What is Critical Race Theory?

[babe]

Honest question. This is something I want to understand better and in my half-hearted attempts at googling it I didn't come away satisfied. So, here I am, asking my jazzfanz friends and enemies to explain it to me like I'm 5.

I'm pretty sure you and OB have shelves of literature on this subject which you want to dish out piecemeal to the ignoramus world idly passing by a sports site about the #1 real basketball team in the world.

I don't bnlieve PhD people have anything but made-up definitions and lessons on this subject.

I believe elsewhere you dislike unfounded theories being advanced for political gains.

yah know, I wondered when Obama was elected by a very positive white vote in favor of ending all obstacles to full jparticipation by all people in American politics that we might actually have a lot of positive developments favorable to all our minorities. Equal opportunity. Equal Justice. all that.

But I think Obama actually decided to exploit racism for purposes. Now I'm sure that library of officious dictums and definitions will be advanced to discredit my idea here. I am about as impervious to other views as you seem to be be generally, and I will go on thinking that CRT is fake political tomtoolery. Yes I made that word up. CRT is a political tool made up from incoherent and self-contradictory observations about human nature. If some African peoples had gotten up a book like the Bible that had actual merit as a basis for stable, strong, long-lasting nations capable of setting up trade and financial institutions which were in toto worldwide cartels the likes of Imperialism, it'd be blacks in the suits and whites shining their shoes.

In short, we humans are more alike than different, and everything we have done to one another negative like has been opportunistic exploitation anyone else would have done if they could have.

In short, there is really one human race differentiated only by basically superficial or circumstantial but overwhelmingly obvious differences. We are all sorta tribal on stuff we are familiar with being better in our minds than stuff we are strangers to. People we don't know are always not as "good" as people we either know or can comfortably relate to.

Now I know that Karl Marx advanced political ideas as useful tools for breaking down established systems preparatory to the opportunity for new systems to be built. But the liars who advance Marxist ideas have found they don't just work, and so there have been tons of further ideas put out about how to make to basic political goals sound alright. The great thinkers who have worked up CRT and other "critical" theories will never quit changing their models, even after they win the world. Gotta have new and better tools to hammering the people and cut them down to manageable servants.

Obama wants to transform America. Possibly you do too. Red has declared his being "In" with the resistance or revolution. You both have practically endless fortunes ahead of you plowing the world under to plant a better crop. Endless transformations, endless resistance to some imagined bogeymen, endless idyllic dreams of futures that are better.

I don't want better management or better PhD theories, I just want better food, better cars, better tools for working the fields, forests and mines, better homes and less drudgery. That's progress. Government is not very good at that. Never will be. Less government lets people do that for themselves.

 

[Hax0rs]

Race and racism have impacted the economics, social fabric, and laws in our country. Which is why law schools may want to teach their students about it. It makes sense for law students to know why most in prison are POC, why we'll throw the book at a black person with a sandwich bag of weed while give a white guy who embezzled millions a tap on the wrist, and the issues with policing in urban areas.

While some countries have a caste system based on religion or economics, ours is largely based on race. This is essentially the backbone for CRT:

Lastly, the right has found its new ACORN/DEATH PANELS/BENGHAZI/ETC, and that is CRT. They tried Hunter and Dr. Seuss as a rallying cry to distract from their own party's failures and to attack Democrats, but neither stuck. This one did. This guy appeared on Tucker and ever since then, CRT has taken off. He already explained his strategy in March:

The other reason why CRT has taken off is that those predisposed to already believing that POC have it easy and just need to "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps" feel threatened by it. If they admit that being white has benefitted them in some way they then feel like they're not as manly or as accomplished as they deserve. So you can see why those predisposed this way would hate CRT; it calls for vulnerability and honesty. Something they don't want to do.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

 

[One Brow]

It can mean that, but if that were the way CRT were using the term then there wouldn’t be a need for CRT because inclusion or exclusion from any group is arbitrary.

CRT helps establish the arbitrariness.

In CRT it wouldn’t work to say “an arbitrary group of people colonized an arbitrary group of people and a people oppressed a people with their arbitrary people supremacy”.

Because? Are you saying the oppression of the Irish 100 years ago was not arbitrary?

If CRT actually used the phrase in that way they wouldn’t be calling for “representation”.

You are saying that CRT proponents think that arbitrarily being denied political representation is acceptable?

The idea of representation relies on people of a given set of biological markers being different and bringing something unique with their involvement.

It's the different experiences arbitrarily imposed upon them because of the biological markers that bring the different and unique features.

That is pretty much the opposite of believing race is an arbitrary idea imposed by society that needs to be deconstructed.

