#AirBrooklyn and Killing The Breeze on Identity Politics
Killing The Breeze founder Kwaisi France sits down with digital journalist and editor Ben Piven for his #airbrooklyn podcast to discuss identity politics, sports and a dotard named Trump. Be sure to check out the entire #airbrooklyn series.
Identity Politics With #AirBrooklyn
I am focused on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual identity; specifically, making sure that people of color and others in under represented groups in America have their issues highlighted and that the prevailing issues of the day include a focus on the who, what, when, where and why of the race, ethnicity, religious, gender and sexual identity of the originator, decision maker, and whom it affects. It is safe to say that I fully embrace identity politics.
I believe that what’s best for white, anglo-saxon, protestant, heterosexual males is not what’s best for those of us whom are not white, anglo-saxon, protestant, heterosexual males. I actually think it’s ridiculous to the point of absurd that we are even made to believe that what’s good for that specific subset of people will be good for all of the rest of us. If that happens not to be the case, don’t complain because it could be worse somewhere else.
What many don’t and can’t understand is that talking about issues that affect underrepresented groups is “not dividing us” for generally “us” means white, anglo-saxon, protestant, heterosexual males. Highlighting and including issues affect anyone not in that select group is actually bringing us closer together by including everyone in the us as opposed to a select few.
This is especially important in the Trump era because we are being reminded that all politics are identity politics with whiteness having been, remaining at, and fighting to always be, at the forefront. White working-class identity politics is a well established bridge to white supremacy, yet trump along with bernie Sanders even has the left questioning its well established stance post the 1960s. If we build a left by organizing those victimized by the system, who’s doing the organizing and in whose image?
