I’ll give you a moment to collect the bits of your mind that just exploded every which way.
This idea is ludicrous. Are babies either racist or antiracist? At what point does that happen? Immediately postpartum or sometime on the way home from the hospital?
@DrIbram@darth_leveon@MD_Ed_Memes And if it isn’t instant—if you see it in your heart to grant babies a few moments of peace before this nonsense ideology kicks in—then what are babies BEFORE they become either racist or antiracist?
@DrIbram@darth_leveon@MD_Ed_Memes What even is this, man? I can’t see how you honestly think this worldview actually does anyone any good, given how obviously nonsensical, tautological, and divisive it reveals itself to be under the tiniest bit of logical scrutiny.
Or is logic also racist?
@DrIbram@darth_leveon@MD_Ed_Memes Your racist/antiracist binary is not only ridiculous, it’s hateful—you must realize that. You are condemning people by forcing them into a logic game they can’t win. “Have you stopped beating your wife?”
It’s also dogmatic. “You either renounce, or are in league with, Satan.”
@DrIbram@darth_leveon@MD_Ed_Memes To pretend that there is only one possible explanation for disparity in a world as complex as ours is the height of arrogance and betrays a colossal misunderstanding of that complexity.
It’s impossible for a thinking person to take this worldview of yours seriously.
@DrIbram@darth_leveon@MD_Ed_Memes Racism is a real problem. Inequality is a real problem. These problems require real solutions, and real solutions are difficult, complicated, and nuanced. Conversation is our only route toward those solutions, and I see nonsense like what you’re peddling as conversation cancer.
@DrIbram@darth_leveon@MD_Ed_Memes Finally, I’m sure you mean well, Dr. Kendi. I do not doubt your intentions, and I respect them, but this whole thing is a crock. I’m sorry.
No one is beneath dignity, and so to you, all due respect. But no idea is above scrutiny, and so to your idea, a swift and merciful death.
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I committed to never lying (literally ever) over ten years ago now.
If my experience is any indication, I believe that if we all just stopped lying—cold turkey—things would get a whole lot worse for a little while, and then a whole lot better for the rest of our lives.
Contrary to popular belief (and that Ricky Gervais movie), not lying does not mean blurting out every thought that comes to mind when it comes to mind.
It also doesn't mean you *have* to tell people things you don't want to say. "I don't want to tell you" is not a lie.
Refusing to lie has cost me a few relationships, but to be honest they weren't very substantial ones anyway. If I have to lie to keep you around, you're not really hanging out with *me*.
More importantly, though, not lying has strengthened my remaining relationships. Good trade.
@hakeemjefferson Imagine if a group of people decided to label some of the worst human behavior and ideas imaginable “Hakeeming.”
They tell you it’s not about the name Hakeem, but of course people named Hakeem are particularly susceptible.
Imagine how people might misuse or misinterpret that.
@hakeemjefferson And imagine, when these misuses and misinterpretations are brought to our attention, those whistleblowers are accused of Hakeeming even harder. Their resistance just shows how Hakeem they are.
Imagine how a 5 or 6-year-old kid named Hakeem might feel, amongst this madness.
@hakeemjefferson Imagine that sometimes Hakeem is told it’s not about the name, but any time he does anything it’s evidence of being Hakeem.
Imagine the feelings this will create within this little boy named Hakeem.
Imagine the horrific ways those feelings might manifest into ideas or actions.
@kmele, waxing eloquent on @wethefifth (#322), and beautifully outlining the need for #starmanning in our discourse:🧵
"It’s very hard for me to get excited about anything that accelerates and intensifies [political & ideological] conflicts rather than ratcheting them down..."
"I have very radical ideas about what society ought to look like and what government ought to do, and most people disagree with me on all of that. But one thing I know for sure is that I’m going to have to share the planet with other people who have different ideas..."
"Figuring out how to do that in a sustainable way is of paramount importance. I think we have to prioritize that, and I think we have to prioritize the institutions that make that possible in a way that is fruitful..."
I've always found it interesting and poetically apropos that "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" is the expression used to further the "self-made man/personal responsibility" concept of success, and to justify the level of adversity many have to deal with in order to succeed.
It's apropos because, physically speaking, it is fucking impossible to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. In fact, the phrase originated as a way to describe a "ludicrously far-fetched or impossible task."
The concept creep that has led to the phrase's current usage, meant to mean, "to improve one's position by one's own efforts," is perfectly reflective of people's misunderstanding of the concept of "making oneself." They're equally nonsensical, and many of us just ignore that.