It's also a complete misconstruing of CRT. So, let's go back to this:

Can you name any of the "tenets of race essentialism" that are 1) not banal ("people have different colored skin"), 2) essentialist (i.e., that is, based intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic properties), and 3) held by leading authors in Critical Race Theory?

 

[One Brow]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Simpkins was acting in self-defense, only three people were shot, and no one died. However, I'm not surprised a conservative wants to send black people to jail for self-defense.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

Can you name any of the "tenets of race essentialism" that are 1) not banal ("people have different colored skin"), 2) essentialist (i.e., that is, based intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic properties), and 3) held by leading authors in Critical Race Theory?

This is from the first widely published work on Critical Race Theory titled: Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, published in 1995. It has been cited over 10,000 times.

When a group organizes for social change, it must have a clear concept of what it is fighting to achieve. Essentialism, then, entails a search for the proper unit, or atom, for social analysis and change.

When we think of the term “essentializing,” we think of paring something down until the heart of the matter stands alone. Essentialism has a political dimension. As mentioned in the previous section, the goals of a “unified” group may not reflect exactly those of certain factions within it, yet the larger group benefits from their participation because of the increased numbers they bring.

That quote from two of the leading authors of CRT defines what essentialism is and how it has informed the ideas of CRT. If you'd prefer a more direct definition, they do have a glossary of terms.

Essentialism: Search for the unique essence of a group.

 

[One Brow]

This is from the first widely published work on Critical Race Theory titled: Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, published in 1995. It has been cited over 10,000 times.


That quote from two of the leading authors of CRT defines what essentialism is and how it has informed the ideas of CRT. If you'd prefer a more direct definition, they do have a glossary of terms.

So, there is no "tenet of race essentialism".

When a group organizes for social change, it must have a clear concept of what it is fighting to achieve. Essentialism, then, entails a search for the proper unit, or atom, for social analysis and change.

This is referring to the common experience of all oppressed people, and has nothing to do with race specifically. In fact, this passage is leading into intersectionality.

Critical Race Theory

For well over a decade, critical race theory—the school of thought that holds that race lies at the very nexus of American life—has roiled the legal academy. In recent years, however, the fundamental principles of the movement have influenced other academic disciplines, from sociology and...

books.google.com

 

[Deleted member 365]

This is from the first widely published work on Critical Race Theory titled: Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, published in 1995. It has been cited over 10,000 times.


That quote from two of the leading authors of CRT defines what essentialism is and how it has informed the ideas of CRT. If you'd prefer a more direct definition, they do have a glossary of terms.

Someone is regurgitating Ben Shapiro a few weeks ago. Dr Kevin Kruse has already wrecked this argument:





A few weeks ago this prompted me to read more about CRT. A lot can be learned by actually reading what these scholars have actually written rather than regurgitating nonsense from right wing echo chambers who make millions by peddling fear, anger, and disinformation about every ****ing issue out there from economics, to pandemics, to climate change, to race relations.

BTW i don’t understand that much about CRT. A lot of it goes beyond my abilities. But I think there’s definitely some valid pts made.

 

[Deleted member 365]

I think there’s genuine questions about solutions on how to address racism in America. How to reform institutions and make for a more equitable society. It’s just sad how we’re constantly stuck in first gear. We’re unable to actually address real arguments because we’re so busy regurgitating straw man arguments made by right wing grifters and then busy refuting arguments that should’ve never been made.

We really do need to move beyond “is CRT taught in schools cuz if it is then I’m gonna be angry” and “Ben Shapiro told me to say this” and let’s actually talk about reforming our police and judicial system so it doesn’t prey on POC.

Like, I’m really interested in how you incentivize AGs to not go for broke on POC. It’s just too easy to campaign on “cutting crime by bringing a gigantic hammer on the head of thugs.” And it’s hard to campaign on drug treatments and remediation. It’s just easier to send someone away for decades for holding a bag of weed.

I’m genuinely interested in how you reform the police. I don’t think the police should be allowed to have unions. The power they wield over society is just too great. Imagine if we permitted the marines to “unionize.” So how do you reform the police who have the strongest union in the nation? Especially since neither political party wants to alienate that powerful group of people?

How do you reform our society so POC have a more equitable shot?

LBJ once said:
''You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, 'You are free to compete with all the others,' and still justly believe that you have been completely fair. Thus it is not enough just to open the gates of opportunity. All our citizens must have the ability to walk through those gates.''

And history has proven that he’s right. How do we resolve the nation’s original sin and make for a more equitable society? Why should someone have a much harder time obtaining an education, securing employment, receiving health care, etc because of the color of his skin? I’m a white Mormon dude from Utah, why should I have such a privileged start? I don’t want to give up my job and house but it doesn’t seem right to me that many in our country have to change how they drive, how they act around the police, can’t obtain an education, can’t receive adequate health care, don’t live near a grocery store, etc because of race and racism.

