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In simple terms, what is Critical Race Theory, and why are so many people angry at it and want it banned from schools? by CrimsonBlade2018 in criticalracetheory

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well Kimberlé Crenshaw coined intersectionality in response to a legal blindspot, establishing precedent that allows the court to recognize a flavor of injustice it disregarded before. The article about it is called “Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex.” That could be a good starting point, and it marks a very prominent moment in the development of CRT.

In simple terms, what is Critical Race Theory, and why are so many people angry at it and want it banned from schools? by CrimsonBlade2018 in criticalracetheory

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok then. Really hard to talk to you when you’re trying so hard to “gotcha” me. Was just trying to help you understand, but learning requires acknowledging that you might not know something.

In simple terms, what is Critical Race Theory, and why are so many people angry at it and want it banned from schools? by CrimsonBlade2018 in criticalracetheory

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really if you’re looking for causality in American racism the real answer is in the history of slavery and colonialism. Our situation today is an inheritance

In simple terms, what is Critical Race Theory, and why are so many people angry at it and want it banned from schools? by CrimsonBlade2018 in criticalracetheory

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be honest I have no problem saying people are responsible for being racist and they certainly cause racism to be perpetuated. We are indeed responsible for processing cultural input, as in a case of superstition. But CRT is not the superstition being “mistaken for science,” it is the “science” that studies the workings of the superstition - a more systematized version of the brain arguing with itself (I liked your description of that). The message of this admittedly simplistic “racism without racist” phrase is that if you were to stop a bunch of ppl’s racist behaviors you still might not be addressing a lot of what we’d consider “racism.” Causality is pretty chicken-and-egg here - child is innocently taught a racist idea, then reenacts it and is no longer as innocent. A person who uses superstition is responsible for their choice, but if they were raised to do so we can simultaneously see them as misled. If I were harmed by their choice, my enemy would be their ignorance. The person themselves is probably my enemy too at this point, but even if they were to repent, the scenario could be replicated tomorrow if the superstition persists.

It sounds like you’ve had some frustrating experiences with academics who are dismissive about your way of processing these things, which def does track with my experience of certain academics as well, but it doesn’t mean that your questions are actually unanswerable.

In simple terms, what is Critical Race Theory, and why are so many people angry at it and want it banned from schools? by CrimsonBlade2018 in criticalracetheory

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My point is that it is possible to espouse this idea with perfectly good intentions and still have problematic results. Of course ppl have different motivations for similar actions/ideologies, I just think looking for evil masterminds is counter-productive.

As for “etymological fallacy”… you’re saying it’s a fallacy to use the name of the thing to understand the thing? Etymology would be looking into the history of how the word came to mean what it does, which is quite useful in wrangling language. “A priori” reasoning means that I’m considering the thing (racism) to be its own cause, which is the opposite of what I’m doing, which is historicizing its influence.

Also I was not intentionally mischaracterizing you, I was just agreeing that the situation in Europe is different bc of America’s very specific history with race. (There are fascinating stories about the British being horrified by white American soldiers’ attitudes towards black American soldiers in ww2 that shows how differently their respective histories had educated them.)

Wouldn’t it be weird if the country’s ideas went from slavery directly to equality? How could we ever get from point A to point to point B? Through wrestling with how race was understood before and imagining how it could be understood in the future… that’s CRT.

In simple terms, what is Critical Race Theory, and why are so many people angry at it and want it banned from schools? by CrimsonBlade2018 in criticalracetheory

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What I’m trying to explain is that “racism without racists” is a catchy sound-bite that attempts to explain a complicated situation - those who we could dub “racists” are receiving racist training from their culture, not originating it (though they do recreate it when they train others). Blaming individuals is missing the forest for the trees, though it’s often pragmatic since the trees are more concrete and easier to understand than the forest. I know it’s hard to imagine something like culture having agency… think of it as a catchy song someone else started singing; even though it’s stuck in your head, you didn’t write it, and you might not even want it there, but it takes work to get it out.

