tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133176631661920943.post3308535060305340037..comments2023-12-18T11:53:50.508+00:00Comments on A Free Left Blog: The stark contradiction at the heart of identity politicsBen Cobleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12663573050880771244noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133176631661920943.post-27460472757211316092015-06-17T09:24:10.528+01:002015-06-17T09:24:10.528+01:00(Plane rather than plain, maybe?) anyway - there ...(Plane rather than plain, maybe?) anyway - there also self-identification distinct from being identified. As you know I'm struggling to pull together something myself on identity, and finding as I broaden from not just race, gender & sexuality to ethnic-religio-cultural, national and local identities. A minefield between (say) Paul Mason calling identity "bogus" and (say) Kenan Malik (say) seeing a more amorphous continuum.Ian Glendinninghttp://www.psybertron.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133176631661920943.post-51348814955947339692015-06-13T18:16:55.122+01:002015-06-13T18:16:55.122+01:00I don't think many of these people understand ...I don't think many of these people understand how truly alienating their behaviour is. I have noticed with myself that I have to be careful not to abandon all my 'left wing' principles because I am in conflict with some very strident and arrogant members of the left. If you're not careful you end up becoming contrarian and Clarkson or Liddle-esque.<br /><br />A close personal friend said I was a racist yesterday when I commented that given that it is possible that White Britons will be in the minority in the UK by the end of the century, it might have been nice if someone had asked them if this is what they wanted. To be frank, I don't think it's what my Great Uncle fought and was wounded in Normandy for. <br /><br />I'm not convinced that such sentiment is 'racist' although I accept that since it is fear-based, it is xenophobia. I am not comfortable with myself for that but I recognise it nonetheless. I think what I really object to is that it has all been so undemocratic.<br /><br />The difficulty for me is that I have worked with students from around the world for over seen years. Currently, my learners are from Nigeria, Kuwait and China. I have never worked in a less politically correct environment in my life. Just the suggestion the other day that via immigration / migration their countries might receive a 15 per cent change in their ethnic make up caused howls of protest. Does that make my Nigerians, Kuwaitis and Chinese racists?Philnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133176631661920943.post-34638804365293576542015-06-13T17:38:18.090+01:002015-06-13T17:38:18.090+01:00I shudder whenever I hear the term "structura...I shudder whenever I hear the term "structural". It's all about denial of the fact that any problem relates to actual real people, in the real world. For me, if you don't believe in justice on an individual level then you don't believe in justice. I guess that's the difference between enlightenment liberals and authoritarians. It's sad that kids are not taught properly about basic democratic principles - equality before the law, presumption of innocence, etc. I honestly think that would help counter the kind of nonsense we are seeing these days. You have to hope it is temporary. Samnoreply@blogger.com