OK so here is part 2 of the post I published yesterday. The first, set the scene and introduced the premise that many commentators and anthropologists share that our civilisation is showing signs of nearing the end of it's lifespan. A heavy topic to be sure but one that warrants further discussion in public forums as there are obviously no certainties until there are.
In conclusion I want to speak about a problem that I am seeing more and more which although I believe stems from a positive place is perhaps doing more harm than good.
For want of a better, more succinct title let's call it...
The inequality of equality - An inconvenient reality.
There is a sea-change in how societal groups identify in recent times that has gained so much momentum that it has become an almost unstoppable force in every facet of life today. Already I am sure you see at least a hint at where I am going with this. To speak certain truths today is unpopular, off trend and distasteful to say the least but the reason I am detailing it here is that I believe it is a 'movement of movements' that needs to be carefully considered before the train has travelled too far from the station and gathered too much momentum to be halted if we discover we are going too fast in the wrong direction.
For those who wish to comment on this somewhat sensitive post I am going to have to insist that you read the whole thing if you want to join the debate as I am slightly sensitive to the notion that I could be perceived as prejudiced, overly judgemental or perhaps deemed to be suffering from a pathological lack of empathy. Secondly - Let me insist that my comments section is not used as a place to loudly and offensively voice your own biases if you have particularly unpalatable views that you know are needlessly confrontational for the sake of stirring.
How does this link to yesterday's post exactly? I simply believe that the topic of today is one of the greatest threats to societal cohesion and could indeed prove to be a watershed moment which has the potential to bring the whole precarious, trembling house of cards down around us.
The movement of movements.
Like walking a bloody tightrope!
There is currently a zeitgeist of victim-hood, shaming and demanding of reparations for every oppressed, under-represented, minority community ever imagined. Hmm... That's a controversial statement Steven, that's not like you at all!
Yes I know BUT I believe it is CRUCIAL we talk about this openly and sensibly and if at all possible without the emotional rhetoric that seems to be a pre-requisite to such topics.
Trust me in many ways I do not want to broach the topic for fear of being accused of 'mansplaining or whitesplaining or straightsplaining', yup all real terms for anyone unfamiliar. BUT surely that is wrong that I am denied an opinion and frozen out of the discussion because as a white, straight male I am unequipped to comment, right?
Do you realise if I was a celebrity, movie-star, pop-star or the like I would be unlikely to even entertain the notion of this discussion for fear it would quite possibly end my career? Can that possibly be right? How on earth can we ever understand each-other if we decide that a whole section of the population is not allowed to have a say?
Throughout history many grave oppression's took place - FACT. In some areas of the planet right now, today people are quite literally being oppressed, tales of genocidal dictators are common, this deserves global attention right now, on this I am certain we can ALL agree. I am not generally a fan of going in to other countries and telling them how to live their life, how to organise their society I just don't agree with it. I draw the line at ethnic cleansing, persecution and torture and punishment of minority groups by the state, surely we all do?
Feminism.
I believe that in the past women had an almost sub-standard position in much of the Western world, I speak about the West as it is where I have the most understanding and the right to speak from a position of knowledge obviously. I believe that for a situation to even exist when men were allowed to vote and women were not, to be utterly shameful. I believe that for men and women to work side by side in the same job and for men to be paid more is absolutely abhorrent. I could cite a thousand more instances of inequity but I don't need to we all know what they are and these instances show our forebears as more than a little backward in their thinking.
So yes, from my thoughts so far you can correctly ascertain that I believe the feminist movement was/is a good thing and had noble and justifiable aims in it's sights. I would have expected that as the years passed and men and women became far more equal than at any time in history feminism would have had a lesser role to perform, far less to protest if you like but recently it seems more voracious than ever, I find this perplexing.
I sense an undercurrent that intimates that men and women should be equal but have a feeling from listening to many commentators on the topic that women are slightly better than men, there is one destination, surely, equality?
Of course those who know me and have spoken with me here or on Discord shows will know my thoughts on this - Of course I champion the cause of 100% equality between the sexes. I absolutely agree the past was shameful but I am not my Father, I am not my Grandfather, I am not a politician who allowed such disparity to flourish for so long - I do not own their sins, is this an unreasonable viewpoint?
