The Concern Troll Brigade Has New Orders: "Identity Politics" Have to Go [View all]

[TygrBright]

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of democracy in December, they'll keep us from ever being an effective ideological movement ever again, they're totally outdated, divisive, and harmful!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