The number of people my age, younger now, a whole generation younger, who are fiercely bright, over-educated, under-employed and who are politicised and purposeless really upsets me. It’s soul-destroying. – Benedict Cumberbatch
One of the big misconceptions floating around is that people within the radical left / SJW circles are actually defending their ideologies. They aren’t (for the most part). People join the leftist cults (that’s what they are, cults) for many different reasons. Some are scammers only in it for money, power, and fame. Anita Sarkeesian was a televangelist before working behind the scenes as an influencer at Google and Twitter. Shaun King would not pretend to be black if he didn’t get a column at the New York Daily News and a correspondent position at The Young Turks.
There are, however, people who do defend their ideologies. They are in the vast minority (even less than the scammers), and usually come solely from academia. They want to follow in the footsteps of Marx and Marcuse and enact a communist revolution in the United States. These are usually the people at the top of these groups (like with ANTIFA), but again, have a minimal presence.
The real answer is that it gives people a sense of purpose. These people mainly work dull office jobs (or stereotypically as baristas), and have minimal lives outside of their jobs. Maybe they do not have hobbies or fulfilling relationships. We inundate people with messages of “you can be or do anything!!!”. This is not usually how it works. So what better way to feel a sense of purpose than ending racism or sexism. Of course, this is done with the bare modicum of effort (and incorrectly, in my opinion at least. Why do we always read DuBois but not Daryl Davis, Thomas Sowell, or Booker T. Washington?). What better way to say that you’ve been a victim if you didn’t get a top job than by blaming sexism or racism? They hype up Trump as a fascist dictator, so they can claim that tweeting “#resist” on twitter and attending a march while carrying a non-humorous sign is fighting fascism (they do tend to get chicks, as an extra incentive). These people do not defend their ideologies except as a hobby. That’s why Laci Green happens. If she was truly committed to her ideology she would not become “red pilled”. She would go along with the thoughts of the far left. Doing so requires minimal effort and you can feel a sense of purpose combating racism, sexism, or whatever the -ism of the week is. These individuals lack purpose, and it is filled with an easy hatred of pre-selected enemies.
It is commonplace to mock SJWs, feminists, and liberals for their ridiculous ideas, attitudes, and behaviors. This may be the cause of their behaviors in the first place. I suppose this is another take on the “coddled hypothesis” that some like to push around. Though, it is a different perspective from what is normally laid out. It is that feminism / SJWs provide a (dangerous) outlet for those that have been bullied previously. This still holds true even if they only ever heard of feminism once they got to college or snooped around on Buzzfeed.
The common narrative is that minorities / women are oppressed. This attracts those who were bullied or have depression, or at least creates it. It provides an answer for those that need it.
The only difference between a white supremacist and a feminist is who they insult.
I’ll get back to the regular posts soon enough, but this case is just too good to pass up.
For those (somehow) unaware, Tyler Kissinger held a protest on May 30th, and is facing expulsion. The (failing) New York Times gave the following details:
He went in to Levi Hall without permission
He lied to security officers
He waited and let other unauthorized people in
He stormed the president’s office and staged a long-term sit-in
Of course, as someone who literally carries copies of the University of Chicago speech codes with me at all times, he did not comply with any of them. His behavior for sure disrupted the operations of the University. He also gained access to a building that he was not supposed to be in (why wold he wait and hide to let others in if that was not the case?). This is a private university. Any standard protections are gone. So, by all extents, he should be expelled. However, the “free speech activists” have come out of the woodwork to defend him.
This is a standard blatant leftist hypocrisy. If censorship or suppression of free speech goes to stop the violent and racist phrase “Trump 2016” or to shut down any other event, it’s perfectly fine! They’re all bigots! Yet, when a person breaks several rules in the name of a minimum wage, it is a problem. We should place contrived limits on freedom of speech, but when we literally break the actual limits of free speech, that’s perfectly great!
