Critical Social Justice Theory...finally a term that encompasses so many of the "off" feelings I've had surrounding discussions on diversity, race, LGBT issues, gender, etc. for quite a long time. I didn't have a term for it before. But I suppose it falls in line with the "off" feeling I had about "social justice warriors." I didn't feel like I could ever talk about it, especially at work. But this crazy 2020 year, finding other like-minded folks from a variety of demographics, and with President Trump banning critical race theory training from the federal government, I've finally found some more confidence to "come out" and "be myself."
#WalkAway
I've already raved about Dave Rubin in other posts and his work in "leaving the Left." But I've found many other similar voices, like Brandon Straka of the Walk Away Movement. Now, I'm not going to say that I agree with him on everything, but that's actually part of my point. He's a gay man who saw how the Left seemed to like to put people in boxes, get people to vote for them...and then do nothing for them. His movement is, in essence, a "Walk Away" from the Democratic party. However, I'll add that this doesn't mean joining the Republican party, or even necessarily leaving the Democratic party. But it describes people waking up from patterns or policies they were living under that they realized were not helping.
In this post, I only have enough room to cover some of my own perspectives, but there's a #WalkAway YouTube channel which features several voices from a variety of demographics. From there, I've found other voices like Karlyn Borysenko (a liberal Trump voter this year), Lauren Chen, Ben Shapiro (Yes...I too thought he was Satan until I actually listened to him...he's also been a target of white supremacists as he is Jewish), James Lindsay, Helen Pluckrose, Benjamin Boyce, Brett Weinstein and Heather Heying and many more. And many of them still do identify as liberal. All this to say that much of what I see in the Democrat party, or more succinctly, the Left, is no longer liberal. It's illiberal.
Gay Stuff
I've mentioned before that I've always struggled with Pride and with much of the vocal LGBT community. I didn't feel represented. I felt like my beliefs and feelings (even if I didn't know how to describe them) fell out of line with so many political leanings that often accompany the gay community. This is sad because it was always supposed to be about inclusion...and I never really felt included. While I had started to create my own sense of "pride" anyway, when I first saw a Trump-themed Pride shirt, I thought, "Whoa...this is what I've been waiting for! I can don something like this!" (I never thought I'd support Trump...but I'll get to that later). I had struggled with Pride and I had struggled with Trump's campaign, but combining the two??? Um...yeah for some reason that resonates more with me. I got a Pride-themed "Make America Great Again" face mask. It's too tight and I can't breathe in it, but hey. I have it (and I wear masks in appropriate places...don't assume you know my positions on COVID-19! Unless you actually do...of course...).
I've found other conservative gay voices, mostly on Instagram (currently deactivated from the hell-hole of Facebook). For me it's like a breath of fresh air. Even if we disagree on some things, have different perspectives, or some are more into the hyper-sexualized culture than others...I feel safer among those voices. I feel like we can actually have conversations. I still have some conflicts...and faith conflicts...about gay marriage. It feels as though the world...including many conservatives and many voices in the Church...have moved on from it while I have some lingering questions. But I feel like many of these people (gay conservatives) would understand where I come from and would embrace me and the differences we have while we unanimously slam identity politics. They wouldn't call me "self-hating," "homophobic" or whatever for holding the views that I do. Guy Benson, a gay conservative, supported gay marriage, but also said that he wouldn't shame people who didn't...he explicitly mentioned other gay people too! It was so refreshing when a fellow gay conservative commented in jest: "How dare gay people have different perspectives on stuff?" Brandon Straka, mentioned above, gave a spiel about his empathy for STRAIGHT MEN. Straight, white men who seem to bear the brunt of everything related to critical social justice theory. THANK YOU!
Critical Social Justice Theory
I can't possibly cover everything about Critical Social Justice Theory, but some helpful info on understanding it is located here: New Discourses
Words can't describe the relief that flowed through me when President Trump eliminated further Critical Race Theory (CRT) training in federal government agencies. This is thanks to the work of Chris Rufo and others. Some see this as Trump trying to maintain white supremacy and racism within the federal government. If you sincerely believe in and abide by CRT, yes that would be true. But the thing is, people have different opinions, experiences, locations, and views of the world. CRT seems to pigeonhole everyone into a box in a hierarchical manner. It's a game of Oppression Olympics. It's something that has been brewing for quite some time now and it hasn't gone unnoticed by me, and it came close to being a standard training in my employing agency. The kicker for the ban (among others) was diversity training that took place at Sandia National Labs. Look it up. It's awful.
I tried to write down everything that I feel is wrong about CRT, but it ended up being several long paragraphs. In addition to James Lindsay's "New Discourses" above, I'll refer you to the following (non-exhaustive):
Brett Weinstein and Heather Heying (husband & wife) - Kafka Traps, White Fragility & BLM (these are left-leaning folks, but still got booed out of their occupations by a very vocal minority at Evergreen College)
...and there are so many more voices from a variety of demographics.
Yes, I am thoroughly aware that according to CRT and the White Fragility narrative, everything I have to express is evidence of my own "white fragility," my racism, my internalized racial superiority. I understand enough to know that. But I think it's a bunch of bull-shoot. I'm serious, Robin Di'Angelo (author of the book, White Fragility) has a pre-packaged answer for any reaction, any dissent, or any feeling that I have in response to these kinds of things. I've read and learned enough to understand where this framework is coming from. But the catch is that if you disagree with it, you're racist. Actually, all white people are racist. White supremacy is the status quo. It's only possible for white people to be racist. If you don't join in the "anti-racist" cult and do "the work," you're considered complicit in the system. Even if you're black or brown and don't buy into CRT, you're also complicit in the system of “whiteness.” There are so many other rules and doctrines, and like I said...I can't begin to describe them all (see New Discourses).