So can we make a more equitable situation for everyone?

I saw this a while ago. It applies to CRT and our current situation of POC dying disproportionately from Covid. Watch the first 3 mins of this and tell me it doesn’t tug at the heartstrings. Is This is really the best we can do???



Can we please get past the CRT fear
Mongering and actually resolve real issues?

 

[Al-O-Meter]

This is referring to the common experience of all oppressed people, and has nothing to do with race specifically.

CRT is about groups, specifically racial groups hence the 'R' in CRT. The way the leading authors say race essentialism has been incorporated into CRT is the way they say it is. It is all their words because I think the whole thing is faux intellectualism stated in purposely vague terms so as not to cause offence. I know better than to argue what CRT is or isn't because it is or isn't practically anything.

That passage I quoted does lead into intersectionality because in CRT essentialism and anti-essentialism have an uneasy coexistance. CRT is about social systems of power that fits with intersectionality for the uniqueness of everyone lived experience. As a proponent of CRT, White Fragility author Ribin DiAngelo admits she is a racist in her book but she is an anti-racist. CRT is the thing and the anti-thing and nothing and everything.

If you want to argue that you know the true CRT and I'm all wrong then go on with your bad self. I know some of the history and have read some of the foundational pieces but I know better than to get involved in arguing over the holy dogma of this ideological garbage pile.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

i don’t understand that much about CRT. A lot of it goes beyond my abilities. But I think there’s definitely some valid pts made.

I'm happy to hear that. Really. There are some valid points because racism has been real, is real, is a stain on our nation, and on all humanity. There is nothing wrong with admitting that and striving to solve it. CRT does speak to those things but it speaks to more, and it is the 'more' where I think some of it runs off the rails. I am encouraged with as much as you want to oppose racism in our society that CRT hasn't resonated with you enough for you to become mired in it.

 

[One Brow]

CRT is about groups, specifically racial groups hence the 'R' in CRT. The way the leading authors say race essentialism has been incorporated into CRT is the way they say it is. It is all their words because I think the whole thing is faux intellectualism stated in purposely vague terms so as not to cause offence. I know better than to argue what CRT is or isn't because it is or isn't practically anything.

You quoted a passage discussion "essentialism" ion the sense of the essential characteristics of oppression. You did not quote anything that discussed "race essentialism", which, again, is a type of thinking quite contrary to CRT. There are no leading authors in CRT incorporating race essentialism into CRT, because CRT is fundamentally opposed to the notion. You could easily disprove this by bringing in a quote on "race essentialism" from CRT authors. I won't hold my breath.

I mean, if you want to go on lying that CRT features race essentialism, you can keep doing so. However, you've seen enough now to know it is a lie. If you keep going on about it, your own words will condemn you as a liar.

That passage I quoted does lead into intersectionality because in CRT essentialism and anti-essentialism have an uneasy coexistance. CRT is about social systems of power that fits with intersectionality for the uniqueness of everyone lived experience. As a proponent of CRT, White Fragility author Ribin DiAngelo admits she is a racist in her book but she is an anti-racist. CRT is the thing and the anti-thing and nothing and everything.

Again, deeply, deeply ignorant. Being racist comes from being raised in and participating in the racist poser structure. Being anti-racist comes from fighting the racist aspects of that power structure. You can fight against aspects of a power structure you participate in, and the is nothing contradictory about it.

If you want to argue that you know the true CRT and I'm all wrong then go on with your bad self.

That's like arguing you know the true interpretation of Shakespeare. You can interpret Cordelia's role in King Lear in many ways, but if you claim Cordelia is alive at the end of the play, you're just wrong. Like any interesting theory, CRT gets interpreted in a lot of ways, but your way is just wrong.

I know some of the history and have read some of the foundational pieces but I know better than to get involved in arguing over the holy dogma of this ideological garbage pile.

For someone who is so well-read, you show every sign of not understanding it at all. Is that deliberate?

So, can you provide a quote from a prominent CRT proponent supporting some altered notion of race essentialism, or not? Again, 1) not banal ("people have different colored skin"), 2) essentialist (i.e., that is, based intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic properties), and 3) held by leading authors in Critical Race Theory.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

Being racist comes from being raised in and participating in the racist poser structure. Being anti-racist comes from fighting the racist aspects of that power structure.

Right, because words. What I really want to know is how the quintessentially matriarchal structures of opportunity manifested by establishment instructional facilities during the intellectually foundational period inform on the psyche of the un-anti-disracial-archist.