I’m with you, Alex! I also feel as if old-school lefties need to unite and reassert a middle way. I’m Gen X and its feels like my generation has ducked our heads, not wanting to get too political or too involved. It’s the job of the young to revolt, and the job of the older generations to hold the reins steady. I wish more of us would st…
I’m with you, Alex! I also feel as if old-school lefties need to unite and reassert a middle way. I’m Gen X and its feels like my generation has ducked our heads, not wanting to get too political or too involved. It’s the job of the young to revolt, and the job of the older generations to hold the reins steady. I wish more of us would step up. Thanks so much for your thoughtful response and kind words.
I'm also Gen X, and I don't feel we ducked our heads as much as we gave up after not being heard in discussions. Boomers pretty much ignored us from birth, and once the "Wonder Generation" of Millennials showed up we were simply outnumbered. You saw Xers make major impacts in things like tech and the like, but politics simply didn't appeal to many (plus it was the preserve of the Boomers). By the time they started clamoring for "fresh voices" they were looking more at Millennials (Boomers trying relive their '60s life through them, perhaps). I do wish more of us would step up, but I'm not sure they'd like what we have to say.
As an aside on the authoritarian thing, as I've commented before too many seem to forget the roots of much of this identitarian stuff lie firmly in the National Socialist Party. Immutable characteristics defined by a concept (race) that doesn't have serious scientific validity, using color labels, pushing people out who disagree and happen to have the wrong background. It's also frequently overlooked that intellectuals also bought into that movement. National Socialist sentiment was strong in the German university system (even if some of it was the precursor Volkish movement), and many leaders within the SS and SD came from academic backgrounds (doctors, lawyers, professors, and so on). Public shaming (cancellation these days) was also a common tactic used by the National Socialist Party.
Thanks, Steve. I wrote an essay exploring the origins of "woke" and authoritarianism on the left (unfortunately I think they've now put it behind a paywall: https://www.wetheblacksheep.com/p/griftivism-how-activists-profit-off), however, I hadn't considered the National Socialistic Party. Interesting!
If you go back to the 1920s and 1930s, many of the tactics used by the authoritarian left are strikingly similar to those used by the NSDAP during and after their rise to power. Switch a few words around, and many of the slogans and talking points used by the authoritarian Left could easily come from Goebbles. These are essentially movements founded in identity politics, and both identify specific groups (based entirely on their origins) as being evil or somehow debased and a menace to their idea of society.
Frankly, like Alex, I think class is a much more valuable basis for discussion, since poor is poor regardless of what identity label you want to slap on people who are poor.
If you can ever access an article by George Packard in the Atlantic (I can't remember the name of it right now) in which he translates a paragraph or two from a novel about an poor Indian family into DEI language. It's hilarious, depressing, and accurate. Poor people know they are poor, whatever you choose to call it.
I’m with you, Alex! I also feel as if old-school lefties need to unite and reassert a middle way. I’m Gen X and its feels like my generation has ducked our heads, not wanting to get too political or too involved. It’s the job of the young to revolt, and the job of the older generations to hold the reins steady. I wish more of us would step up. Thanks so much for your thoughtful response and kind words.
I'm also Gen X, and I don't feel we ducked our heads as much as we gave up after not being heard in discussions. Boomers pretty much ignored us from birth, and once the "Wonder Generation" of Millennials showed up we were simply outnumbered. You saw Xers make major impacts in things like tech and the like, but politics simply didn't appeal to many (plus it was the preserve of the Boomers). By the time they started clamoring for "fresh voices" they were looking more at Millennials (Boomers trying relive their '60s life through them, perhaps). I do wish more of us would step up, but I'm not sure they'd like what we have to say.
As an aside on the authoritarian thing, as I've commented before too many seem to forget the roots of much of this identitarian stuff lie firmly in the National Socialist Party. Immutable characteristics defined by a concept (race) that doesn't have serious scientific validity, using color labels, pushing people out who disagree and happen to have the wrong background. It's also frequently overlooked that intellectuals also bought into that movement. National Socialist sentiment was strong in the German university system (even if some of it was the precursor Volkish movement), and many leaders within the SS and SD came from academic backgrounds (doctors, lawyers, professors, and so on). Public shaming (cancellation these days) was also a common tactic used by the National Socialist Party.
Thanks, Steve. I wrote an essay exploring the origins of "woke" and authoritarianism on the left (unfortunately I think they've now put it behind a paywall: https://www.wetheblacksheep.com/p/griftivism-how-activists-profit-off), however, I hadn't considered the National Socialistic Party. Interesting!
If you go back to the 1920s and 1930s, many of the tactics used by the authoritarian left are strikingly similar to those used by the NSDAP during and after their rise to power. Switch a few words around, and many of the slogans and talking points used by the authoritarian Left could easily come from Goebbles. These are essentially movements founded in identity politics, and both identify specific groups (based entirely on their origins) as being evil or somehow debased and a menace to their idea of society.
Frankly, like Alex, I think class is a much more valuable basis for discussion, since poor is poor regardless of what identity label you want to slap on people who are poor.
Thanks, Steve. Really informative. Yes, on class, I totally agree.
Agreed.
If you can ever access an article by George Packard in the Atlantic (I can't remember the name of it right now) in which he translates a paragraph or two from a novel about an poor Indian family into DEI language. It's hilarious, depressing, and accurate. Poor people know they are poor, whatever you choose to call it.