How to Move On From the Identity Politics Trap
Election Aftermath--Cult, Critique, and Care: Where to go from here
The wake of change is a great time to reflect. It’s been over a week since the election and the emotional rollercoaster has delivered me through the highs of a vindicating denouement of identity politics and down to the lows of fear that the energy needed to finish the job would dissipate with voter victory.
As that evens out with the bustle of action from the incoming administration, I find myself wondering how we reached a point where angry liberal women are turning to TikTok to show off their Brittney Spears head-shaving moment while making promises to fight on forever. Seriously?
The lack of introspection on the progressive left isn’t surprising, but it is troubling. The temptation is to write them off as Cluster B personality disordered, and there is some truth to that.
There should be consequences for the worst of these actors.
At the same time when we wake up tomorrow morning, and the next day and the next, we will all still be here, and so will the identity politics believers. Some of them are our family members and have been friends.
Hurling insults only helps in hockey.
A better angle may be to think of this as a cult, as so many have suggested. Kind people can get caught up in cults, and when they do their perception of reality is altered, not unlike someone in an abusive relationship. As long as that hasn’t become an excuse to hurt others, there may be a path back to sanity. Some of these folks should be reachable over time, as the fog slowly lifts.
The question is how can those of us who still care about trapped family members and friends speed their return to good sense? Recommendations for that situation are:
Stay positive in conversation
Don’t shame or humiliate (does that ever help? With anything?)
Research research research
From your research, share the perspectives of other former believers who see things differently now.
Ask them to gauge how certain they are about their beliefs.
Ask them what evidence would change their minds.
Gently introduce other ideas or interpretations of events.
If it only accomplishes one thing, it shows that you value them and the relationship, even if they don’t right now. Which is more than virtue-signaling followers ever offer.
That is a far better plan than the cut-off of your relatives who voted for the other guy idea Yale psychiatrist Amanda Calhoun is offering. That is cultish thinking, and it should be enough to point out how extreme that “solution” is. Over time highlighting the lack of compassion can make a difference.
It will be interesting to see how relations between different political camps develop over the next four years. My hope is that wounds between family members can be mended, and some friendships can be rebuilt. I grew up in the Bible Belt long enough that I want to err on the side of forgiveness.
At the same time, some folks need to be taken behind the shed. The doctors and psychologists who facilitated the disfigurement and sterilization of children in the name of trans ideology have earned whatever is coming their way.
Pardon Me; Your Moral Bankruptcy Is Showing
For those willing to admit to what they are actually seeing, one of the bigger developments to come out of this election cycle should be the blatant, the end justifies the means, tactics the left engaged in.
It’s true, politics is a blood sport, and the right is guilty of crossing lines too, however, this year marked a stunning show of unscrupulous manipulations. Let’s list a few:
Hiding Biden’s cognitive decline.
Running the country in secret, whoever you are.
Not directly using power or calling for Biden to step down.
Letting the primaries come and go without allowing voters to select an alternative.
Scheduling for an early debate, that’s not suspicious at all, is it?
Strong arming Biden to step down.
Installing Kamala Harris as the candidate subverting the will of the voters.
This list could go on quite a bit more, and that’s the problem. For as much as progressives have wrung their hands whining about Trump being a threat to democracy…uh… what do they call this? Is it any wonder Tulsi Gabbard (who would have made a formidable candidate) switched sides?
In particular, Obama’s effort to shame black men into voting for Harris has deeply tarnished his reputation and his legacy. That and reports it was his hands on the wheel as Biden napped through state visits.
This kind of behavior is objectively terrible. That Democrats can’t even admit that, adds further fuel to the polarization fire.
The party has four years to come to terms with the American people’s rejection of this behavior. Barring a disastrous second Trump administration, indicators point to them getting at least an additional four to think about what they’ve done.
Old Yeller
Lately, I’ve found myself thinking about this Disney flick from days gone by. It was an oddly harsh film for a company that made its fortune on picture-perfect joyful endings and one that many of my peers remember well for its emotional gut punch.
While I don’t condone anyone firing shots, I do think it keeps humming through my head because on some level making painful decisions and following through are the necessary course of action right now. Or at least part of my brain is offering up this saved wisdom for current contemplation.
It does strike me as an example of the types of choices that kids today rarely have to make. And while it is nice to think that their world has been safe enough to spare them such harsh realities, it has also robbed them of learning the tools to make gut-wrenching but ultimately necessary choices.
What do you think?
Housekeeping
I have no plans to travel for Thanksgiving, but I haven’t decided yet if I will take that Friday off from posting. I could use the extra time to do some much-needed reading. At the same time, if I could come up with something relatively quickly there is value in keeping to the routine of writing. Also, I feel the need to pick one of the upcoming holiday Fridays for a break, but not all. I guess I’ll see what happens when I get there.
On the Bookshelf
Papers.
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About
Diogenes in Exile began after I returned to grad school to pursue a Clinical Mental Health Counseling master’s degree at the University of Tennessee. What I encountered, however, was a program deeply entrenched in Critical Theories ideology. During my time there, I experienced significant resistance, particularly for my Buddhist practice, which was labeled as invalidating to other identities. After careful reflection, I chose to leave the program, believing the curriculum being taught would ultimately harm clients and lead to unethical practices in the field.
Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to investigating, writing, and speaking out about the troubling direction of psychology, higher education, and other institutions that seem to have lost their way. When I’m not working on these issues, you’ll find me in the garden, creating art, walking my dog, or guiding my kids toward adulthood.
You can also find my work at Minding the Campus