A limited collection of facts about me, so that you can understand where I'm coming from.
The Good: I'm a recently graduated career activist (read: layabout) and began my foray into political organising beyond the student sphere in the wake of the 2023 israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. I have organised with students and non-students alike, in public and covertly, as an individual and with organisations. Direct action is my core principle; in order to make the world a better place, we cannot wait for permission from the powers that be, but must take initiative in building the constructs we desire and tearing down those we hate now. I am an (arguably) cis lesbian based in the UK and am mixed race (British and Pakistani), but have grown up in the Arabian Peninsula. I'm 22, and just like all 22-year-olds, am still figuring out my place in the world. I just know that this world is not one in which anyone can thrive, and am determined to do my very best to change that. I am incredibly critical of leftist organising for a number of reasons - but partially because we have to beat the far right at something.
The Bad: I am relatively new to political organising, having moved from academic discussion groups and electoral politics to direct action and grassroots campaigning over the past two years. Although not a bad thing in itself, I know that many of the problems I face are not new, and worry that reading some of this blog may be retreading old ground for more experienced activists. I'm also very much trained in academic writing, but am trying to let that go in favour of more accessible (and lower-effort) styles of writing.
The Ugly: I have led a life of privilege, scraping along as just-about-middle-class for most of my life. This fact embarrasses me hugely - as it does most activists - so I try to be as self-aware about it as possible. I hope that this blog becomes more than its tagline about over-educated leftists and that what I have to say is of real value, rather than becoming just another vanity project in an already-saturated field of middle-class leftists so bloated with self-importance that they scream their entirely abstract opinions into the void. Only you can be the judge of that!