General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Concern Troll Brigade Has New Orders: "Identity Politics" Have to Go
For clarity, let me specify: I'm referring to "concern trolls" in the global Internet sense, not here on DU. They're everywhere from NYT Op-Ed pages to Kos to HuffPo to TPM and so many other places, it's certainly not just here, nor am I referring to any one article, post, or post-er here on DU, so no one need take it personally, I'm not calling you a concern troll. I fell into the pit for a short time myself... I have beloved relatives there. The insidious appeal of this new meme is why I got inspired to blather on it.Oh, dear... we simply HAVE to do something about these "identity politics," here on the left, don't we. They're the reason the Electoral College will be cutting the throat of democracy in December, they'll keep us from ever being an effective ideological movement ever again, they're totally outdated, divisive, and harmful!
Terribly harmful.
Okay, okay, okay, sorry, let me rewind here. I promised myself I would try to avoid sarcasm, irony and other rhetorical devices that generally tend to harden division and spark oppositional energy.
So, start again.
And let's start by acknowledging the very real pitfalls inherent in shaping ideological positions and policy goals around increasing equity, redressing group-focused historical oppression, and balancing competing cultural and social interests in an increasingly diverse society, because they are real very real, and very challenging. They fall into two broad areas:
First, such foci, especially those that open old historical wounds, challenge assumptions, and demand examination and rejection of historical privilege, are challenging as hell. They're the hardest target in the room, not the easiest one. They're complicated and difficult. Easy stuff is, well, easier.
Second, by their very nature, they set us up for the 'divide and conquer' tactics that the right has used so effectively to keep us squabbling among ourselves, dwelling on the injuries rather than the healing, and narrowing vision to particular grievances rather than shared goals.
There. Acknowledged. Those are not small pitfalls. And I admit I don't have any easy ways around them. Focusing on building a just and equitable society, redressing historical group-focused oppression, and carving out a balance among competing interests is a hard road that demands baby steps, not great leaps of progress. Full of potholes, blind turns and cul-de-sacs and missteps that must sometimes be painfully retaken.
So... why not look for an easier route?
Why not 'set aside' those 'identity politics' for now, and focus on this or that bit of common ground we can all share, make some big gains at a time when they are sorely needed in the face of an existential threat, and get back to the harder road later?
Ms Parks? Would you mind, please? I know it's the back of the bus, but I promise, it won't be a long ride. Really. PROMISE.
This time.
Jeff and Evan? I know you just found your dream house and engaged a wedding planner, but... the closet isn't really THAT dark, honest. And it's only for a little while. Y'all can cuddle up in there, okay?
For now.
Just a teeny bit of compromise, yanno? For a "greater good?"
We've never asked this of you immigrants before, right? Or you differently-abled folks? Or you women? Or you seniors?
So... y'all can wait for a bit, right? While we sort out this big thing, and then we'll get back to your narrowly-focused concerns for your own identity group. We'll get to it, promise.
And in the mean time, well, just suck up the damage, try not to keep squabbling among yourselves offstage, and we'll pick some token members of EACH identity group to act as spokesmodels so everyone feels like they're participating and invested and have a stake in the progress of the entire left, and everyone knows we'll get back to those identity things later.
Okay?
Damn', I've gone all sarky again. Sorry.
Point being, this is not a tactic that has worked all that well in the past, either. Not for all of us. You may point to the gains of organized labor, but try and tell that to some of the people of color and women who wanted to integrate the crafts unions in the 1950s and 1960s.
So where is the 'great idea' of 'ditching identity politics for "UNITY ON THE LEFT"' coming from now?
I think if we look hard, you'll see they're coming from Concern Trolls, dispatched on a mission to stave off the power that can be mobilized when people of color, immigrants, religious minorities, LGBTQ people, women, the differently abled, and so many, many, many kinds of people who've all suffered from group-focused oppression, exclusion, and disempowerment...
ALL GET REALLY PISSED OFF AT THE SAME PEOPLE
In this case, the GOP, the media oligarchs, and the mouth-breathing mobs of alt-right dickscabs and Christian Millenialist theocrat wannabes that have enabled them.
If you saw that many pissed-off people focusing their spotting scopes on you, what would your strategy be? You have a choice of two: Try and make them fight among themselves, or convince them that the most powerful fuel that powers them is simply the wrong fuel, you need this nicer, low-octane unifying kumbayah fuel instead.
