The Criticism Of Identity Politics Is Racist Or Long Overdue

The social identity dichotomy is the epicenter of perhaps the most prevalent issue in the country today. To put it clearly, what aspects of a person define who they are, and how strongly are they used to shape everything in that person’s daily life? Key groups scaffolding an ugly, extremist version of this outlook are Antifa and the “Alt-Right”. One of the most outspoken leaders of the alt-right, Richard Spencer, is to speak at DePaul University. This is bringing much unrest to the forefront, and numerous student groups are threatening to boycott this event unless it is cancelled. This stubborn behavior is exactly what fuels the unrest in the country. Refusal to be open to other viewpoints and possessing the inability to accept them at face value, then academically refute them, is why our country’s citizens are becoming increasingly discordant. These acute groups cannot be hid from. They must be examined and learned in depth, or it will merely foster into a larger portion of the population, causing people to become hostile more regularly.

As young adults we are all aware of the camping’s that has been occurring through out the past few months. One of those participants happens to be Donald Trump, who follows the theory of CONFLICT. This theory describes how power from individuals is self-proclaimed. Trump is well known for the many assumptions he has made toward immigrants, primarily Hispanics and Asians. His view on these racial groups demonstrates his consideration toward social life and how it is a competition.

Racial Formation in the United States by Michael Omi and Howard Winant made me readjust my understanding of race by definition and consider it as a new phenomenon. Through, Omi and Winant fulfilled their purpose of providing an account of how concepts of race are created and transformed, how they become the focus of political conflict, and how they shape and permeate both identities and institutions. I always considered race to be physical characteristic by the complexion of ones’ skin tone and the physical attributes, such as bone structure, hair texture, and facial form. I knew race to be a segregating factor, however I never considered the meaning of race as concept or signification of identity that refers to different types of human bodies, to the perceived corporal and phenotypic makers of difference and the meanings and social practices that are ascribed to these differences, in which in turn create the oppressing dominations of racialization, racial profiling, and racism. (p.111). Again connecting themes from the previous readings, my westernized influences are in a direct correlation to how to the idea of how I see race and the template it has set for the rather automatic patterns of inequalities, marginalization, and difference. I never realized how ubiquitous and evolving race is within the United States.

The latest survey by the US census portrayed the big change that is happening after the influx of Latinos in the country. There is a Latino identity that’s neither white nor black she mentioned, and it is a positive identity. It appeared that 48% of latinos claimed to be white. Classifying themselves as whites connotes that they have already assimilated to the American Culture The survey wrapped up that there is a considerable demographic shift identifying Latinos to be increasingly aligned with the color that that defines America. On the other hand, 42% of Latinos marked other race, and 2% claimed to be black. Even in the census, to be white signifies the dominance and the notion that it is better than non-white. People who look similarly share the qualities that are perceived to be alike. They usually enjoy similar success and suffer similar sorrows. This method of collection racial data augmented debates however it revealed many things. It is undeniable that the cultural and social construction of Latino in the US is growing exponentially and the race and ethnicity that used to define and unite them has now become the margin that split them

At the turning point of the century came the rise of the industrial age in America, and with that, came the rise of multiculturalism. The promise of the money and jobs brought people from all over the world. Free-market enterprise had people enamored with “The American Dream,” the idea that freedom enabled every hard-working individual with the opportunity for prosperity in success. Because of this, no other nation has such a rich blend of cultures. However, with this culture of diversity one could claim makes America great, comes a series of convoluted identity politics. In the novel Covering: The Hidden Assault On Our Civil Rights, Kenji Yoshino talks about the dichotomy between the True Self and False Self, and the concept of covering,

Published by the New York Times under the Opinion section, the audience for this article is any interested reader. At the time it was released, November 18th, 2016, this article arrived during last year’s elections, in which a large, but surprising number of Americans voted for candidate Donald Trump, shocking many forecasters who had predicted otherwise. Therefore, after the election, many people may have been researching the demographics of the election, and this article, which briefly shared Brooks’ opinion on the nature of the election and how viewing others through the lens of a dominant identity influenced how the votes fell where they did, may have caught a keen reader’s eye. Also, this article came at a time where racism and prejudice caused many problems, leading some to view others as one-dimensional, represented only by a skin color or religion. Since prejudice and hate is still a large issue today, tackling this problem helps make this article relevant, nearly a year after its release.

     Through our readings of the Mexicans in the U.S. and the African-American experience modules, we begin to understand the formation of identity through the hardships minorities faced from discrimination. In this paper, I am going to compare and contrast the ideas of identity shown through the readings. These two modules exemplify the theme of identity. We see how Blacks and Latinos tried to find their identity both personally and as a culture through the forced lifestyles they had to live.

