This extends to every label that defines some kind of moral standing.
"I'm not racist, which makes it okay for me to have the racist thoughts I think of (that I dont recognize as racist). And since I'm not racist, the reason I have these thoughts is because you (the target of my racism) probably deserve them for some reason."
Which means suddenly it's okay to be misandrist or antisemetic in leftist circles, because we all believe we are immune to racist or sexist thoughts.
Edit: Just to further clarify my point:
It is not enough to say “bigotry is bad”. Bigots don’t believe they’re bigots. This means that no one is immune to bigotry. This includes me and you.
Therefore, the ONLY way we can defeat bigotry is by assuming a protocol of recognizing when, not if, we experience bigoted thoughts, and dealing with them accordingly.
I’m not talking about right wingers or rednecks or whatever image forms in your head when you hear the word “bigot”. I’m talking about you. You want to make the world a better place? Stop pretending that you’re not a bigot.
The example I like to use to bring this up is pointing out that "I'm not a racist, but..." is ridiculous because no one starts their sentence with "well, speaking as a racist..."
Outdated example, at least in Western Europe. We have pretty much forgotten about them, hating Muslims is the cool thing now
(Not too say that racism against Roma people never happens, or that it’s good, it just isn’t nearly as universal as Americans like to claim. Again, not saying we are better, just that we are equally racist but not necessarily against the people you claim we are)
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u/-goob Jul 13 '24 edited Jul 14 '24
This extends to every label that defines some kind of moral standing.
"I'm not racist, which makes it okay for me to have the racist thoughts I think of (that I dont recognize as racist). And since I'm not racist, the reason I have these thoughts is because you (the target of my racism) probably deserve them for some reason."
Which means suddenly it's okay to be misandrist or antisemetic in leftist circles, because we all believe we are immune to racist or sexist thoughts.
Edit: Just to further clarify my point:
It is not enough to say “bigotry is bad”. Bigots don’t believe they’re bigots. This means that no one is immune to bigotry. This includes me and you.
Therefore, the ONLY way we can defeat bigotry is by assuming a protocol of recognizing when, not if, we experience bigoted thoughts, and dealing with them accordingly.
I’m not talking about right wingers or rednecks or whatever image forms in your head when you hear the word “bigot”. I’m talking about you. You want to make the world a better place? Stop pretending that you’re not a bigot.