Purity spirals

[RoyalCorgi]

This is a brilliant piece by Gavin Haynes, tied to a radio programme, about the concept of "purity spirals" - the idea that's taken hold in certain groups that you have to continually demonstrate your ethical credentials. The example he gives is anti-racism in the knitting world, but obviously it can apply equally trans activism. Anyone who isn't 100% pure is regarded as morally beyond the pale. He makes historical analogies with Maoism, amongst other things. Fascinating - and spot on.

unherd.com/2020/01/cast-out-how-knitting-fell-into-a-purity-spiral/

If you had to pick one word to describe culture/cultural processes it would be appropriation.

In fact to integrate successfully as an immigrant is to ‘culturally appropriate’ isn’t it?!

When in Rome....

On the food as appropriation note, I give you the burritos made by white women that resulted in rape and death threats.

www.wweek.com/restaurants/news-restaurants/2017/06/06/the-battle-over-kooks-burritos-led-to-death-threats-and-international-outrage-we-invited-portland-chefs-to-weigh-in/

Just discussed on Radio 4: The Purity Spiral:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000d70h

Oops, I think that's the actual radio programme in the OP.

Prodigal that's an incredible example of the craziness. I really liked the points raised about class being totally overlooked.

This was quite on point I think: In five years, we might be in the middle of a recession, and concerned about all the restaurants that are closed, and that none of the cooks have jobs anymore. Those are real issues. Cultural appropriation is an issue that you can talk about only when you have enough money and time and a good job to talk about it.

The term cultural appropriation doesn't mean all adoption of something from one culture by another, it has a specific meaning implying a particular power relationship: the more powerful culture appropriates from the less powerful. It's very different from the immigrant changing to fit in.
I think this is a useful term and it is a phenomenon worth naming and thinking about. The problem is it's applied very bluntly as 'cultural appropriation always BAD' when in some cases there might be advantages for both sides, and the subtleties and contradictions that can exist in power relations are ignored.

Oops, I think that's the actual radio programme in the OP.

Yes, it was repeated on R4 this morning. It really is a good listen.

IIRC the issue with 'jerk rice' is that 'jerk' is a term that applies to preparing meat and is not a flavouring - you literally cant jerk rice. Although, I'm not certain all the wokesters realised this either 🤷‍♀️

Currently going on in the race to the Labour Leadership. It's a beautifully textbook example.

Sarah Ditum sums it up nicely:

Cannot stress enough how much I respect the Labour leadership candidates response to the Ashcroft polls. The public are turned off by baroque gender wrangling? TREMENDOUS, LET'S ALIENATE THEM HARDER WITH A STUPID PLEDGE

You know, repulsing everyone who understands anti-Semitism is bad followed by purging everyone who understands sex is real is a great way to expedite Labour's aim of winnowing support down to the One True Voter pure enough to support them. Maybe they'll find him by the next GE!

twitter.com/sarahditum/status/1227516146619949056?s=20

it has a specific meaning implying a particular power relationship: the more powerful culture appropriates from the less powerful. It's very different from the immigrant changing to fit in.

It's a bs distinction though. It's like saying if the less powerful give the flue to the more powerful, that is ok, but if the more powerful give it to the less powerful, it has moral implications.

No. The flu makes no distinctions, that's what it is.

Culture disseminates. Ideas disseminate. When I see something you have done, it exists in my mind, it's part of me, it influences other ideas I have. If I hear your music, it causes my ear to develop in a particular way. If I eat your food, it changes my palate.

There is nothing I can do about these things, really, whatever our power relationship is. It's the nature of ideas, experiences.

You know, repulsing everyone who understands anti-Semitism is bad followed by purging everyone who understands sex is real is a great way to expedite Labour's aim of winnowing support down to the One True Voter pure enough to support them. Maybe they'll find him by the next GE!

So true.

What is wrong with these women (the labour candidates) who are presumably intelligent enough to hold down jobs as mps and deal with rational arguments and evidence as part of their jobs?

The arguments for why self-Id is dangerous and regressive and harmful to women, and the concerns about what’s happening to an epidemic of young people with (supposed) gender dysphoria, are easy to access and being increasingly heard and shared. It’s also easy to observe the aggression and abuse dished out by transactivists and the obviously worrying statistics and cases where aggressive, violent and pedophile men are deciding to be women on a huge Scale.

How can you look at all that and decide to be swayed by rainbow wokeness instead? Even when the majority of voters don’t agree with you? Its’s bizarre. It’s like being an MP actually means you can’t take on board any real issues because image is all that matters. Heaven forfend you be an actual feminist who cares about actual women. Even if you’re a woman.

It only takes one of them to stand up and point out the emperors new clothes and address the issues coherently, to break this ridiculous woke conspiracy to believe something impossible and put that above sanity. All because no one dares be mean to any “LBGT” people. Even though the transactivists are trashing the rest of them.

This popped up on my Google feed today
www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/tanyachen/knitting-micro-influencer-drama-naming-yarn-sjw-terms

You have to admire her nerve for doing the indie dyer equivalent of poking a bear with a stick.

She has been hammered for doing this. She also likes and makes vintage style clothing, so wearing 1940s style clothing gets her branded a literal nazi. The bullying has been off the scale the last few days. I’m getting embarrassed to be a knitter now. They are still going after Taylor and slamming him for taking part in the programme, after all the bbc are alt right. They even tried to get this programme on purity spirals pulled.

They have been trying to stop his yarn producer having anything to do with him and going after his sister. The level of madness has ramped up. Every time I think it can’t go any further it reaches new levels of madness. Trans rights is also cropping up a lot in the last few days. Can’t think why!

I noticed Suzanne Bryan's next live chat on her YouTube channel is with him, I wonder how on earth she'll handle any attempts to disrupt it.

I’m coming here for a bit of sanity.

Crazy thread on AIBU about the OP reporting an Eastern European to HR (With potential to lose their job) for talking about not wanting to be near Chinese in public places. People saying report, report, report.

I have decided either I am going mad or the world is going mad.

What will it take to break this spell?

I never understood why those cat hats had to be different shades of brown and beiges to promote diversity . If men were marching down the street , they would wear blue hats and their penises are not blue

It goes back to the day you were born, pink - it's a girl , blue - it's a boy

Nm, I didn't know this is an old thread. I got here somehow (i must have clicked on a link)

Been the best thread I’ve read for ages! Thanks for the bump Blueberries ☺️