I’ve been thinking about this a lot - I heard this phrase similarly worded some months ago. I think it’s accurate.

Here’s why “identity politics” can *feel* new, when it has always been around:

1/x https://twitter.com/roderickgraham/status/1321153303661715459

When a majority, however constructed (race, religion, ethnicity, sex, etc) controls a narrative, their narrative feels like THE narrative.

And “control” doesn’t need to happen maliciously - it can occur seamlessly in the absence of dissenting voices. 2/x

And it isn’t always bad! In consensual groups, like a knitting circle, the narrative isn’t about basketball stats. That’s control.

But when people co-exist in a democracy, and the ideal is equal representation and standing, a Majority Narrative can be “oppressive.” 3/x

That’s a tricky word - oppression. I often recoil at it, and I do think it’s sloppily applied. But it’s important to realize that no one individual person - or group - needs to be actively harming anyone else for a Majority Narrative to leave the excluded feeling oppressed. 4/x

I think the best way to defang this term is to universalize it in a framing everyone can understand. YOU, whoever you are, understand what it feels like to be excluded from a narrative. Remember those times when your viewpoint wasn’t considered because you were outnumbered? 5/x

Most of these events aren’t traumatic in nature, and they’re usually not “bad.”

You’re the only guy at a “girl’s night.” The person at a tailgate who isn’t into sports. You got dragged to a country music festival or a hip hop concert. The film snob at a Michael Bay marathon. 6/x

Simply put: The people there aren’t looking to harm anyone, but you’re still experiencing something that was not “made for you.”

Now, imagine being in that setting for weeks. Months. Years. You’re a François Truffaut fanatic and every night all they play is Michael Bay. 7/x

So finally, you pipe up.

“Look, Michael Bay is great but I feel like we could have more diversity. I don’t really feel like my tastes are being represented, and I’m here every night just like you are.”

“But this is the Michael Bay fan club.”

“And I do like The Rock, but -“ 8/x

“If you don’t like Michael Bay you can just leave.”

“But you’re all my friends and I like being around you.”

“You clearly don’t, since you’re complaining so much. You hate Michael Bay and you hate us. Just go to another movie night.”

“This is the only movie night in town.” 9/x

This is so oversimplified, I know. But it’s not much more complicated than that. The discussions and prescriptions being offered to diversify Michael Bay Night are complex and varied but the issue is simple:

Things feel universal when the universe was made with you in mind. 10/x

To wrap up:

No one individual or group needs to be actively excluding anyone else for a system of exclusion to propagate.

Let’s create a neighborhood with a hundred movie nights to choose from. It won’t diminish Michael Bay. But it will help the Truffaut stans feel seen. 11/11