Social justice warrior

In the context of the show, a social justice warrior is a type of activist that Lars, Ohan, and Joe (to an extent) dislike for what they perceive as exhibiting negative traits.

Definition by Lars

In one episode, Lars made a point of specifically defining what a "social justice warrior" is, in comparison to a broader activist (the latter of which he is fond of and identifies as himself).

He considers the former to be a version of the latter who fights for social justice in a dogmatic and hostile manner without much regard to criticizing one's own views. In a sense, an individual like this is thought to be "caught up in the rhetoric" and has lost the ability to evolve beyond a blandly aggressive and perpetual state of loathing.

Ohan largely agrees with this definition, and contrasted it with an actual activist. An example he gave was someone living in southern America and seeing a big problem with organized racist groups still existing, such as the KKK, and wanting to do something about it.

So what?

The implication of Lars's definition is that a social justice warrior will rub people the wrong way, and will be a detriment to actual social progress. Lars and Joe are progressive activists, with Lars organizing large internet debates and events, and Joe organizing wide-scale marches and protests in real life. Social justice warriors, as defined by Lars, would be very unhelpful here.

The other implication is that it makes regular progressives (such as Lars and Joe) look bad by association. Lars has noted, for example, that he chooses to identify as a "feminist ally" rather than a feminist. While he lauds the goals of women's liberation and preaches them in his personal life, he wishes to avoid association with people like this who give feminism a bad name. The controversy, in his opinion, distracts from the message.

Concerns of Joe

Joe has expressed concern that someone might misinterpret the term "social justice warrior", potentially not understanding the intentional distinction in the word "warrior" and thinking that the broader concept of social justice itself is, somehow, bad.

Ohan thinks Joe might be too charitable to these types of people and has encouraged him not to worry too much about that concern.

Lars on what makes a good activist

A good activist would be defined by Lars as someone who is fighting for the rights of the working class, as well as the rights of individuals who have traits they are largely or completely incapable of changing (race, sexual orientation, etc.)

He or she would also avoid becoming too entrenched in their own beliefs that they are unable to examine them with a critical lens any longer.

Lars's views on tone and hostility are still evolving. Any examination of a debate he has on social media will see that he is no longer interested in "suffering fools", but he still makes an effort to begin from a place of civility.

He is newly fond of what he calls a "labeling technique", in which, instead of engaging with someone who posts bigoted views, he will simply leave a comment stating the type of bigotry involved. For example, if someone is commenting their homophobic beliefs, he will respond with "homophobia". This is less for the individual in question and more a shorthand signal for the audience.