Defeat
What it is
This happens when a would-be activist isn’t able to find allies, a major political loss, our co-organizers moved away, our chapter dissolved in conflict, or the pandemic hit.
Organizers often describe burnout at this stage, that they were working so hard- and for what?
Defeat can come about when we’ve matured out of passion and found ourselves disillusioned with the work or the leadership or structure of our organizations.
What it’s like
“And the pandemic, like, where the hell does that leave us now? There were so many people- I don't know where they are anymore. Like, do they still live here? And they're just, like, living? Did they move away?... I think, from local to national, it's like starting from scratch post-pandemic, if we are even post-pandemic at this point.”
Amber Canavan
“That is really hard for people who are just coming in. They need to feel like they're accomplishing something. And I don't think that a lot of organizations are giving that to them right now, so they can feel like they were part of a win to keep them going to the next thing.” Interview 37
Anonymous
“I'm pausing all of my volunteer things. And I'm going to stop and think about how I can be more effective and use my time in a way that feels more rewarding.”
Aviva Gersovitch
“So, after high school, that was such a negative experience in terms of what I thought of the efficacy of speaking out, that in college, I really didn't speak out or try to be very proactive.”
Anonymous
“[There is a] lack of community outside of activism and doing things together to build relationships. And resistance within my local vegan groups here online. I would be posting stuff saying, ‘Hey, this is happening. We're doing this, we're doing this,’ and I got such little support for a long time that I just got to the point where I felt like I was just being truly ignored. And it was like, ‘Okay, I thought I could sustain that without caring.’ But eventually, I got burned out.”
Kai Fenn
I feel very disillusioned now. I think that I'm a lot less inclined after everything to go out of my way to do things for other people. I mean, not in my immediate social circle, but in the world. I'm not going out of my way to help people outside of my immediate circle anymore (people, including animals). I prioritize myself a lot more aggressively now. And I don't really have a lot of interest in getting back involved in the movement
Anonymous
“It's just kind of constant sheer exhaustion… I think I'm just burnt out. I think I'm just at a point now where sending out an email seems really difficult. Whereas before, I would have been excited to do it… Now I think I'm just a little bit bitter and jaded. Like, is it even going to matter?... I think before I would have just tackled it and been like, ‘Oh, okay, gotta just get over this, no problem. Big deal’ Like, let's do it.’ And now it's just like, ugh.”
Anonymous
Amber Canavan
Anonymous
Aviva Gersovitch
Anonymous
Kai Fenn
Anonymous
Anonymous
What we need
Invitations to bigger and better things
Safe and sustainable work
“And the pandemic, like, where the hell does that leave us now? There were so many people- I don't know where they are anymore. Like, do they still live here? And they're just, like, living? Did they move away?... I think, from local to national, it's like starting from scratch post-pandemic, if we are even post-pandemic at this point.”
Amber Canavan
“That is really hard for people who are just coming in. They need to feel like they're accomplishing something. And I don't think that a lot of organizations are giving that to them right now, so they can feel like they were part of a win to keep them going to the next thing.” Interview 37
Anonymous
“I'm pausing all of my volunteer things. And I'm going to stop and think about how I can be more effective and use my time in a way that feels more rewarding.”
Aviva Gersovitch
“So, after high school, that was such a negative experience in terms of what I thought of the efficacy of speaking out, that in college, I really didn't speak out or try to be very proactive.”
Anonymous
“[There is a] lack of community outside of activism and doing things together to build relationships. And resistance within my local vegan groups here online. I would be posting stuff saying, ‘Hey, this is happening. We're doing this, we're doing this,’ and I got such little support for a long time that I just got to the point where I felt like I was just being truly ignored. And it was like, ‘Okay, I thought I could sustain that without caring.’ But eventually, I got burned out.”
Kai Fenn
I feel very disillusioned now. I think that I'm a lot less inclined after everything to go out of my way to do things for other people. I mean, not in my immediate social circle, but in the world. I'm not going out of my way to help people outside of my immediate circle anymore (people, including animals). I prioritize myself a lot more aggressively now. And I don't really have a lot of interest in getting back involved in the movement
Anonymous
“It's just kind of constant sheer exhaustion… I think I'm just burnt out. I think I'm just at a point now where sending out an email seems really difficult. Whereas before, I would have been excited to do it… Now I think I'm just a little bit bitter and jaded. Like, is it even going to matter?... I think before I would have just tackled it and been like, ‘Oh, okay, gotta just get over this, no problem. Big deal’ Like, let's do it.’ And now it's just like, ugh.”
Anonymous
Where we go from here?
Organizers who came back after experiencing despair cited community and the opportunity to do newly meaningful work.
Invitations to bigger and better things
We’ve raised our standards for how purpose-driven we need our activism to be, and we’re more critical of leadership overall. We value our time and energy more, with a renewed sense that these resources are limited.
While this study only examined 37 people directly, we suspect that the pandemic pushed hundreds or thousands into this stage- activists who still have some connection to the movement and who are willing to come back to work if we can offer them something worth coming back for.
Safe and sustainable work
In describing this stage, study participants mentioned organizations being too bureaucratic such that it was difficult to get anything done or implement new ideas, a sense that leadership was difficult or unsafe to work with, or that working with leadership wasn’t in line with participants’ integrity.