Compassion as appraisal, performative identity and moral affiliation

Abstract

Abstract This article addresses the underexplored topic of compassion in digital activism through linguistic research. Utilising corpus linguistics and the SFL appraisal framework, the study initially analyses the lemma “compassion” and its appraisal nature within The Coronavirus Corpus. It then models compassion development as a social discursive process, taking Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS-Australia) campaigns as a case study, drawing on “communion” and “tendering” strategies, and positioning theory-based morality by linking structure to agency. The analysis provides evidence that the concept of “compassion” extends beyond triggered emotions, expressing institutionalised feelings. Compassion also develops through a moral affiliation process: aligning identities, positioning others within shared moral and sociocultural frameworks, and exhorting people towards purposeful social actions as commodities. This research underscores compassion’s normative (i.e. moral orders) core and performative essence.