I really think that we are so much worse off than in the past, and it is not because there is more oppression than in the past. We are now becoming more tribal, self segregating, and self policing. I am of the opinion that the thought police have been running rampant these days. No it is not an external force, it is in your head. It's that voice that tells you not to think or say that certain "bad" or "immoral" thought.
I'm curious why you think things are so much worse now than in the past. From my perspective there isn't another decade in history where I think 'we' (those of us in developed nations) have had it better off.
As for external voices (I'm asuming you mean 'other people' and not an alternate personality?) telling you not to say bad or immoral things, how has is this different from other points in history and why do you consider it a bad thing?
I certainly think that we have a better standard of living than the past and less crime too. It's just as i said, i think we are worse off because now we are self segregating into identity groups, and I don't personally think that can lead anywhere good. The narrative of oppressor/oppressed can be and has been used in the past to justify great atrocities. Some say we know better this time, yeah right.
Can you please elaborate a bit on these thoughts? Specifically:
- When has simply being aware and mindful of existing oppression (and the people who are oppressed) ever been used to justify a great atrocity? I can think of many things that have come out of this (women's rights, an end to slavery, gay rights, transgender rights, etc.) but not too many atrocities.
- In what way are you seeing people self-segregate? The group of people I work with daily is quite diverse culturally, ethnically, religiously, and in sexual orientation. The same with my close group of friends. In fact, the city I live in is incredibly diverse.
Just try and have a conversation with someone possessed by the oppressor/oppressed ideology. You can't because you will be labeled a racist, misogynist, mansplainer, privileged, and so on, people will shut down the conversation.
I'm not sure what the oppressor/opressed ideology that you're referring to means exactly. I've had many conversations with a wide variety of people and never been labeled a racist, misogynist, or mansplainer. If this is happening often to you, maybe it's your approach that is leading all these people to react that way to what you say. I do recognize that as a straight white middle-class guy I am privileged in many ways - not because people told me so . . . but because it's self-evident from research done on wages, hiring practices, world average wages/living standards, etc.
I opposed letting girls into the boy scouts and was having a debate with a friend. She said it was good for girls because historically girls have been oppressed, and at least I can agree that women are oppressed. I said I did not agree with that and she shut down the conversation stating she can't continue it if I don't admit that women are oppressed, which had nothing to do with the topic at hand.
While things are certainly much better than they were in the 60s, which was still better than things were in the 20s, it's very evident that women are not currently treated equally as men in the United States:
- How many women have been president? How many men?
- What percentage of people in congress are women? What percentage of people in the country are women?
- Men are given full autonomy over their bodies in all situations. Are women?
- How often are women raped in comparison to men?
- Do women make the same amount as men when doing the same job?
It's difficult for many to look at the answers to the above questions and then argue that they're all just a coincidence. It seems more likely that there's some fundamental disparity still going on.
Another example is when a black man is not allowed to have an opinion that he "shouldn't" have, such as kanye liking trump, blacks are supposed to be democrats don't you know.
So, to show how black men are not allowed to have opinions that they shouldn't . . . you give an example of a black man who has an opinion that (you allege) he shouldn't? :P Can you show an actual example of what you're talking about here?