Tuesday, September 11, 2018

"Oppression = Prejudice + Power": Random Thoughts Inspired by Crip Dyke

See https://freethoughtblogs.com/pervertjustice/2018/09/10/we-dont-know-what-sexism-is/. Taking, for example
Racism = Racial Prejudice + Enhanced Power of one race relative to another
  • What's the context for calculations of "Enhanced power"? Locally, nationally, globally?
  • Getting into discussions about "what racism really is" obscures the issue.
  • Surely acting on racial prejudice is definitionally bad, yes?
    • Prejudice leads to discrimination, or so the Google tells me.
    • Discrimination is bad because
      • It undermines equality of opportunity (1).
      • It's unfair and leads to negative externalities (2).
      • Other permutations in this same vein.
  • "Ah-hah", says the interlocutor, "in order to do any of those things you must have power!"
    • "Yes!" says I, but the relevant power differential to consider is that which exists between the parties in the transaction.
    • Clearly the races of the participants play a part, but aren't anywhere near the whole story.
    • When my jerk-ass First Nations boss gives me shitty shifts because he hates black people I've still been wronged, even if indigenous peoples have relatively less power when considered in any scope.
  • Given the above, it's far from clear that the formulation "Racism = Racial Prejudice + Enhanced Power of one race relative to another" actually gets us anywhere.
    • Aforementioned jerk-ass boss isn't engaging in "racism" by this definition.
    • Presumably this type of behavior is important enough that it deserves its own term; what word do you use for "someone who acts out of racial prejudice"?
  • Also, I'm personally appalled by the formulation, since it sees participants in the exchange only in terms of their group membership; it fundamentally denies their individual personhood.
  • I think you can raise similar objections to any variant of "Oppression = Prejudice + Power".

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