Identity Politics is poison

I need to rant about this subject. I think this is the correct forum to let this rant rip so here goes.

Identity politics seems to be clouding people`s understanding of the world around them to an extreme which dumbfounds me. So many people take politics as a way to express their desire to be perfectly accepted by others rather than an avenue to improve society, and the world, overall. It creates a situation in which there are all these narrow minded people basing their entire political world view on one single personal identity issue. They have a habit of seeing everything political from that single issue. They seem to believe that the entire world will be a far better place if their own, and the social group their identity falls into, is catered to and made the number political issue. It`s gets really out of hand at times.

For example, I try to bring up things like poverty or exploitative nature of economic bases of society and suddenly they are going off the rails about how all we need to do is create equality for women or LGBT or some other identity political issue and everything will be glorious in the world. I try to explain how, in every society, inequality at all levels, starts and ends with the economic base and the supporting super and substructures of it and they quickly accuse me of not caring about whatever identity political issue they are fixed on. It like a can`t see the forest for the trees kind of world view which can become very frustrating to deal with over and over again. Why can they not understand that it`s not the effects of the system which is the major problem. It`s the overall system itself which causes all these problems in the first place.

What is more amazing is that politicians are fully aware that people are easily hooked into identity politics and use it as cover to get away with all kinds of ugly unacceptable political decisions and actions. People will support a leaders who engages in wars of imperialism, mass economic oppression of entire nations, selling out their own people to the ugliest of Capitalist all because that leader will give the people some concessions on a few identity politics issue. It`s so sad to see people that easily fooled into going along with some of the most vile actions by leaders.

So that is what I needed to rant about. Have any of you ever experienced this same sort of feeling?

Nicely put, almost everything that happens these days is made into a political issue in order to highlight these differences in opinions. Politics has been turned from something that should help the community as a whole into something that should cater to the individual.

That's the biggest issue, people believing politics is about them and their needs instead of the whole community.

a reply to: freedomwv

I think it makes perfect sense when you are a member of a marginalized demographic. For example, the first thing a quadriplegic person might do when viewing a new presidential candidate is that candidate's legislative relationship with disabled citizens. If the candidate voted for all handicapped people to pay a special tax, that quadriplegic would be crazy to consider the candidate further.

Or if a candidate wants to illegalize same-sex parent households, I would avoid that candidate like the plague, no matter what other issues they endorse. It would be unfair for you to expect a person to vote against their own interests, especially when it is personal and a matter of safety.

People who are annoyed with "identity politics" are normally people whose own civil rights and equality are not usually in question. Even they would play "identity politics" if there was a candidate who worked against them. For example, a white heteronormative Christian male can usually assume his religion, sexuality, gender, and skin color will be safe bets with just about any candidate yet they still play "identity politics" in the rare event it is threatened. Why do you think there were so many accusations of Obama being a Muslim?

a reply to: freedomwv

They seem to believe that the entire world will be a far better place if their own, and the social group their identity falls into, is catered to and made the number political issue. It`s gets really out of hand at times.

I think you're giving them far too much credit. They don't think the world will be a better place, and they don't care about the world or other people. It's all ego. It's all about them. They just want their world to be a better place -- the rest of the world be damned. And they will use color of law and the barrel of a gun to make it so.

What is more amazing is that politicians are fully aware that people are easily hooked into identity politics and use it as cover to get away with all kinds of ugly unacceptable political decisions and actions.

Yup. Divide-and-conquer. While we fight each other, they screw us all. The really really pathetic part of it all is that "we" let them play us like fiddles every single time.

a reply to: freedomwv

Yea I hate the "why are you worrying about X when Y is going on?" people too. For one, people are capable of worrying about more than one problem in the world. And for two, we all have prioritize our values differently. Asking that question is selfish since it suggests that everyone should think exactly like you do.

It's only a matter of time before the Overweight Guatemalan Multi-gendered Animists start demanding their rights. But really, identity politics is a scourge.

A lot of it has to do with a false notion of what rights are. Rights are a two-way street between individuals. Your right to life is also my duty not to kill you. But your right to representation, inclusion, opportunity, income equality, based on self-proclaimed group rights, is not my duty to give them.

The black community, the white community, the gay community, the overweight community, the bald community—these are communities like finned, feathered or spotted is a species.

a reply to: Abysha

Actually, you're probably correct in that: "People who are annoyed with "identity politics" are normally people whose own civil rights and equality are not usually in question."

The beauty of identity politics is that...........it works and is therefore......profitable. Who profits from Identity politics? Who makes the T-Shirts that read....."Black Lives Matter"? Who gets elected to high office in many Metro areas simply because they can identify with one of the Identity Politics groups? So....for a whole lot of people who know how to manipulate Identity politics, its a genuine gravy train!