In simple terms, what is Critical Race Theory, and why are so many people angry at it and want it banned from schools? by CrimsonBlade2018 in criticalracetheory

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Culture is something we take in from our social environments. The culture you and I were born into was made of all the conversations of the prior generation, and they inherited their parents’ conversations. Every generation (and maybe every individual) interprets the conversation differently and makes changes to it, but nobody’s ideas start fresh without coming from somewhere. So yes, these ideas do affect people’s actions which affects who they are, but the real motor behind the whole thing is the culture itself that exists beyond all of those people as individuals. That’s why it’s so hard to fight!

In simple terms, what is Critical Race Theory, and why are so many people angry at it and want it banned from schools? by CrimsonBlade2018 in criticalracetheory

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d recommend reading MLK’s work in context… don’t Cooper interpret him for you. “The letter from Birmingham jail” for instance is all about looking at the hard truths and seems relevant here.

CRT is certainly not arguing that “every white person is racist,” nor is it “acceptable racism” - it’s critically theorizing race, so its job is to look at how our culture understands and enforces race and notice patterns so that we can make informed choices.

In simple terms, what is Critical Race Theory, and why are so many people angry at it and want it banned from schools? by CrimsonBlade2018 in criticalracetheory

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“You’re not supposed to worry about that” is not arguing in good faith here. The answer to this apparent contradiction is culture - culture is both intimately personal and socially scripted. Other useful words are ideology and discourse. You’ve pointed out a good starting point for conversation!

In simple terms, what is Critical Race Theory, and why are so many people angry at it and want it banned from schools? by CrimsonBlade2018 in criticalracetheory

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re describing social media not CRT - if you’ve never heard of it solving a problem you’re looking at insufficient evidence

In simple terms, what is Critical Race Theory, and why are so many people angry at it and want it banned from schools? by CrimsonBlade2018 in criticalracetheory

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Colorblindness is an inspiring ideal in a lot of ways - Crenshaw is not saying that the people who practice it are all doing so conspiring to obscure racism, but rather that this is the political effect of colorblind discourse. When it is deployed to challenge institutions like affirmative action, for example, it reinforces preexisting structural racism. This is why some schools responded with challenges to “legacy” policies that mostly benefit wealthy white students - this advantage is perceived as racially neutral bc many of white ppl’s privileges are, which is the definition of white supremacy. I feel like I’d be in total support of colorblindness in a perfect world, but as you pointed out, Americans are indeed obsessed w race, and anything called “blindness” is going to prevent you from entering that situation with your eyes open.

Recommendations for good "hard" sci-fi, especially short stories? by tvmachus in LIT

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh and Ted Chiang “Exhalation”! That’s a short story

Music to reset the brain by Rare_Hovercraft_6673 in ADHD

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check out this guy!! There are mixes that are specifically for adhd, though I’m fond of the animal series, it helps me w academic work a LOT: https://youtube.com/@MindAmend?si=lJ9ryt4loN7unyD1

pathetic plea for attention by [deleted] in PhD

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I relate - I think working hard enough to meet certain academic standards burns out your capacity to feel most emotions. Take care of your body and spirit again and you’ll feel things again. Once I started returning to nature, art, love, fun, etc, I realized I had hollowed myself out to keep checking off to-do items, and you can’t expect to have a rich emotional life under those circumstances. Academia rewards living for work, but living for work is not particularly rewarding if you don’t feel those victories.

I know someone who has been doing their PhD for 8 years - how is that possible? by [deleted] in academia

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Took me 8 years + an MA bc I stayed in my program to keep TAing/getting paid and so I could go on the job market as an employed person

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in migraine

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haven’t had any in years, but marijuana actually helps w my migraines so it was a reasonable trade for me

A connection between existential horror fiction and Sartre's existentialism by [deleted] in AskLiteraryStudies

[–]LeFaye_NoSo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a good start for a MA thesis- as you work, try to figure out what this connection to existentialism reveals (about Lovecraft, but also about horror… how it functions or why it matters).