Critical Race Theory

Dr James Lindsay, editor and writer of New Discourses, has a magazine motto--"Pursuing objective truth in subjective darkness": I like his mission. He wrote in this magazine a fantastic article explaining CRT. He wrote this article on June 12, 2020. Its title: "Eight Big Reasons Critical Race Theory Is Terrible for Dealing With Racism. Let me quote him: "As unlikely as it seems, a highly obscure academic theory known as Critical Race Theoryhas completely mainstreamed in society, and now everyone is discussing it." James lays out bullet points to summary his article:" . believes racism is present in every aspect of life, every relationship, and every interaction and therefore has its advocates look for it everywhere . relies on 'interest convergence' (white people only give black people opportunities and freedoms when it is also in their interest) and therefore doesn't trust any attempt to make racism better . is against free societies and wants to dismantle them and replace them with something that advocates control . only treats race issues as 'socially constructed groups'so there are not individuals in Critical Race Theory . blieves science, reason, and evidence are a 'white'way of knowing and that storytelling and lived experience are a 'black'alternative, which hurts everyone, especially black people . rejects all potential alternatives, like colorblindness, as forms of racism, making itself the only allowable game in town (which is totalitarian) . acts like anyone who disagrees with it must do so for racist and white supremacist reasons, even if those poeple are black (which is also totalitarian . cannot be satisfied, so it becomes a kind of activist black hole that threatens to destroy everything it is introduced to" My response to these bullet points. To assume that racism is present in every aspect of life is hyper-simplification--all problems are reduced to racism. To see racism everywhere is to see the world through fantasy world quality perception. There is not objective truth, no logic, no counterargument or evidence, just the feelings, whims and suspicions of the biased, twisted view of these race fanatics. They will be judge, jury and executioner regarding racism found everyhwere, though usually false accusation made up by them from whole cloth. To see any previous efforts to ameliorate racism is illegitimate and a clever ploy to serve current white interests is cynical and mistaken in a huge way. So that mistrusting and erroneous needs to be rejected out of hand. These next-generation reformers are completely ungrateful and dismissive of the fine work done before to improve race relations in America. There is little racism left, and far out of the maintstream, so their accusation of pervasive and current racism is a lie. And their anti-racist new campaign is not about ending racism towards blacks; instead it is about institutionalized and systemic reverse racism and attacks on whites, Jews, Christians, patriots, individualists, conservatives and capitalists. These CRT ideologues want Marxist revolution, and gulag and death camp treatment for their opponents, all under the guise of compassion and racial justice. To seek to get rid of free society and replace it with an oligarchy of anti-racist enforcers will lead to Pol Pot terror regime control--no thanks. To treat race issues as socially constructed groups is to deny that people are individuals first, and members of identity groups second. Each individual, according to CRT ideologues, is but an avatar of whatever identity groups that he belongs to, and has no meaning as a person apart from his group identifications. Racism is not a social construct, but is normal and in every person. Everyone is racist or biased towards a member of a rival group, and that is natural bigotry. Becoming civilized and moral is to treat each person as an individual to be respected, loved and treated with dignity and courtesy. This is the current American Way, to judge people by the content of their character not the color of their skin. Let me start from the beginning again: Dr James Lindsay, editor and writer of New Discourses, has a magazine motto--"Pursuing objective truth in subjective darkness": I like his mission. 2 He wrote in this magazine a fantastic article explaining CRT. He wrote this article on June 12, 2020. Its title: "Eight Big Reasons Critical Race Theory Is Terrible for Dealing With Racism. 4 Let me quote him: "As unlikely as it seems, a highly obscure academic theory known as Critical Race Theoryhas completely mainstreamed in society, and now everyone is discussing it." 6 ​ 7 James lays out bullet points to summary his article:" 8 . believes racism is present in every aspect of life, every relationship, and every interaction and therefore has its advocates look for it everywhere 9 . relies on 'interest convergence' (white people only give black people opportunities and freedoms when it is also in their interest) and therefore doesn't trust any attempt to make racism better 10 . is against free societies and wants to dismantle them and replace them with something that advocates control 11 . only treats race issues as 'socially constructed groups'so there are not individuals in Critical Race Theory 12 . believes science, reason, and evidence are a 'white'way of knowing and that storytelling