RangerDave wrote:
TheRiov wrote:
You're making a strong case for an argument that you simply don't believe oppression in America exists because you don't suffer it yourself.
"Oppression" doesn't exist in America. Racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms bigotry exist, as does tangible discrimination on the basis of that bigotry, but, none of it comes close to qualifying as "oppression." And I say that not to be pedantic, but because hyperbolic language like that has become standard practice on the Left, and it gives cover to those on the Right who use that hyperbole as a justification for dismissing even the real problems that do exist.
That's all true (and I appreciate you saying so) but it's more than just that - the types of bigotry and the associated discrimination you cite are individualized, not systemic, which is the main reason they are not "oppression". They are already illegal, and we can and do take legal action against them.
On top of that, we have created a situation where such things are well beyond merely socially unacceptable - we have created an unlimited right for the Left, and members of certain groups, to force other people to defend themselves against charges of bigotry for anything those people deem unacceptable. Even when more reasonable members of the Left disagree, it's always "well, that's going too far but let's not forget that..." On top of that, we allow bigotry and discrimination by these same groups a free pass - feminists and members of minority groups are allowed to engage in outright advocacy of violence, and things that would be called "hate speech" if engaged in against them, and while more reasonable leftists don't necessarily agree with them, we just get "well, you can just ignore them" at best.
The reason people on the right dismiss the individualized instances of bigotry that do exist is because the Left allows the same dismissal to occur when minority groups engage in it. It's certainly understood that many minority groups (although not all; Asians in particular regularly confound the narrative about "minorities", and women are rapidly starting to regarding their supposed situation) experienced various forms of systemic discrimination in the past, but a fundamental of a free and egalitarian society is that it's the same rules for everyone.
What that means is that when a discriminatory situation is identified and remedied, you cannot then fix it by instituting new discrimination*, whether legal or social, in the other direction. Yes, social attitudes may take a while to change - but they will change
more slowly, and not in the desired way, when a double standard is used to fix a double standard. What was once discrimination will morph into resentment, and that resentment will re-orient itself onto the counter-discrimination and the political and social defense of it rather than the group itself.
That's what has happened in this country since the 1970s. The right dismisses complaints about bigotry and discrimination because they see their own complaints about the same behavior dismissed, or in many cases the behavior excused or justified. You just can't have a double standard like that. Yes, disparities won't just disappear by magic - that doesn't change the fact that if you establish a standard for treating minorities a certain way on a moral basis (and I don't think anyone disagrees that legal equality is a moral good) you can't then turn that around and permit the same kinds of behavior in reverse. It's simple - everyone gets to discriminate or no one does.
*It may be possible to institute short-term measures to address specific discrepancies in theory, but in practice these measures invariably become permanent and any attempt to reverse them is seen as an attack on the group they're supposed to help, even if they are obsolete or counterproductive.
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