This response really taps into something I’ve been struggling with since…well, my whole political…

I agree with you deeply that we need to engage with flawed systems. That looking for a pure movement or a pure activist space will leave us…

This response really taps into something I’ve been struggling with since…well, my whole political life, I guess. Checking out of a movement because that movement is flawed often leads to a person being politically isolated and ineffectual. It dampens a person’s potential to have a political impact, and it also leaves one feeling very alone. And yet…trying to participate in a system or an activist community that doesn’t acknowledge or value you can itself be deeply exhausting and alienating. I often find myself switching between doing too little (often because I am exhausted and feeling despair), and doing too much — trying to educate too many people, trying to fix too many systems that are too flawed for me to individually make much of an impact, etc. Neither feels particularly great.

I agree with you deeply that we need to engage with flawed systems. That looking for a pure movement or a pure activist space will leave us isolated and feeling gutted. But what do we do when attempts to engage and fix from the inside leave us feeling similarly alienated and gutted? I struggle to find a flawed movement that is a) only a little flawed, so there is hope of getting somewhere, and b) receptive to attempts to make it less flawed. Any advice or wisdom or personal experiences of yours would be invaluable to read about.