On "trashing."

Excerpt from "Trashing: The Dark Side of Sisterhood" by Jo Freeman

"There is, of course, a fine line between trashing and political struggle, between character assassination and legitimate objections to undesirable behavior. Discerning the difference takes effort. Here are some pointers to follow. Trashing involves heavy use of the verb "to be" and only a light use of the verb "to do." It is what one is and not what one does that is objected to, and these objections cannot be easily phrased in terms of specific undesirable behaviors. Trashers also tend to use nouns and adjectives of a vague and general sort to express their objections to a particular person. These terms carry a negative connotation, but don't really tell you what's wrong. That is left to your imagination. Those being trashed can do nothing right. Because they are bad, their motives are bad, and hence their actions are always bad. There is no making up for past mistakes, because these are perceived as symptoms and not mistakes."

I was directed to this article from a post written by Kathleen Hanna on her blog. I'm not reposting this because I empathize as a member of the feminist movement. I'm not active in any political movement or organization, although I am an interested observer. But it did resonate with me because Freeman's description of "trashing" within the feminist movement as of 1976 is more or less the same as any incident of trashing that I've experienced on a personal level. The key to a good trash seems to be the abuse of a trust that the "victim" places on a larger body-- be that a movement or a friendship. Solid stuff, as relevant in 2010 as it undoubtedly was in the seventies. Full text here.