LOL.. where PC is taking us.

[Dill]

(07-09-2017, 12:32 PM)treee Wrote: I think Identity Politics, while having value, are a 'trap' so to speak so that other areas don't become the topic of discussion for politically minded individuals (See: The effects of conglomerated corporate media) . It's pretty obvious when you look at some of the 'establishment' politicians (i.e. a Hillary/Lieberman or Ryan/Mcconnell). It seems that labor has taken a back seat to social issues, which I'm sure is preferable to a lot of specialized interests considering that damn near every industry is an oligopoly at this point.

Anyways, it seems like a 'missing the forest for the trees' type of scenario to me. To see some of the hyper-partisan arguments on here just further confirms to me we don't 'get it' yet. Not that I 'get it' either, I'm just surprised by the lack of legitimate discussion in certain areas.

If I understand you, I think I agree.

One reason labor takes a back seat to identity issues is that the number of unionized workers has been greatly reduced over the last 40 years. That is not by accident.

But primarily, the US just doesn't have a developed leftist politics the way some other countries do. As a result, economic/class conflicts are easily transposed onto identity--blacks not getting opportunity, or whites losing opportunity because blacks and women get it, or Evangelicals being looked down on by Hollywood and educated experts. People take sides and create master narratives, and then news tidbits like the above OP are sutured into the narrative as one-more-example of what "they" are doing.

These narratives may not be wholly wrong, but they are usually very incomplete. They take root and guide people's perceptions and arouse motivations. I am not suggesting there is some alternative that doesn't involve master narratives, just that in the US the range of choices is narrower than in other countries.