Yeah, totally! This is a discussion I’d like to have!

Are you talking about antifa or black bloc? They aren’t the same.

Most likely you’re not really on the left.

No, they aren’t legitimizing Nazis. That’s a logic with not connection to reality.

That’s an incredible misreading of the discussion about identity politics from the left. The argument is that identity politics that are not paired with alliance building and an economic program that address class issues will do nothing to eliminate inequality. If you look at the conflict between Jezebel and The Root,…

I’d argue that the alt-left is more like Jill Stein, anti-imperialist, anti-vaccination, green party Russia-backed weirdos who undermine legitimate leftist aims.

The left doesn’t lose any kind of moral superiority when fighting Nazis.

Antifa are not extremists. Stop being a coward.

No. You’re an idiot. During the 80s and 90s when liberals were doing nothing to combat racism, the punks were out fighting the Nazis and pushing them out of spaces, limiting their recruitment efforts, and making public life really hard for them.

Can we expect a column from you about how your contributions to Jezebel maintain conservative social positions for centrists who think they are leftists?

I’m not a Taylor Swift fan. I don’t like pop music.

I don’t think Beyonce is an intersectionalist in the slightest. This leads into a larger critique of pop feminism (I really don’t like singling out Beyonce even if it happens a lot) but I’ve gotta get to work!

Beyonce is performative. Remember the lyrics to Formation really don’t make any sense when paired with Black Panther ideology. Beyonce has the same ideology as any capitalist Taylor Swift white feminist.

Is this supposed to be a something something something about cultural appropriation but you haven’t really thought it through yet?

She is a singer. That was rude for no good reason.

Going over this article again, I’m confident in saying that it’s kinda stupid and exactly what you imply it isn’t: “a condescending troll of a piece that maybe willfully, maybe unwittingly disregards a lot of the conversation around appropriation for the sake of rendering counterfeit common sense.”

I think your examples cite the perfect reason why cultural appropriation doesn’t work as a critical tool. Often what is appropriated cross-culturally(or racially) has already been appropriated from within whatever racial or ethnic community of origin.

Yeah. I totally agree. What kinda tears me up is that I don’t really know how to suggest creating the momentum to push universalist progressive ideas with step to addresses the abolition of prejudices in mainstream audiences. Everything just falters in the context of popular culture.

Who has ownership? You’re talking about culture like it’s monolithic and transcendent. Reading these comments is like reading those comments from angry white people who don’t appreciate football players kneeling during the anthem because the perspective on the national anthem/american flag only belongs to white vets.

It’s a bad critique that transforms culture into property, essentializes people, and ignores power structures within communities (not just white capitalists).