Long Live Libtube

In her new video, Contrapoints described herself as a “liberal social democrat”. The “social democrat” part she has said before, but as far as I know she hasn’t used “the L word” to describe herself publicly (at least, not this L word).

It’s possible that she was just reclaiming the word that has been used as an insult against her throughout her Youtube career. But given what she's said about revolutions, I don’t know if she was joking outright. And I’ve been watching her long enough to know that if she made the same brief statement in say, 2018, Breadtube would have wanted her head on a pike. It's still early, but as far as I can tell there's no big backlash against her. Yet.

I’ll admit, I feel a little vindicated. Some years ago, I made a post on this subreddit (on a different account) which said I was a liberal. I got flooded with angry comments from people who tried to educate me about how liberals are evil and basically the same as fascists, and spammed with links to video essay homework for me to watch. I was honestly a bit leftist-curious at the time, but that hostile reception pushed me away. So, I’ve long enjoyed Natalie’s content as a filthy lib shill.

I’m no lover of capitalism, but I don’t feel the urge to join any “leftist community”, because I’ve seen how leftists treat other leftists. Constant purity spirals are not an effective way to build a movement. Sorry, that’s just the way I see things. But is it possible that the general mood is different on the left now, given recent history? Maybe there’s a real appetite to build a big-tent coalition against authoritarian fascism. But hey, maybe the comments will prove me wrong.