> The concept of "White Fragility" is so ridiculous and overbearing that it causes white people to retreat to a more conservative stance.
I think this is underselling it.
The problem is that it causes "white people" to think of themselves as "white people" instead of e.g. Americans, or just People. It creates a frame where their team is "white people" and they should get together with their teammates to fight for their interests. (And, of course, the same thing for "black people" as well.)
That isn't so much "a more conservative stance" as it is a more racist stance. Describing it as anti-racist is some kind of Orwellian doublethink.
That's more to do with identity politics than the broader left, which includes class reductionists that view political struggles on a class basis as opposed to the racial/ethnic one of identity politics.
This only makes sense if you remove historical and present context. “White” people voting in their interests has often resulted in oppression of non-white people. It’s really not interchangeable since one group is hoping to end oppression and the other is maintaining the status quo.
If you stipulate that one group of people are voting to perpetuate oppression and another are voting to end it then you know who the good guys and bad guys are, but that's not how the people voting the way you don't want them to would characterize the situation.
> Describing it as anti-racist is some kind of Orwellian doublethink
Sort of like anti-fascism....
Per Wikitionary [1]:
Any system of strong autocracy or oligarchy usually to the extent of bending and breaking the law, race-baiting, and/or violence against largely unarmed populations.
The " to the extent of bending and breaking the law, race-baiting, and/or violence against largely unarmed populations." perfectly describes Antifa's behavior during the recent protests turned riots.
I think this is underselling it.
The problem is that it causes "white people" to think of themselves as "white people" instead of e.g. Americans, or just People. It creates a frame where their team is "white people" and they should get together with their teammates to fight for their interests. (And, of course, the same thing for "black people" as well.)
That isn't so much "a more conservative stance" as it is a more racist stance. Describing it as anti-racist is some kind of Orwellian doublethink.