Not sure if this guy is sufficiently SJW, but once in a while I notice him writing something smart. Here are some quotes:
A few months back I got into a Twitter argument about the uselessness of complaints about cultural appropriation, in particular a muscular form that takes it as offensive to consume the goods of cultures to which one does not belong — food, clothing, music, and so on. I pointed out the usual problems with this thinking. All culture is hybrid; there is no place where legitimate appreciation ends and shameful appropriation begins; a world without cultural borrowing is a bleak and terrible place; and as I’ve said many times, saying “you should only consume that which comes from your own culture” is functionally identical to the efforts of white supremacists to keep the people pure.
One of American liberalism’s many abundant problems is an ingrained sense that the people it most needs to convince are somehow not worthy of the effort.
My many unhappy debates with liberals have demonstrated to me that, for every one of them that is motivated by a sincere desire to help everyone, another is motivated by the base instinct to place him or herself above others on the hierarchy of righteousness. American liberalism has become so deeply habituated to the practice of ceaseless and totalizing moral judgment that it seems incapable of expressing itself with any other kind of vocabulary. And the inevitable outcome of a politics of personal righteousness is an ideology made up only of commissars, an army of inquisitors who must by necessity believe in a vast throng of sinners and a small band of saints, with themselves standing as the greatest among this latter group. That’s the opposite of what I’m interested in. I’m not invested in politics out of a desire to be one of the elect. I am invested in politics because I want to destroy the concept of the elect.
For good or for bad (and you can guess how I’d adjudicate that), progressive politics have adopted cruelty as a core function. Those who are deemed politically unclean — often, I will fully admit, for very good reason, as the world is full of people with shitty opinions that are naturally offensive — are widely believed to be worthy targets of mass character assassination, subject to petty personal insults and existential moral denunciations. I find that so banal a statement of reality I’m not sure anyone could deny that it happens with a straight face. (...) It’s remarkable, on social media, how many of the insults and attacks boil down to more-or-less naked statements of, “I am a member in good standing of this group, and you aren’t, and my group has agreed on your irrelevance and your lack of value.”
The guy is criticizing them. Lots of liberals are uncomfortable with SJWs. I’m looking for a steelmanning, for someone to explain why they are doing the right thing (bonus points for linking it to Christianity or UU specifically).
In case you’re still looking, I think you might find Chris Brecheen’s “Social Justice Bard” blog edifying, though he doesn’t connect social justice ideas to Christianity that I’ve seen. For that, some of the blogs on the Progressive Christian Channel at Patheos.com might help (Slacktivist is particularly social-justice-oriented), as well as some of the ones on the Atheist Channel whose authors are ex-Christians and still draw inspiration from what they see as Christianity’s good points (e.g. Love Joy Feminism, Roll to Disbelieve and An Atheist in Dixie).
On a quick glance he seems enthusiastic and voluble (smartness TBD) and I don’t really want to dig through his piles of content in the hope of finding a pearl or two.
I’m looking not for a blog, but for a piece of text, a thoughtful write-up of reasonable size. An single essay, if you wish.
In case you’re still looking, I think you might find Chris Brecheen’s “Social Justice Bard” blog edifying
Looking at this blog I’m having trouble not coming to the conclusion that he’s an idiot. Could you cite some of his posts you found particularly edifying?
Not sure if this guy is sufficiently SJW, but once in a while I notice him writing something smart. Here are some quotes:
-- the sublime narcissism of getting offended on other people’s behalf
-- I wonder why people are so angry
-- in the simple foundation
-- if you’re not careful who’s in and who’s out becomes the only question
The guy is criticizing them. Lots of liberals are uncomfortable with SJWs. I’m looking for a steelmanning, for someone to explain why they are doing the right thing (bonus points for linking it to Christianity or UU specifically).
In case you’re still looking, I think you might find Chris Brecheen’s “Social Justice Bard” blog edifying, though he doesn’t connect social justice ideas to Christianity that I’ve seen. For that, some of the blogs on the Progressive Christian Channel at Patheos.com might help (Slacktivist is particularly social-justice-oriented), as well as some of the ones on the Atheist Channel whose authors are ex-Christians and still draw inspiration from what they see as Christianity’s good points (e.g. Love Joy Feminism, Roll to Disbelieve and An Atheist in Dixie).
On a quick glance he seems enthusiastic and voluble (smartness TBD) and I don’t really want to dig through his piles of content in the hope of finding a pearl or two.
I’m looking not for a blog, but for a piece of text, a thoughtful write-up of reasonable size. An single essay, if you wish.
Looking at this blog I’m having trouble not coming to the conclusion that he’s an idiot. Could you cite some of his posts you found particularly edifying?
Original thread here.