Christian Mommy Blogger Claims Fighting for Social Justice “Causes Depression”

Christian blogger and professional mommy-shamer Lori Alexander (a.k.a. “The Transformed Wife”), last seen explaining why feminism is “Satanic,” is now claiming the social justice movement leads to depression.

It’s a classic case of correlation not being synonymous with causation. When you’re perpetually oppressed and have to fight for your civil rights — or if you’re an ally who understands the seriousness of those threats — you may very well be depressed. If you could just live your life, things would be okay.

The same is true about social justice; if you didn’t have to fight against racism and bigotry all the time, things would be much better for you mentally. It’s no surprise, then, that people fighting hate might be more likely to struggle with depression than those perpetuating hate. The more you care, the more heartache you’ll feel. That’s part of being a human with a moral compass and soft heart.

That’s the context for a 2020 Pew Research Center survey that, according to one writer, found “over half of white, liberal women have been diagnosed with a mental health condition at some point.” (Hemant’s note: This is a simplistic interpretation of the original Pew Research data and doesn’t take into account much nuance at all. It should be troubling to everyone that many conservative websites have regurgitated one person’s interpretation of the data without ever pointing back to the raw numbers.)

So how does Lori Alexander explain those supposed numbers? With no nuance whatsoever. In fact, she uses that survey to trash female preachers and social justice altogether.

Many female preachers and women have jumped on the Social Justice Movement bandwagon… All women are taught in high schools and college is that they are victims, oppressed by the Patriarchy. They need to fight this injustice. You’ve seen women speaking at the Women’s Marches. They are angry and mean. There’s nothing feminine, kind, or having a meek and quiet spirit about them.

…

As a Conservative Christian, I was taught from a young age that life isn’t fair. Yes, I’m white and “privileged” as many would claim, but guess what, none of us get through life without pain and suffering. I suffered from pain and sickness for 30 years. I was harassed verbally often as a child. I learned quickly that life wasn’t fair. We are commanded to not take vengeance, but leave it in the Lord’s hands. We must rest in Him, and understand that there will never be fairness while living on this wicked earth.

If the people marching seem “angry and mean,” it’s because they have good reason to be. We’ve seen powerful men get away with harassing and assaulting women without so much as a slap on the wrist. (They can even get elected president.) The gender wage gap still exists. Women may lack comprehensive health care if they live in states run by Republicans.

Alexander thinks her own struggles, whatever they are, are no different from those of minorities or anyone else she works to oppress. More to the point: She makes the classic mistake of assuming that “white privilege” means white people are incapable of struggling. That’s not what it means. Simply put, it means your skin color isn’t one of the things that may be holding you back.

Nevertheless, she cites a line in that article saying “progressivism encourages victims to stay in a place of fear and helplessness.” Which it doesn’t. Being progressive these days means realizing what you’re up against and trying to push back against things like systemic injustice. Organizing protests, participating in marches, volunteering with political campaigns, and writing informative articles is not wallowing in “helplessness and victimhood,” as the article puts it. They’re ways to create change.

You would think Alexander understands that given that she writes a daily blog. But it’s clear that this kind of comprehension is out of reach for her.

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