this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2026
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There's no such thing as a centrist.
“Centrist” is just what conservatives, corporatist parasites, and / or fascists call themselves when they don't want their victims to realise they're conservatives, corporatist parasites, and / or fascists.
I don't think this is quite true. People that call themselves centrists can come from a benign place. In my mind, the folks that call themselves centrists tend to mainly care about preserving the status quo, no matter what it is.
They'll usually use terms like "big tent", "adult in the room", and if they went to school "realpolitik". Usually privileged, they don't understand the urgency for change for those in need, so they'll balk at any method that may actually achieve some progress for the marginalized and underprivileged. Usually they'll say some wise, enlightened thing about "optics".
And they'll tell themselves that they care. They'll tell themselves and others that they're the good guys. They'll watch CNN and read the economist, and they'll tell themselves they're informed. They're always on the right side of history, but only ever when it's already too late. I think they genuinely don't know.
You're both right and wrong.
This is true.
This isn't. There absolutely are centrists, it's just that their voices are drowned out by the loud extremes, AND they're being labelled as leftists by the right, and "rightists" by the left.
Actual centrism is nothing more than the state of not falling completely in line with the values/positions of one 'wing'. Anyone who could be accurately described as "right-leaning" or "left-leaning" is by definition a type of centrist; that's why it's 'only' a "lean".
The way centrism is stereotyped is similar to how bisexuals most commonly experience biphobic stereotyping. Bisexuals can be seen as 'gay in denial' (see the 'conservative in disguise' comment you replied to), as sexual 'fence-sitters', as impressionable 'sluts' who don't have the conviction to commit to one sex, etc.
The fact is, a lot more people than one might assume, 'deviate' from both extremes to some degree.
Eh, kinda. To me "centrism" is just having a mix-and-match preferences on policies. Things like, I don't know, "ban unions, but give everybody free healthcare" kind of thing.
So, morons then.
Yeah - people with opinions different than yours. If that's "morons" to you, it says a whole lot about you.