The root cause of America’s radicalization and polarization problem

submitted by BioEssentialism from self.TumblrInAction

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[–][deleted] 11 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 0 fun12 insightful - 1 fun -  (9 children)

Nice post although I think you're working with incomplete information. For instance, I don't know if you've ever talked to people in the alt-right, but they're not quite the caricatures of evil you see presented in the media. It's like like that old sci fi show, Outer Limits, "we control everything you see and hear." Those guys aren't allowed to have a voice, and they're painted as neo-nazis and white supremacists. Although there are neo Nazis and white supremacists and some really hateful people, that's not representative of the entire group. And a lot of what they want isn't really that radical.

As an example, the mainstream media refers to the Proud Boys as a white supremacist group. Their leader is Cuban, their bible written by a black dude, and gays are welcome. Their goals I'm not super familiar with but it seems like your typical conservative values stuff. There is a disconnect between what you are allowed to see and hear, and reality.

And white nationalists are portrayed as nazis but nobody questions Japan should be Japanese, or that any culture should be able to be proud of their culture and heritage and seek to preserve it. Except whitey. That particular brand of systemic racism is celebrated. The cause for that many here would blame on the Jews, but you'e have to talk to someone else about that.

[–]Alienhunter糞大名 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

A lot of the issues tend to come with the particularities of race relations in the US. Technically speaking the statement that "there is no such thing as white culture" is kinda true. White isn't a real racial category, it's basically a big umbrella category for just about anyone of European heritage from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It's why the Scotts and the Brits can have racial heritage of each other despite being white, they aren't the same "race" since it's entirely a socially derived concept based on appearance and culture.

What is white culture in the US is kind of an amalgam created artificially during the World Wars to get various diverse people to identify as American first and foremost.

Black culture similarly doesn't really exist and is an amalgam of various African Caribbean and American traditions. But it differs from the so called white culture in that it's derived in the US due to slavery and people were forced together and much of their actual heritage was lost. Over years it's evolved naturally but the differences we see in white and black culture derive from class differences more than anything.

Basically every culture is well within their own rights to be proud of their own cultural heritage imho, but once that turns into racial pride it starts to be a problem. The difference between Japanese race and Japanese culture is less pronounced as it is in many cultures with a homogeneous population, but you'd see the Japanese also oppress the fringes of their cultures in the past before quasi-celabrating their differences now as like what happened to the Ryukyu and Ainu people. Still those racial differences are far less obvious in appearance alone.

The US currently the ruling class fans the flames of racism between the poor blacks and the poor whites to keep them politically separate and realizing their collective political power to improve their material conditions. That allows them both to be controlled and profited off. This situation isn't unique in history but the racial element of it isn't near as visibly obvious as it is in the case of European against African descendents. Most forms of slavery involved taking people nerbyor even enslaving your own people throughout history.

[–][deleted] 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

it's basically a big umbrella category for just about anyone of European heritage

I see it differently, white culture is an ideal anyone can aspire to. In my area the majority is Hispanic, but they're white identifying Hispanics like my niece. I'm of Slavic descent personally, not technically a white person. People may see it differently, white nationalists particularly, they definitely don't mean me when they say white people. Different people are more or less strict on their definitions, I personally favor a very wide umbrella

Black culture similarly doesn't really exist and is an amalgam of various African Caribbean and American traditions. But it differs from the so called white culture in that it's derived in the US due to slavery and people were forced together and much of their actual heritage was lost. Over years it's evolved naturally but the differences we see in white and black culture derive from class differences more than anything.

Their actual heritage sucked, but it doesn't mean they don't have a culture, it's just the genesis of a new culture forged from slavery -- which while horrible, worked out to their advantage in the end. I lived with black roomies in college, and they're great guys, but they're not white guys with dark skin. They have their own customs, foods, values, way of talking -- which can be as incomprehensible to me as a cajun patois.

poor blacks and the poor whites

Poor is a euphemism for stupid, and they're definitely correlated, but low socioeconomic status does not mean stupid unwashed peasants and high socioeconomic status does not make a person an "elite" fit to rule over anyone. That kind of thinking is a problem.

We create these shakey foundations when we can't talk plainly and openly about issues, like the idea blacks are only prone to violence because they're poor, so everything becomes about finding socioeconomic solutions because anything else would be "racist." And when you build on a shakey foundation you get absolute garbage results, as we see with the current state of things. Garbage in, garbage out.

And while there are definitely poor dumb white racists, the media casts everyone who doesn't agree with their ideology as hateful, stupid, and racist. Teachers teach that in schools. But it's political rhetoric. Most people start out liberal and grow more conservative. Ideology gets tempered by wisdom.

even enslaving your own people throughout history.

Yeah, the blacks enslaved themselves. That needs to be brought up more too, it fans racist hate to think whitey enslaved their ancestors. Whitey just traded for their ancestors.

[–]Dragonerne 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

White isn't a real racial category

Yes it is. White is a biological race which differ genetically from blacks, amerindians or east asians.

[–]Alienhunter糞大名 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Asians are white.

[–]BioEssentialism[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Aren’t American Indians and Asians technically classified as under the same race - Mongoloid?

[–]Dragonerne 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The number of races is arbitrary. You can classify them as the same race but you can also divide them up, because they do cluster separately but they are closer together than other races. That the number of races is arbitrary doesn't mean you can group people together arbitrarily, because the genetic difference is still the foundation for the classification, it has more to do with where you draw the line.

You are correct, depending on the method you use.

[–]Newzok 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yeah I've doubted the narrative on that for a while. Seems like any grassroots group that gets big enough gets the tarred brush.

[–]jacques1102 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Can i ask you what exactly is the difference?Because if the alt right acknowledges that we got here thanks to post modernism and the rise of liberalism that spawned after the second world war then they'd have a big point that's the reason we got here.However,the last part that you claim is what drives me away from those types.Do not get me wrong,it's fine to criticize people in certain positions even if they are jewish.However,the right loses me whenever they go into crazy conspiracy territory when they legit tell people that everything about history is a lie and every bad thing that happened in the past and today is the jews fault.For example,holocaust denial does nothing to help our cause and you should know that most of those types aren't denying it cause they're generally skeptical of it,they just want to desperately paint hitler as some sort of hero and him starting the war was for the greater good, and paint jews as these evil demonic group.I know a lot of jews and they all have different opinions and can disagree a whole lot.To act like they all are working together is crazy.

[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

holocaust denial

When they say you can't question something that's pretty suspicious in of itself.

Like I said, I really not the person to ask about Jews. Although I would say, these things don't happen for no reason. Israel is the only apartheid state left in the world after all, they're not exactly angels.