identity politics
Identity politics are the tendency to vote because of a certain identity. For example, a person of a certain race is more likely to vote for someone of that same race.
I think in modern times identity politics often refers to the tendency to vote someone in because they are of a certain identity and thus promote diversity.
Diversity is important, diversity is incredibly important. My concern is that identity politics have been co-opted for problematic purposes.
“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” - LBJ apparently
I’m afraid that the racial divide is encouraged as a way to distract people from class conflict. Fox News dogwhistles about inner city thugs bringing their violence to the suburbs to distract from the fact that capitalists cause the real problems within the middle class
woke corporations are problematic, obviously
identity politics can also be co-opted as a positive shield from legitimate criticism. It’s undeniably a good thing that Kamala Harris, a POC woman, was elected to Vice President. At the same time, she does have a controversial past. I’m going to say nothing more about the subject since I don’t know enough about Harris specifically.
