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I've been obsessively watching the rise of the social justice movement over the past 4 years, ever since Donglegate, and I keep wondering when that correction w

I've been obsessively watching the rise of the social justice movement over the past 4 years, ever since Donglegate, and I keep wondering when that correction will come. But it only seems to rise. You would have good reason to believe that we're witnessing a torrentous societal change taking place, rather than a passing fad. After the last election, though, I'm done with making predictions :)

mc32 9y ago
I think Julian Assange might be onto something here: https://twitter.com/JulianAssange/status/894203366074707968 https://twitter.com/JulianAssange/status/894203366074707968 He goes on about how things turned out in Malaysia (from more or less unified country to one divided along racial lines due to overblown identity politics). He concludes that one way to combat that is to remove the first-past-the-goalpost-wins political system in the US. Although in his example LKY combats it via authoritarianism. I don't think we want to go down that route.
maxerickson 9y ago
The "social justice" movement dates back, uh, centuries. Maybe you have heard of Jesus? Even if you want to separate out a modern social justice movement, it certainly dates back decades. It's fun to consider it in terms of the foundation of the United States and documents like the Declaration of Independence. The wealthy landholders that declared themselves to be free articulated things so clearly that a bunch of other people decided that they wanted in on that shit.
- tenaciousDaniel 9y ago
  When we talk about free market economics, we're not talking about the bartering system of ancient societies, even though technically the term applies. Don't do the same thing with social justice. The term has come to be known colloquially as the very recent movement that is rooted in the works of critical theory. While critical theory has been around for a while, this is new because it's become inculcated into a popular culture.
  - maxerickson 9y ago
    The colloquial meaning you refer to is stupid. It's mostly used as a slur on the internet.
    - tenaciousDaniel 9y ago
      "sjw" is a slur. The term "social justice" is used by literally everyone, most notably the members themselves: http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-gro... http://www.sjti.org/ http://www.sjti.org/ http://www.socialjusticetoolbox.com/ http://www.socialjusticetoolbox.com/ ^ from just the first page of a google search.
      - maxerickson 9y ago
        So you are insisting that when the links you link speak of social justice they speak of the very recent movement that is rooted in the works of critical theory? I doubt it. (one of them compares a modern movement to the civil rights movement...)
        tenaciousDaniel 9y ago
        I'm talking about the online sub-culture that has sprung up in the last 5 years. The ideas they promote are a distillation of various crit theory stuff, like safe spaces, trigger warnings, micro-aggressions, etc. They are the reason why the term "white privilege" is now virtually a household term even though it's been around since the 1980's. Not sure what your purpose is in arguing this very simple definition, but if you don't agree then have a good day I guess, not worth any more of my time.
- xor1 9y ago
  >The "social justice" movement dates back, uh, centuries IMO the meaning of the term has changed. The "social" in the contemporary definition of "social justice" stands for social media. When I see "social justice", I think of people having their careers and personal lives put on trial, and the court is the internet itself.

mc32 9y ago

I think Julian Assange might be onto something here: https://twitter.com/JulianAssange/status/894203366074707968 https://twitter.com/JulianAssange/status/894203366074707968 He goes on about how things turned out in Malaysia (from more or less unified country to one divided along racial lines due to overblown identity politics). He concludes that one way to combat that is to remove the first-past-the-goalpost-wins political system in the US. Although in his example LKY combats it via authoritarianism. I don't think we want to go down that route.

maxerickson 9y ago

The "social justice" movement dates back, uh, centuries. Maybe you have heard of Jesus? Even if you want to separate out a modern social justice movement, it certainly dates back decades. It's fun to consider it in terms of the foundation of the United States and documents like the Declaration of Independence. The wealthy landholders that declared themselves to be free articulated things so clearly that a bunch of other people decided that they wanted in on that shit.

tenaciousDaniel 9y ago
When we talk about free market economics, we're not talking about the bartering system of ancient societies, even though technically the term applies. Don't do the same thing with social justice. The term has come to be known colloquially as the very recent movement that is rooted in the works of critical theory. While critical theory has been around for a while, this is new because it's become inculcated into a popular culture.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  The colloquial meaning you refer to is stupid. It's mostly used as a slur on the internet.
  - tenaciousDaniel 9y ago
    "sjw" is a slur. The term "social justice" is used by literally everyone, most notably the members themselves: http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-gro... http://www.sjti.org/ http://www.sjti.org/ http://www.socialjusticetoolbox.com/ http://www.socialjusticetoolbox.com/ ^ from just the first page of a google search.
    - maxerickson 9y ago
      So you are insisting that when the links you link speak of social justice they speak of the very recent movement that is rooted in the works of critical theory? I doubt it. (one of them compares a modern movement to the civil rights movement...)
      - tenaciousDaniel 9y ago
        I'm talking about the online sub-culture that has sprung up in the last 5 years. The ideas they promote are a distillation of various crit theory stuff, like safe spaces, trigger warnings, micro-aggressions, etc. They are the reason why the term "white privilege" is now virtually a household term even though it's been around since the 1980's. Not sure what your purpose is in arguing this very simple definition, but if you don't agree then have a good day I guess, not worth any more of my time.
xor1 9y ago
>The "social justice" movement dates back, uh, centuries IMO the meaning of the term has changed. The "social" in the contemporary definition of "social justice" stands for social media. When I see "social justice", I think of people having their careers and personal lives put on trial, and the court is the internet itself.