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The former is distraction for the others. The left in USA has been convinced (or convinced itself) that identity politics is more important than human rights.
by mantap 6y ago
The former is distraction for the others. The left in USA has been convinced (or convinced itself) that identity politics is more important than human rights.
- CraigJPerry 6y agoDoes the USA have a left today? The right who voted for the new deal are left of today’s left. Today’s left are more right than yesterday’s right.
- Pfhreak 6y agoThey do, but it isn't represented in either of their two parties. The Liberal party and the Far Right party both do their best to ignore the leftists. That said, at the local and house level there is an increase in left candidates getting elected. We'll see where that goes.
- arcticbull 6y agoYep, the two major parties are "center-right" and "far-right" politically. There are some leftists but they aren't represented, and because of the two-party system they won't be. Two parties ~= one party.
- stjohnswarts 6y agoAOC and her squad are very far left and they're mainstream.
- ncmncm 6y agoCentrists.
- CraigJPerry 6y ago>> very far left On what grounds? AOC, like Sanders, advocates for centrist policies like those in the UK. AOC is a left leaning centrist. The rhetoric in the US does label her and Sanders extreme left but that’s evidence in favour of my point - there is no left in the USA. Who is the USA’s version of John McDonnell telling us all that there’s a lot to learn from Das Kapital?
- arcticbull 6y agoAOC is centre left, somewhere between Canada’s ruling Liberal party and the NDP currently endorsing them (its a minority government this time). NDP is a little further left IMO but not far off.
- stjohnswarts 6y agoPlease go back and cite me some references where they defended black rights, women's rights, LGBTQ rights, etc. I'll be waiting with bated breath.
- CraigJPerry 6y agoThe indian reorganisation act? ...and breathe again
- EthanHeilman 6y ago>The left in USA has been convinced (or convinced itself) that identity politics is more important than human rights. I disagree. I think we had torture so that a President could look tough on National Security as a re-election strategy. Not-torturing people and "identity politics" are not mutually exclusive, there is no reason that we couldn't have both. "Identity politics" is fundamentally about human liberty and the dignity of the individual, a.k.a. individualism, which is also the same moral foundation that most arguments against torture rest on. Advancing the rights of the individual advances the case against torture.
- leephillips 6y agoIn practice, human rights do take a back seat to identity politics. One of the most widespread forms of torture in the world, female genital mutilation, is out of bounds even for criticism, in the eyes of the typical person of the “left” in the U.S., and many Western European countries, today. Those who object to this barbarism, inflicted upon millions of girls every year, are actually, somehow, called “racists” for doing so. You can not consider the way in which the “left” regards Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and seriously think that this crowd considers human rights to be even of passing importance.
- pftf 6y ago> the “left” Makes sense that you put this in quote marks, given that you're just inventing wild caricatures to argue against.
- GOONIMMUNE 6y agoAs a leftist myself, I can't recall ever talking to another leftist who supported female genital mutilation, or called someone a racist for criticizing it. I think you're talking out your butt
- jowsie 6y agoJust wanted to echo this. Have never seen anyone called racist for speaking out against female genital mutilation.
- sudosysgen 6y agoThis is because there is almost no US left. What you call the left are liberals, and liberals have always been like this (See: Pete Seeger's song "Love Me I'm a Liberal".
- x86_64Ubuntu 6y agoWhat does identity politics have to do with human rights, and why does one preclude the other? Your statement makes it out to seem that you simply don't like what you consider "identity politics" and wanted to bring that into the discussion, regardless of how irrelevant it is.
- ifmpx 6y agoYou're being uncharitable in your reading. GP is rightfully pointing out that political discourse is far often centered on identity politics to the exclusion of more important topics such as human rights. No one is saying that one precludes the other except you.
- x86_64Ubuntu 6y agoLike someone else said, which rights are being displaced by "identity" politics? Once again, this is nothing but white anxiety about the public discourse concerning race. Nothing more.