Post by Kiwi Frontline on Nov 9, 2017 3:25:23 GMT 12
THE POISONOUS POLITICS OF IDENTITY
I used to think that back in the late seventies. Affirmative action minorities had been handicapped by history and needed protection and a leg up. In fact I helped set up separate sections of the Labour party and the PSA.
All I can say is I was wrong. By the act of treating people separately as a member of a minority you diminish them as an individual. You narrow their status to just being a member of that group.
It has led to the poisonous politics of identity. We relate to the state as citizens with a multitude of concerns and we are all equal at the ballot box in the courts.
Assigning a person to a group allows self appointed members of the group to blackmail the majority for redress for conjured wrongs the group alleges is the lot of The group.
Being separated into groups for political ends is the road to acrimony division dissension for a seemingly noble cause but one which is in essence destructive of our shared endeavour as citizens of one country.
By D M
I used to think that back in the late seventies. Affirmative action minorities had been handicapped by history and needed protection and a leg up. In fact I helped set up separate sections of the Labour party and the PSA.
All I can say is I was wrong. By the act of treating people separately as a member of a minority you diminish them as an individual. You narrow their status to just being a member of that group.
It has led to the poisonous politics of identity. We relate to the state as citizens with a multitude of concerns and we are all equal at the ballot box in the courts.
Assigning a person to a group allows self appointed members of the group to blackmail the majority for redress for conjured wrongs the group alleges is the lot of The group.
Being separated into groups for political ends is the road to acrimony division dissension for a seemingly noble cause but one which is in essence destructive of our shared endeavour as citizens of one country.
By D M