Black Lives Matter
I am sure everybody has witness the racial equality demonstrations that have reached an unprecedented momentum in recent years. However I do not believe that we are anywhere near where we were 20/30/50 years in the past and have made massive strides, surely everybody agrees on this? But that raises an important point, if we say that on a scale of ethnic equality between 1 and 100 we have reduced racism from 87 to 6 is this enough? NO of course it isn't even if it was running at 1% that is not equality, is it?
We must call out racism wherever we find it.
But let's make sure it is racism before we do so, right? I refer of course to the reams of cases in the news constantly where idiocy, rudeness and disrespect are all too often credited to racism. When we do this we demean the real cases of racism that need to be stamped out. When you see the slogan 'Black Lives Matter' on a placard, or tee-shirt at a demonstration what does it make you think? My first thought is Duh! Of course!!! My second is ALL lives matter. I strongly believe that if the distinction was clearer we may have a far better chance at getting along better in an environment of love, peace and harmony.
Did you expect me to use the word tolerance?
I often hear people speaking on this exact topic using the word tolerance, the problem I have with this is that it implies that there is something to tolerate. Do we "tolerate" those who have a different skin colour to us? Does that sound right to you or does it sound like an unconscious implication that is always there?
We also seem to live in a society and an era that is only able to view racism as a 'white towards black' occurrence, common sense tells us that this is not the case. Common sense should also tell us that hating another and viewing them as any less than you based on something as erroneous as the colour of their skin is a ridiculous proposition that (to me at least) speaks of a level of bigotry and feeble mindedness that is colossal in it's idiocy.
Racism when committed by anyone and towards anyone should be highlighted and MUST be relegated to a bygone era when people were not nearly as sophisticated or insightful as they are today (hopefully!)
There is a shameful period of history when it comes to slavery that we must never forget, this point I obviously concede, it should testament to a lesson that should be apparent the whole world over that no human should ever be subservient to another, EVER! But let us not dwell on the details to such a degree that we keep raking up the differences between us or else the lesson that we should have learned is utterly counter-productive and in effect, useless.
There are a myriad of 'ists' and 'isms' that speak to the worst of human nature and I hope that in my lifetime they have all died out with regard to the present.
I do not want to sponge away the deeds and memories of the past but focus on a more connected, empathetic, loving world for the future. Anyone that does not share this view I would treat with great suspicion, for reasons I would hope you would understand entirely.
I am not going to focus in such an in-depth manner on every minority group that I want to mention as I am sure you realise by now I would probably need to break up this post to art 3, 4 and possibly even 5 and I am sure neither of us could bear that!
Homophobia, Transphobia, anti-semitism, ageism, prejudice against the disabled and on and on ad infinitum.
Each of the above-mentioned groups and many, many more besides can claim quite legitimately that they have suffered from massive oppression and inequity in the past and to a lesser degree today. Anyone that would question the 'lesser degree today' part seriously wants to take a closer look at history it is an irrefutable and indisputable fact. Can you imagine the Nazi view to any one of those groups? Great horrors and atrocities have been committed wholesale against those perceived as against the norm throughout the centuries. There are quite a few cultures and religions who still persecute people from most of these minorities today of course. (IMO that's where protestors should focus their energy!)
Let me be blunt! I have no interest in how people behave in their own lives, who they sleep with, how they identify, the colour of their skin, the religion and cultural traditions they adhere to until they start infringing on the liberty of others to live in an equally free manner. I fully understand, (I didn't say accept, it is not for me to accept or not to) that many people fall in love with someone of the same gender, if they can find love I am happy for them. Many people feel they would be happier living life in a way that is perceived to be against the norm, if they can find happiness, I too am happy.
Many women feel happy and fulfilled, engaging in rituals that celebrate what they would call Sisterhood.
Many men join groups that in some manner exhibit a similar kind of Brotherhood.
Many people form support groups for others in a similar situation to themselves, be they LGBTQ, based on disease or disability, many people engage in their own circles culturally, religiously as that is a choice they have made that is congruent with their life.
To all of these situations I say that's awesome, be who you were destined to be, lice how you were destined to live, love how you are meant to love. Celebrate the uniqueness that makes you in an environment that shares a commonality too, I understand this entirely, I champion it.
BUT To shut yourself off to all the other billions of humans on the planet because you believe they do not accept you without giving them a chance is folly. There is nothing worse than deciding you are perceived badly or unfairly because of an assumed prejudice is closing yourself off to so, so many interactions that could enrich and enhance your life. Sometimes when we exist only among a certain minority of people we can develop a skewed perception of the world that may very well not be accurate.
