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You have probably read about this 20 year old tennis players blackface controversy. If not, in a nutshell she posted a picture of herself with half her face painted black with the message”equality”. She immediately drew massive criticism for “doing a blackface”. I bring it up here because it serves to illustrate a major issue that needs to be discussed. I’m a big fan of Jonathan Haidt. He is a moral psychologist that centers much of his work on explaining our divisions and seeking ways to bridge the gap. I’m currently reading “The Coddling of the American Mind” which he wrote with Greg Lukianoff. One of the trends they discuss is the increasing tendency for people to take a comment in the worst light possible. They discuss “microaggressions” in that vein. They do not, as people here (including me) have at times done in the past and dismiss the notion by reducing it to the problem with “snowflakes.” They accurately point out that these can be wearying to the listener. What they do, however, is focus on the word “aggression”. Because it assumes intent. True racists evidence their intent – even when purportedly saying something “positive” (example – George Wallace saying some of my good friends are black). Conversely, those who aren’t racist, sexist or any other “ists” may say things that the listener finds to be mildly offensive, while in fact there was no ill will – and often times the comment was meant in a positive vein.
The Yastrzemska kerfuffle is a great example. It is obvious from her post that she meant the picture to be unyfying. As evidenced by her “equality” heading. Yet she was criticized for her “insensitivity”
Unfortunately , the focus on campuses across the country (and within what they call IGen) is on advancing the notion that the intent doesn’t matter. All that matters is the “feelings” of the listener.
By assuming the most negative take on the comment, the notion of the victim/oppressor is deepened. As is the divide. This is not to blame the “victim”. It is to suggest that somehow we need to discuss this. Openly and honestly. But I’m not sure we can do that these days. And that is a major problem.
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The sad part about all this is that she’s not an american, but she is caught up in American woke culture.
when you suppress speech that is actually intended to support the cause of equality, you only embitter the allies you say you want.
there is not doubt that by removing an evaluation of intent or lack thereof from the equation, you give an excessive amount of judgmental power to the audience. But the critical issue is the judgment isn’t applied equally. Look at the amount of grace given to desean Jackson this week while he put out the most ignorant anti-semitism. Woke progressives jump to his defense and essentially say he didn’t intend offense and imply that he was just ignorant.
people will see through it as it gets more intense.
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Sic transit gloria mundi (so shut up and get back to work) -
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