Vivid’s comment on Critical [Race] Theory i/l/o the clash with truckers — what culture form marxists do with power

Yet another headlined comment, here from Vivid answering Sc in the lab rats thread:

Vivid, 281: >>[Sc:] “I am aware of critical race theory but I honestly haven’t given it much thought. My gut tells me that there are some morsels of truth in it but that it is greatly overhyped as an explanation for things seen in society.”

[Vivid:] It is not overhyped it is the meta narrative of our age.

Here are some excerpts from a letter to a few friends several years ago.

“Once I came to understand Critical Theory everything became clear. I understand why Van Jones says white people have a virus that others don’t , I mean just wow!! I understand why even though I may not exhibit racist behavior I am a racist just the same, this right out of Kafka. That the more I claim I am not a racist is evidence that I am. I understand why institutions like the fire department or police department can be tagged in its totality as racist. I get it. The reason for this is I have come to understand Critical Theory, an ideology that dominates academia, the media and has been embraced by the culture at large. In many cases by those who are not aware of its ideological underpinnings and agenda.

Critical theory is the theory of hegemonic culture which is defined as anyone who is white, male, heterosexual, cis gender, native born American, Christian, and other various qualifiers ( the top of the intersectionality ladder) OR identifies with that group regardless of their color. From this theory flows the idea of intersectionality (those at the top of the ladder oppress those below) and group racist guilt. Critical Theory is more concerned with NARRATIVE rather than TRUTH, the facts don’t matter.

[–> Which condemns it as willful speaking with disregard to truth, in intent of profiting from what is said or suggested being taken as true. That is, bluntly, big lie agitprop dressed up in academic, judicial, pundit, pol etc robes]

The Critical Theory I am addressing is of The Frankfurt School of Marxist critics which includes György Lukács, Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno and Herbert Marcuse. Marcuse for instance held to among other things that tolerance of views are repressive and he can be called the father of intolerance and the cancel culture. I am being specific here and giving names for a reason, so that you can do your own fact checking. These scholars left Germany in the 30s [–> fleeing Hitler] and after a stop in Switzerland landed in America and taught at Columbia.

The big picture agenda of the Frankfurt School was to marry Marxian economic theory to Freudian psychoanalytic theory to explain the rise of fascism and put forth the reasons that the communist revolution was not taking place in Western democracies as Marx had predicted. Marx was a historical determinist. The Frankfurt School looked at systems of power in terms of how they exploited and oppressed the working class and more broadly the everyday citizen. One of the goals of the Frankfurt School was to address CULTURAL power. They decided that the reason the communist revolution had not yet been successful in the West is that something in Western culture must be preventing it. The goal of the Frankfurt School was to identify what those issues were and DISMANTLE them. You might stop for a moment and ask yourselves what is the basis of Western culture?

Western culture is based on The Enlightenment and Judaeo Christian values and principles, the ultimate TARGET of Critical theory is the JUDAEO CHRISTIAN culture and the BIBLE! Its target also is aimed at classic liberalism. This was one of the reasons I was so dismayed to hear talking points that flow directly from The Frankfurt School and resulting ideology which I will get to in a moment

Sources:

Wikipedia The Frankfurt School
New Discourse Critical Theory
The Gospel Coalition The Incompatibility of Critical Theory and Christianity
Https//plato.stanford.edu./entries/critical-theory/
Felluga, Dino Franco. Critical Theory:The Key Concepts (Routledge Key Guides). Taylor and Francis Kindle Edition
Neil Shenvi Intro to Critical Theory
The Gospel Coalition “Important Articles on Critical Theory”
Voddie Bauchan You Tube “Cultural Marxism”

I would like to now pivot to addressing Critical Race Theory, Critical Social Justice Theory, and White Complicity Theory.

“Beware lest anyone take you captive through philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition according to the elemental spirits of the world not to Christ” Col 2:8

Critical Race Theory:

Critical Race Theory( CRT) is a sub theory of Critical Theory that questions the very foundation of the liberal order, including equality theory. For instance if you pay attention to words you will notice that proponents of CRT substitute the word “equity” for “equality” two entirely different meanings. [–> doubletalk, doublethink, 1984 style] CRT also questions legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law. CRT argues that the axis of America social life revolves around race and systemic power, racism permeates everything and must be uncovered using critical methods. Critical race theory explicitly endorses historical revisionism such as the 1619 project[–> which is systematicallt tendentious about sound history] or eliminating historical monuments.