and lived experience are a 'black'alternative, which hurts everyone, especially black people 13 . rejects all potential alternatives, like colorblindness, as forms of racism, making itself the only allowable game in town (which is totalitarian) 14 . acts like anyone who disagrees with it must do so for racist and white supremacist reasons, even if those poeple are black (which is also totalitarian 15 . cannot be satisfied, so it becomes a kind of activist black hole that threatens to destroy everything it is introduced to" 16 My response to these bullet points. To assume that racism is present in every aspect of life is hyper-simplification--all problems are reduced to racism. To see racism everwhere is to see the world through fantasy world quality perception. There is not objective truth, no logic, no counterargument or evidence, just the feelings, whims and suspicions of the biased, twisted view of these race fanatics. They will be judge, jury and executioner regarding racism found everyhwere, though usually false accusation made up by them from whole cloth. 18 To see any previous efforts to ameliorate racism is illegitimate and a clever ploy to serve current white interests is cynical and mistaken in a huge way. Some that mistrusting and erroneous needs to be rejected out of hand. These next-generation reformers are completely ungrateful and dismissive of the fine work done before to improve race relations in America. There is little racism left, and far out of the maintstream, so their accusations of current racism and their anti-racist new campaign are not about ending racism towards blacks; instead it is about institutionalized and systemic reverse racism and attacks on whites, Jews, Christians, patriots, individualists, conservatives and capitalists. These CRT ideologues want Marxist revolution, and gulag and death camp treatment for their opponents, all under the guise of compassion and racial justice. 20 To seek to get rid of free societies and replace it with an oligarchy of anti-racist enforcers will lead to Pol Pot terror regime control--no thanks. 22 To treat race issues as socially constructed groups is to deny that people are individuals first, and members of identity groups second. Each individual, according to CRT ideologues, is but an avatar of whatever identity groups that he belongs to, and has no meaning as a person apart from his group identifications. Racism is not a social construct, but is normal and in every person. Everyone is racist or biased towards a member of a rival group, and that is natural bigotry. Becoming civilized and moral is to treat each person as an individual to be respected, loved and treated with dignity and courtesy. This is the current American Way, to judge people by the content of their character not the color of their skin. 24 Let me quote the first of James's reasons: "1) Critical Race Theory believes racism is present in every aspect of life, every relationship, every interaction. Critical Race Theory begins from the assumption that racism is an ordinary part of every aspect of life in our societies. Foundational Critical Race Theory scholars, Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, write, 'First that racism is ordinary, not aberrational . . . Understand also that what they mean by 'racism' isn't even what most people think racism means. It is not prejudice based on race or believing some races to be superior or inferior to others that they mean by 'racism.' It is instead, the 'system' assumption of everything that happens in the social world and beyond and that results in any disparity that workds in favor of 'racially privileged' groups (on average) or any 'racially oppressed' person claiming they experience racial oppression. These assumptions lead people who take up Critical Race Theory to look for racism in everything until they find it. That is, after all, the job of a 'critical' theorist or activist, to look for the hidden problems that they assume must be present in whatever they scrutinize." 26 ​ 27 My response: James goes on to demonstrate how these advocates looking at the world with eyes of hatred towards all that are regarded as members of oppresor grous at work, at school and in personal life, and order all to turn in and on those resisting this anti-racist purge of subconscious racist attitudes and practices, because tolerating racism in one's midst is a form of racism to be discovered and stopped, James notes. Imagine how these zealots seeking racially pure attitudes in all corners of society will lead totalitarianism and bitter fighting and disruption betwen identity groups. I cannot think of a more effective way to create fighting and suffering than this vicious, hateful campaign against decent, non-racist citzens. It is pure wickedness, and those that proselytize this are nihilists out to destroy America, Americans, capitalism, our constitutional republic. They are posioned by hate, revenge and power lust, and they would extirpate God, the world, all humans and Being istelf because they resent being born and being so profoundly unhappy and miserable. These are bad, twisted people to turn loose on decent, sane society. 