On June 16, 2015, a long time television and real estate magnate by the name of Donald J. Trump opened his presidential campaign by uttering one of the most racially insensitive remarks in today’s time when he elucidated upon that notion that Mexican immigrants who come to America are not model citizens but rather rapists and murderers who undermine the legitimacy and economic fortitude of the American experiment. This racist and xenophobic remark illustrates just how entrenched the notion of white supremacy or as Walter Rodney would call it the “white cultural imperialism” ideology is inextricably tied to the understanding of our society today. Because of this problematic ideology, there must be some sort of opposition to fight against such

On September 1, 2016, Marco Gutierrez from Latinos for Trump exclaimed that: “My culture is a very dominant culture, and it’s imposing and it’s causing problems… if you don’t do something about it, you’re going to have taco trucks on every corner.” The hashtag ‘#tacotrucksoneverycorner’ blew up on Twitter and Facebook as many people fantasized about a utopia in which you could have nearly unlimited access to tacos al pastor. However, Gutierrez’s comment also cast a light on a very serious cause of anxiety for many Americans. Specifically, fear of the Latino invasion. This hyper-emotional state has many people feeling that their country, rights, property, and security—the basic components of the American Identity— are being threatened because of a perception that Latinos are not ‘Americanizing’. I argue that not only are these fears that Latinos are endangering American Culture are in fact illegitimate, but also that the idea of ‘Assimilation’ or ‘Americanizing’ promotes the racist hegemony of the Anglo-Conformity Model that contends that any immigrant who does not meet both the criteria of ‘White’ and ‘Protestant’ is therefore inferior and a threat.

What defines you? Is it the many tiny, wriggling spiders that could potentially be inside your body, the experiences you might have had in Istanbul, your list of hobbies which may or may not include crochet, or is it something a bit more trivial, such as where you come from? Who are you? Take a moment to reflect on yourself. In an essay concerning the argument of identity, Richard Rodriguez forces his readers to analyze themselves, particularly during the high climb of immigration in America today, because with the rising amount of cultures and ethnicities finding a home in this country, there really is no “black and white” answer. The question of identity is the key idea in Rodriguez’s Blaxicans, further expanded upon by careful word choice,

Donald Trump’s nomination can be clearly seen as not the result of electoral flubs or the chance of history, but the result of a decades old movement. In campaign after campaign there have been candidates appealing to the same nativist tendencies, and voters who support them. It further shows another instance of a movement building within and without a party ultimately capturing the party and nominating one of their own. In Bryan’s, Reagan 's, Clinton, and Trump’s cases political commentators at the time were stunned that the party bosses could be so

The concept of identity is complex, however, when an identity is allocated to a group of people it helps to serve as a starting point for solidarity. When studying Latinos, we term them as such with hopes that it will serve for a greater basis for resource access; resources in the political and social world. However, it is important to keep in mind that Latinos are heterogeneous, no one ethnicity is the same leading to difficulties in resource allocation considering just how diverse the Latino community is. The study of Latino identity is fundamental because it is the basis of forms of exclusion, but it also has, nonetheless, been a basis for Latino political solidarity.

Would you ever vote for a candidate simply because they came from the same ethnic background as you, even without knowing any of their political views? In the article “When ‘Identity Politics’ Is Rational,” written by Stanley Fish, a strong argument is made explaining and defending instances where identity politics is used and why it is important that citizens understand that it exists. Identity politics is when a candidate is only supported because of his or her identity, not their political views or beliefs. Through Fish’s mixed use of logical reasoning, somewhat strong reliability and a minor use of emotional appeal, he is able to construct a solid argument as to when identity politics are appropriate. Fish explains a multitude of examples in a cogent manner that allows the reader to easily follow along. He then continues by using credible evidence, which he provides citations for, that add an immense amount of validity to his article.However he does also make certain assumptions that he does not provide evidence for. Fish also includes a subtle amount of emotion that grasps the reader and pulls them deeper into the article. Fish argues that certain cases exist where identity politics is valid and appropriate, however, depending on the way one understands the definition of identity politics, it can be used in a way that it incorrect and biased.

For multiculturalism we understand that is the ideology or social organization model that affirms the possibility of living harmoniously in society between those groups or ethnic communities that are cultural, religious or linguistically different.

If there is anything many people are against these is election times, “Identity Politics” a phrase that covers a multitude of sins. The author Stanley Fish American Literary Theorist, legal scholar, author and public intellectual. He has taught almost everywhere but seems to think people have different outcomes of who they think should be in office. Just reading the title of the essay “When Identity politics is Rational” pretty easy to tell what the essay is going to be about having equal rights to something and being fair to what is right for the people and not what right for this one person because they don’t like this person or that person.