CRT is openly and aggressively anti liberal. Liberal [–> historically, often called classical liberalism] does not mean left wing. A liberal society aims to make sure that everybody is treated equally and works toward a society where barriers are removed that prevents that from happening. CRT views this as nothing more than the existing power structure maintaining its dominance (hegemony). CRT theorists reject color blindness as myths and illusions that allow white people to perpetrate their inherited privilege. CRT rejects Martin Luther King’s position that we should judge people on the content of their character not the color of their skin. CRT does not advocate color blindness but rather diversity narratives ,but not diversity of opinion , equity but not equality, and inclusion. In practice CRT holds that racism is subconscious in many cases.

Sources:
Https//plato.stanford.edu.entries/critical-theory/
New Discourses Critical Race theory
Cummings, Andre Douglas Pond “ A furious kinship: Critical Race Theory and the Hip Hop Nation
Delgado, Richard and S,Jean “Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge Third Edition
Payne, Hilrado. “The Role of of Critical Race Theory in Higher Education”
Applebaum
Thompson, Sherwood. “Encyclopedia of Diversity and Social Justice
DiAngelo and Sensoy “White Fragility”
Voddie Bauchan You Tube “Cultural Marxism”

Critical Social Justice Theory:

“You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means” Inigo Montoya “Princess Bride”

From new discourse

“Social Justice is the ultimate “Trojan Horse”term, where it seems to mean one thing , a good thing, as most people would understand it, which is a more fair and equal society but it actually means something else in Critical Social Justice Theory. [–> doublespeak, doublethink] That something else is very specific, and most people, if they knew what they were encountering, would be unlikely to accept. The idea advertised by the phrase “social justice” doesn’t match the ideology and worldview bearing the seemingly identical name.

This is because the phrase “social justice”, here intentionally left in the lowercase, means something that most people in society can get behind, more fairness, equality, egalitarianism, less bigotry, [less] discrimination, disenfranchisement and the like. There are very few people today who would say they don’t seek social justice. Any disagreements are about how to achieve it and what it would look like. This is because most people in the West are broadly liberal, in the philosophical and true [classic] meaning of the word, not how it is used in American politics.

On the other hand , “Social Justice”, here intentionally capitalized, means something more specific, it means “Critical Social Justice”. That is, in fact, an ideology that very aggressively pursues the social, cultural, institutional, and political installation and enforcement of a very specific and radical understanding of social justice as derived from various critical theories. As such they do not necessarily seek to achieve “social justice” in the broad sense, or in the sense that many would assume of the term. Instead they seek to empower and enforce their own particular worldview that revolves around one narrow and authoritative interpretation which is hegemony, result of the processes by which one dominant culture, which is currently the Judaeo Christian, maintains its dominant position. Let me put it this way. If you’re a classic liberal and embrace Enlightenment principles or if you embrace Judaeo Christian values the mob is coming after you.

Critical Social Justice theory also does not advocate for equality which they see as an oppressive ideology. Instead it advocates for equity which I have mentioned means something different ie equal outcomes. Equal outcomes are what they mean by diversity as opposed to meritocracy.

Nor does it tolerate diversity of opinion. The enforcement of the meta narrative uses what is termed “canceling “or “cancel culture” to enforce conformity of thought. Last week alone we have seen the canceling of movies, TV shows and approximately seven editors of major media organizations canceled. The editor of the New York Times had to step down for allowing an op ed piece that went against the predominant meta narrative. A college football coach had to apologize for wearing the wrong shirt. American history is being cancelled, monuments are being torn down. One apology is never enough. And this is just the tip of the iceberg and is escalating. You cannot replace a culture without erasing its history.

Critical Social Justice Theory demands acknowledgement of white complicity as a first step, a necessary albeit not a sufficient step , as a requirement of challenging systemic racial oppression. This complicity arises from the nature of “white privilege”, which white people benefit from whether they want to or not.

