when white people partake in performative liberalism and use it as an excuse to be subconsciously racist towards their non white peer/friend. usually from the midwest but doesn't have to be. also, usually among the white alternative crowd, predominantly. they make being "liberal" an aesthetic on social media platforms, when in reality, they just need to learn to recognize their implicit bias when their poc friends try and correct them.
they also compare themselves to trump supporters to justify their implicit racism.
they generally fall in the white alternative crowd. they enjoy anime, kpop, weed, indie music, skateboarding, frank ocean, as much as the next alternative person. but they are not as educated or self aware as they could be. a majority of them do hail from breadbasket states. the main reason for this is that midwestern states are by majority, white. so when passive liberalists branch out (for college or other reasons), they have already developed a subconsciously racial superiority complex. surprisingly, a trump supporting white girl from soCal may be less subconsciously racist than a white person from Ohio or Minnesota.
* this is not about all white people, just the ones who choose not to educate themselves.
they also compare themselves to trump supporters to justify their implicit racism.
they generally fall in the white alternative crowd. they enjoy anime, kpop, weed, indie music, skateboarding, frank ocean, as much as the next alternative person. but they are not as educated or self aware as they could be. a majority of them do hail from breadbasket states. the main reason for this is that midwestern states are by majority, white. so when passive liberalists branch out (for college or other reasons), they have already developed a subconsciously racial superiority complex. surprisingly, a trump supporting white girl from soCal may be less subconsciously racist than a white person from Ohio or Minnesota.
* this is not about all white people, just the ones who choose not to educate themselves.
example 1:
Sally: I put blm in my bio and listen to Green Day on repeat, of course im not racist.
Lucy: yeah but when Chenelle dated Ryan after you did, you became super passive aggressive towards her. You even ended things with him and acted so weird towards Chenelle.. Yet when Kenzie dated him, you didn't care.
Sally: what are you implying?
Lucy: You subconsciously view yourself as superior to Chenelle, our Hispanic friend, than you did Kenzie, another white person. You just perform passive liberalism for the aesthetic.
Sally: You're crazy Lucy. I buy from the activist section at Urban Outfitters, I posted a black square on Instagram,..., I even went against my parents and voted for Biden ...it was such a struggle. I'm too alternative to be racist. I listen to Kpop, Lucy! Would a subconsciously racist person listen to Kpop? Also, there's never been a trump supporter who has as quaint a Stardew valley farm as I do. Because trump supporters would never play such an uwu aesthetic game.
example 2:
Ryan: are you seriously breaking up with me?
Chenelle: you never tell your friends to quit the Latina jokes.
Ryan: but im your uwu white boy of the month. :(
Chenelle: poc people on twitter invented the "white boy" of the month jokes. we've gone over this. when you say it or let it fuel your ego, it's not cute. you didn't act this way Kenna left you a few months ago. recognize your superiority complex.
Sally: I put blm in my bio and listen to Green Day on repeat, of course im not racist.
Lucy: yeah but when Chenelle dated Ryan after you did, you became super passive aggressive towards her. You even ended things with him and acted so weird towards Chenelle.. Yet when Kenzie dated him, you didn't care.
Sally: what are you implying?
Lucy: You subconsciously view yourself as superior to Chenelle, our Hispanic friend, than you did Kenzie, another white person. You just perform passive liberalism for the aesthetic.
Sally: You're crazy Lucy. I buy from the activist section at Urban Outfitters, I posted a black square on Instagram,..., I even went against my parents and voted for Biden ...it was such a struggle. I'm too alternative to be racist. I listen to Kpop, Lucy! Would a subconsciously racist person listen to Kpop? Also, there's never been a trump supporter who has as quaint a Stardew valley farm as I do. Because trump supporters would never play such an uwu aesthetic game.
example 2:
Ryan: are you seriously breaking up with me?
Chenelle: you never tell your friends to quit the Latina jokes.
