It’s been pointed out numerous times, by various people, that some of today’s “anti-racist” efforts have swung all the way back around into outright racism. Whether it’s the bigotry of low expectations, the return of racial segregation, or the new breed of race essentialism, racial discourse is in bad shape. The thing is, at least in some cases, these misguided people really do have good intentions. And in others, they’re being given so many conflicting messages that they don’t know where to turn.
"...a world where the colour of a person's skin is no more important than the colour of their eyes or their hair." This is exactly it. I'm mixed race (Pakistani/Caucasian) and my wife is full Chinese. I tell my kids their "race" is "the future."
Whenever I talk to anyone, of any background, about race, I encourage them to envision a future where, no matter who you encounter, you don't load up pre-conceived biases, judgements and stereotypes. As a tribal species, that may be almost impossible. But we should still strive for it.
It’s a strange topsy-turvy moment we’re in. Instead of dismantling stereotypes, progressives are leaning into them. It comes up across multiple spheres. My daughter is asked about her pronouns after cutting her hair, as though short hair is somehow incompatible with femininity. Instead of expanding what’s possible as a girl, we’ve firmed up the old boxes and just let people move between them.
It’s somehow now ok (even funny) to dismiss any white woman we don’t want to listen to as a Karen. We didn’t stop racial name-calling. We just broadened it.
The “progressive” position for the first year+ of the pandemic was to keep the schools closed for, believe it or not, the benefit of marginalized people who, the narrative went, did not wish to return to school because of racism, etc.
I feel like the world has turned upside down. I want to be a progressive again in the world right-side-up.
I like diversity. Not just in appearance, but in sub/cultural differences. I'll call sub/culture tribes for the rest of this comment. For the world that I want to live in to be a thing with that is that we must stop looking for and assuming the worst about the other tribes (race, gender, worldview, orientation).
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” -Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad / Roughing It
We are usually most comfortable within the tribal norms we are accustomed to. It is too common to find things we don't like that are norms withing another tribe. The thing is, I have found it better for me to notice the things that are beyond good, they are wonderful in other tribes.
I think that Mark Twain's travel quote pertained to the idea that expanding our experience with people of other tribes is that we come to see their basic humanity. We might even discover the why behind those differences and see some validity in them.
Much of the anti-this&that we see on the internet is virtue signaling our membership in a tribe that we identify ourselves in. Our place in a tribe goes back in history to our very survival, but our survival as a species my well require an acceptance of each other that can only happen with a cease fire in the current culture wars as a beginning.
I don't want to erase anyone's identity, just the negative assumptions that we see about that.
Steve, have you checked out Sheena Mason and her "theory of racelessness"? I think you might be into it.
The explanation for race-conscious anti-racism I'm sympathetic to is the notion that, while color blindness (or "racelessness" as Mason calls it) is a wonderful goal, in the present day there is still a lot of racism. If there are no black people, then there is, ipso facto, no racism--who's being discriminated against? If we can't classify the victims, it's hard to do anything about the discrimination. (I've always wanted to use the term ipso facto and now I have so my work here is done).
I hadn't seen Your Medium article, Steve. Still can't get over: "But at least they didn’t expect us to be grateful for it."
ICBW, I Could Be VERY Wrong. But my sense is that You already live, to a pretty decent extent, in the world You wish to live in, don't You? Or I guess it could be just this one facet of Your life, these articles and comments. Dunno.
You've identified, perhaps, the BIGGEST obstacle to living in that kind-a world. Because the Woke Religion is also a very strong POLITICAL movement. That started with the original CRT Legal Theory, and has only gotten stronger and stronger since then. I still hope, but most if not all the "Powers that Be" are in the hands of the Woke. They aren't gonna give that kind-a power up without a fight, right?
That's why I especially appreciate Your articles, tho don't say it much, Steve.
I often feel that most people stopped reading the biography of Malcom X after the first two chapters. Post NOI Malcolm is a very different dude. Agree with all of your broader points - one thing I mentioned to my colleagues at work recently was the hypocrisy of "doing DEI work" for years only to sit in a meeting and (quite literally) say things like "no more fucking white males here, OK". Insanity at face value, and a billion dollar industry - DEI is not charity work.
I will never get tired of reading you. Your commentaries reveal profound things in such a simple, straightforwardly way, and that is a gift! Have you ever thought of going into teaching? :-)
Today when I dropped off a jacket for repair, the gal behind the counter (another Nicole) got to talking and at one point she asked about my background (it's okay, she was white lol) and I said half French and half Western European mutt and she laughed, saying she was Russian (both of us born in North America). I'd like to see us get back to being able to talk about background...it's just *interesting* and it demystifies our origins. Yeah people use it to pigeonhole others but some of us just think it makes it more interesting. Now we can't ask "Where are you from" Because that's RACIST but when I first moved to Canada it was a conversation starter and as soon as other immigrants realized I was one too (being white and having an accent little different from native Torontonians, it's not immediately obvious), well, then we'd start swapping immigration stories and laugh about all the stupid shit we had to do to get here, then debate which is better, multiculturalism or assimilation? Now people look at you as though you asked their favorite sexual position. It's one less way to bond with others, and an example of just how divisive the let's identity politics have gotten.
