Ideologies matter. I should know, I am a survivor of Communism: an ideology that has murdered more than 100 million and enslaved more than 1 billion people around the world. Ideologies are mostly formulated, refined, remixed, and taught by professors in colleges and universities. In general, these professors are scholarly, kind, and respected by their students and colleagues. However, how their ideologies eventually flow to the society and influence policies and policymakers is beyond their control.
You fundamentally misunderstood Xendi when you said "Kendiism asserts that there are no problems in African American communities as if the past racial injustices had not done any damage." He definitely does not say this. What he does say is that there is nothing inherently "wrong or right" with any racial group as such. That does not mean that there can be nothing "wrong or right" with individuals, neighborhoods, organizations, etc. The key assertion is that the source of the problems is not traceable to the race of the individual, neighborhood, or so on in isolation from the way that other humans have influenced their history.
I have Kendi's books on my Kindle which means I can search text. Two of the three quotes in this article produce zero results and a third is taken out of context and misrepresented. This article is based on things Kendi did not write.
This is indeed a lucid critique. The official anti-racism of a dying neoliberal order can only lead us back into a worse form of racism. It is a shame, though, that the Left can't muster a response beyond clinging to its 'Kendiism.' Because only a Left strong enough to face your critique would be worthy enough to propose a rational alternative. But alas, that may not happen--and the Enlightenment dream of a free society will continue to wither into oblivion.
You fundamentally misunderstood Xendi when you said "Kendiism asserts that there are no problems in African American communities as if the past racial injustices had not done any damage." He definitely does not say this. What he does say is that there is nothing inherently "wrong or right" with any racial group as such. That does not mean that there can be nothing "wrong or right" with individuals, neighborhoods, organizations, etc. The key assertion is that the source of the problems is not traceable to the race of the individual, neighborhood, or so on in isolation from the way that other humans have influenced their history.
I have Kendi's books on my Kindle which means I can search text. Two of the three quotes in this article produce zero results and a third is taken out of context and misrepresented. This article is based on things Kendi did not write.
This is indeed a lucid critique. The official anti-racism of a dying neoliberal order can only lead us back into a worse form of racism. It is a shame, though, that the Left can't muster a response beyond clinging to its 'Kendiism.' Because only a Left strong enough to face your critique would be worthy enough to propose a rational alternative. But alas, that may not happen--and the Enlightenment dream of a free society will continue to wither into oblivion.