The Problem Of Identity Politics
Identity politics is a term that describes a political approach wherein people, based on an identifying factor, form exclusive alliances. Nowadays, this does concentrate on race and sex.
Identity politics puts blacks against whites, men against women.
Why would this be a problem? There is racism, there is injustice, there is inequality, and we should, as a society, address this!
Yes, that is true, and we should, but identity politics is not helping us. To put it even stronger, identity politics is only making it worse…
The problem of identity politics is that it identifies you on something you cannot change. I am white, I was born white, my parents were white, and there is nothing I can do to change that fact. I can live a virtuous life, I can live a shitty life, but I will always stay white, no matter how hard I try.
But what does it mean? How does describe my race me as a person, how does it define my identity, my character? It does not, zero, null, nothing. Of course, it gives a cultural background, but that is only a part of my identity.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Martin Luther King
For example, take Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, and Albert Schweitzer. These are all great men who tried to make this world a better place. It did not depend on their race. Their personality made them do this. But Martin Luther King was black, and therefore he did what he did… No, he did not, yes he was black, and that made that he faced racism, but it was his personality that made him choose his path. Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, Idi Amin, three examples of people who brought suffering and death around them. That did not have to do anything with their race; it was their personality.
If identity politics defines you on something you cannot change, and because of this, you are bad or good, you are on a dead-end road. All your problems are externalized, and there is nothing you can do about it, so no wonder you will get upset or angry about the other side. You are not free to choose which race or gender you are, you are caught in this situation, and there is nothing that will change it. So therefore, identity politics is a road to nowhere.
Our identity, our personality is what defines us. We must not fall in the trap that it is something about us which we cannot change. It makes you powerless and trapped. If you realize that it is not your race that defines you, or your sex, you will find that you can change yourself. You can work on yourself, develop yourself, and make yourself a better person, independent of gender or race.
Interesting links:
The Problem If 2 Plus 2 Does Not Equal 4
Fictional Alarmism, Time for Some Debunking. Part II: Social Issues
Transgenerational Guilt: A Road to Nowhere
Social Justice Warrior: The New Sorcerer’s Apprentice?