Jennifer S. Norris

Social Justice Warrior: A pejorative term for an individual who repeatedly and vehemently engages in arguments on social justice on the Internet, often in a shallow or not well-thought-out way, for the purpose of raising their own personal reputation. A social justice warrior, or SJW, does not necessarily strongly believe all that they say, or even care about the groups they are fighting on behalf of. They typically repeat points from whoever is the most popular blogger or commenter of the moment, hoping that they will “get SJ points” and become popular in return. They are very sure to adopt stances that are “correct” in their social circle.

The SJW’s favorite activity of all is to dogpile. Their favorite websites to frequent are Livejournal and Tumblr. They do not have relevant favorite real-world places, because SJWs are primarily civil rights activists only online. ~Urban Dictionary

In my research on the subject of social justice warriors, I have learned a lot about my own situation. I, like many Americans, have been targeted by a gang of internet bullies, in this case disguised as military sexual assault survivors. The ironic thing about it is that they claimed to be fighting against a culture of retaliation in the military but they themselves are engaging in a form of retaliation against anyone on-line who is not kissing their ass or in lock step with their perspective. The retaliation they engaged in included but was not limited to dog piling, making things up, ruining reputations, contacting people and accusing the person they were targeting of the behavior they were engaging in, doxing, and swatting.

Dogpile: A group of people jumping on one person and creating a tower of people while crushing the people on bottom.

Doxing: Search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the Internet, typically with malicious intent.

Swatting: Swatting has been associated with online harassment campaigns, and episodes range from large to small – from the deployment of bomb squads, SWAT units and other police units and the concurrent evacuations of schools and businesses, to a single fabricated police report meant to discredit an individual as a prank or personal vendetta.

I stepped out of military sexual assault advocacy after becoming the victim of some social justice warriors who were not only the aggressors but were in fact promoted by the main stream media, Oscar nominated filmmakers, victim advocacy organizations, and even Democratic senators. Despite multiple veterans contacting the above listed people with their concerns about them knowingly promoting bullies and harassers, we were banished and isolated instead. It was only after the on-line abuse escalated in the form of doxing and swatting that I began to quickly re-evaluate my situation and decided that maybe advocacy was not for me. In effect, these internet bullies had temporarily silenced me. They infringed on my right to freedom of speech and took away my ability to confront what I consider a due process issue, publicly shaming someone with no proof but plenty of followers.

Since stepping back into the arena, I have come across a number of professional journalists, constitutionalists, attorneys, and due process advocates who are holding these SJWs accountable. They have intelligently come up with words and phrases to conceptualize the behavior which in effect has empowered me to stand tall and not back down if this kind of behavior ever occurs again. The behavior of SJWs did in fact shake me to my core when I realized just how underhanded and manipulative they are. It also concerned me that they were targeting a population (veterans with PTSD) who are struggling with an epidemic of suicide. I have mustered the strength to take this issue on because of how it negatively impacted me and other veterans around me.

Everyone has a right to advocate for issues that are important to them. Everyone has a right to speak their truth. But on-line bullies and harassers do not have a right to dogpile, dox, and swat those that they do not like or agree with. There has been a lot of discussion around misogyny on line towards women. I am here to tell you that I was never targeted by random men; I was targeted by other women and those that call themselves survivors. It was hypocrisy at its finest and the reason I decided to speak my truth. The lesson I learned is that I will do me and you can do you, until you aggress upon me and infringe on my right to freedom of speech and expression. I wrote about it while it was happening to me to document the behavior and I will continue to write about the damage of public shaming and how it violates another important constitutional right, the right to due process.

Related Links:
The Pecking Disorder: Social Justice Warriors Gone Wild
Why ‘social justice warrior,’ a Gamergate insult, is now a dictionary entry
Why narcissistic people lie, smear campaign, and gossip about victims
Empathic people are natural targets for sociopaths – protect yourself
Adult Cyberbullying: Harassment in the Information Age
Advice for Adult Victims of Cyberbullying