Who defines "Identity Politics"?
An old friend, whose intellect I respect greatly, posted an article that asked whether presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg is just another privileged white man running for office, or if his status as a married gay man gives him "diversity points." (I made that term up, but that was the gist.) In his comment on the article, my friend wrote:
And my first thought was: "Only a straight white man can say 'Identity politics is a poison that only serves specific interests' with a straight face."🙄
If you ask me to tell you about myself, the first thing I will say is that I am a feminist. Everything I believe in and everything I do in the social/political/economic arena is formed and colored by the fact that I am a woman in a world run by men—most of whom don't want me to have what I need to live a good life: personal autonomy, physical safety, unfettered access to quality healthcare (including reproductive healthcare/abortion), equal opportunities to be educated, to work in my chosen profession without being ignored or harassed just because I have a vagina, etc., etc., etc.
The policies that I support and for which I advocate—because I am a feminist—would be good for the vast majority of people in this country. Clean air and water. Good schools. Healthcare for everyone. Protections for women, LGBT people, people of color, people with disabilities, people of all faiths and none. Strict gun control and anti-corruption laws. The list goes on—and that list is the same one that so many people I know who get accused of "playing identity politics" are fighting for.
"Identity politics" has come to mean the same damned thing that "political correctness" does. You (collective "you") don't want to acknowledge the grievous harm that this nation has done to anyone who isn't rich, white, male, straight, cisgender, and "Christian." You (collective "you") want to sweep all that under the rug and pretend like it's ancient history so you don't have to look at your own complicity in maintaining a system that still blames women for getting raped and unarmed black people for being slaughtered by law enforcement, and...and...and....
Well, I've got news. It isn't ancient history at all. And until we start to reckon with the true "identity politics" (i.e., patriarchal white supremacy), we will never get what my friend says he wants.
Because the people fighting to get us to a point of basic human decency are—by and large—those folks who fight because they are women, or people of color, or LGBT. They/We are in the crosshairs of those powerful, rich, white, (mostly) straight, "Christian" men who have been able to define "identity politics" as any politics that doesn't privilege THEM. We're fighting for our lives—for those identities that make us who we are.
And then there's that other inconvenient fact: Any politician who isn't a rich, white, (mostly) straight, "Christian" male is going to be forced by the media to deal with the question of "identity."
We still live in a world where so-called "journalists" ask female candidates about their clothing and hairstyles before they ask about their policy positions. We still live in a world where a black president never allowed himself to show anger in public because he knew how deadly the stereotype of the "angry black man" could be.
Representation matters. Seeing people who look like us, and who share our life experiences, in positions of power is important. It gives us hope that change is possible. It allows us to dream dreams of new/other lives. And it gives us the drive to follow in their footsteps.
The white men who are running the show in this nation clearly understand this. They see the power that representation has to spur marginalized groups to ask hard questions and to begin demanding a seat at the table—and it terrifies them. They think it's so important that they are doing everything in their power to barricade the castle to keep the rest of us out.
And I say to hell with THAT.
Identity politics is a poison that only serves specific interests. They can all go to hell. We need someone, anyone, who will promote policies that are inclusive and beneficial to the vast majority of Americans, regardless of identity.
And my first thought was: "Only a straight white man can say 'Identity politics is a poison that only serves specific interests' with a straight face."🙄
If you ask me to tell you about myself, the first thing I will say is that I am a feminist. Everything I believe in and everything I do in the social/political/economic arena is formed and colored by the fact that I am a woman in a world run by men—most of whom don't want me to have what I need to live a good life: personal autonomy, physical safety, unfettered access to quality healthcare (including reproductive healthcare/abortion), equal opportunities to be educated, to work in my chosen profession without being ignored or harassed just because I have a vagina, etc., etc., etc.
The policies that I support and for which I advocate—because I am a feminist—would be good for the vast majority of people in this country. Clean air and water. Good schools. Healthcare for everyone. Protections for women, LGBT people, people of color, people with disabilities, people of all faiths and none. Strict gun control and anti-corruption laws. The list goes on—and that list is the same one that so many people I know who get accused of "playing identity politics" are fighting for.
"Identity politics" has come to mean the same damned thing that "political correctness" does. You (collective "you") don't want to acknowledge the grievous harm that this nation has done to anyone who isn't rich, white, male, straight, cisgender, and "Christian." You (collective "you") want to sweep all that under the rug and pretend like it's ancient history so you don't have to look at your own complicity in maintaining a system that still blames women for getting raped and unarmed black people for being slaughtered by law enforcement, and...and...and....
Well, I've got news. It isn't ancient history at all. And until we start to reckon with the true "identity politics" (i.e., patriarchal white supremacy), we will never get what my friend says he wants.
Because the people fighting to get us to a point of basic human decency are—by and large—those folks who fight because they are women, or people of color, or LGBT. They/We are in the crosshairs of those powerful, rich, white, (mostly) straight, "Christian" men who have been able to define "identity politics" as any politics that doesn't privilege THEM. We're fighting for our lives—for those identities that make us who we are.
And then there's that other inconvenient fact: Any politician who isn't a rich, white, (mostly) straight, "Christian" male is going to be forced by the media to deal with the question of "identity."
We still live in a world where so-called "journalists" ask female candidates about their clothing and hairstyles before they ask about their policy positions. We still live in a world where a black president never allowed himself to show anger in public because he knew how deadly the stereotype of the "angry black man" could be.
Representation matters. Seeing people who look like us, and who share our life experiences, in positions of power is important. It gives us hope that change is possible. It allows us to dream dreams of new/other lives. And it gives us the drive to follow in their footsteps.
The white men who are running the show in this nation clearly understand this. They see the power that representation has to spur marginalized groups to ask hard questions and to begin demanding a seat at the table—and it terrifies them. They think it's so important that they are doing everything in their power to barricade the castle to keep the rest of us out.
And I say to hell with THAT.