Sorry, I don’t believe in this new religion. This idea that white supremacy is “systemic” is not at all self evident, and pretending that it is portends that individual white people have some kind of original sin, forever, for past racial transgressions. I do not buy this, and it’s dangerous to teach people this. It’s dangerous because immediately people attribute personal failures and successes, at least in part if not in whole, to external immutable factors. It denies individual agency.
As for safe spaces, intentionally insulating people from “triggering” things seems like the exact opposite thing to do if you’re trying to build a society of resilient, dynamic individuals. I’m sorry your friends have experienced racism in real life. That’s awful. However, I fail to see how safe spaces have anything to do with either diagnosing or treating the problem. How would a safe space have stopped Weinstein, exactly? I have no idea.
The argument for systemic racism isn't anything like some sort of "original sin" for white people. Black people were legally second-class citizens, denied access to the education and employment of white citizens. The consequences of segregation did not evaporate with the civil rights movement. It will take several generations to escape that shadow.
That is the 'systemic' part of systemic racism. The opportunities that I was provided were in part based on the opportunities that my parents were provided.
Yes, people will blame 'systemic racism' for their personal failures; people will blame God, or the weather, because people will blame anything for their failures. I don't think that is an argument to ignore reality.
As for the "triggering" thing, I somewhat agree. On the one hand, you are going to math class to learn math, not to have flashbacks to past trauma; on the other hand, it seems absurd to slap an "ingredients" label on social interactions so people who are allergic to certain topics can steer clear. I think this is an area where society is still refining its tools, and the current 'safe spaces' wont be the way we collectively settle on dealing with these issues.
>It will take several generations to escape that shadow.
How many? Because this ideology most certainly doesn’t put an expiration date on white privilege and “systemic” white supremacy. There’s no way anyone would agree on a date, and even if they did it would be necessarily arbitrary so as to be rendered meaningless.
>The opportunities that I was provided were in part based on the opportunities that my parents were provided.
And the lesson to be gleaned from this is to work hard so you can provide a good life for you and yours, not make people feel bad (which is what inevitably happens) for their prior generations’ successes.
>Yes, people will blame 'systemic racism' for their personal failures; people will blame God, or the weather, because people will blame anything for their failures. I don't think that is an argument to ignore reality.
It’s not a reason to ignore reality, and it’s also certainly not a reason to invent new ones. The last thing we need children thinking today, with all the external stimuli they get from social media, is that they did or didn’t achieve something because of their privilege or lack there of.
Calling it an ideology is an easy way out and baseless. There is plenty of fact and research to support it.
> How many [generations]?
I don't see the point of predicting it. It's happening now. Ignoring the problem or denying it won't fix it.
> the lesson to be gleaned from this is to work hard so you can provide a good life for you and yours
The opportunity to do that is what people are after. Many minorities don't have that opportunity. The government provides poor schools, they are discriminated against by the justice system, the job market, and throughout society.
> invent new [realities]
Widespread discrimination against minorities is in no way new and does not need to be invented; again the facts and research are overwhelming.
> The last thing we need children thinking today, with all the external stimuli they get from social media, is that they did or didn’t achieve something because of their privilege or lack there of.
The last thing we need is for that to be true. We should work to create the society you envision, rather than just insisting it exists.
Not really a factual argument. To call these ideas or support for them "new" is to overlook decades and centuries of history. Civil rights and postmodernism are older than probably most people reading HN.
As for safe spaces, intentionally insulating people from “triggering” things seems like the exact opposite thing to do if you’re trying to build a society of resilient, dynamic individuals. I’m sorry your friends have experienced racism in real life. That’s awful. However, I fail to see how safe spaces have anything to do with either diagnosing or treating the problem. How would a safe space have stopped Weinstein, exactly? I have no idea.