But that's kind of a feature, rather than a bug. Speaking for the USA: We're a pretty racist country, that's not news to anyone. What was news, especially for the coasts, was just how racist much of the US still is.
By giving these people a voice, we now know that they exist, and what they really believe. You never would have gotten that out of them by just talking to them on the street.
Do certain parts of internet culture encourage that behavior? Absolutely, and it's terrible, and we need to find ways to fix it. But to fix that problem, we need to understand it first.
Before the racists were, to some degree, self-censoring due to their fear of how they were perceived by others. In many cases they would try to conform more so that they wouldn’t be outcast.
Now people are far more aware how many racists are in the US. And many of them have taken that as proof that there’s nothing wrong with their way of thinking and are censoring themselves less. They are discussing their beliefs and pushing their agendas stronger than they have in a long time.
Is that an actual improvement? Before all but some of the most hard-core we’re effectively incentivized to be more accepting. Now they’ve learned not only do they not have to do that, they can STRENGTHEN their position knowing there are others like them.
Given the level of backlash they’ve faced, I don’t think it’s an improvement.
American society had an excuse, before. Racists weren't tolerated, but also weren't confronted. They were allowed to gather power so long as they did so quietly, and decent people could pretend that there wasn't a problem. Now, at least, the internet has made the problem impossible to ignore. A disease which is never diagnosed can never be treated.
Time will certainly tell. If we had seen a much bigger backlash I would’ve agreed with you. Right now I’m not sure whether this is a giant step backward, a small step backward, or (in the long run) not a real change at all.
Unless something big changes in the next year or two I’m having a hard time seeing it as any sort of progress.
After all the GOP had decided to be much more inclusive and welcoming after getting trounced in 2012. Last year America taught them that was the wrong lesson.
I really hope this is a “last gasp“ kind of thing but my pessimism says it isn’t.
From my perspective, the backlash has already been more significant than expected.
But, the embrace of racism, anti-Semitism, historical revisionism, anti-scientific and neo-fascist ideologies seem to be both an expression of generational counterculture rejecting the status quo of "liberal" and "politically correct" thought, and a reactionary movement by the right-wing political establishment trying to maintain relevance in the face of changing ethnic, religious and gender dynamics in the US. I suspect real societal change will take much more than a year or two, or even a swing of the political pendulum from Red Team back to Blue Team. It might take generations, maybe long enough for children to reject the ideals of their alt-right and neoreactionary parents, the way the yuppies rejected the hippies, and the hippies rejected the beatniks.
Comments
But that's kind of a feature, rather than a bug. Speaking for the USA: We're a pretty racist country, that's not news to anyone. What was news, especially for the coasts, was just how racist much of the US still is.
By giving these people a voice, we now know that they exist, and what they really believe. You never would have gotten that out of them by just talking to them on the street.
Do certain parts of internet culture encourage that behavior? Absolutely, and it's terrible, and we need to find ways to fix it. But to fix that problem, we need to understand it first.
Before the racists were, to some degree, self-censoring due to their fear of how they were perceived by others. In many cases they would try to conform more so that they wouldn’t be outcast.
Now people are far more aware how many racists are in the US. And many of them have taken that as proof that there’s nothing wrong with their way of thinking and are censoring themselves less. They are discussing their beliefs and pushing their agendas stronger than they have in a long time.
Is that an actual improvement? Before all but some of the most hard-core we’re effectively incentivized to be more accepting. Now they’ve learned not only do they not have to do that, they can STRENGTHEN their position knowing there are others like them.
Given the level of backlash they’ve faced, I don’t think it’s an improvement.
I think it is an improvement, though.
American society had an excuse, before. Racists weren't tolerated, but also weren't confronted. They were allowed to gather power so long as they did so quietly, and decent people could pretend that there wasn't a problem. Now, at least, the internet has made the problem impossible to ignore. A disease which is never diagnosed can never be treated.
Time will certainly tell. If we had seen a much bigger backlash I would’ve agreed with you. Right now I’m not sure whether this is a giant step backward, a small step backward, or (in the long run) not a real change at all.
Unless something big changes in the next year or two I’m having a hard time seeing it as any sort of progress.
After all the GOP had decided to be much more inclusive and welcoming after getting trounced in 2012. Last year America taught them that was the wrong lesson.
I really hope this is a “last gasp“ kind of thing but my pessimism says it isn’t.
From my perspective, the backlash has already been more significant than expected.
But, the embrace of racism, anti-Semitism, historical revisionism, anti-scientific and neo-fascist ideologies seem to be both an expression of generational counterculture rejecting the status quo of "liberal" and "politically correct" thought, and a reactionary movement by the right-wing political establishment trying to maintain relevance in the face of changing ethnic, religious and gender dynamics in the US. I suspect real societal change will take much more than a year or two, or even a swing of the political pendulum from Red Team back to Blue Team. It might take generations, maybe long enough for children to reject the ideals of their alt-right and neoreactionary parents, the way the yuppies rejected the hippies, and the hippies rejected the beatniks.