If you believe that identity politics and Marxism is the philosophy in which we should structure our society, then I strongly suggest that you read The Gulag Archipelago. It is that reprehensible doctrine that was responsible for tens of millions of deaths in the 20th century.
We must always hold the intrinsic value of the individual, above that of his or her collective group identity. We must not go backwards in the fight for equality. Racism is wrong and we should always fight against the ones who hold those repellent beliefs.
However we need to do this with civil discourse and education - we can’t just scream and shout at each other. How does this solve anything? This will just create more hate and more divisiveness. The easiest thing you can do when someone opposes your opinion is to shout them down, call them names and dismiss them as a bigot.
What takes real work is to sit down, talk and try to work out why they hold those views. Really listen to them and take them seriously. Then through education and knowledge of your own, you will get your chance to articulate why you think they are wrong. You must do this in a way that is polite and with an open mind, because after all - you could be the one in the wrong as well. Conversation is the only tool we have to stop us from propelling into absolute anarchy.
Martin Luther King once said and I quote “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin - but by the context of their character”. Let that really sink in for a moment. Do you feel that the current political climate is pushing us closer to, or further away from this dream? I would argue it is pushing us further away.
This is a very precarious position we are in right now and we need to recognise this. Some of you may not even know what I am talking about so please remain vigilant. If you identify someone who is holding race, gender or sexuality paramount to who someone is as an individual, I want you to really question them on why. What are they up to?
Don’t be so sure that just because someone says they are doing something good, that they do not have more perverse intentions bubbling below the surface. The great Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung once said “if you cannot understand why someone did something, look at the consequences - and infer the motivation”.
Did you know that if you search “black couples, asian couples or gay couples” into google images, you will find photos of exactly that. Duh right? Well if you search “white couples” you will find photos of mixed race couples or white couples with adopted minority babies.
What is the reasoning behind this? I am not sure, but it is yet another point of reference that raises my concerns about the direction in which our society is heading. Do only racist white supremacists google “white couples”. Or is google inferring that if you are someone who searches “white couples” - then you are inherently racist and a white supremacist. Is google valuing collective group identity above the values of the individual? This is a slippery slope my friends and it leads no where good.
