REBUTTAL: Activism for Sustainable Socio-Political Change & Freedom of Speech vs Hate Speech.

Influenced by worldwide industrialization and the first World War, literary modernism was an emotional and experimental style of prose and poetry that occurred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century literature.

Literary modernism allowed writers to express themselves in more experimental ways than in the past. Modernist works often contain non-linear narratives and free-flowing interior monologues that emphasize the experiences and emotions of the individual. Writers of modernist literature include Franz Kafka, D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, Gertrude Stein, Joseph Conrad, Samuel Beckett, William Carlos Williams, and W.B. Yeats.

Unlike the writers above, James Baldwin was considered a Postmodernist; He was one of the greatest artists of the postmodern era:

Postmodernism, however, eschews absolute meaning and instead emphasizes play, fragmentation, metafiction, and intertextuality. The postmodern literature movement in the mid-twentieth century was a reaction to the literary style of the modernist period, earlier in the century. Postmodernism embodied the disenchantment of the post-World War II era, rejecting the idea of absolute truth, avoiding deep analysis, and a focusing on subjective beliefs rather than science.

So, how did Baldwins stance at that place in time and history become even more relevant when comparing and trying to understand today’s 21st century socio-political environment?

On the subject of “time” you’re presented with two options, pick one:

1. Timing is everything. If it's meant to happen, it will, at the right time for the right reasons.

2. The wait is as much journey as the motion, because timing is pivotal. You can create something that is pure genius, but you still have to get your timing right. Right now, is the time for everything.

That said, James Baldwin took part in the Civil Rights Movement, becoming close friends with Medgar Evers, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, and Lorraine Hansberry. The deaths of many of these friends influenced his novels and plays and his writing about race relations in America.

Consider, the six “historical thinking concepts” that are: historical significance, primary source evidence, continuity and change, cause and consequence, historical perspectives and ethical dimensions. Together, these concepts form the basis of all historical inquiry. Yes? - No?

Arguably, the points above would at least explain why we labeled Baldwin as a Centrist. How ironic, to be chastised for ignorance when all we were doing was postulating the significant fact that Baldwin was an activist with a justifiable cause, but not necessarily a revolutionist with the intent to destroy the very system that produced his philosophy – at that point in time and space – within the context of history.

Baldwin's radical philosophy of individuality requires that we engage in constant introspection so we might be able to detect when we are relying on labeling and categorization in order to make ourselves feel superior to others.

Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good.

Where do you stand in this public debate?

Ultimately, we can agree to disagree on the following 2 points when summarizing our perceived disservice to the LGBTQ+ community.

1. History is written by the winners.

2. History is an argument without end.

Finally, code…decoded would like to serve by intervening, on behalf of our community to fight (nonviolently) towards a change that is perceived for the greater good – and sustainable.