I work in a small subfield of the larger antipoverty policy world, and what we now call woke I helped usher in early on b/c I was a true believer. But at some point - even before George Floyd, once my little field started trying to "institutionalize" antiracism and forcing everyone to sit through interminable, mind-numbing, white-shaming and (at their heart) POC-demeaning trainings - I started to see the illogic and contradictions, the intellectual paucity, that it wasn't really about solving the problem of my little field but about different people getting power within it. In fact, the problem has gotten much worse since everything in the field got insipidly DEI'd to hell and back. And ultimately, it was about asking - what are we doing this for, what's our end goal?
If it's Dr. King's vision, then I came to firmly believe this approach doesn't get us there. If it's just about shifting power (with no commitment to being "classically liberal" once you get in power, and in fact, pretty overt commitments to *not* being that), then that's actually not something I want to participate in.
Yes, this was my experience in non-profit, as well. It went into overdrive when Trump won in 2016, but it had been ramping up.
I was a cinema major, so I didn't learn this stuff in college, but when I did ask what the goal was (more than once), I was not looked upon kindly, to say the least.
Excellent. Incidentally, my father..a very browned skinned, first generation American who didn't know English until grade school thought Affirmative action at it's very roots was racist. He passed away in the 1990's but, man I would love to have a conversation with him today. Would he say, "see, I told you it was inherently flawed"...He also graduated from Pepperine University with degrees in math and music. He began working at Rockwell International in the late 1950s...in Southern California. He certainly broke through barriers...BIG ONES....You've offered so much great food for thought here, Dave...Thank you.
How much of the difference among “races” is explained by inherited wealth and socioeconomic status? At some point, we must acknowledge the elephant in the room. Exceptional individuals might rise above it but on average terms, it is a mirage.
This concern has always struck me as the single best reason to abandon the politics of identity in favor of a renewed focus on class. We know how powerful it can be to free people from cycles of generational poverty, but shine the spotlight instead on immutable characteristics.
EO 11246 is just as broad as Trump's EO....so they really just cancel out.....it's all a big nuthin' burger! The real meat are in the Disparate Impact Laws that SCOTUS passed in the late 60's/early-mid 70's in regards to EO11246. If these cases are brought/re-litigated by today's SCOTUS, there would be a HUGE impact across all sectors of big business and government.
Good article. You seem to be one of them “honest” lefties - you are actually reasoning your way to achieve understanding. You must realize how rare that is among your kind (it’s rare enough everywhere, tbh). When I last considered myself a leftie (early 90’s) the intellectual rot was broad but not yet institutional. I love the fact that you, a leftie (I wonder how much longer), see that the patience and superior wisdom of right-wingers, which allowed the left to become so dominant institutionally, also allowed left incoherence to metastasize to the point of collapse. Ha! Of course that collapse was not pre-ordained, was a result only lightly sprinkled with conservative patience and wisdom, and, if Harris had won, you would now be hardening and reinforcing total left victory. Your analysis is thoughtful and welcome. But I think if the left had pushed their restriction of free speech and association just a smidge more intelligently they would have won the election, and the war on freedom. Thank God for Trump.
I was pretty young in the early 90s, but I remember even then finding the speech policing that was happening as part of the "PC" craze pretty annoying. The importance of saying "he or she" instead of just "he" or "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" (it's weird how so much of the left pretends that was never a thing that they did) seemed out of proportion to how aggressively people like my teachers were pushing it. My point is, I don't know that speech policing has ever actually been popular, even on the left. It's just that it's always been very effective, particularly when aimed at other members of the political tribe pushing it.
Yes, and that is why freedom of speech and association are the first amendment. Every power (left, right, or center) wants everyone to just shut up and say the thing. It is as inevitable as sunshine and rain. That is why it's the critical path amendment - if it is not exercised and supported, nothing else matters. Again, well done, fellow Gen X person.
I’m more Millennial than GenX, but I’m taking that as a big time compliment. The generational lines are fucked anyway. I have vastly more in common with GenX friends who are 10 years older than me than with my Millennial pals 4 years younger than me. It makes no sense for me to have to slum it with them just because I was a baby when MJ got drafted.