In other words based on one’s color, without any evidence, one is accused of something based on the color of their skin, the opposite of MLKs position. I can think of nothing more racist than targeting an entire ethnic group with a collective crime regardless of the innocence or guilt of its individuals. Just last week Webster changed the classic historical definition to one more suitable to Critical Social Justice Theory which in a nut shell is that if you are white or “think white” you are a priori a racist because you are white or think white. For instance “thinking white”, whatever that is, creates an open season on any African American and opens them up to the most vile epithets, slurs and slanders because they are identifying with the current hegemonic culture. They are often portrayed as not being black or not being black enough. Thus you have racism without a racist.

In short for the Critical Social Justice advocates the whole system is rotten to the core, it is “systemic” and we must dismantle the “systemic” dominant culture, which is the Judaeo Christian culture with a new secular one. This is why a certain dominate player and strong advocate of Critical Race and Social Justice theory (BLM) states on their web page statement of beliefs “we are dedicated to transgender rights and the disruption of the classic Western nuclear family”. From what book is the Western nuclear family derived ? Critical Social Justice Theory as distinguished from true social justice, wants cultural revolution not reform. [–> hence, red guard mobs roaming streets, fuelled by rage and backed by power]

Sources:

Sensory, Ozlem, and Robert DiAngelo “Is everyone really equal?” An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education, first edition. Teachers College Press:New York, p.xviii
Adams, M.,et al (2016). Teaching For Diversity and Social Justice. New York: Routledge. P.1
Bell, L., (2013) Theoretical foundations. In M. Adams, W.J.Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda,,H.W Hackman, M.L,,Peters, and X. Zuniga. (EDS), Readings for diversity and social justice. New York: Routledge
Lemisko, Lynn “Unpacking Presuppositions for Social Justice” “Un packing and Repacking Generative Concepts in Social Justice Studies” Todd A Horton and Lynn Lemisko Ed’s Sense Publishers , 2015
Black Lives Matters Official Website “What we believe”
New Discourses Critical Social Justice Theory
The Gospel Coalition “ Social Justice, Critical Theory ,and Christianity : Are They Compatible
Voddie Bauchan You Tube “Cultural Marxism”

Whiteness Complicity Theory:

The white complicity claim echos the claims made by Critical Social Justice theorists which maintains that white peoples, through the practices of whiteness and by benefiting from white privilege, contribute to the maintenance of systemic racial injustice, the failure to acknowledge such complicity will thwart whites to dismantle unjust racial systems.

Recognizing that one is complicit is a necessary, albeit not sufficient, condition of challenging systemic racial oppression. Most significantly, since the white complicity claimant presumes that racism is often perpetrated through well intended white peoples, being morally good may not facilitate and may even frustrate the recognition of such responsibility. White complicity is the claim that white people can reproduce and maintain racist practices even when, especially when, they believe themselves to be morally good. People who think they are morally good and think they are not racist are the most deceived and are the major problem.

The white complicity claimants maintains that all whites are complicit in systemic racial injustice. This takes the form of “all whites are racists”. When white complicity takes the latter configuration “all whites are racist” what is implied is not that all whites are consciously racially prejudiced, rather that all whites participate in and, often unwittingly , maintain the racist system of which therefore they are part of and from which they benefit.Thus white complicity is the idea that all white people, regardless of their intentions, are complicit in racism and white supremacy and thus bear some responsibility for it.”

Silence is not an option in White Complicity Theory, everyone must bow the knee. If not done, one’s silence is proof of one’s racism (Kafka again). This is stuff right out of Solzhenitsyn’s experiences and what he wrote about in “The Gulag Archipelago”. White complicity carries a responsibility to identify, analyze, and challenge a system of racism and one’s participation in it continually, and you are never done. Let me repeat, you are never done because if you are white there is nothing you can do about your whiteness. This is frightfully reminiscent of the so called “struggle sessions” in communist China which resulted in the death of untold millions. “>>

Marxism is the evergreen heresy of our civilisation and we must be ever willing to expose it and its ruinous tendencies. END