Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
People who aspire to a color-blind, individualistic society that values free speech and open exchange of ideas are being alienated from the left. You can condemn racism while still trying to stem the flow of liberals out of your camp. And most importantly, you can recognize how shutting out debate on a whole range of issues is alienating more and more people. Or you are going to continue losing pro-choice, educated, irrelgious, pro-gay marriage voters who have decided they'll join the camp that tells them to shut up less often. The one that feels less like a religious movement.
|
1. Those people are idealists, not realists. A "colour-blind individualistic society" sounds great, but a lot of things sound great. How about working towards improving the society we DO have? Anyone who is truly like that would not side more with racists than they would with regressive leftists. Equality is the path to individualism and "colour-blindness." It takes some significant jumping through hoops to convince yourself that isn't true. Tribalism exists until it doesn't have to, until the tribe is everyone. Identity politics aren't about "I'm different, hear me" they're about "we're the same, respect me." They're not a barrier between you and your perfect world, they're a step. Until you get that, you can't reach your utopia.
2. You preach a lot about the negative impact of identity politics, the condemning of whole groups, and tribalism. But here you are: the regressive left, liberals, conservatives, you separate people into those groups plus 2 or 3 others and say "these ones are all like this, they need to conform to this group or else they'll die, I'm not like them, I'm in this group." How can you consciously rally against these things while engaging in them at every turn? You're not against tribalism, or condemning groups, or identity politics, you're against those that don't ascribe to your particular view. I get that you're conservative (even if you play the liberal when rallying against the RL) but your bias is too strong for anyone to buy you as a moderate. It's telling that you're more worried about rudely condemning racism, sexism, and hate than you are about those types of hate. When you think the way we condemn racism is a bigger issue than racism, you've lost the plot completely.
3. Your last point makes zero sense. Who is losing "pro-choice, educated, irreligious, pro-gay marriage voters"? The RL? Who are they losing them to? The notion that pro-choice, educated, irreligious, pro-gay marriage voters are going to join pro-life, educated, religious, anti-gay marriage voters because they feel more "heard" is very imaginative. I don't know about you, but I think most people hold beliefs that are a little stronger than wet toilet paper.