A SCOTUS Opening

[CJD]

(10-27-2020, 12:12 PM)PhilHos Wrote: It has nothing to do with the religious aspect. So stop with thinking about cults and religion. 

If I called Obama a house negro, would that not be racist? Basically the same thing. Nati was basically calling ACB a "handmaiden" from The Handmaid's Tale, he was basically calling her property, lesser than and dependent on men. If you don't see how that's sexist, then I don't know what else to tell you.

Here's the problem, if she were not a part of that religion/cult, then he wouldn't have used that term so I can't "stop with thinking about cults and religion." That is the central tenet of that name being used. However, in respect to her association with this group, if you truly believe it is a cult, any sane person would classify her as a victim of this cult. In this case, she was indoctrinated into being subservient to men. So is criticizing her for being part of this cult really a valid criticism?

Let's examine a scenario in which race is the exploitation rather than sex.

If there were a group in which black men were indoctrinated to be subservient to white men but were taught that it was the natural order of things, rather than an abuse of power by the people they are subservient to, and then one of these black men were nominated to a position of power in which they'd have the opportunity to subject people to their flawed teachings, would it be racist to call that black man out for that?

Admittedly, there isn't a perfect parallel here, but that sounds like the rough equivalent of the "Uncle Tom." The slave that, given no other option, chose to embrace the exploitation of other slaves in order to get in the good graces of the white slave owners and live a, relatively, better life as a house slave.

Now, this isn't a perfect parallel because the motivations of an "Uncle Tom" was mostly about surviving, because they could not just leave slavery like a woman could just leave a cult (it would be difficult, but there are exit strategies from a cult whereas there were none from slavery, other than running away and hoping to make it to the North alive). But "Uncle Toms" did, in a way, harm other slaves for their own self preservation so I guess it's a little similar.

So would it have been racist for someone to call an Uncle Tom an Uncle Tom in the age of slavery? There's an argument that it wouldn't be, especially from one of the slaves' points of view, who are being actively harmed by the actions of Uncle Tom. But I could see racism being there, especially from a non-slaves' point of view. For example, an abolitionist would be in the wrong for blaming the Uncle Tom for treating the other slaves poorly, as the Uncle Tom is himself a victim of slavery just as much as the other slaves and the real villains are the enslavers, not the slaves who made the best of their awful situation.

Nowadays, of course, Uncle Tom is a very dangerous term to throw around, because it is often viewed as exaggeration and condemnation of any black person who disagrees with you, especially as a white person so you make a valid point in that regard.

So if ACB is a victim of her religious group because they are a cult, I think you've changed my mind. It is sexist to accuse her of being an enabler of her victimizers (i.e. a handmaid). You can't blame a victim for being a victim just as much as you can't really blame a slave for their own self preservation.

However, that would be definitive proof that she should not get that nomination, because she is indoctrinated and needs help before she is given the power to impact other people's lives. But if you don't believe it's a cult then there is no victim complex and then you lose the sexism angle.

So basically we have two scenarios:
1. PoP is a cult. Therefore, she is a victim. Therefore, blaming her for succumbing to her indoctrination (by calling her a handmaid) is indeed sexist. But it also means that she should never be nominated for a position of power where she can enact her own indoctrination on millions of others and should instead seek help to decode her indoctrination.

2. PoP is not a cult, it's just a religious group. She is not a victim, but she is an active and willing participant in her religious group. Therefore, associating her with that group and all the negative associations that go with it (I.E. handmaid's tale) is not sexist, because she has full cognition about her actions and beliefs. The insult is merely anti-religious for the association of her group with an extreme, fictional version of it in which women are indoctrinated and enslaved.

You have swayed me to believe the first scenario however, so I agree with you that calling her a handmaid is indeed sexist because it blames her for her own victimization at the hands of the men in her religious cult.