"The Revolution Will Not Be Polite" Summary

“The Revolution Will Not Be Polite: The Issue of Nice versus Good” examines the misuse and misinterpretation of the act of “niceness” and the act of “goodness”. The writer believes that being “nice” is not what society needs in order to achieve social justice, instead, she strongly suggests that the removal of social advantages of certain races, cultures or genders is the medium to it, rather than using niceness as a veil against the injustice that occur on a day-to-day basis to different exploited groups. People need a new way of understanding and defining the word “nice”, as equal and respectable treatment differs greatly from a kind act. Kindness and niceness mustn’t be attributed as a defense for people’s actions, as she states that most people use acts of niceness as a way of defending their beliefs, opinions and behaviors and to victimize themselves. She also emphasizes that standing up to a tyrant should not be reprimanded and equated to the act of tyranny, because it reinforces fairness and allows the oppressed to step out of their designated social standing. She ends the article by stressing on abandoning the idea of making a world a nicer place and instead demanding that it becomes a more just place.