Will Shetterly's Blog, page 85

A very short definition of "identitarian", a note about Sheepdog Theory and Bernie Sanders, and misc.

Comments I've made elsewhere: 1. Identitarian: someone who prioritizes social identity. For example, a Clinton supporter who says what's most important is that a woman win, even though that person claims to prefer Bernie Sanders' political positions. 2. I don't believe in sheepdog theory. I think lesser-evilists will vote for the lesser evil, and the rest of us [socialists who support Sanders]

Answering Zionists: the mini-FAQ #2: 1929 Palestine riots and the Hebron Massacre

Trying to decide who was Abel and who was Cain in the story of Zionists and Muslim Palestinians may be impossible, but in doing a little googling about the Hebron Massacre, I found something I hadn't known: it was sparked by the news of Jews murdering Arabs in Jerusalem in retaliation for the murder of a Jew. The facts as I have found them so far: On August 17, Avrahim Mizrachi, was killed. On

A handy guide to white slavery—and, yes, Irish people were enslaved

As a general rule, the most vehement people are the most ignorant. That's certainly true of the people the internet calls social justice warriors (who should never be confused with social justice workers)—their outrage is invariably based on an unholy marriage of academic theory and Hollywood history. Consider last year's kerfuffle over T-shirts advertising a suffragist movie with this quote:

Answering Zionists: the mini-FAQ - Bonus: Yes, Jews have always been white

Lest anyone claim this is written by someone who hates Israel, I do not. I completely agree Israel has a right to exist. It also has an obligation to acknowledge its history and give full citizenship to everyone within the land it controls. I take no position on whether the one-state or two-state solution is best, but I do think the US should stop giving Israel several billion dollars every year

Malcolm X quotes for socialists, universalists (or anti-identitarians), and people who believe in civility

supporting socialism and opposing capitalism "You and I have never seen democracy; all we've seen is hypocrisy." —Malcolm X "We are today seeing a global rebellion of the oppressed against the oppressor, the exploited against the exploiter." —Malcolm X "It is impossible for capitalism to survive, primarily because the system of capitalism needs some blood to suck." —Malcolm X "You can’t

Zoot suits, conformity, and misogyny

First, a short rant about conformity: Conformists think nonconformists choose to be nonconformists, but that inverts reality: The natural social divide is between those who accept their society and those who question it. The middle ground is held by nonconformists who choose to conform so they won't be harassed by conformists. Nonconformity usually manifests itself as an alternative conformity:

Dueling intersectionalities, Hillary Clinton, and a little Racefail 09

I would love to write a big formal essay about this, but life's short, so you're getting the letter-from-a-friend version. I recently saw two articles with bits that struck me: FromBernie Sanders Is Winning Feminists, Even at Hillary Clinton’s Alma Mater | TIME: ... younger feminists are more likely to eschew traditional feminism in favor of “intersectionality“– the idea that social identities

Three rules for readers

1. Read charitably. 2. Read skeptically. I shared those first two online with a note that they are at odds; that's why there are two. Then I realized I'd forgotten the third: 3. Read widely. And that is what unites #1 and #2.

How privileged people rationalize supporting Clinton, or Answering Stephanie Zvan

I won't address the opening comments in Stephanie Zvan'sBernie Sanders and Revolution Betrayed. They're there to elicit sympathy, and I have sympathy for her. I suppose I could say a bit here about growing up in the civil rights struggle, being driven from my home by death threats from the Ku Klux Klan, and so on, but the important thing you should know about what follows is I was a Democrat

Hey, John Lewis! Billy Shetterly says hi!

John, in case you're having any trouble remembering me, which I'm sure you're not, here's a picture of me and my little brother at a march for integration: Re:John Lewis: 'I never saw' Sanders at civil rights events