Since I couldn’t edit or remove my former comment, here’s the new edited version.
I hid the first one for you, since apparently I have that authority in Medium. You now have the honor of being the first hidden response! (although somewhat by request) :)
What incredible disconnected, neo-patriarchalist, elitist arrogant nonsense this article is. Social justice is not a religion, it’s a logical, intelligent response to a chaotic, stupid world, not the other way round. The writer appears to have the patriarchal-narcissistic illusion that he’s somehow magically floating above the plain of social justice activism, and that he’ll never crash… until he does and needs it for himself. Ever heard of Icarus? The big banks? There’s nothing like a profound crisis to manifest the beautiful and the ugly truth about people. The views, or misconceptions and projections, expressed in this article, are actually quite nihilistic, and therefore, quite stupid. No, Sunny, you’re no better than “us”. You’re actually worse. Your views are already obsolete. There’s a change coming.
Well, first, thanks for the response. I’m glad you felt safe to share your opinions, and I think all opinions should be respected. To your speculation that I’ll ‘need social justice if I crash,’ unfortunately I was born white, and born male, and born preferring sex with people endowed at birth with vaginas, so social justice will never provide for me no matter how much I may need it in the future. It’s simply not within the SJ program to do so, in SJ’s current form.
If you don’t mind, I have some questions for you, specifically around crises.
One of the changes that’s definitely coming is the collapse of higher education. Our higher ed system is a mid 20th century business model that’s become bloated from federally backed student loans and is issuing rampant degrees with marginal or questionable ROI. Degrees are mostly a hiring signal, to get your first job, and past that most degrees are of no objective value. As soon as alternate hiring signals become available, students are going to bail en-masse on college outside of programs which are a direct path to a professional career, such as engineering, medicine, or law. When this happens, social justice degrees (as well as many other humanities) are going to be no better than a hobby. By my read, this could tremendously undermine the current strength of social justice indoctrination.
Do you think that pivoting the movement towards something that is more openly “religious” could plug that indoctrination gap? I’m curious whether folks within SJ are thinking this far ahead, and what their (your) opinions are on the subject.
I’m hoping we can conduct a dialog without pejoratives.
