and girls are given a free education in Pakistan. And she continues to be an inspiration for young girls around the world as she fights for others rights for a free education.
Everyone Involved in the #MeToo Movement: The one positive thing anyone can say about Harvey Weinstein is that because of him, women in the entertainment industry have finally decided to take a stand. No longer are they going to hide behind closed doors or lock away their trauma in a closet. And it’s not just women, men have come forward about being taken advantaged of too. And this movement shows no signs of slowing down as just this past week a couple people took to Twitter to expose Vic Mignogna of unwanted hugs and kisses, making insensitive remarks and refusing to sign sfw yaoi fanart because “it’s not canon.” If you support the men, women and children who have been taken advantaged of in the entertainment industry, consider yourself an honorary social justice warrior.
Jesus Christ: You knew this was coming. Understandably people have a problem with organized religion (a topic for another day), but that does not mean Jesus didn’t do any good during His time. Aside from helping a blind man see, feeding thousands with just a few pieces of bread and fish, and of course dying for our sins, Jesus preached equality, respect of other people and always be willing to help. Despite being labeled King of Kings, He never once demanded to be treated like one. When you get right down to it, Jesus was a good man who wanted to help people. What’s wrong with that?
So, why is it that people use “social justice warrior” as an insult when it’s clearly meant to be a compliment? In my opinion, it stems from the instances when people are too pushy with their beliefs. There are people out there who do try to force people to believe their way of living is the best way. It’s easy to say “just ignore them, they don’t matter,” so I’ll say something different but hopefully more effective. If someone is promoting a belief that is different than your own, instead of shutting them out, why not listen to what they have to say, agree to disagree and move on? It’s much less of a headache that way then entering a screaming contest where the one who blows their voice out first loses. When it comes to entertainment, however, can we just chill the fridge out? “Oh the horror of movies getting political now. Why can’t entertainment and politics stay separate?” Uhh, movies have been political since Day 1. Birth of a Nation, Hell’s Angels, Cleopatra, Oliver Twist just to name a few of the early ones. Star Wars has the good guys called Rebels and the bad guys called the Empire. Superman is about an immigrant trying to find his place in the world while helping other wherever he can. I can go on about how other films handle politics be it subtle or very explicit but the point is movies getting political is not even close to a new concept.
Conclusion: I see the use of the term “social justice warrior” the same way I see the term “gay” these days: it used to be a compliment but then the Internet came along and unjustly turned it into an insult. It’s honestly backwards thinking that does more harm then good. I really wish we can make an effort to make “social justice warrior” a compliment again, but that’s not going to happened unless more people realize what they’re saying isn’t insulting in the slightest. Honestly, I’d much rather be called an SJW then the “n” word anyday.
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