I could make a list of what Critical Social Justice is not, but that would be long too. But consider certain liberal principles like individualism, listening to each other and having conversations, actually learning from different people and learning from differing perspectives, taking a person’s character over their skin color...things that Martin Luther King probably would stand for...those are not Critical Social Justice Theory. Equality of opportunity, team-building, racial sensitivity training...those are not Critical Social Justice Theory. I can get behind unconscious bias training...although that can sometimes give way to categorical, hierarchical wokeness.
There are other arms of this theory as well: queer theory, women’s studies, fat studies, whiteness studies (of course there’s nothing positive about whiteness studies), and you guessed it, straight white men are at the top of every system of oppression. It’s just assumed that if you aren’t oppressed enough, you don’t have enough “diversity” to say anything. Oh but you must listen. And you must do as we say (I can say "we" because I'm gay, right?). Even if it’s true that historically, white men have had power, we’re still human beings of the present day.
If you’re obsessive as I am, this can turn into a mentally harmful situation if you take it literally (and I think it can be harmful in different ways for different demographics). I talk to my therapist about this stuff. My goal is not to come to better terms with my "white fragility," "white privilege," "white discomfort." I simply don't believe I even need to submit to these ideas and doctrines in order to be a positive contributor to society. We also talk about how the suicide rate for middle-aged white males is among the highest. Hmmm...there's always a lot that goes into mental health, but I'm sure critical social justice doesn't help. I thought mental health, self love, self care were all liberal principles. Not for men, I guess. Or white people. And if I'm expected to come back to the destructive land of critical social justice after caring for myself...why even try???
I also believe that several tenets of critical social justice etch out several of the principles that our country was founded upon (but of course...those principles are seen as racist). This is an illustration of the role religion can play in society...and what it looks like without it. The Christian (and other similar belief systems) values of forgiveness, individuality, a belief in a Higher Power that can atone for challenges, inequities and unfairness in this life...are not present in critical social justice. It's a way of relying on other humans making up for whatever one doesn't have (not that we don't help each other...but it needs to be in a liberal fashion and with a sense of self-worth).
I can't illustrate all the things I find problematic (like how my expression of all this is merely because my privilege is being questioned), but this is something that has been eating at me even before George Floyd and the riots. They're concerns that extend back even to when I began coming to terms with my sexuality.
Donald J. Trump
Critical social justice and the events of 2020 have pushed me over the edge toward voting for Donald Trump. Even before he took office I was concerned about what was going on on the Left. I can't categorize myself as ever being a "never-Trumper." I resonated with how a lot of people felt about him. I was against him in some fashion, but I don't recall feeling panicked or worried. Several people I know tried to raise an alarm. I just didn't feel it though. To be honest I felt kind of relieved that the pendulum started swinging back from the Left.
One of my first eye-openers was when I was led to believe that Hillary Clinton would win by a landslide. She didn't. I know there's a whole thing about popular vote vs the electoral college. I was just as surprised as anyone. For some, this was a message that America is more racist, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic than anyone had imagined. I wasn't there though, especially since I've come to know many gay people, women, people in racial minorities, immigrants...who voted for Trump or didn't vote for him in 2016 but now support him full-throttle. I listened to what they had to say. For a long time, I've relied on what "other people" would say about Trump. I listened to his critics more often than I listened to his supporters.
For a while, I thought Trump said "fake news" for anything he didn't like. That might still be true, but over the last year I've seen how the media has twisted things he's said and situations he's been in to be something that they're not. He says and does stupid things sometimes. But then the media sweeps in and makes it sound even more stupid. A prominent example in my mind is when he rehearsed possible remedies for COVID-19 that were being tested and studied. To me he sounded like someone who was just rambling because he wanted the last word...but he did NOT tell me to go and inject myself with Clorox or drink some other household cleaner. There have been other times where I've had to listen to an entire speech in order to get beyond what the media would say.
All that said, there are a variety of things I didn't know about the President. I did not know that he doesn't take a salary. He donates it to various programs that work to help people. He did not need to be president.
I did not know that running for president had been on his radar for quite a while. He didn't want to, but figured he'd step in if things got "bad enough."
I did not know that he had appointed an openly gay ambassador to Germany (and several other gay people in his administration now). I did not know that Trump was involved in an effort to decriminalize homosexuality. I did not know that much of the transgender situation with the military was due to medical needs and issues. In reality, Trump is the first president to step in office in support of gay marriage.
There are several other things I did not know...good things that the Trump administration has done...because mainstream media did not cover it. I kind of get the tactics of the media, though. Negativity sells. Positivity not as much.
I've heard from people who have had actual, in person interactions with the President. I've watched press-conferences (not filtered through the media) and I've watched round tables the President has had with a variety of people.
There may be things I still don't know about Trump, both good and bad. I understand the concerns people still have with him. I do believe "Trump Derangement Syndrome" is a real thing. But I understand people have legitimate concerns. In 2016, I voted mostly based on character. Nothing wrong with that; nothing wrong with that this year. I really wasn't into politics, and I'm still learning. This year I'm looking more at the actual platforms, and I understand some people use their vote to vote against something. I suppose I have great reason for that this year.
Walking Away
So I'm walking away. I'm walking away from the trap of Critical Social Justice and the belief that I "should" think or feel a particular way, especially based on my own sexuality or other immutable characteristics and those of others. I'm pursuing freedom of thought. I'm trying to walk away from the belief that I'm a horrible person if I don't buy into the madness. I'm walking away and walking more toward my faith and my relationship with Divinity. I'm walking away and walking more steadfastly toward the American patriotism that I knew when I was growing up. Right now, I'm finding that among conservatives, classic liberals, Republicans, and with President Trump.