I think they've realized that we're pissed off enough that the old "set 'em against each other" game is quickly derailed in the face of that existential threat to all of us. So... kumbayah, anyone?
No, sorry, I'm not buying it.
Do my concerns with misogyny outweigh the concerns of someone fighting against the exclusion visited on the differently-abled? Or the historical wounds of genocide against First Americans? Or the manifold other injustices visited on various groups of my fellow-citizens, who each have their own ideas about what priorities should engage us all?
I don't know. I know that all of us, with the possible exceptions of a differently-abled transgender atheist immigrant born into poverty at one end of the spectrum, and an able-bodied cisgender heterosexual WASP male born into wealth at the other end of the spectrum, have both privileges we enjoy (and may have taken for granted) and oppression that we have struggled against.
They're just different privileges, and different oppressions, for each person. I enjoy the privileges that come with white skin and an able body. I've experienced the oppressions that go with being female and queer.
I can't speak for anyone's experiences but my own. But I can say that I'll do my best to be aware of my privileges and to listen and not make assumptions about the experiences of others. We won't always agree. But I will fight for your agenda, if you will fight for mine. And if they conflict, I'll listen respectfully and try to find a compromise.
Because THAT is what they really fear the most. They KNOW they've painted a big fat target on themselves, and the number of people they've pissed off is, well... YUUUUUUUUGE.
So, no, I'm not giving up my "identity politics."
But I'm not giving up YOURS, either.
So... concern trolls?
Find another nickel, this one is dropping right back into the coin return.
sturdily,
Bright
Lithos
(26,404 posts)What does Identity politics mean to you?
L-
TygrBright
(20,763 posts)...a formerly-neutral description of social and political motivations that is under attack in an attempt to destroy its potential for motivating people to become active and work for social change.
But like all definitions in this sphere, it's fluid.
Ask me again next month or in 2018.
Hopefully I'll still be around.
helpfully,
Bright
Lithos
(26,404 posts)How you address the concerns of a group of people..
Might mean Women, Hispanic, or LGTBQ
Or it might mean Urban, Blue Collar, or Age..
and I agree it's fluid, each person changes how they identify based on current needs.
L-
TygrBright
(20,763 posts)We might each balance multiple "identities" in that respect. Which motivates an individual most strongly to build a more sustainable future for *everyone's* grandchildren?
It's like a compound eye with many facets- individually we get used to looking through one or two facets, but collectively we do better when we can adjust our vision to the larger (if more challenging and sometimes confusing) view.
appreciatively,
Bright
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,711 posts)sunweaver
(75 posts)Thank you for taking the time and effort to write this piece.
TygrBright
(20,763 posts)LeftyMom
(49,212 posts)TygrBright
(20,763 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,711 posts)The "identity politics" BS is based in the assumption that whiteness, heterosexuality and maleness are default.
FIXED
ieoeja
(9,748 posts)We must do everything in our power to keep minorities who are fucked over by the system from joining forces with working class and/or rural White men who are also fucked over by the system. Even though there is no inherent conflict between the two, we must convince them there is.
We must do everything we can to convince rural and/or working class White men that it is minorities "taking their jobs" and wanting "free stuff" -- and not rich old White men refusing to pay their fair share of maintaining a society that primarily ensures their prosperity over everyone else -- that is the reason they, and those "bad" minorities "taking their jobs" and "free stuff", have been falling behind for the last 30 years.
We must protect our rich, old White masters as much as we possibily can. Because anything else would make us a bunch of sexist, racist, homophobic, xenophopic, bigots.
Gods what a fucked up year this was. It is snowing in Cairo, Egypt. The Donald was elected President. Supporting rich, old White men is now the definition of "liberal, progressive". And Cubs won the World Series.
Okay, one out of four was awesomely cool.
Me.
(35,454 posts)Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)The issue isn't "concern trolls" it is agent provocateur trolls.
Hekate
(90,774 posts)lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,711 posts)lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,711 posts)The objects of their scorn have been duly chastened, or at least they think so.
Turin_C3PO
(14,033 posts)I'm a straight, white male but I'm worried sick about my insurance (medicaid) and the possibility of Republicans tampering with Social Security (I'm on disability).
I'm not sure anyone will do fine under Trump except upper-middle class and rich white males.
Hekate
(90,774 posts)...male, straight, and white. And healthy.
Thank you, Bright. You done good.
Iggo
(47,564 posts)Now THAT's an identity that's going places!!