Ryan: but im your uwu white boy of the month. :(
Chenelle: poc people on twitter invented the "white boy" of the month jokes. we've gone over this. when you say it or let it fuel your ego, it's not cute. you didn't act this way Kenna left you a few months ago. recognize your superiority complex.
by readerimauledhim October 1, 2021
Get the passive liberalism mug.Liberalism but with harsh draconian style laws (I.e more death penalty, slower death, harsh punishments)
The Draconian Liberalism Party is ruthlessly punishing its people with equal crimes of what they did!
by EnSvenskKanzlrr March 28, 2024
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The mistaken belief that scientific models, theories, and concepts are literal descriptions of reality rather than useful approximations. The Literalist thinks an electron is "really" a particle, a gene is "really" a discrete unit, a map is "really" the territory. Scientific Literalism forgets that science builds models, not mirrors—useful fictions that help us predict and intervene, not photographs of the noumenal world. It's the error of confusing the menu for the meal, the map for the landscape, the model for reality.
"You're arguing about whether light is 'really' a particle or a wave. Scientific Literalism: it's neither—those are models we use because they work. The map is not the territory. Your literalism is preventing you from understanding what science actually does."
by Abzugal February 23, 2026
Get the Scientific Literalism mug.The naive belief that language can directly capture reality—that words mean what they mean, that concepts correspond to things, that truth is a matter of matching statements to world. Epistemological Literalism ignores the mediated, constructed, interpretive nature of all knowing. It's the epistemology of the confident, the unreflective, the certain. It feels like common sense but is actually a sophisticated philosophical position that most of philosophy has spent centuries dismantling.
"Just tell me the truth, directly, no interpretation." Epistemological Literalism: as if truth came pre-packaged in language, as if words weren't interpretations, as if you could escape meaning-making. There is no direct—only mediated. Grow up."
by Abzugal February 23, 2026
Get the Epistemological Literalism mug.A political-economic formation where liberal democratic institutions—elections, rights, free speech—coexist with technological infrastructure that systematically undermines them. Techno-liberalism is the ideology that presents platform capitalism, algorithmic governance, and corporate surveillance as compatible with freedom, while in practice creating a new form of control. It masquerades as "choice" while engineering outcomes, as "openness" while building walled gardens, as "democracy" while enabling algorithmic manipulation. Techno-liberalism is the ideological wing of techno-feudalism: it preserves the language of liberalism while hollowing out its substance, replacing citizens with users, rights with terms of service, and public sphere with data-extraction platforms.
Techno-Liberalism Example: "The platform claimed to champion free speech while shadow‑banning dissenters—techno‑liberalism, using liberal rhetoric to mask algorithmic control."
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 26, 2026
Get the Techno-Liberalism mug.The ideological framework that presents digital platforms as instruments of freedom, democracy, and empowerment, while obscuring their extractive and controlling functions. Digital liberalism celebrates the early internet as a liberation technology, treats connectivity as inherently progressive, and frames surveillance as a privacy trade‑off that users freely choose. It resists regulation in the name of innovation and defends algorithmic amplification as neutral. Digital liberalism is the ideology that makes platform capitalism feel like participation rather than exploitation.
Digital Liberalism Example: "He believed that more connectivity meant more freedom—digital liberalism, ignoring that connectivity was now a surveillance grid owned by three corporations."
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 26, 2026
Get the Digital Liberalism mug.When someone tries so hard to look liberal that it starts feeling like a performance art piece. Usually involves flexing their “wokeness” at every opportunity, treating social justice like a competition, and making sure everyone knows they’re the most progressive person in the room.
They’ll post endless photos with marginalized groups (but only for the optics), brag about their “diverse friend group,” and side-eye anyone who doesn’t speak in the latest approved vocabulary. It’s less about genuine empathy and more about getting liberal points.
They’ll post endless photos with marginalized groups (but only for the optics), brag about their “diverse friend group,” and side-eye anyone who doesn’t speak in the latest approved vocabulary. It’s less about genuine empathy and more about getting liberal points.
Did you see Amy call me a radical republican? All I said was I don’t want to call Emily a cat. She even posted about it in her story. She is definition performative liberalism!
by Mish.bel October 22, 2025
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