Nellie Bowles, a New York Times reporter, questions the progressive movement she once embraced. She discusses the absurdity of a political movement, navigating media challenges, social persecution in liberal circles, ideological clashes, exploring white privilege in anti-racism courses, controversies over terminology in activism, teen mental health debates, and speculating on the future of societal revolutions.
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Quick takeaways
Progressive movements face absurdity when ideological beliefs clash with practical realities.
Anti-racist activism shifts towards internal introspection to dismantle ingrained white values and behaviors.
Antifa's utopian vision for societal reform encounters challenges and reveals complexities in revolutionary actions.
Deep dives
The Ideals of Utopia and the Reality of a Police-Free Zone
The episode delves into the ideals of creating a utopian society through movements like Antifa, as seen in the takeover of the Seattle neighborhood and its transformation into Chaz. Participants believed in showcasing a peaceful, functional community without police presence, aiming for a better world. However, the actual consequences, such as the loss of life and ensuing legal battles, highlight the complexities and realities of implementing such radical changes.
The Psychological Battle of Unpacking Whiteness and Internalized Supremacy
The podcast explores the trend of anti-racist movements focusing on internal psychological battles to address issues like systemic racism and privilege. Participants engage in courses about recognizing and dismantling their whiteness, uncovering internalized values like timeliness and individualism perceived as 'white traits'. This introspective approach, known for its therapeutic language, contrasts with traditional activism aimed at tangible societal improvements.
Antifa's Utopian Aspirations and the Struggle to Implement Change
Antifa's initiatives are characterized by utopian aspirations for reforming societal norms and structures, as seen in their attempts at revolutionizing urban spaces like Seattle's gay neighborhood. The movement's members envisioned a community free of traditional law enforcement and promoted ideals of a just society. Despite the initial enthusiasm, the practical challenges and consequences of their actions revealed the complexities of enacting radical change.
The Search for a Transformative Leader in Progressive Movements
The discussion reflects on the absence of a transformative figure akin to historical leaders like MLK or Malcolm X within current progressive movements. While various individuals champion specific causes, a unifying visionary to guide the trajectory of these movements towards sustainable reform is yet to emerge. The episode contemplates the significance of intellectual foundations and strategic planning for achieving lasting social change.
Critique on Allowing Gender Identity in Sports Participation
The podcast delves into the controversy surrounding gender identity in sports, expressing concerns that allowing anyone who identifies a certain way to participate may be regressive for women's sports. The discussion questions the notion of progressivism and liberalism in this context, highlighting arguments about physical differences between biological males and females. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining fairness in sports by having rules to address conflicting rights and the inability to change biological sex.
Debating Gender, Sex, and Social Constructivism
The episode explores the breakdown of the sex and gender distinction, emphasizing the shift towards erasing this divide in the transgender movement. It delves into the philosophical question of whether one can truly change their biological sex, presenting differing views on this ontological topic. The debate challenges the notion of gender as a social construct, touching on examples of how the movement intertwines gender expression with bodily changes. The conversation reflects on the societal implications and complexities arising from these fundamental identity discussions.
As a Hillary voter, a New York Times reporter, and frequent attendee at her local gay bars, Nellie Bowles fit right in with her San Francisco neighbors and friends—until she started questioning whether the progressive movement she knew and loved was actually helping people. When her colleagues suggested that asking such questions meant she was “on the wrong side of history,” Bowles did what any reporter worth her salt would do: she started investigating for herself. The answers she found were stranger—and funnier—than she expected.
In Morning After the Revolution, Bowles gives readers a front-row seat to the absurd drama of a political movement gone mad. With irreverent accounts of attending a multiday course on “The Toxic Trends of Whiteness,” following the social justice activists who run “Abolitionist Entertainment LLC,” and trying to please the New York Times’s “disinformation czar,” she deftly exposes the more comic excesses of a movement that went from a sideshow to the very center of American life.
Deliciously funny and painfully insightful, Morning After the Revolution is a moment of collective psychosis preserved in amber. This is an unmissable debut by one of America’s sharpest journalists.
Nellie Bowles is a writer living in Los Angeles. Previously, she was a correspondent at The New York Times where, as part of a team, she won the Gerald Loeb Award in Investigations and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Journalism Award. Now she is working with her wife, Bari Weiss, to build The Free Press, a new media company, where she also writes the weekly TGIF column which is released every Friday, thank God…or whoever.
Shermer and Bowles discuss: what it’s like to work at The New York Times • what it’s like to found a new media company • same-sex marriage • Liberalism vs. Progressivism • the Black Lives Matter, #metoo, and transgender movements • Patrisse Khan-Cullors • White privilege • somatic abolitionism • LGBTQ • IDAHOBIT • BBIPOC • CHAZ • homelessness • anti-racism • cancel culture • defund the police • protests.
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