"...a world where the colour of a person's skin is no more important than the colour of their eyes or their hair." This is exactly it. I'm mixed race (Pakistani/Caucasian) and my wife is full Chinese. I tell my kids their "race" is "the future."
Whenever I talk to anyone, of any background, about race, I encourage them to envision a future where, no matter who you encounter, you don't load up pre-conceived biases, judgements and stereotypes. As a tribal species, that may be almost impossible. But we should still strive for it.
It’s a strange topsy-turvy moment we’re in. Instead of dismantling stereotypes, progressives are leaning into them. It comes up across multiple spheres. My daughter is asked about her pronouns after cutting her hair, as though short hair is somehow incompatible with femininity. Instead of expanding what’s possible as a girl, we’ve firmed up the old boxes and just let people move between them.
It’s somehow now ok (even funny) to dismiss any white woman we don’t want to listen to as a Karen. We didn’t stop racial name-calling. We just broadened it.
The “progressive” position for the first year+ of the pandemic was to keep the schools closed for, believe it or not, the benefit of marginalized people who, the narrative went, did not wish to return to school because of racism, etc.
I feel like the world has turned upside down. I want to be a progressive again in the world right-side-up.
I like diversity. Not just in appearance, but in sub/cultural differences. I'll call sub/culture tribes for the rest of this comment. For the world that I want to live in to be a thing with that is that we must stop looking for and assuming the worst about the other tribes (race, gender, worldview, orientation).
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” -Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad / Roughing It
We are usually most comfortable within the tribal norms we are accustomed to. It is too common to find things we don't like that are norms withing another tribe. The thing is, I have found it better for me to notice the things that are beyond good, they are wonderful in other tribes.
I think that Mark Twain's travel quote pertained to the idea that expanding our experience with people of other tribes is that we come to see their basic humanity. We might even discover the why behind those differences and see some validity in them.
Much of the anti-this&that we see on the internet is virtue signaling our membership in a tribe that we identify ourselves in. Our place in a tribe goes back in history to our very survival, but our survival as a species my well require an acceptance of each other that can only happen with a cease fire in the current culture wars as a beginning.
I don't want to erase anyone's identity, just the negative assumptions that we see about that.
The question I use to guide me is “what world do I want to live in?”
YES! And thanks for reminding us about Malcolm X's most inspiring experience!
Steve, have you checked out Sheena Mason and her "theory of racelessness"? I think you might be into it.
The explanation for race-conscious anti-racism I'm sympathetic to is the notion that, while color blindness (or "racelessness" as Mason calls it) is a wonderful goal, in the present day there is still a lot of racism. If there are no black people, then there is, ipso facto, no racism--who's being discriminated against? If we can't classify the victims, it's hard to do anything about the discrimination. (I've always wanted to use the term ipso facto and now I have so my work here is done).
I hadn't seen Your Medium article, Steve. Still can't get over: "But at least they didn’t expect us to be grateful for it."
ICBW, I Could Be VERY Wrong. But my sense is that You already live, to a pretty decent extent, in the world You wish to live in, don't You? Or I guess it could be just this one facet of Your life, these articles and comments. Dunno.
You've identified, perhaps, the BIGGEST obstacle to living in that kind-a world. Because the Woke Religion is also a very strong POLITICAL movement. That started with the original CRT Legal Theory, and has only gotten stronger and stronger since then. I still hope, but most if not all the "Powers that Be" are in the hands of the Woke. They aren't gonna give that kind-a power up without a fight, right?
That's why I especially appreciate Your articles, tho don't say it much, Steve.
I often feel that most people stopped reading the biography of Malcom X after the first two chapters. Post NOI Malcolm is a very different dude. Agree with all of your broader points - one thing I mentioned to my colleagues at work recently was the hypocrisy of "doing DEI work" for years only to sit in a meeting and (quite literally) say things like "no more fucking white males here, OK". Insanity at face value, and a billion dollar industry - DEI is not charity work.
I will never get tired of reading you. Your commentaries reveal profound things in such a simple, straightforwardly way, and that is a gift! Have you ever thought of going into teaching? :-)
Today when I dropped off a jacket for repair, the gal behind the counter (another Nicole) got to talking and at one point she asked about my background (it's okay, she was white lol) and I said half French and half Western European mutt and she laughed, saying she was Russian (both of us born in North America). I'd like to see us get back to being able to talk about background...it's just *interesting* and it demystifies our origins. Yeah people use it to pigeonhole others but some of us just think it makes it more interesting. Now we can't ask "Where are you from" Because that's RACIST but when I first moved to Canada it was a conversation starter and as soon as other immigrants realized I was one too (being white and having an accent little different from native Torontonians, it's not immediately obvious), well, then we'd start swapping immigration stories and laugh about all the stupid shit we had to do to get here, then debate which is better, multiculturalism or assimilation? Now people look at you as though you asked their favorite sexual position. It's one less way to bond with others, and an example of just how divisive the let's identity politics have gotten.