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" In fact, however, third-wave antiracism is a profoundly religious movement in everything but terminology. The idea that whites are permanently stained by thei
by JPKab 8y ago
" In fact, however, third-wave antiracism is a profoundly religious movement in everything but terminology. The idea that whites are permanently stained by their white privilege, gaining moral absolution only by eternally attesting to it, is the third wave’s version of original sin. The idea of a someday when America will “come to terms with race” is as vaguely specified a guidepost as Judgment Day. Explorations as to whether an opinion is “problematic” are equivalent to explorations of that which may be blasphemous. The social mauling of the person with “problematic” thoughts parallels the excommunication of the heretic. What is called “virtue signaling,” then, channels the impulse that might lead a Christian to an aggressive display of her faith in Jesus. There is even a certain Church Lady air to much of the patrolling on race these days, an almost performative joy in dog-piling on the transgressor, which under a religious analysis is perfectly predictable."
Very accurate analysis imho.
Growing up around fundamentalist Christians, I'm pretty tuned into people who use moral posturing to gain status within their social group. The resemblance with the virtue signalling is uncanny.
- badcede 8y agoReligion isn't going away. It's becoming unconscious.
- haberman 8y agoJames Lindsay has been making a case for this lately. Here is a (very long) article on the subject that I haven't read yet: https://areomagazine.com/2018/12/18/postmodern-religion-and-the-faith-of-social-justice/ https://areomagazine.com/2018/12/18/postmodern-religion-and-...
- wwright 8y agoShunning of heretics was designed to centralize power in the church and affiliated groups. Modern social progressives do perform analogous shunnings, yes, but these acts are for the explicit purpose of decentralizing power _away_ from groups who have it.
- haberman 8y agoShunning of heretics was ostensibly done to defend the honor of God. The fact that it increased the power of the people doing the shunning was surely viewed as a means to a noble and right end, just as today.
- toufiqbarhamov 8y agoShunning was almost certainly also a matter of not wanting to be tainted by association, which also can find parallels here.
- belorn 8y ago> explicit purpose of decentralizing power _away_ from groups who have it If one agree to the belief that race is the significant force behind social economic status then it will seem obvious that the narrative of white privilege as having that effect. Like any logic within a religion, it builds upon faith.
- repolfx 8y agoNo, shunning is about building the power of the group doing the shunning. Which is why you see universities getting crazier and crazier, as students and academics learn they can obtain power 'for free' by merely virtue signalling: they get what they want, realise they can get more, and at some point the exercise of power becomes the ends justify the means.