Solidarity Politics

A reflection on two under-fleshed out politics of solidarity:
1. Cognitive Ableism & Neurotypicality
2. Ageism & Adultism

The former can manifest as:
"If you haven't read this essay, you're not in the know, you're not smart enough, you're not progressive enough, you're just not good enough!"
"If you don't speak the right language, if you misspell words, if you don't know how to Google, you're just lazy and uneducated!"

The latter can manifest as:
Endless bickering, macho outwitting, an inattention to the importance of gradual development of inclusion and radicalisation of individuals and communities, spaces which are primarily folks in our 20s/30s, and with little room for the wisdom of elders, or accusations of "selling out" (and the attendant ostracism) when people account for the shifting priorities that come with aging within an imperfect and oppressive system

They both manifest as:
A stigma around imperfection, impatience, characterisations of people as "backward" or "retarded" or "living in the past" for having problematic politics, and a rejection of relationship in the service of abstract idealism.

In brief, I relate to the above as a part of what I call the concerns of "developmental justice", which underlie many of the issues that I see plaguing (identity) politics in general, and of the Left in particular.