The new right-wing political correctness

[J Ed]

In my view over the past few years we have seen the development of a sort of a melding of right-wing outrage culture and political correctness as a weapon to be wielded against those who are not initiated into the latest form of what is considered to be acceptable dispassionate discourse. In many cases right-wing politicians are not even using ill considered words by frustrated and desperate people against them, they are simply arguing that because they in X group are being criticised or slighted in some way then the criticism is about X group rather than, for example, policy.

I think that what we are seeing, or at least the extent of it, is something new. It reminds me a lot of the identity politics of student union politicians who by and large have made pretty effective use of it albeit within a very limited and increasingly irrelevant subculture of a subculture.

Here are some examples of what I mean:

Tory minister Esther McVey calls on Ed Miliband to condemn 'sexist' campaign against her after she was branded a 'murderer' who is 'going to hell' by rivals

Tory minister Esther McVey has called on Ed Miliband to condemn the ‘scurrilous’ campaign against her after she was branded ‘murderer McVey’ in graffiti.

She added: ‘The attacks have been misogynistic and sexist and I find it rather mystifying how the Labour party purports to be a party for a woman and yet have run this scurrilous campaign against me and at no time has it been condemned by Ed Miliband.
‘I think this myth that they’re for women is only a myth and the reality is the campaign they have run against me shows what they truly think about women.’

As Jeremy Corbyn was anointed leader, not one female voice was heard

The new brocialism cares deeply about women’s issues of course – just not enough to elect an actual woman

Victimhood also seems to be a strong component of this. Take for example this public airing of victimhood on twitter



In that twitter thread a number of Progress MPs are complaining about a letter that was sent to them for abstaining on the financial pledge which has been posted up to imply that somehow Jeremy Corbyn is guilty by association, the implication being that the worst example they can find by a Corbyn supporter can be extrapolated as being representative of his supporters generally. It is clearly part of a joint communication strategy to undermine Corbyn through a series of right-wing MPs publicly parading victim status. I noticed that this tactic seemed to begin to be used on a widespread basis in the run up to the Scottish referendum but it is now being used against supporters of the Labour leader.

 

[laptop]

I'd been wondering whether they were simply picking up on trolls' tactics.

The rightwinger-as-victim trope goes back to the Nixon campaign, doesn't it?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

((((the one percent))))

they're a minority, you know

 

[ItWillNeverWork]

I'd been wondering whether they were simply picking up on trolls' tactics.

The rightwinger-as-victim trope goes back to the Nixon campaign, doesn't it?

Goes back as far as forever. Right wingers are always moaning. They bore me to tears sometimes.

 

[J Ed]

The rightwinger-as-victim trope goes back to the Nixon campaign, doesn't it?

I agree with this but I think this is a new iteration of it. They are not only claiming that they are persecuted for being right-wing, but that the people criticising them are doing so because they are sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic or whatever. That is new I think.

 

[laptop]

Goes back as far as forever. Right wingers are always moaning. They bore me to tears sometimes.

But the specific complaint about them being the poor victims of a liberal attack...

Maybe not the Nixon campaign as such; more the lobbying push to un-happen the 60s, with the funding of the George Marshall Institute and everything else that led to the Project for a New American Century.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I agree with this but I think this is a new iteration of it. They are not only claiming that they are persecuted for being right-wing, but that the people criticising them are doing so because they are sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic or whatever. That is new I think.

It doesn't stand up, though, does it. It's pretty see-through, no, when a woman shouts misogyny for criticism of her when the criticism has nothing to do with her being a woman?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

dunno really.

some echoes of the democrat primary in 2008 when the party chose obama rather than hilary clinton (no doubt they would have found a token black person and shouted 'racism' if they had elected clinton instead)

 

[J Ed]

It doesn't stand up, though, does it. It's pretty see-through, no, when a woman shouts misogyny for criticism of her when the criticism has nothing to do with her being a woman?

I don't know if it's effective or not, I think that they probably think that it is effective or there wouldn't be such a concerted effort to do it.

 

[laptop]

I agree with this but I think this is a new iteration of it. They are not only claiming that they are persecuted for being right-wing, but that the people criticising them are doing so because they are sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic or whatever. That is new I think.

I'll have to try to remember examples.


Does its current prevalence demonstrate a degree of fear at the emergence of a politics that labels itself "progressive"?

A need to muddy the waters and try to confuse the issues? See also "we are the real Workers' Party"!

 

[J Ed]

A need to muddy the waters and try to confuse the issues? See also "we are the real Workers' Party"!

That has occurred to me, yeah. I think it's part of an overall effort to subvert left-wing language and put it to use towards right-wing ends.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

The 'you're anti-Semitic' accusation against criticism of Israel is another example of the same thing, no? That's been going for a while.