Speaking for myself, which is all I am really qualified to do of course. I am not likely to dislike you for any of the reasons detailed so far. I am far more likely to dislike you because you are rude, bigoted yourself or because you tar me with a brush that I absolutely do not deserve.
Is this a good time to discuss my male privilege?
What about my white privilege?
What about the fact my ancestors caused oppression's in the name of the British Empire, the vast majority of them long, long before I was born?
Yup I realised that could have sounded a little too forthright, confrontational and perhaps even argumentative, so you can conceive that in a public forum we could appear to be at odds with each-other for all the world to see. Maybe I would be described as using microaggressions and 'mansplaining'.
If you are unfamiliar with the above terms and a million more that I haven't even covered, 'mansplaining' is a condescending, view that anything I say to a woman in a snyde, patronising way in the public forum has no value as it is only the Patriarchal view of a man and should be deemed as of no benefit to any debate as my forefathers had an unequal share of public discourse. They did have an unequal stake in all walks of life, it's true, but what does that have to do with my views? I am an individual and think as one, form opinions as one, I communicate with others as individuals too.
OK Let's get to the crux of what this post is really about - I have gone on far too long already.
The labels before anything else culture is enormously damaging IMO.
People are made of many intricacies, moving parts, foibles, flaws and gifts. We are each a completely unique specimen, who deserve to not be placed in just one box that sums us up entirely. You know how when we read a magazine article today a comment about something entirely unrelated to colour or sexuality will start with the interviewee "As a Black man" Or "As a gay woman" I read that and I think, I am certain you equate to more than that!
This also has the underlying implication that as someone who does not fit in to that category you do not get to have a say on the issues facing me. You do not even get to have a place at the table to discuss my issues.
I am going to bring this post to a premature end as I believe I am going to come back to the topic in some further posts relating to specific angles in the coming weeks.
I am sure that you Dear Reader have experienced a little provocation whilst reading this, if not from me, or from the subject matter than from the little voice in your head.
My overwhelming point is that identity politics simply doesn't work, we are far more than the sum of a single label and collectively the diversity of experience should be a cultural strength to the community, country, planet, right? I have to say that as a society, whichever country you find yourself in, the more we fragment off in to splinter-groups and movements to represent only out main label that describes us we become more and more disconnected.
The radical left, the far right, the alt-right, liberal, conservative, man, woman, rich, poor, Christian, Catholic, Muslim, gay, trans, disabled, Rohyngan, Swede, academic, working class, socialist, capitalist...
I have long believed that the biggest threat to mankind is a tactic we are all too familiar with when it is enacted against us by governments, it is called Divide and Conquer. I am certain you understand it's sinister and nefarious motives instantly. It's intention s to stoke tensions between certain sections of society and as they begin to fight among each-other, start another disagreement in a different sector. When enough groups are fighting against each-other as a government entity acting above you can do whatever the hell you want as the people never stop long enough to look up to where the real bad stuff happens.
I propose that we make an active and concerted effort to focus on what unites us rather than those insignificant points that divide us, I honestly believe it s the only way we can get through the dangerous times that lie ahead. It speaks of a society I would want to be a part of, one worth fighting for, one in which everyone matters!
I hope my post manages to stay between the polar opposites of 'bigotry and virtue signalling' and that you have been able to find some common ground with my ideas. I know I missed a lot of key points that I could have referred to and I realise some of my points especially when referring to specific groups only seemed to scratch the surface. Let me assure you this is simply the constraints of time and space more than a slight on anyone who wanted more focus on a specific segment.
I don't want our civilisation to disappear down history's ever draining plug hole for the reason as pathetic as we never engaged with each-other because we were too stubbornly entrenched in our ideological camps focussed on the many things that divide us.
Peace, happiness, understanding, co-operation... Surely these are the words we would rather be defined by as a people?
I certainly hope to see some comments on this one, I am incredibly eager to see what people think. I wish I was a little more precise and focussed in my writing, I wish I had a little more eloquence too, but either way I write from the heart and hope to resonate and connect with people, we are all on this journey together.
If you made it this far, you truly are in a minority, a minority of awesomeness and I love you all, thanks for the time and remember...
