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DR Darke's avatar

I think, or maybe I just hope, that Black Lives Matter and the increased public awareness of how Persons of Color are targeted by the authorities changes the mind of most "class-first" Leftists and Progressives.

I think I might also have to write my own post about this....

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Noah Berlatsky's avatar

it definitely hasn't changed some minds; I got some really ugly pushback after I first posted this.

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DR Darke's avatar

Well, I...uh, wrote a response on my own Substack.... https://drdarkeny.substack.com/p/in-re-noah-berlatskys-post-why-class .

I hope you like it, and I'm sorry if I've brought on the trolls?

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Feb 14, 2023
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Noah Berlatsky's avatar

well, as I say in the piece, I think class is a huge vector of discrimination, and we should have a stronger safety net and the workers should control the means of production.

I don't think there's a ton of Bernie>Trump support. But racism is a huge driver of partisanship in the US, and white people find appeals to white resentment very powerful. Even white people who have Black friends, or who maybe voted for a Black president once.

Antiracist advocates have a number of suggestions on policy, from more investment in communities that have faced discrimination to reparations.

I don't think IQ measures much of anything except maybe access to resources.

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Feb 15, 2023
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Noah Berlatsky's avatar

not a fan of unherd and meritocracy is a pernicious myth. I've just been reading Robbie Shilliam, who argues persuasively that "left behind" is not a class complaint, but a white lament about lost racial privilege (virtually every study of trump voters confirms that it is racism, not class, which explains their votes.)

Most people think that racism is pernicious! And certainly Black and POC voters of all income levels are overwhelmingly likely to viscerally understand that antiracism is superior to racism!

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Feb 15, 2023
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Noah Berlatsky's avatar

Oh yeah; I just finished the book. He's great.

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Feb 15, 2023
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