8 Comments
User's avatar
⭠ Return to thread
Randolph Carter's avatar

It's a natural growth of the tautological "racism=power+prejudice" idea - in that formulation, only white people have power (no comment on whether idk black supreme court justices have more power than a white Iowa gas station employee), and they're the only ones capable of racism.

To people who buy that premise, this all went the way it was supposed to go. That lady should have known better and not been white 🙄

Expand full comment
Some Guy's avatar

Yeah that’s a dumb premise even if granted because of course human dynamics are complicated and even if you have more power in one dimension you probably have less in another.

I also like the idea people are saying “See? I walk around with a heart full of hate and that’s okay because I have no power.”

Expand full comment
Martin Blank's avatar

This is one of the main things I don’t understand. Right now the left is literally a celebration of hate, in large part directed at societies largest ethnicity group and society itself. And somehow millions of people think that is possibly going to lead to a good place.

Expand full comment
Randolph Carter's avatar

It's like they're wishing actual "white nationalism" into existence, and I usually feel completely baffled as to why they think it's a good idea. I think a chunk is masochistic self-flagellation and a chunk "I'm secure and nothing will ever actually change, and this is a fun pose to take."

But then of course if you read Will Durant he will tell you how this exact same thing happened in Rome, with elite Romans becoming increasingly oikophobic and mocking their own "cultureless culture", adopting the dress and style of "the other" (in that case, Persia, The Orient, and Gaul), and ultimately sort of dissolving into that ultimate "other," the weird new religion of Christianity. It feels pretty familiar 🤷‍♂️

Expand full comment
Randolph Carter's avatar

I wonder what powerlessness+prejudice adds up to... Terrorism and riots? Which are totally justified because the poor dears have had power withheld from them.

Actually now that I type that, it is literally the excuse that people so inclined use to handwave terrorism and riots 😬

Expand full comment
Epistemic confusion's avatar

Yes! Everything starts from that premise - power is everything, so fighting against power is always justified, no matter how you fight. Gandhi is rolling over in his grave.

Expand full comment
Some Guy's avatar

And no matter how benevolent the power is.

Expand full comment
Randolph Carter's avatar

I also just realized that if this equation is true, then

Racism - prejudice = power 😮

Very esoteric

Expand full comment