I work in a small subfield of the larger antipoverty policy world, and what we now call woke I helped usher in early on b/c I was a true believer. But at some point - even before George Floyd, once my little field started trying to "institutionalize" antiracism and forcing everyone to sit through interminable, mind-numbing, white-shaming and (at their heart) POC-demeaning trainings - I started to see the illogic and contradictions, the intellectual paucity, that it wasn't really about solving the problem of my little field but about different people getting power within it. In fact, the problem has gotten much worse since everything in the field got insipidly DEI'd to hell and back. And ultimately, it was about asking - what are we doing this for, what's our end goal?
If it's Dr. King's vision, then I came to firmly believe this approach doesn't get us there. If it's just about shifting power (with no commitment to being "classically liberal" once you get in power, and in fact, pretty overt commitments to *not* being that), then that's actually not something I want to participate in.
Yes, this was my experience in non-profit, as well. It went into overdrive when Trump won in 2016, but it had been ramping up.
I was a cinema major, so I didn't learn this stuff in college, but when I did ask what the goal was (more than once), I was not looked upon kindly, to say the least.
Yep, the first rule of DEI is thou shalt not question DEI. (B/c that's just your "white dominant culture" showing.) O.o
Excellent. Incidentally, my father..a very browned skinned, first generation American who didn't know English until grade school thought Affirmative action at it's very roots was racist. He passed away in the 1990's but, man I would love to have a conversation with him today. Would he say, "see, I told you it was inherently flawed"...He also graduated from Pepperine University with degrees in math and music. He began working at Rockwell International in the late 1950s...in Southern California. He certainly broke through barriers...BIG ONES....You've offered so much great food for thought here, Dave...Thank you.
I didn’t know any of this! Very interesting. Thanks for sharing!
How much of the difference among “races” is explained by inherited wealth and socioeconomic status? At some point, we must acknowledge the elephant in the room. Exceptional individuals might rise above it but on average terms, it is a mirage.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socioeconomic_mobility_in_the_United_States
This concern has always struck me as the single best reason to abandon the politics of identity in favor of a renewed focus on class. We know how powerful it can be to free people from cycles of generational poverty, but shine the spotlight instead on immutable characteristics.
Typo in the paragraph starting with:
> In one of the most shameful displays of this new ethos, writer and public intellectual, Coleman Huges
Huges -> Hughes
Ack! Shameful. Thanks for picking up on it. Now fixed.
On the topic, in the first paragraph:
“… veritable ramage…”
I’m assuming you meant rampage? :)
lol
EO 11246 is just as broad as Trump's EO....so they really just cancel out.....it's all a big nuthin' burger! The real meat are in the Disparate Impact Laws that SCOTUS passed in the late 60's/early-mid 70's in regards to EO11246. If these cases are brought/re-litigated by today's SCOTUS, there would be a HUGE impact across all sectors of big business and government.
Good article. You seem to be one of them “honest” lefties - you are actually reasoning your way to achieve understanding. You must realize how rare that is among your kind (it’s rare enough everywhere, tbh). When I last considered myself a leftie (early 90’s) the intellectual rot was broad but not yet institutional. I love the fact that you, a leftie (I wonder how much longer), see that the patience and superior wisdom of right-wingers, which allowed the left to become so dominant institutionally, also allowed left incoherence to metastasize to the point of collapse. Ha! Of course that collapse was not pre-ordained, was a result only lightly sprinkled with conservative patience and wisdom, and, if Harris had won, you would now be hardening and reinforcing total left victory. Your analysis is thoughtful and welcome. But I think if the left had pushed their restriction of free speech and association just a smidge more intelligently they would have won the election, and the war on freedom. Thank God for Trump.
I was pretty young in the early 90s, but I remember even then finding the speech policing that was happening as part of the "PC" craze pretty annoying. The importance of saying "he or she" instead of just "he" or "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" (it's weird how so much of the left pretends that was never a thing that they did) seemed out of proportion to how aggressively people like my teachers were pushing it. My point is, I don't know that speech policing has ever actually been popular, even on the left. It's just that it's always been very effective, particularly when aimed at other members of the political tribe pushing it.
Yes, and that is why freedom of speech and association are the first amendment. Every power (left, right, or center) wants everyone to just shut up and say the thing. It is as inevitable as sunshine and rain. That is why it's the critical path amendment - if it is not exercised and supported, nothing else matters. Again, well done, fellow Gen X person.
I’m more Millennial than GenX, but I’m taking that as a big time compliment. The generational lines are fucked anyway. I have vastly more in common with GenX friends who are 10 years older than me than with my Millennial pals 4 years younger than me. It makes no sense for me to have to slum it with them just because I was a baby when MJ got drafted.