This thought process is incredibly dangerous. It is what leads to such things such as encouraging violence against Trump supporters and people saying that Black Lives Matter can’t lynch people (have we gone full regressive already?!). The “ends justify the means” mentality that is apparent here is despicable. You can’t be a half-activist of free speech. You can’t endorse free speech only when it helps your cause. Maybe I should denounce Trump and endorse Hillary. I can call anything I don’t like “hate speech”, and then commit literal crimes and be protected under the guise of progressiveness.
I suspect that here theists and atheists would agree: Human beings have within them the ability to choose evil or good. We wake up each day facing the age-old struggle of good and evil. In some situations, mental illness clouds our judgment.
– Adam Hamilton
To say that leftism / feminism is a mental illness is politically incorrect, yet in some cases it really is true. Every possible explanation of the left’s behaviors can be determined by psychology and behavioral science. Obviously, not everyone who is a feminist / on the left is mentally unhealthy, but a decent majority of them may well be. Interestingly, feminism may be both the cause and the cure in these cases.
The “Coddled” Hypothesis
This is by far the most common explanation given. The overemphasis of danger causes parents to seek to remove all things that can be perceived as dangerous. Children are given strict representations of what is good. Anti-bullying efforts also go too far, citing that anything that makes kids “uncomfortable” is bullying. Obviously, insults are bullying. However, “uncomfortable” and “offensive” have very subjective meanings. Is anything “upsetting” bad? What if its an overreaction? When we teach kids to find anything uncomfortable to be hateful, we clearly end up with concepts such as “linguistic violence”. The stereotypical “participation trophy” complaint may actually also hold some weight.
The “Uncoddled” Hypothesis
It turns out going the complete opposite route also leads to similar results. The theory states that with the increase of child day care, aggression also increases. There are a limited number of day care employees, and to get their attention may require aggressive behavior or throwing tantrums because there is not one employee to look after every child. This teaches the child that aggression gets one attention and whatever the child wants. This theory is on shaky ground, as there are conflicting studies. However, it appears that more factors than just the amount of time in child care may play a factor. First, in Norway, child care is offered by the government. Ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency is top priority. In the United States, day cares range from the good to the mediocre to the bad. If it is a simple, one couple day care, there might be more issues that arise. The age when day care is started is another issue. Starting early can cause a whole host of issues for the child (and mother). This of course is doubly “problematic” as it indicates a biological need for women to be active mothers with their children (which there is, why do female mammals have breast milk to feed their children if they weren’t supposed to take care of them?).
The “Identity” Hypothesis
This is where things get interesting. One of the key aspects of ideology is the impact on identity. You can declare yourself a “rights activist” of any kind (except a men’s rights activist, that would be misogynistic). A threat to the ideology becomes a threat to identity. Of course, this means ideologies server as identities, especially for those who do not have one. Many people struggle with who they are, and are vulnerable to being manipulated. This is especially true of minority populations. They join the local activist group to find like minded people, and then think “this is what people like me are saying, so it must be true”. This is then ripe for blatant indoctrination. Sargon of Akkad has done two very interesting case studies, one on a Black Lives Matter Activist, and another on a Black Supremacist, which I have posted at the end of this post.
The “Paranoia / Victimhood” Hypothesis
Feminism paints people as constant victims of the patriarchy. Men are made out to be dangerous subjects. It also provides a convenient way of determining the cause of problems. Didn’t get the job? The manager is a sexist! A man bumps into you on the sidewalk? He’s a misogynist who wishes to dominate your female space! The problem is that most things are simple. It also leads to perpetual victimhood. One can not blame yourself for your faults. It’s society keeping you down. When you’re in a society that you perceive as putting you down, you can’t beat it, and you can’t better yourself. Everything that happens, good or bad, is because of the patriarchy and because you are a woman. Just ask Jess Phillips, who thinks not getting rape threats is bad because that means she is ugly. Rules 3: SJWs always project.
The “Bully” Hypothesis
The simplest argument is that they are bullies. They enjoy putting others down to their perceived societal level. Shouts of “white tears” are common among feminists. They simply get enjoyment out of putting others down, and hold the power to do so. This ends badly, as they become addicted to this power. But it is all ok, as long as you put down those evil white males!