28 Let me quote James's 2nd reason: "'Interest convergence': White people only give black people opportunities and freedoms when it is also in their own interests. One of the founders of Critical Race Theory, a (now deceased) scholar at Harvard lsw named Derrick Bell, made his 'Interest Convergence' central to the Theory. Turning to Delgado and Stefancic again, The second feature, sometimes called 'interest convergence' or material determinism, adds a further dimension. Because racism advances the interests of both white elites (materially) and working class people (psychically), large segments of society have little incentive to eradicate it. Consider, for example, Derrick Bell's shocking proposal (discussed in a later chapter) that Brown v. Board of Education--considered a great triumph for civil rights litigation--may have resulted from the self-interest of elite whites more than a desire to help blacks . . . It isn't hard to see how paranoid and cynical this idea is, but it's also horrible when you pause to consider some of its implications. Take the demand that also comes from Critical Race Theory that everyone should be an anti-racist. This sounds good on the surface but is horrible underneath. If someone with 'racial privilege' (including white, Asian, Hispanic, Arab, Indian and lighter-skinned black people) decides to become an anti-racist in accordance with this request, the Interest-Convergence Thesis would say would say they only did so to make themselves look good, protect themselves from criticism, or to avoid confronting their own racism. This isn't a fringe idea or possible gap in the concept, either. The academic literature on 'whiteness studies'nis filled with this notion . . . The Interest Convergence Thesis makes it literally impossible for anyone with any racial privilege (again, as outlined by Critical Race Theory) to do anything right because anything they do must also have been self-interested. If Critical Race Theory makes a demand of people with any form of racial privilege and they comply, they just make themselves more complicit in 'racism' as Critical Race Theory sees it. By giving people no way out, Critical Race Theory becomes deeply manipulative and unable to be satisfied in its list of demands." 30 My response: First, when CRT ideologues are this obsessed with race and seeing racists and racism behind every bush, it is obvious that they are delusional. It is also obvious that they are racist agains whites and other identity groups. In the name of ending racism and seeking racial justice, they are always attacking whites and other Americans. They really are reverse racists filled with irrational, baseless, bottomless hatred and seeking to elevate their race above all others so they are to become the new masters, and revenge and persecution of whites and other labeled oppressor identity groups is the predictable end game. When you stay so offended, that nothing that the offender or the accused but innocent defender does by way of atonement, can ever please you, or allow you to give up your victim status and forgive your enemies, then your grievance plea is a way to gain dominance over other groups, it is a chance for your people to become the ruling group, the new oppressors, and it allows you to gather all power to yourselves in the name of reform and justice. You are nasty people and should be tossed out the front door without ceremony. You are cruel, unreasonable people without just cause. Let me quote from James's reason 3: "3) Critical Race Theory is against free socieities--Brelieve it or not, Critical Race Theory is not a li beral idea. It is, in fact, critical of liberal soceity and against the idea of freedom to its core. Critical Race Theory sees a free society as a way to structure and maintain inequities by convincing racial minorities not to want to do radical identical politics. Since Critical Race Theory exists specifically to agitate for and enable radical racial identity politics, it is therefore against free societies and how they are organized. . . The ideal of individual autonomy that underlies liberal humanism (the idea that people are free to make independent rational decisions that determine their own fate) was viewed as a mechanism for keeping the marginalized in their places by obscuring large structural systems of inequality. In other words, it (free society) fooled people into believing that had more freedom and choice than societal structures actually allow. In other words, Critical Race Theory sees free societies and the ideals that make them work--individualism, freedom, peace--as kind of a tacit conspiracy thory that we all participate in to keep racial minorities down. When its advocates accuses people of being 'complicit in systems of racism,' this is part of what they mean. Obviously, they would prefer that we do not have free societies and would rather arrange society as they see fit and make us all go along with their ideas." My response: That Critical Race Theory have give up on free societies and individualism, peace and freedom and gradualism. Liberal reforms are too slow, not radical enough, only getting half a loaf. What is needed is CRT and revolution as backers of CRT use identity politics to attack whites, consrvatives and other "oppressor groups." I am not willing to give up our constitutional republic to allow these haters and hateful Marxist revolutionaries unconstrained access to wiping out our free society and our civilization. Let me quote James's 4th reason: "4) Critical Race Theory only treats race issues as 'socially constructed groups' so there are not individuals in Critical Race Theory--Critical Race Theory isn't just against free societies and the individualism that enables them, but it also doesn't even believe individuals meaningfully exist at all! In Critical Race Theory, every person has to be understood in terms of the social groups they are said to inhabit, and these are determined by their identity, including race. 