An extremely good article, I thought. Only I was a bit mystified by the reference to an "Eric Kaufman totem pole", which is surely a bit obscure to immediately make its meaning clear to any reader. It sounds almost like a dig at Professor Kaufman, which it isn't. I suppose others reading this comment might also be wondering. If you ask Google AI what it means, it is a "metaphorical hierarchy of moral worth and victimhood within modern cultural society or 'wokeism'. In this framework, groups are ranked by their 'totemic capital' based on an oppression order dictating who must defer to whom in social and political conflicts". In other words, Prof. Kaufman is one of the sane who has not been sucked into the culture-wide insanity of who happens to be oppressed or offended or deserving at the moment, for various inadequate-historical/guilt-ridden/incorrectly-assumed "reasons". [The reason the gay couple were given priority.] Anyway, apart from that, I repeat, a great article with some serious brain cells behind it!
Thanks for your thoughtful remarks. I plead some mitigation. This was originally a longer form essay, and you'll see that in part 1, (linked above) I do explain (briefly) Eric Kaufmann's image of the totem pole. I was enrolled on the inaugural online course on woke that he does at the University of Buckingham, which is where he explicitly used the image. It is a frequently used one, probably because it illustrates the point so well. I split the longer essay into two, and I suppose it seemed expedient not to repeat every point made in part 1 in the second one, but perhaps presumptuous to assume everyone would have read part 1. They do go together though, and I'd respectfully invite you to take a look. (As I'm away from my desktop, I'm unable to post this under the NCF Locals moniker, so I hope you can forgive that anomaly). Kind regards.
I have seen this trend developing over decades. The lefties infiltrating the education system were putting people into boxes even in the late 60s, and now, as you say, we are all just avatars. Like that analogy.
I remember my mother telling me not to mention she had quietly divorced my father, who was nearly always abroad, anyway( which is very normal when you live between two ports - one Royal Navy and the other a deep water merchant navy port.)
"You don't want to be labelled - they will treat you differently."
An extremely good article, I thought. Only I was a bit mystified by the reference to an "Eric Kaufman totem pole", which is surely a bit obscure to immediately make its meaning clear to any reader. It sounds almost like a dig at Professor Kaufman, which it isn't. I suppose others reading this comment might also be wondering. If you ask Google AI what it means, it is a "metaphorical hierarchy of moral worth and victimhood within modern cultural society or 'wokeism'. In this framework, groups are ranked by their 'totemic capital' based on an oppression order dictating who must defer to whom in social and political conflicts". In other words, Prof. Kaufman is one of the sane who has not been sucked into the culture-wide insanity of who happens to be oppressed or offended or deserving at the moment, for various inadequate-historical/guilt-ridden/incorrectly-assumed "reasons". [The reason the gay couple were given priority.] Anyway, apart from that, I repeat, a great article with some serious brain cells behind it!
Thanks for your thoughtful remarks. I plead some mitigation. This was originally a longer form essay, and you'll see that in part 1, (linked above) I do explain (briefly) Eric Kaufmann's image of the totem pole. I was enrolled on the inaugural online course on woke that he does at the University of Buckingham, which is where he explicitly used the image. It is a frequently used one, probably because it illustrates the point so well. I split the longer essay into two, and I suppose it seemed expedient not to repeat every point made in part 1 in the second one, but perhaps presumptuous to assume everyone would have read part 1. They do go together though, and I'd respectfully invite you to take a look. (As I'm away from my desktop, I'm unable to post this under the NCF Locals moniker, so I hope you can forgive that anomaly). Kind regards.
I have seen this trend developing over decades. The lefties infiltrating the education system were putting people into boxes even in the late 60s, and now, as you say, we are all just avatars. Like that analogy.
I remember my mother telling me not to mention she had quietly divorced my father, who was nearly always abroad, anyway( which is very normal when you live between two ports - one Royal Navy and the other a deep water merchant navy port.)
"You don't want to be labelled - they will treat you differently."
Birmingham's EDI frauds tried to kill me, so it was more overt in his case.