1170: The Humanism of Work: A Critique of Parade Activism
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/07
By my observations, the blur of reality and fantasy is mixed with another blur between work-based and parade activism. For some reason, people seem to be struggling to distinguish between the two. Is it, in fact, because of digital nativity? I do not know. Work-based activism is deeply blue-collar and grounded in realism with problem-solving. At a restaurant, dishes need cleaning and drying, shit stains and piss on the floor need scrubbing and mopping and disinfecting in pubs. At equine farms, horses need manure and urine mucked, fresh hay delivered, old hay removed, and water buckets. Cleaned and autowaters scrubbed. Tractors need to compact and load waste in the industrial bins. In landscaping and gardening, weeds need periodic extirpation, mulch needs laying and light compacting — and thick, parking lots need leaves blown for presentability. Work activism is more like that. You do things rather than signal things, or the result of the work is the signal. That is hard, not easy. You can bust knees, tear tendons, get chemical burns, and suffer back injuries, and be alert to real, immediate threats. There are right and wrong approaches to each minute activity. In all of those cases, I speak from experience. If you want me to be even more, I can run down the list tediously. Parade activism is more like a TikTok video, smear campaigns, hostile takeover of organizations, and particularism of ethical implementation. The latter is ecclesiastical in orientation, while the former is deeply humanistic, in my opinion. In this sense, over-reach of progressivism can be problematic in the form of some facets of the Woke, while, on the other hand, the real definition comes forward in the government enforcement of twisted conservativism and religious clericalism, or the truly worst forms of Woke cancel culture: Religious conservativism allied with institutional power and corporate financial backing — marked by violence, hypocrisy, and moral authoritarianism, as seen in the Middle Ages.
Last updated May 3, 2025. These terms govern all In Sight Publishing content—past, present, and future—and supersede any prior notices. In Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons BY‑NC‑ND 4.0; © In Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen 2012–Present. All trademarks, performances, databases & branding are owned by their rights holders; no use without permission. Unauthorized copying, modification, framing or public communication is prohibited. External links are not endorsed. Cookies & tracking require consent, and data processing complies with PIPEDA & GDPR; no data from children < 13 (COPPA). Content meets WCAG 2.1 AA under the Accessible Canada Act & is preserved in open archival formats with backups. Excerpts & links require full credit & hyperlink; limited quoting under fair-dealing & fair-use. All content is informational; no liability for errors or omissions: Feedback welcome, and verified errors corrected promptly. For permissions or DMCA notices, email: scott.jacobsen2025@gmail.com. Site use is governed by BC laws; content is “as‑is,” liability limited, users indemnify us; moral, performers’ & database sui generis rights reserved.
In-Sight Publishing 