Wednesday, March 03, 2010
A brief guide to reaction posted by Richard Seymour
1) Affect class resentment of "hopelessly middle class" leftist intellectuals (or if you prefer, "rich college fucks", dixit Daniel Patrick Moynihan). This is a cardinal principle of reaction, particularly if you happen to be hopelessly middle class, or a rich college fuck.
2) Ventriloquise the intimate beliefs and impressions of others. If you're bourgeois, remark that working class people are alienated and confused by the intellectualism of the left. If you're male chauvinist, complain that feminists don't understand how women tick. If you're a racist, talk about how black people love you, agree with much that you say, and find you much preferable to your hopelessly middle class foils.
3) Ground yourself relentlessly in reality. Real people just don't live that way, and don't want to. Real people don't think like that, or talk like that. The real world doesn't work that way.
4) Espouse victimology. Remark that positions exactly like your own are "brave" and "courageous", because they are invariably "shouted down" by the left (cf, "chorus of execration", "political correctness", etc).
5) Talk dirty. Now that you have authenticated yourself as a hard-bitten realist and soul brother (or sister) of the oppressed, feel free to indulge in some old-fashioned baiting and stereotyping. Eg, if your opponent is a woman, you could imply that she is a mad, shrieking harpy. Remember, not only do you speak as a persecuted salt-of-the-earth, dyed-in-the-wool, working class hero, you actually speak on behalf of womankind itself.
Exhibit A. Not one of the more egregious exhibits at that.
Labels: anti-racism, feminism, left, political correctness, racism, reactionaries, reactionary subjectivity, sexism