Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Conservatives Think Race is Irrelevant to Identity, But Wealth Is Vital; Liberals Think the Reverse.



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7 comments:

John said...

Can you elaborate on this? Got a reference?

4:00 PM, December 12, 2017
Gruntled said...

I was reading about the 2010 law in Arizona which made ethnic studies illegal in public schools. The rationale offered was that "we are all individuals" so the "race you happen to be born into" doesn't matter. This contrasted with the success that Mexican-American students were having in engaging all of their studies because the Mexican Studies curriculum helped them see the place of their ethnic group in Arizona and in North America.

At the same time, the Republican "makers vs. takers" discourse treats poverty as the fault of the poor, a character flaw deeply indicative of their identity. This comes from the Ayn Rand fantasy that only a few people are creative "makers" who deserve wealth and status, and the rest of us are parasites.

4:28 PM, December 12, 2017
John said...

Thanks! I was listening to an episode on Hidden Brain today about the Carpenter parenting model vs the Gardener. Very interesting discussion of the part the play takes in computer-based machine learning and the importance of apprenticeships.

https://www.npr.org/2017/12/11/569907638/the-carpenter-vs-the-gardener-two-models-of-modern-parenting

The idea that there is an reference model of childhood and parenting would seem to go hand-in-hand with eliminating ethnic studies.

Enjoy the Holiday Season!




9:39 AM, December 14, 2017
Gary said...

Dr.- One ( an individual) should embrace their heritage and work hard to find their place in life. Of course, Liberals despise those ( individuals) who rise from challenges ( ethnic, financial or phiysical , etc) to find a place of success. Rather, Liberals believe only the collective should be celebrated.

10:21 AM, December 14, 2017
Gruntled said...

John - I am working my way through all of Hidden Brain; I will look forward to this one.

10:38 AM, December 14, 2017
Gruntled said...

Gary - I don't know any liberals who despise those who rise from challenges to find success. On the contrary, the point of liberal social policy is to make sure everyone has an equal(ish) chance to rise to success.

The difference is that liberals do not regard the group you are part of as just a heritage, but also as a continuing part of who you are. White men often take their group identity for granted, which is their (our) privilege. Other people are constantly affected, positively and (often) negatively by how others treat them because of their group identity, which is why understanding its continuing relevance is so important.

10:42 AM, December 14, 2017
Gary said...

Dr.- I can agree with most of that...however, the premise of your topic was another attack on conservatism. Frankly, I don’t know any conservatives who think the way described. My perspective doesn’t come from my ethnicity but mostly from experience.

11:28 AM, December 14, 2017

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