Base and Superstructure

Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology

Category: Race (Page 6 of 11)

These are posts on race from the blog Base and Superstructure. Race is one of the most important issues of political and social power. Topics include the relationship between race and class, racism in the United States and the rest of the world, and the relationship between race and political movements.

Who Wants To Defund the Police?

October 5, 2020 /

defund the police

I want to defund the police. So do many friends, especially friends in Iowa City. The idea even made it onto our political agenda this summer. If only briefly. But Iowa City doesn’t represent the nation. Do other places have people who want to defund the police?

It turns out Iowa City politics are pretty misleading. And it’s all symptomatic of how we leftists read the public mood. Leftists don’t really know who’s on their team, and this ultimately amounts to one of the biggest problems with leftist electoralism. Why do leftists do this? They confuse their own friends and social circles for the public at-large. This comes out especially well on issues like trying to defund the police.

We know the liberal bubble is a thing. But it’s not just liberals. There are leftist bubbles, too. And these bubbles harm our efforts at building movements.

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intersectionality

Intersectionality and the Left

September 21, 2020 /

Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term ‘intersectionality‘ in 1989 as she used the central metaphor in a paper in a law journal. Crenshaw used the term to pick out the idea that people’s identities overlap to create novel experiences. As a legal scholar, she drew attention to experiences of discrimination. For example, black women may face novel issues neither black men nor white women face.

Since then, the term – and perhaps also the idea it picks out – took on a life of its own. It’s a rallying cry for some social justice movements. People routinely assert things like ‘the future is intersectional.’ Politicians run (usually unsuccessful) campaigns around it. But as leftists, what does intersectionality mean for us? Is it a tool for getting things done? A theory we should accept or reject? How should we handle it?

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Iowa Freedom Riders

Iowa Freedom Riders: A Review

June 15, 2020 /

Racial justice demonstrations and protests erupted across the U.S. over the last few weeks. Each location added its own flavor, and Iowa City was no exception. Iowa City’s contribution comes from the Iowa Freedom Riders.

I’ve followed along with the progress of the Iowa Freedom Riders from demonstration and march to protest movement. Usually not in-person, due to some family health issues. But certainly by live broadcast. Here’s a bit about what the Iowa Freedom Riders have done and how it’s going.

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public housing vienna

Toward Better Public Housing

April 13, 2020 /

I love the idea of public housing. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of you who have spoken with me about it. But many people don’t love it at all. Why? Sometimes they display racism, white fear or fragility, et al. I’m not going to spend too much time on that. At other times, they worry about crime, livability of neighborhoods, et al.

To be clear, it’s tough to disentangle the latter from the former. But sometimes people who live in public housing themselves – or who live nearby – express those concerns. That’s worth taking far more seriously.

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Killmonger Black Panther rorschach test

The Killmonger Rorschach Test

April 2, 2020 /

It’s the two year anniversary of the Black Panther film, and much remains the same. If you talk to ten people about Erik Killmonger, the (alleged) villain, you’ll walk away with a dozen opinions. Killmonger elicits from us what we’re already thinking about identity, race, and society. He does so whether these views inhabit the surface or the depths of our thoughts. In other words, Killmonger is a Rorschach Test!

I’m assuming readers have already seen Black Panther. And I’ll note right away that I’m discussing only the film, not the comics or any associated stories or media. If you haven’t seen the film, go watch it! If you have seen it, read on.

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