tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post1375704194086796807..comments2024-03-29T18:17:34.956+11:00Comments on Thinking Out Aloud: Black Lives Matter and the destruction of social capitalLorenzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-43926529567627039462018-02-11T09:03:02.052+11:002018-02-11T09:03:02.052+11:00Nice quote and quite. Nice quote and quite. Lorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-56834304236820074442018-02-11T05:58:14.337+11:002018-02-11T05:58:14.337+11:00Sorry for the super late reply! I agree with Moldb...Sorry for the super late reply! I agree with Moldbug on the phylogeny of progressivism, but not it's defining cultural traits, and thus come to the opposite conclusions that he does. <br /><br />This quote by Alinsky summarizes what I think BLM should have done: "This failure of many of our younger activists to understand the art of communication has been disastrous. Even the most elementary grasp of the fundamental idea that one communicates within the experience of his audience — and gives full respect to the other's values — would have ruled out attacks on the American flag. The responsible<br />organizer would have known that it is the establishment that has betrayed the flag while the flag, itself, remains the glorious symbol of America's hopes and aspirations, and he would have conveyed this message to his audience." That would be a better approach to building social capital.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-84904665147237015152017-10-07T23:39:29.283+11:002017-10-07T23:39:29.283+11:00All excellent questions. Some folk are beginning t...All excellent questions. Some folk are beginning to push back. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/opinion/ta-nehisi-coates-whiteness-power.html?smid=pl-share<br />Lorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-33599918797860644132017-10-07T12:09:03.961+11:002017-10-07T12:09:03.961+11:00"It can be difficult to swim against the tide..."It can be difficult to swim against the tide of usage...". Ain't THAT the truth. The latest annoyance is "obligated". It's become ubiquitous here, hopefully it hasn't down there yet. At least people still understand what you mean if you say "obliged", but who knows how long that will last. <br /><br />Anyway...I'm finding the whole identity politics bit to be deeply horrifying these days. If everything wrong with society is the fault of the white people, and only they can fix it (via reparations, affirmative action, welfare, etc. etc.), then how is that any different from the views of actual white supremacists? Non-western, non-white people have no moral agency and need to be coddled and cared for by the whites? Exactly what would Hitler find objectionable about such a belief system? <br /><br />How can they not see it? <br /><br />And I see recent immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa recoiling instinctively from such attitudes. I suspect many of them are scratching their heads in puzzlement, waiting for signs of this horrible American racism they've heard so much about. Well, mostly suspect, but in at least one case know it for a fact, because this is paraphrasing the comments of a buddy of mine from Nigeria...who has been called a fool while arguing about it with American black people. Yeah, he's such a fool he's got a PhD in Chemical Engineering. Real dummy this guy, sure. NoBorghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07219073694478645459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-80922069873421576732017-10-06T08:03:51.072+11:002017-10-06T08:03:51.072+11:00It can be difficult to swim against the tide of us...It can be difficult to swim against the tide of usage. (And the advent of a new wave of sub-Saharan African migrants to the US is complicating matters.) Hence my suggesting the term Ebonic-American to distinguish them from more recent arrivals.Lorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-10126282718617505152017-10-06T03:45:53.636+11:002017-10-06T03:45:53.636+11:00I think of African Americans as an ethnic group, n...I think of African Americans as an ethnic group, not a racial one. I used to find the term kind of objectionable, a bit clunky next to simply saying "black people", but lately I feel that it makes more sense. It seems clear that "African American" denotes an ethnicity and "black people" describes a racial group - obviously some overlap but not the same thing.<br /><br />People from the islands and Africa can belong to the "black people" racial group but certainly not to the "African American" ethnic group. <br /><br />I don't know if that understanding of the terms is actually widespread though, and I can even imagine it getting a lot of pushback from certain political enthusiasts, who would prefer that it wasn't too obvious that African Americans have much more in common with other Americans than they do with Carribean or African members of the black racial group. NoBorghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07219073694478645459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-5829500865139933932017-10-05T17:11:09.880+11:002017-10-05T17:11:09.880+11:00Mencius Moldbug famously argued that there was a c...Mencius Moldbug famously argued that there was a connection between Puritans and contemporary progressivism. http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.com.au/2008/04/open-letter-to-open-minded-progressives.htmlLorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-90648978321661335982017-10-05T17:08:33.231+11:002017-10-05T17:08:33.231+11:00Excellent points: particularly like "African ...Excellent points: particularly like "African Americans, the creators of so much of what can be identified as truly indigenous to American culture, have a claim to represent the real core of our identity that is stronger than any other group's." Which is, of course, a cultural achievement, not a racial one.Lorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-81495916229793020222017-10-05T17:07:20.219+11:002017-10-05T17:07:20.219+11:00Thanks! Always happy to help thinking along :)Thanks! Always happy to help thinking along :)Lorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-54537243849146656622017-10-05T10:34:19.771+11:002017-10-05T10:34:19.771+11:00..."The main line of defence against that dan......"The main line of defence against that danger is not Twitter outrage, but the police themselves."<br /><br />Yes exactly! In some of the most troubled urban regions of the US, the police are pretty much the only ones trying to protect the local people or help them in any way. If you visit a typical American "urban ghetto" type area, it's quickly apparent that the main problem is public safety, not "poverty" per se. The actual material standard of living of most people in these areas doesn't remotely qualify as "poverty" in most of the rest of the world. <br /><br />Deliberately sowing discord between American black people and the rest of the country is pretty much the most destructive attack anyone could possibly launch against the USA. As an ethnicity, African Americans, the creators of so much of what can be identified as truly indigenous to American culture, have a claim to represent the real core of our identity that is stronger than any other group's. Weakening the bond between them and the rest of us is truly an attack on our nation's heart. <br /><br />And the American left in general are the worst culprits. They believe that persuading black people to soak in grievances and believe that the rest of us are their enemies provides them with a political advantage. Sadly, they may be right. NoBorghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07219073694478645459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-36276219300814374952017-10-05T07:53:40.790+11:002017-10-05T07:53:40.790+11:00Great post! I've been trying to tie together t...Great post! I've been trying to tie together theories on social capital, collective norms, the evolution of belief systems and how they all intersect with ethnocultural politics. This blog helps connects a lot of the dots. I see a connection between the Puritan cultural ethic and the Progressive movement (https://www.panarchy.org/russell/puritanism.html) , but I'm still formulating thoughts. I'll have to think this over before I am able to give an adequate response. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com