Will Shetterly's Blog, page 8

The Most Foolish Idea Taught by Identitarians like Ibram X. Kendi

Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0In How Racism Relies on Arbitrary Hierarchies, Ibram X. Kendi does what the smartest identitarians do: he mixes interesting facts with mistaken beliefs. The most mistaken is this:“It is one of the ironies of antiracism that we must identify racially in order to identify the racial privileges and dangers of being in our bodies.” —Ibram X. KendiThat comes from his belief

Religion is a Better Sign of Privilege than Race

Identitarians think race and gender are the best signs of privilege, so they only mention religion when there’s been a religious hate crime. They don’t realize that just as you must know about Sunni and Shi’a Muslims to understand privilege in Muslim countries, you must know the differences in all religions in multicultural countries. Hearing that someone is white won't tell you if that person is

Why Asians were White, then Yellow, then White-Adjacent, and now are White again

In sixty years, Asian-Americans have gone from being effectively a “gray” race that could marry white or black people when interracial marriage was illegal to a group that by most objective standards is more privileged than white Christians.Though there’s some precedent for the idea of race before 1680—in some places, nobles were literally thought to have “blue blood” that marked them as a

The Sexism of Antiracism—on Karens, Pearl-Clutching, and White Women’s Tears

Rich liberals have pitted gender and race against each other since the early days of abolition and suffrage when partisans concluded they could not or would not work for both. It continues with antiracists today who refer insultingly to Karens (white women who report their suspicions of people of color to the authorities), pearl-clutching (white women who get upset by harsh language), and white

Rich liberals have pitted gender and race against each ot...

Rich liberals have pitted gender and race against each other since the early days of abolition and suffrage when partisans concluded they could not or would not work for both. It continues with antiracists today who refer insultingly to Karens (white women who report their suspicions of people of color to the authorities), pearl-clutching (white women who get upset by harsh language), and white

The Black Panthers put Class First and Race Second

Because the Black Panthers were created and developed in black neighborhoods, identitarians assume the Panthers were a racial organization. This makes as much sense as assuming that because Marx and Engels were Europeans, Marxism is “white”.You could argue that the Black Panthers began with a racial focus. You cannot argue that they did not quickly move past focusing on race to focusing on class

How “Racist” Became Meaningless—on Strong, Moderate, and Weak Anti-Racism

Popularity of the word “racist” from Google Ngram Viewer“Racist” was coined surprisingly late—the Oxford English Dictionary gives the earliest example in 1919. During the first half of the twentieth century, racists were proud to be racist, but for three decades after the end of Jim Crow, everyone knew racists were despised by most Americans, so both David Duke, a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan

The Problem with Proportionality if your Goal is Justice

“The movement for racial justice has shifted its focus from inequality to “disparity,” while neatly evading any critique of the structures that produce inequality.” — Adolph Reed Jr.During the civil rights era, we thought racial and economic justice were linked. We especially wanted four things:The end of poverty with Basic Income.A minimum wage that is a living wage, as it was originally

“The movement for racial justice has shifted its focus f...

 “The movement for racial justice has shifted its focus from inequality to “disparity,” while neatly evading any critique of the structures that produce inequality.” — Adolph Reed Jr.During the civil rights era, we thought racial and economic justice were linked. We especially wanted three things:To end poverty with Basic Income.To raise the minimum wage.To provide free higher education so

Respect Everyone—the Wisdom of Malcolm X, St. Peter, Chief Tecumseh, and More

St. Peter, Tecumseh, and Malcolm X said, “Respect everyone.” It’s excellent advice.The full version of Peter’s advice:“Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.” — 1 Peter 2:17, New Living TranslationThe full version of Malcolm’s advice:“Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the