I’ve seen a lot of memes being passed around disparaging the views of centrists and I thought I’d take this space to try to explain things to centrists in (hopefully) less rage inducing terms.

For what I understand, based on centrists I’ve talked to and literature I’ve read, modern day centrism is based on two main thought processes: The first is a general displeasure toward the tribalistic, bipartisan state of our political system, and the second is the idea both sides of any issue must be examined before any proper evaluation of the issue can be made. Both of these mentalities, at their cores, are totally fine and even healthy. Unfortunately, modern centrism doesn’t hold to these ideals; they cling to a perverted distortion of the ideas in an effort to maintain their identity as “politically neutral” individuals.

The frustration at our two party political system is completely understandable. I, myself, don’t fully agree with either party and am constantly annoyed at the decisions various politicians I’ve voted for and supported make. However, I’ve come to the realization that by refusing to support either side, I’m affectively allowing the current party to stay in power. This in turn leads to a cycle where the oppressors are allowed to maintain power simply due to lack of support for the oppressed. Think of it like a race where there’s only two racers and whoever wins is allowed to make one change to the next race. If you’re pissed off that there’s only two racers then your best bet isn’t to support neither racer, it’s to support the racer that’s more likely to allow more racers in the next race. By refusing to take part in the political system, you’re effectively allowing the racer that’s continuously stacking the races in their favor to keep winning, and yes, part of that is keeping it a two party system because they KNOW it means you’ll stay out of it.

Similarly the idea that both sides of any issue must be examined is, at its core, an understandable concept. It actually goes one further and is actively healthy to practice. However, modern times have perverted the concept into the idea that not only must both sides be examined, but both sides bear equal weight. This is blatantly not true. It’s not only possible, but very probable that someone examines all sides to an issue and finds that one side is just wrong. I know no one consciously does this, but centrist rhetoric is rife with this type of thinking.

Here’s a real life example: The political left wants equal rights for Black Americans, Immigrants, PoC, and the LGBTQ+ community. The political right does not. The nature of our bipartisan system coupled with the continued insistence from the centrists that both sides have equal weight have polarized the issue into the left not wanting minorities to be actively murdered by law enforcement and the right arguing that minorities have no right to exist. At this point I’m guessing that any centrists still reading believe I’m exaggerating and blowing things out of proportion. I’m not. The BLM movement was literally ignited due to the fact a Black American was murdered by law enforcement officers who suffered little to no repercussions. Since then the amount of death threats made toward PoC and Black Americans by right wing supporters has increased drastically. It’s literally become a life or death situation for many people.

So by claiming that you’re above politics, that both sides are equal, or that either side is blowing things out of proportion not only shows a complete lack of empathy for your fellow humans, but a general failure in your critical thinking ability. I know that’s a rage inducing statement, and I said I would try to avoid them, but I really don’t have any other way to articulate the idea. Clinging to the belief that you’re above the politics of the situation, or that both sides have equally invalid arguments completely misses the point of the idea to examine all sides of an issue before making a judgement. Worse, it belittles and devalues the plight of those trying to survive, and in doing so gives power to those that are oppressing them.

That’s why the left has such an issue with centrists. In their misguided attempt to stay above the mucky muck and not pick a side, they’ve picked a side, and it’s the one run by liars, thieves, rapists, and murderers.