Fighting the CIA's version of identity politics
Episode 19 Preview
News from the past week: the CIA released a pandering, faux-woke recruitment ad. In case you missed it:
The above tweet poses an important question. Does the CIA’s embrace of representational identity politics suggest the left’s failure? This treatment of marginalization as justification for supporting the U.S.’s imperialist projects, not for solidaristic struggle against oppression, is intended to preserve the status quo of identity-based oppression. It’s a hollow, pandering version of identity politics that denies any link between this oppression and the CIA’s vision of how the world should be. The left should reject this politics, and it’s fair to recognize that the CIA’s understanding of identity politics, not ours, currently prevails. But, of course, it doesn’t have to be this way. As the left gains power and continues to get organized in the United States, one of its tasks will be to argue that putting more #girlbosses in the military, for example, does nothing to improve the material conditions of low-income American women — but universal healthcare and strong unions are essential tools in the fight against misogyny. Hostile to this rejection of oppressive power, institutions like the CIA will fight back with more attempts to muddy the waters. We should be aware of that, and we should also be aware that ours is the winning message.
Speaking of solidarity: a Huffington Post piece reports that the congressional Democrats who take the most donations from pharma corporations haven’t yet expressed support for a waiver on vaccine-related intellectual property. In other words, these party members understand that if COVID-19 crises like the one currently unfolding in India are halted by wider vaccine access, the for-profit pharmaceutical industry — and their donations — will take a hit. It’s a disgusting but unsurprising display of class unity in the face of vast human suffering. Now, the Biden admin can choose to curb mass deaths and growing numbers of COVID variants by expanding vaccine access, or to value corporate profit over human life.
For this week’s episode of KK&F, James Suzman, the author of Work: A Deep History will be joining us for conversation. Subscribe below to gain access to our episode video, which releases on Friday evening. Episode audio will be free and widely available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and other streaming platforms on Saturday.
I’m really excited to watch this
Has it occurred to anyone else that this might not be the absurd PR face-plant that it appears and that the CIA is having a laugh at the woke-left's expense? They are doing a victory lap.
Same thing with the Navy's proud announcement of their first all LGBT helicopter crew. It could be a The Onion story and the Navy knows that as well as the rest of us.