 

[laptop]

That has occurred to me, yeah. I think it's part of an overall effort to subvert left-wing language and put it to use towards right-wing ends.

Also: elections are decided by stupid people people who aren't paying attention.

If you're a rightwinger, do you calculate that it's to your advantage to perpetuate a "politicians are all as bad as each other" mood.

All you have to offer, after all, is your better-funded slicker efforts to get name-recognition. Election reverts to a clash of the ad-men.


And I say "men" advisedly.

 

[DotCommunist]

Petronella Wyatt: I was bullied out of Oxford for being a Tory

when others are red baited unto exclusion or just denied a place at the table for being pov then thats not the same thing

 

[toggle]

It doesn't stand up, though, does it. It's pretty see-through, no, when a woman shouts misogyny for criticism of her when the criticism has nothing to do with her being a woman?

but you see, when some of those leftie women shout misogyny, lefties listen. so it must work.

cause all they see is shouting by women. refuse to see an actual problem. so they reckon it's all the same so has to work.

 

[DotCommunist]

That has occurred to me, yeah. I think it's part of an overall effort to subvert left-wing language and put it to use towards right-wing ends.

in the case of your OP its less language appropriated vis-avis struggle but rather keywords thrown out to deflect. You can't tell me saying working mothers deserve a tax credit cut is out of order and \i should die because thats sexist as i am a woman. And so on. Its apeing the language without the structural analysis

 

[laptop]

apeing the language without the structural analysis

Trolling, then

 

[littlebabyjesus]

but you see, when some of those leftie women shout misogyny, lefties listen. so it must work.

cause all they see is shouting by women. refuse to see an actual problem. so they reckon it's all the same so has to work.

Yeah, they may well be that stupid/wilfully ignorant.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Trolling, then

Bad trolling, though, the kind that exposes you as an idiot without you even realising.

 

[laptop]

the kind that exposes you as an idiot

But only to those who are paying attention

 

[toggle]

Yeah, they may well be that stupid/wilfully ignorant.

not just them though. saw a lot of claims that failing to support female labour candidates was sexist. although the left wing credentials of the labourites making those are more than a little doubtful

 

[toggle]

not to mention that it's one of laurrie penny's favourite tactics

 

[Hocus Eye.]

not to mention that it's one of laurrie penny's favourite tactics

This has got me really mystified. I am not in thrall to Laurie Penny but can't see any evidence of your claim.

 

[toggle]

This has got me really mystified. I am not in thrall to Laurie Penny but can't see any evidence of your claim.

don't doubt she gets loads of abuse, but she does have form for labeling disagreeing with her as sexist abuse. it's the same tactic of silencing disagreement of any sort

do i have to dig through her tripe, or will you accept that Bakunin experienced this himself.

 

[Hocus Eye.]

don't doubt she gets loads of abuse, but she does have form for labeling disagreeing with her as sexist abuse. it's the same tactic of silencing disagreement of any sort

do i have to dig through her tripe, or will you accept that Bakunin experienced this himself.

Well give me a clue or two.

 

[toggle]

Well give me a clue or two.

kick me tomoz. i have to work in the morning

 

[Vintage Paw]

not just them though. saw a lot of claims that failing to support female labour candidates was sexist. although the left wing credentials of the labourites making those are more than a little doubtful

A Blairite candidate who failed to get her seat near me has done little but moan about how evil the women-hating Corbynistas are. Someone else I follow on twitter, who usually seems a decent sort, is now claiming she'll never vote Labour unless it's for a woman, as leader, MPs, whatever. When I asked when faced with a man who has left-wing policies versus a woman with right-wing policies, when it's obvious who would do more to help women as a whole, who would she vote for, she said the woman because reasons. God.

Still, it really doesn't help matters when some people respond to this idiocy by sending rape and other violent threats to the women in question. It's all a big old fucking mess.

 

[nino_savatte]

Any justified criticism of Churchill is generally met with fury by right-wingers.

 

[two sheds]

I like the way that racists/bigots often seem to bleat that left wingers are restricting their freedom of speech. No, you have the freedom of speech to make any racist, bigoted statement you like it's just that we have the freedom of speech to label it racist and bigoted.

I do actually wonder what it is that they actually want to say that they now feel they aren't allowed to. As far as I was aware you can say what you like as long as you don't incite hatred or violence so I presume it's one of them two.

 

[stethoscope]

Identity politics has been subsumed into the political right for a while, and this is why you now see it increasingly as a tool of the right towards the left. The Labour leadership election particularly has seen this, when you see Mensch, etc. all framing attacks using identity quite compatible with being right-wing and liberal. Which is why identity politics which I think has (had) it uses, ultimately is a dead end because it happily sits with neo-liberalism.