How To Talk About Identity Politics + Wokeness
It's not enough to know you're right—especially as a black sheep.
I know you’re far past knowing what makes woke leftism and identity politics destructive, but how do you talk about these issues?
When you’re the black sheep, you end up in positions where everyone around you is clinging to a belief that you feel strongly about challenging: it can be a recipe for disaster.
It’s not enough to know an idea is bad—you have to present the better alternative vision this bad idea is blocking and do so without making people too defensive.
In my recent conversation with Melody Rachel, I make the best argument I can against woke leftism by explaining how it contradicts the classical liberal values many people mistakenly assume it supports, such as equality. I also give my approach to sharing unpopular truths without turning people against me.
Some other points we cover are:
02:36 - When Did Your Political Shift Happen?
04:52 - Black Lives Matter
14:33 - What Makes Bad Ideas So Popular?
19:42 - Speaking Out
23:16 - Did Black Lives Matter Do More Harm Than Good?
27:20 - How To Combat Racism?
30:34 - Identity Politics
35:23 - Group Identity and Individualism
40:48 - Fostering Conversation
53:11 - Has Wokeness Peaked?
59:05 - Finding Your Voice
Leave some advice for other black sheep: remember a time when you persuaded someone to change their mind, even just a little bit. What made you so persuasive?
Great interview! I feel so seen in your experience.
Your wake-up call came at the same time as mine, and I’m glad you weren’t canceled and shielded from all of it.
It’s still so bitter in my family that my cousin gave me an ugly scowl at her wedding. My three closest friends of 20 years still refuse to speak to me. One of them even had a child 4 years ago and didn’t tell me. All because I said the protesters shouldn’t resort to violence, pointed out that a member of the Weather Underground was on the BLM board, and argued that White Fragility is racist.
Some people just can’t handle the truth.