@briellebouquet @JessTheUnstill Yeah, you really do have a point. It probably isn’t a word that can be rescued.
Your reply makes me realize that the cultural baggage of the word “politics” — connotations of being distasteful, dirtied, venal, low-minded — serves as a protective shield for power in many spheres. “No politics” serves as an easy off-switch for any discussion of human impact, a way to believe covering one’s eyes makes things disappear.