When people think of activists, they often reach for the laziest stereotypes: complainers with too much free time, rabble-rousers funded by shadowy groups, or troublemakers who just want to “destabilize society.”

The truth is, activism has always been part of how societies improve themselves. Activists made it possible for children to have rights instead of being forced to work in the mines. Activists made it possible for workers to have rights instead of all the power lying in the hands of the employer.

Here are some of the most common (and most misleading) assumptions about activists, and why they don’t hold up.

8. They’re all just a bunch of communists.

This misconception lumps every activist into a single ideology, as if the only possible motivation for fighting injustice is Marx.

In reality, activists span a wide range of politics: progressives, liberals, conservatives, faith-based advocates, environmentalists, labor organizers, and even centrists who just want clean water and functioning institutions. Labeling them all “communists” is a lazy scare tactic that shuts down debate instead of engaging with the issues they’re fighting for.

7. They’re all just looking for something to whine about.

In a perfect world, there would be no activists.

But we’re not in a perfect world, are we? For as long as we’re not, activists will be there. And for the complacent among us, we wouldn’t even realize these issues exist if it weren’t for them.

6. They’re just angry all the time.

Wouldn’t you be?

We may get desensitized because all of this feels hopeless, but these people refuse to. And that’s a good thing, because let’s face it: just because we stopped complaining aloud doesn’t mean nothing’s wrong with the world we’re living in.

5. They should never be violent.

The only reason activism has ceased being violent is because we’ve seen results without having to resort to it. Before that? Revolutions happened. Heads literally rolled. All in the service of genuine change.

Today, it’s great that activism doesn’t automatically result in bloodshed. But it simply is not a guaranteed part of the package. For as long as there is a struggle, violence is a possibility. And that is not something activists are looking for, that’s just something they have to risk every single time they fight for something bigger than themselves.

4. They don’t actually achieve anything.

We’ve already gone over this. During the age of revolutions, activists accomplished a whole lot. But it usually meant someone had to flee or be exiled or leave this mortal plane. Nowadays, that change is more incremental, but it’s there.

It’s not really super-exciting to hear that the minimum wage was increased by 50 pesos a day, but to the person who will see that additional 50 pesos a day, that could be the difference between affording another meal every single day or choosing to go hungry.

3. They hate the government.

Chances are, they pay taxes, too. Also, at this point, who doesn’t?

But on a serious note, it’s not that these people hate the government. It’s that activists want to hold the government accountable for the things they promised and for the things they’re supposed to be doing. Unless you think the government is magically perfect and free of any sort of anomalies, you really should not have a problem with activists calling the government to question. It’s an attempt to uplift all of us by checking our institutions, not just some impulse to destroy them all.

2. They shouldn’t inconvenience us.

Simple thought exercise.

If a transport strike did not affect you in any way at all, would you even care for one minute what they’re fighting for?

Of course not.

Inconvenience is a tool to get people to care. To rile people up against injustice. Inconvenience is not the goal, contrary to what some of us tend to assume.

1. They’re just a bunch of hypocrites.

For what? For wanting a better life for themselves?

And even if that were true, does that make what they’re fighting for any less valid? Or does that simply mean that what they’re fighting for goes beyond whatever human failings they (and certainly we) might have?

Yes, activists want a better life for themselves. And if those changes happen to make life better for most of us as well, that’s just a side effect that we all get to benefit from, even if it wasn’t us who faced the tanks, cops, and fire hoses on a regular basis.

And for as long as the world isn’t perfect, there will always be room for activism. Especially when it becomes us who are entrenched in calumny.

What are your thoughts on activists?