'A third theme of critical race theory, the 'social construction' thesis, holds that race and races are products of social thoughts and relations. Not objective, inherent, or fixed, they correspond to no biological or genetic reality; rather, races are categories that society invents, or retires when convenient, write Delgado and Stefancic. Under Critical Race Theory, races are categories that society invents and we impose entirely through social assumptions (mostly stereotypes), and people are members of these racial categories whether they want to be or not. Moreover, they argue that society is 'socially stratified,' which means that different social groups (like these racial groups) have differentiated access to the opportunties and resources of society. While this bears some truth on average, it ignores individual variations that are obvious when considering examples of powerful, rich and famous blacks . . . Critical Race Theory forces people into these averages, though, and considers them primarily in terms of their group identity rather than their individual identity. This is part of why they used the word 'folks' instead of 'people'--it desginates a social group. Thus, in Critical Race Theory, the goal of ideally treating every person as an individual who is equal before the law and meant to be judged upon the contents of their character and merits of their work is considered a myth that keeps racial minorities down. Instead, it sees people according to their racial groups only. This is why it is so common that progressive racial programs end up hurting the people they're written to help most. 'Racial justice,' in Critical Race Theory, means getting 'justice' for the group, which it says is a social construction, not for the real person, who is just a member of that group. As Lynn Lemisko, writes . . . of Educator to Educator, another education manual in Critical Social Justice programs: 'If democracy is about individual rights (justice for individuals), then social justice is about group rights (justice for the group). And for me there is a fundamental difference betwween the general notion of justice and the notion of social justice." My response: There is no doubt that race has its socially constructed aspects, but we are biologically of different races, or different ethnic groups. Our natural biases are biologically instilled, and must be dealt with consciously, directly and forthrightly. We must admit to bias but agree that it is a group versus group form of bias, and the best solution is to pull group-living majorities in every identity group out of the identity groups, so they can maverize, individual-live and insist that they and other inddividualists be treated as indviduals, and this is the best and only way to effedtively end racism. Group rights are not important, but individuali rights are. Let me quote James's 5th reason: "5) Critical Race Theory believes science, reason and evidence are a 'white' way of knowing and that storytelling and lived experienceare a 'black' alternative-- . . . normal science is a part of everyday, ordinary racism in society. That's because Critical Race Theory id not particularly friendly to science, residing somewhere between generally disinterested in science and openly hostile to it . . . This is because Critical Race Theory, using that 'social construction' thesis, believes that the power and politics of cultural groups make their way intrinsically into everything that culture produces. Thus, science is just politics by other means to Critical Race Theory. Since modern science was predominantly produced by white, Western men, Critical Race Theory therefore maintains that science encodes and perpetuates 'white dominance' and thus isn't really fitting for black people who inhabit a (political) culture of Blackness. . . . it goes against one of the very first pillars of science: universality. Universality in science says that it doesn't matter who does and experiment, the result will always be the same. This is because science believes in objectivity, which Critical Race Theory calls an oppressive myth . . . These scholars argue that a key element of social injustice involves the claim that particular knowledge is objective, neutral and universal. An approach based on critical theory calls into question the idea that objectivity is desirable or even possible. The term used to describe this way of thinking about knowledge is that knowledge is socially constructed. When we refer to knowledge as socially constructed we mean that knowledge is reflective of the values and interests of those who produce it. Sensoy and DiAngelo also claim that science 'presumes superiority and infallibility of the scientific method' . . . (by the way this is false) and therefore we should be asking 'whose rationality' and 'whose presumed objectivity' underlies the scientific