Identity politics seems to be a growing trend among the left, and is often criticized by right-wing critics as “liberal snowflakes”, but the conversation of privilege and identity politics is an important one to have if we are going to build a unify left.
Before, I continue, this is not a rant about how all white men are bad, I promise! And more importantly, I asked you read it all the way through before you jump to the comment section. Thanks!
The definition of identity politics is given as “a tendency for people of a particular religion, race, social background, etc., to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics.”
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about the importance of safe spaces. Even though I explained the importance of having them, many readers jumped to comment section echoing the propaganda from conservative think-tanks that safe spaces are for college students who are “fragile snowflakes.” That aside, the conversation in the comment section quickly became an argument about free speech; many declaring that hate speech such as racial slurs, homophobia, transphobia, and sexism were “alternative views” that college students of these marginalized groups should listen to instead of shielding themselves from it and hindering “free speech.” And for liberals who criticize safe spaces and the right of marginalize groups to form these spaces, you’re basically saying “You get to exists and organize, but on our terms and what we think is important for you.”
The main takeaway from my article was that safe spaces allow marginalized groups to organize politically without being subjected to having their voices shut down by those who are more privileged on the political left.
Organizing is hard, and when many different groups who have different needs come together, there is a debate about what causes to prioritize. This is why identity politics works so well; it allows individuals in marginalized groups who share a common identity to work together on the issues that their community faces.
Daily Kos Founder, Markos Moulitsas, published an article a couple weeks ago addressing the importance of identity politics; his critiquing of Sanders’ supporters as white liberals who only care about wealth inequality was quite inapt. Not all Sander supporters were white liberals, and in fact, the majority of young people including young Blacks, Muslims, Queer, etc supported Sanders; and for Kos to lump these members of marginalized groups together solely because they were Sander supporters, Kos was not practicing the identity politics that he called for.
But the main point in Kos’ article was the important part. Kos argued that we need to consider the needs of marginalized groups if we are going to unify the left.
And that’s what “identity politics” is all about—standing with our most marginalized allies, and making sure their immediate safety is protected and guaranteed. Because yes, while everyone wants to see an economically equitable world, that’s a secondary consideration when your children are being murdered, your places of worship are being vandalized, your families are being torn asunder, and your own bodies are being violated. — Markos Moulitsas (5-8-2017)
What Kos explains is important, but he blamed the wrong crowd by pointing fingers at Sanders supporters where instead he should be addressing those on the left who have privilege and disregard the needs of marginalized groups regardless of what candidate they supported. Yes, Sanders made mistakes, but so did Clinton when it came to Black Lives Matter activists.
The way we address privilege on the left often comes across as abrasive, but we need not to attack those who are white males to the point where they get defensive. Privilege is about recognizing that one has more opportunities than those with other identities; and instead of feeling guilty about their “privilege”, they should be using those opportunities to lift those with marginalized identities to give them a voice rather than try to be the voice of those marginalized groups.
I recognize that I have male privilege in addition to being college educated, middle class, and a born-US citizen. But I do not feel guilty nor do I try to defend myself by attacking marginalized groups when they call me out on it. With my privilege identities, my voice and my opinion is often heard over the voice of those who are more oppressed than myself; and instead of trying to be an activist and speak on behalf of those who are more oppressed than myself, I step aside and listen, and allow them to have the mic. And this is how we should address privilege in left groups.
There is no doubt that the left needs to unify if we are going to defeat the Trump agenda. And instead of abandoning the Democratic party for groups who will give marginalized groups a chance to speak, we should be reforming the Democratic party by giving those in marginalized groups a greater voice at the table rather than trying to have white male leaders in the Democratic party try to speak on behalf of those who are marginalized.
Yes, the conversation about privilege and who has what privilege is an uncomfortable topic, but it doesn’t have to be a dividing one. If we simple change the nature of the topic from an abrasive one of “I’m more oppress than you” to one of “My experience is not your experience” than we could do what Kos advocates for which is unifying on issues and working together to solve them rather than debating whose needs to prioritize.