According to social media, the current zeitgeist, and the author of the runaway bestseller White Fragility, it absolutely is.[1] If you are “white,” and you disagree on any political issue with any person of colour, this is a sure sign that you are a “racist.”
Ok, then. Let’s take that same logic and apply it to other common situations:
Is it sexist for a man to disagree with a woman? Is it sexist every time a husband disagrees with his wife?
Is it anti-Semitic for a Buddhist to disagree with a Jew? Is it homophobic for a straight person to disagree with a gay person? Is it transphobic for a non-trans person to disagree with a trans person? Is it anti-capitalist for a government employee to disagree with a businessperson? Is it child abuse to disagree with your child? Is it elder abuse to disagree with your retired father-in-law? Is it anti-chefist to take issue with someone who is a professional preparer of delicious meals?
Obviously, all of the above situations are absurd. Yet somehow, our society has gotten to the point where the answer to the first question seems absolutely normative—even though logically, it is the exact same as all the other absurd scenarios presented above.
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Dr Jeff Fynn-Paul, an Associate Professor at Leiden University, is an economic historian with a focus on the impact of institutions on economic growth and well-being. His specialty is medieval and early European and Mediterranean history
1 comment:
Some very strong points made, thank you Jeff. Quite sobering to read about the cultural environment within academia which discourages people from being more open to debate.
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