method. Then, even more cyncically, they insist that we must ask whse interests are served by science, as though that's the relevant question to ask of a universalist method.Critical Race Theory falsely asserts that white people's interests are primarily served by science. This isn't just wrong (and genuinely racist), it's dangerous. Continuing the genuinely racist thinking that black people are'nt suited to or served by science, Delgado and Stefancic say that storytelling about their 'lived experience' is the primary mode by which black people and Critical Race Theory produce and advance knowledge. Importantly these lived experiences are only considered valid if they agree with Critical Race Theory . . . Critical Race Theory is itself racist (against racial minorities) and cripples the people it claims to help. This happens in multiple ways, including by undermining their capacity for citical thinking, teaching them to see the world in an us-versus-them way that oppresses them, and associating them with harmful, negative stereotypes that rigorous methods are white people, and not black people, use." My response: I recently followed Objectivist Philosopher Stephen Hicks's video in which he noted that irrationalists/sceptics/Leftists/social constructionists/postmodernists/nihilists cannot compete with reason and modernist pursuit of knowlege, or its arguments of defense, by counteraruguing with their ideas. So they denounce objectivity and reason as objective and the final world. All is mere person opinion and relative so anything goes and all is opinion, and endless brutal vying for power by identity group versus identity group. Those that want to brainwash the masses, reduce them to brain-dead, dependent, gullible, obedient wards of the state, do well to doubt that science, reason and the univseral are of any cultureal values. Sensoy and DiAngelo denounce science as white propaganda not superior or infallible and the scientific method is just a way of justifying white supremacy. Black personal anecdotes and perspectives are subjective truth, just as good as white scientific truth, not objective but subjective, for objective truth either does not exist or is unknowable to humans. At the end of what I quote, James lists worrisome criticism for the social constructionist atack on science and reason. Let me quote James's 6th reason: "6) Critical Race Theory rejects all potential alternatives, like colorblindness, as forms of racism--Critical Race Theory is completely against the common-sense ideas that race becomes less socially relevant and racism is therefore diminished by not focusing on race all the time. Where liberalism spent centuries removing social significance from racial categories once it had been introduced in the 16th century, Critical Race Theory inserts it again, front and center. In fact, as you might gues now, it sees the idea of colorblindness as one of the most racist things possible because it hides the real racism from view . . . Thus racism has to be made relevant in every situation where racism is present, which is every situation . . . This has the opposite of the putatively intended effect. Although it does cause people to see some legitimate racism that they otherwise would have missed, it makes all of our relationships and social systems extremely fragile and tense, ready to explode over a highly divisive issue. It also diverts resources from doing real work or building real relationships because looking for and thiking about racism all the time takes effort (Critical Race Theory says minority races already have to think about racism all the time and only white people have the privilege not to, but this is, again, more sloppy analysis that ignores the reports and experiences of every racial minority that disagrees.)" My response: race consciousness, let alone obsessing about race, from either the vantage point of the oppressor or the victim, increases racism not decreas it, because a racist is a tribalis, a collecitivist. As we become more civilized, color blindness must be the norm and the ideal, as almost adults from every identity groups self-realizes as an anarcist individualist. Racial makeup will then be interesting and informative, and something to be proud of, but, ultimately and immediately irrelevant as society goes from individual-living. CRT is sending us backwards in race relations as systemic reverse racism, the front for Marxist equality of outcome, is the end, and it is cruel, vicious and will lead to race wars. We need to tallk less and less about race, not more and more. We must not look for a racist behind every bush, or we will make all so group-oriented versus other groups, that racism can be produced where it did not live before. CRT and racial justice warriors stir up trouble and revolution, desiring the overthrow of America, and they may yet achieve their goal. With the liberal success in America culturally and legally in the last 60 years, America is hardly racist at all, and is extremely egalitarian. CRT backs are seeing what is not there, not reality. There is always a little racism at work in any society and America is not exception, but its influence is very small, and its advocates are few in number. CRT outrage that there is some residual racism at work here is proof solid that America is utterly corrupt and hopelessly