The “Drug Addiction” Hypothesis
There’s also the simple explanation that hearing negative things about a political candidate causes the area in the brain to fire that also fires upon intake of cocaine and heroin. Ideological preservation makes it impossible to hear these negative thoughts. They are simply addicted to their ideology.
The political system loves the extremes, it doesn’t so much show a lot love for the moderates.
– Claire McCaskill
I suppose I should write about my raison d’être. Why my beliefs are the way they are. Why I say the things I say. Why I write the things I write.
I started becoming interested in feminist critique in about 2013, when it took over the computer science scene. This doesn’t sound bad on paper, but there were some issues that cropped up. People were reprimanded for not using gender neutral pronouns. There were pages of arguments about the terms “master” and “slave”. Some people were obviously not pleased with this.
I was lucky enough to attend a science orientated high school. I managed to take many classes on offer, including classes in computer science. Then feminism crept in. On the first day of my programming class, the teacher spent half the class ranting about how sexist computer science was. He would e-mail us about scholarship opportunities for women only, then say “Sorry, men. There’s tons of opportunities for you” (Hint: he only ever posted scholarships and internships where women are preferred). Then there were the events. All of them during my school year were catered towards women. The only science club for several years was geared towards women. When one was started, the teacher literally said when I walked in “Where are all the women? I’ll have to make cuts to the club, but I’m keeping all of the women”.
Everything is racist. Everything is sexist. Everything is homophobic. And you have to point it all out
– Anita Sarkeesian
Calling things *ist or *phobic is an extremely common leftist tactic. It is of course, not an argument based in fact. One can simply call anything racist or sexist. But it is also dangerous outside of arguments and academia. It only serves as a distraction from reality, in most cases.
The first issue is who gets to determine what is sexist or racist. Is one person enough? What if one person says it is not racist? Does there need to be a group of people? What if a larger group of people says it is not racist? Does it need to be a person who is a minority? What if a person who is a minority disagrees? Do groups of minorities need to agree? What if someone in that group disagrees? What if an entire group disagrees? It is near impossible to determine what is racist just by stating that it is racist. There is no objective test to determine if something is racist or sexist based on outside views.
Therefore, the only way to objectively determine any *ist or *phobic act is the intent. Of course, there are issues with this as well. It is difficult to get a person to admit bias in the first place. So, naturally, the left likes to force the issue of intent. Students found a man in KKK robes roaming on campus. Except it was a Dominican friar. A student posted a swastika pin on a bulletin board. Turns out it was from a trip to India, where the swastika is used as a symbol of luck and success. It is very easy to make up any kind of intent. One might argue that you shouldn’t wear / post things similar to things that can be perceived as racist. You would not be a very good multiculturalist then. This perspective would mean that these minority cultures would have to assimilate to the dominant one.
Another major failing is that wantonly describing events as racist or sexist allows for constant self-serving bias. Didn’t get a job? It’s because the employer is racist! Someone says you’re annoying or bossy? Sexist! It is much easier to blame someone else than it is to address your own shortcomings. This is one of the core tenets of ideological preservation: you can never be wrong. This is not to say that events can’t happen for racist or sexist reasons, or that racism or sexism does not exist. It is difficult if not impossible to prove that something really happened because of it. History is no indicator. Just because people were denied housing loans based on skin color before, doesn’t mean it has happened to you, especially when other factors are obviously in play. It also leads to low self-esteem. People being racist or sexist is out of one’s control, no matter how much the feminists want to think that all racism and sexism can be eliminated (which of course goes back to the question of what can truly be declared racist). It prevents a reevaluation of self. Maybe you didn’t get that job because your resume was badly done. Or maybe you really are just annoying and bossy. Attributing this fact to outside factors only allows events like these to continue. Every time you are called annoying, you can point to sexism or racism. This leads to a never ending cycle, one that can not be broken because it is society’s fault. But if you attribute the event to a personal downfall or error, one can improve oneself. You can pick yourself up and try again, and most importantly, improve yourself and leave feeling stronger. Again, this is not to say that racism doesn’t exist anymore. It’s just that thinking the world is out to get you only leads to paranoia and depression. There is also the point that declaring everything to be *ist only loosens the impact of the term.