"There is now a self-perpetuating machine for converting good will and positive intentions into tribalism and unproductive conflict,"
Oof! That is a slam-dunk right there! Yes indeed, that's a perfect way to put it.
And while I said the "performance" is the whole game for too many people, the "struggle" is also the game for a whole bunch of others (although you could argue that the "struggle" is part of the performance. I've spoken to so many middle-class, well educated, privileged millennial who talks as if they're living through the Watts riots).
I have a conversation coming up soon that goes a little deeper on this point, but basically, some people have come to define themselves so totally by their "oppression" that they can't bear to let it go.
"There is now a self-perpetuating machine for converting good will and positive intentions into tribalism and unproductive conflict,"
Oof! That is a slam-dunk right there! Yes indeed, that's a perfect way to put it.
And while I said the "performance" is the whole game for too many people, the "struggle" is also the game for a whole bunch of others (although you could argue that the "struggle" is part of the performance. I've spoken to so many middle-class, well educated, privileged millennial who talks as if they're living through the Watts riots).
I have a conversation coming up soon that goes a little deeper on this point, but basically, some people have come to define themselves so totally by their "oppression" that they can't bear to let it go.