bigoted, and must be eradicated as the only solutions. CRT backers woefully mischaracterize and exaggerate a problem, one that barely exil exissts, making it pervasive and behind every thought, action, institution or initiative undertaken. Either America ia perfect Utopia or it must be cast down. A pure standard reveals the one that practices such morality, though self-identified as righteous and noble, is cruel, vicious, fanatical, hateful and out for revenge on society. They are not to be allowed to gain popularity or win over the young and the foolish. They must be vigorously checked and stopped. Whites as the victims of this reverse racism are baselessly accused of crimes against blacks, as stereotypocal as the Nazis hurled against the Jews, that they were taking over the world and were behind whatever went wrong in Germany. Whites are the victim, and the victimizers are going to put us in gas furnaces if we do not thwart their attack. If a color-blind society approach prevail, people will start getting along better and better. Let me quote James's 7th reason: "7) Critical Race Theory acts like any who disagrees with it must do so for racist and white supremacist reasons, even if those people are black.--Following the 'social construction' thesis discussed above in point #4, Critical Race Theory has outlined what the essential experience of each racial group is. It then judges individual people (especially of minority races) on how well they give testimonial to that experience--which is to say, they judge individual people based on how well they support Critical Race Theory. This makes it impossible to disagree with Critical Race Theory, even if your are black. This is obviously much worse a probelm for white people or others who are siad to have 'racial privilege.' There are more concepts in Critical Race Theory to deal specifically with how and why white people are racist for disagreeing with Crtical Race Theory than perhaps any other idea. Charles Mills claims that all whites take part in a 'racial contract' to support white supremacy that is never discussed but is just part of the social fabric. Barbara Applebaum says all white people have 'white complicity' with white supremacy because they automatically benefit from white privielge and 'white ignorance' which is a way for them to willfully refuse to engage (an proper engagement can only be proven by agreeing). Robin DiAngelo says white people enjoy 'white comfort' and therefore suffer 'white fragility' tht prevents them from confronting their racism through Critical Race Theory. (Therefore, she says, anything that maintains white comfort should be considered suspect and in need of disrupting.) Alison Bailey claims that when racially privileged people disagree with Critical Race Theory, they are engaging in a 'defensive move' called 'privilege-preserving epistemic pushback, which means they are just arguing to keep their privilege and could not possibly have legitimate disagreements. All of these ideas implicate racially privileged people in racism anytime they disagree with Critical Race Theory." My Response: Dennis Prager notes that the Left does not debate with the Right, but they call us names and use ad hominem arguments against us. If we mention reverse racism is now systemic Democratic Policy, if we dismiss CRT as a packet of lies and propaganda to promote identity group rivalry that will weaken America so it collapses and the Marxist can then march in and take over the country with little push back, if we assert that each American is an individualist and individual first, and a member of a racial or identity group, secondarily, if we insist that racism was largely extinguished in America, we are yelled at at racists and white supremacists. As individual Americans, we insist upon the right to think and speak as we will, not in line with or in opposition to some hackneyed, stunted characterization of what a CRT backer of said identity group in equeistion would act, consistentent with ther racial stereotype assigned to that person. These CRT intellectuals accuse whites of subconcious racism and enjoying the comfort of their white supremacism--it is all crap. They need to be summarily dismissed and denounced by all Americans but especially white Americans. Let me quote from James's 8th reason: "8) Critical Race Theory cannot be satisfied--We have already seen how Critical RAce Theory cannot be disagreed with, even by black people,. We have also seen how it rejects all alternatives and how it believes any success that has comes down to 'interest convergence.' Because it rejects science, it cannot be falsified or proven wrong by evidence, and because it assumes racism is present and relevant to all situations and interactions, even the acceptance of Critical Race Theory must somehow contain racism. Therefore, Critcal Race Theory cannot be satisfied. It is, in this way, like a black hole. No matter ow much you give to it, it cannot be filled and only gets stronger--and will tear apart anything that gets too close to it. My response: When dealing with fanatics, it should be obvious to the modern citizen that yielding to their impossibly unfair, unreasaonble demands will only make them carry their grievance, howl louder, and expect more and more endless concessions. This Marxist front is to be opposed to the last stand.