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The roots of these witch hunts are found in the psychological pathologies that sometimes appear in religious persons. Substituting “the witch cursed me” for complaints about “misgendering” or “deadnaming” only be clarifies the accusation. “Witch hunts” is a particularly apt term, if we juxtapose the alleged wrongs (words that inflict “harm” and “enact violence”) with the centrality of words of power, especially names, to magical systems. So there are the outrage mobs, whose actions are a performative religious ritual-a symbolic purification and cleansing in which heretics and blasphemers are punished and witches sniffed out and vilified. The lack of proportion is the point, for one’s holiness and righteous purification is assured and confirmed by the vehemence with which one discovers and denounces every smidgen of sin. The merest hint of heresy or blasphemy is sniffed out and denounced as if it were a complete denial of the sacred creed. Righteousness may also be had by those who articulate doctrine accurately and deconstruct their own original sins of privilege.Īdditionally, a certain type of religious person will demonstrate sanctity by detecting sin in ever-smaller doses and increasingly violent reactions to it. Victimhood is one way to righteousness, with those most harmed by the overlapping systems of oppression (based on race, class, gender, etc.) able to claim the most moral authority. There is no redemption or eschaton in this intersectional faith, but that does not mean that it lacks a sense of righteousness. The doctrine of microaggressions is one articulation of this, the preaching on privilege is another. Our very existence implicates us in injustice, often without us realizing it. So also in this secular faith, all participation in injustice sullies us. It’s very similar to Christian teaching, in which all sin, no matter how seemingly minor, separates us from a holy and perfect God. And to perpetuate an unjust system is to perpetuate its inherent violence, regardless of intention. As we do so, even seemingly innocuous actions perpetuate injustice, even if we do not intend it. Human existence, finite and conditional, necessitates that we constantly participate in social and political systems that are unjust. Sin is everywhere and there is no grace or redemption, only the struggle. We are, this secular faith holds, all born into systems of oppression that can never be fully abolished, and the greater our privileges the greater our guilt. There has been a rediscovery of sin as an inescapable condition of human existence, although not in traditional Christian terms.
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But What If We Can’t See the Worst Evils? Rather, it is a genuine article of faith-specifically, of a secular creed that is attempting to grapple with the problem of original sin. In this case, shaming and silencing an academic ally shows that equating speech with violence is not just an opportunistic excuse to shut down right-wing views. Outrage mobs, whether in person or online (often both), will threaten the careers and safety of those with whom they disagree, and of allies whom others deem to have stepped out of line. This view, that words and arguments are threats equivalent to violence, is familiar from various campus protests, where it is often used to justify actual physical violence.Īctivists will declare that certain views are attempts to “erase identities” and “deny people their humanity” or suchlike, thereby justifying suppressing those views, sometimes violently. However, it also offers insight into an illiberal worldview of increasing power, especially in higher education. The claim that an article in a minor philosophy journal “enacts violence” or does “harm” to anyone is amusingly overwrought.įor connoisseurs of human folly, this kerfuffle offers a delightful tableau. Never before has so much been written by so many to be read by so few. While the publish or perish demands of academia have ensured a plentitude of scholarly journals, they are obscure almost by definition. Rather, it is the reaction to the article that piques one’s interest.
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What is fascinating here is not the argument over whether the logic of transgenderism also justifies transracialism. Instead of defending an article that made it through their review process, the journal editors have knuckled under and issued an apology, even though the author, other than regretting some word choices, stood by her article.