The Political Perils of Idealizing the Oppressed

[circuit]

I just wrote an essay about the political perils of the idealization of oppressed groups. It is an inter-movement critique that explores the problems with casting oppressed groups as beyond reproach and worthy of support no matter what they do. Please read the article on my brand new blog <fightingchance.wordpress.com>. I would love know what folks think about this essay. Thanks.

[MarxSchmarx]

I broadly agree. Although not all "oppressed" are idealized in quite the same way, and the idealization is applied quite selectively. Example: many of those cheering on the Iraqi insurgents in Washington would probably express disdain for some sectors of the white US working class.

I think an intriguing question is why these protesters ignore diversity in some oppressed groups but not in others.

You are especially right on when you note:


The false category of the oppressed group makes it impossible to openly discuss oppression within that group – ethnically motivated discrimination and murder, patriarchal oppression, religious tyranny, etc

Although these things are, to be fair, discussed widely and openly in leftist circles.

Stylistically, I do not know what your emphasis on "subjectivity" accomplishes. Along with other jargon like "essentialization", it rather muddles the article, and I doubt it renders the work any more academically rigorous. Basically what you are saying seems to be that a person&#39;s worldview is shaped by a variety of social mores - some good, some bad. Its impact on will be enhanced if you could write it using a simpler vocabulary.

[apathy maybe]

That is a good essay, interesting to read.

I don&#39;t agree with all of it, but I do in the broad sense. We can&#39;t accept that one group of people can "do no wrong". Take Iraq, while as a whole we should support the idea of the US (UK, Australia, Bulgaria and whomever else) (not to mention Iran etc.) pulling out, we should support the fundamentalists in their quest for power.

We have a "moral" framework (tell me linguist, would zeitgeist fit there instead of framework?), and we should not limit it only to our own interactions. We condemn rape if it occurs in our own communities, why can we not condemn rapists in other communities? Regardless of if they are fighting US oppression or not, they are still themselves oppressors.

[p.m.a.]

See: Maoists.