We must resist the scourge of 'identity politics'

EvilPundit · 2015-06-26T02:22:33+00:00

'Identity politics' is the splitting of society into mutually hostile groups based on sex, race, and anything else that an ideologue can come up with. Feminism and the gender war it has spawned is the most relevant strand for this subreddit.

ThePigmanAgain · 2015-06-26T08:18:18+00:00

I'll be damned. How the fuck did something that sensible manage to get published by the ABC?

Tedesche · 2015-06-27T20:01:25+00:00

Hear, fucking hear!

Everyone here is probably already very familiar of the ways in which feminists have succumbed to the perils described in this article, but it happens everywhere, and the MRM is no different. I will give this sub credit for the fact that it doesn't tend to ban people outright for criticizing the MRM—that's us riding above identity politics and leaving room for serious discussion and debate, not only within our own ranks, but between us and other groups as well. A lot of feminist subs have rules in the sidebar about how criticizing feminism is grounds for being banned, and plenty of us have tested those rules and found they are indeed enforced.

However, that doesn't mean the MRM is immune to this sort of toxic, biasing crap. A major feminist complaint about MRAs is how we "blame everything on feminism." I've been quick to point out the ways in which we don't, but how it's inevitable that you criticize feminism if you want to truly be for men's rights, because several key men's rights issues owe their existence either directly or indirectly to feminism. But their complaints start to ring true when you read people categorizing feminism as a hate movement here, and blaming things like circumcision on feminism, when there's absolutely no history (that I'm aware of at any rate) of feminism defending or advocating for circumcision in any sort of organized fashion.

Personally, I don't really have a problem with feminism failing to do anything about men's issues. The problems I have with feminism stem from the ways in which most feminists I've met seem to think that feminism addresses the issues of both men and women at an equal rate, or at least at a rate proportional to their societal urgency. This is a blatantly ignorant, arrogant, and ultimately offensive way of mischaracterizing their own movement, and a lame defense against the charges that they (a) haven't done enough to help men and/or (b) have actually hindered men's rights advocacy. Then there's that "b" thing I just mentioned, which sticks in my craw too. Feminists these days get all bent out of shape whenever you assert that their forebears—intentionally or otherwise—contributed to a system that is oppressive to men by slandering anyone who spoke up about the impact on men of the laws they helped get established, and campaigning against any measure designed to tailor said laws to address those problems. This is precisely in-group/out-group thinking at work on the part of feminists, and it certainly is a scourge.

But to come full circle again, we are not immune to it, and it's just as bad when we do it. It's also, I think, inevitable to a certain degree, as it likely is ingrained in the ways our brains evolved as a species, but that's no reason not to try to root it out wherever we see it. People tend to think that, because they've heard criticism about some aspects of the MRM from people who are otherwise supportive or MRAs themselves, they're tolerant, but the true test of tolerance is when you can listen to someone who is staunchly against what you stand for and try to pick apart the bigotry from the complaints that are actually legitimate. You don't have to ultimately agree with any of it, but if your conclusion is that your detractors are simply sexist man-o-phobes, trust me: you're being just as biased and ignorant as your opponent.

Gstreetshit · 2015-06-26T13:53:39+00:00

Yeah, we know. It is divide and conquer 101. This sub, along with myself play right in to it.

atheist4thecause · 2015-06-26T03:03:19+00:00

The reason we have parties is because identity politics brings strength. It's not identifying that is the problem, it's what happens with that identity that is the problem. I think maintaining individualism within labels is important, and that is something the Democrats, Republicans, and Feminists have really failed at. I regularly call myself an MRA, some people make faulty assumptions about my ideas, and then I quickly correct them. I don't have a problem with this.

Title	We must resist the scourge of 'identity politics'
Author	EvilPundit
Upvotes	11
Comments	5
Date	June 26, 2015 2:20 AM UTC (11 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/3b5avt/we_must_resist_the_scourge_of_identity_politics/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/we-must-resist-the-scourge-of-identity-politics.976724 https://theredarchive.com/post/976724

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