Friday, April 06, 2018

The alt white

There's been an interesting evolution in this issue. On the one hand, the cultural elites have deliberately marginalized white men through reverse discrimination (e.g. Bakke case), check your privilege, &c. It's both anti-male and anti-white. White men rightly resent that.

On the other hand, the alt-right seemed to be fueled in large part by festering resentment against Third World immigrants who are more competitive and successful than the natives. So it's as if alt-right Caucasians want quotas and affirmative action for white men. We've come full circle.

And while their reaction is psychologically understandable, America has always been a highly competitive society. Colonial American had an aristocracy. Royalty and noblemen. That's ascribed status. The best slots are reserved for the upper class as a birthright. 

But when we cast off the monarchy, that shifted the emphasis to achieved status. That means, for instance, that if, on average, Asian immigrants, first-generation Asian-Americans (second gen/third gen), East Indians, &c, outperform other ethnic groups scholastically, they ought to be represented in college admissions commensurate with their superior performance. That's the nature of a competitive system. It's like sports, which Americans worship. 

Of course, that raises the issue of a social net for those who can't compete at the same level. Not everyone can be a winner, however hard they try. 

From a Christian standpoint, it shouldn't be a pure sink-or-swim system in the sense that if you don't make the cut, you die, a la The Hunger Games. 

That's where the Christian principle of private charity comes in. Those with more ability should help those with less ability. 

But ironically, that's the "slave religion" mentality that Nietzsche and his alt-right epigones despise. 

4 comments:

  1. I'm not seeing what the irony is in your last sentence. Everything else in that sentence seems right, but why is it ironic?

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    1. The "slave religion" is what frees the oppressed from their oppressors.

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    2. The irony is that you have alt-right whites who want a safety net for caucasians. And I think there's a place for a safety net in the case of people who through no fault of their own fall through the cracks. But that reflects a concern for the weak and vulnerable which Nietzsche identified with Christianity. He considered that to be a knock against Christianity, and his chick alt-right followers share his contempt for Christianity.

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  2. Oh, but as far as the alt right is concerned there's no oppression actually going on anymore, at least nothing they consider morally important enough to do anything about it.

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