I think you might be an environmentalist. My understanding is that if you think the environment is something we should take care of, that's basically it.

I guess you're probably just saying you don't identify or maybe agree with some other environmentalists, which also makes sense. The straw ban is a great example. Sometimes you can agree on what's important but disagree about what to do about it.

I think this is the same complex process the word "feminism" gets put through. It's hard to find people who will outright say, "I think women should still have to ask permission from their husbands to seek work," for example. It's easy to find people who are quick to add, "... not that I'm a feminist or anything."

I don't know. Words are funny. At the end of the day it probably doesn't matter whether you qualify as some kind of *-ist, but those words are one way we get convinced that other groups of people are opponents, instead of peers. (... one way that unscrupulous people intentionally convince us, depending on your level of cynicism.)

People avoid calling themselves -ist-s because when you identify yourself with a group you're bringing on to yourself a series of judgments spanning the other person's entire experience with that group. To abuse the saying, "you don't know where that's been."

I do not like defining myself with '-ists'. Instead I will generally refer to the '-ism' and point out where I agree and where I differ.

I have found this position has the side-effect of being an easy way to spot who is just playing team sports with philosophies. They are the folk who get really angry with people who agree with them on specifics, purely for not using a subject label self-referentially.

Personally, I'd rather be bold and let people associate me with the title they don't like. At least then they may have an opportunity to question their assumptions.

If the last neo-vefaminist they met was a great person, you'd be free-riding on a reputation that you hadn't earned yet. If the last neo-vefaminist they met was a terrible person (potentially someone who was free-riding on the name), and if you call yourself a neo-vefaminist, you're communicating to them that you're a terrible person which would be incorrect because you aren't.

I'd rather expect that they will question you long before their own assumptions.

Great perspective. Yes, maybe you're right. I hate the -ist (and I'm not sure why, so you're on to something there), but I do like the causes (when they make sense).

You do realise that the Black Forest spans an area of 6,000km^2 that varies from 70-90% forest? [0]

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Forest#Work_of_the_Insti...