Hi, I thought I owed you a more involved response considering the extensive comments you had posted, and especially since you seemed genuinely troubled that I may be accusing Kendi of advocating for mass murder because I compared his book to Mao’s Little Red Book.
And of course I am not.
Therefore, I thought I should clarify what I meant by quoting myself (a literary tactic I learned from Kendi):
“Infused with the authors’ charisma, both books aim to shape how readers think and act.
Both books use authoritative mantras to promote action for a social movement. The Anti-Racist Baby outlines nine steps for children and their parents to follow “to make racial equity a reality.” In a similar vein, Mao’s Little Red Book sought to achieve equity by advocating for class struggle and revolution, through a collection of his own quotes.
Ultimately, both authors, and their followers, share the conviction that dedicating sufficient mental labor can catalyze societal change.”
As you see, my comparison revolves around the manner in which these books are crafted–advocating for dedicating sufficient mental effort to promote their respective social movements. And both movements demonize certain groups and foster division, ie you are either racist or anti racist.
Given Kendi’s status as a NYT bestselling author recognized for his anti racist scholarship, I believe it’s entirely justified for me (and anyone) to critique his work. My company even invited Kendi as a keynote speaker and disseminated a guide on how to teach children about anti racism using him as an authoritative source.
So as you can see, I am not "elevating" his voice - I am critiquing the work of a recognized figure of an ideology/movement that I find antithetical to my values and belief system, which for me, are based on prioritizing freedom of expression, rejecting identity politics, and advocating for equality of opportunities.
I like to write to allow myself to explore these issues and I welcome you to read them:
How To Be An Anti Sophist
https://lisalau110.medium.com/how-to-be-an-anti-sophist-29e7d34f8409
Why We Should Strive to Achieve What We Cannot See
https://medium.com/@lisalau110/why-we-should-strive-to-achieve-what-we-cannot-see-7c058fa35813
I Used to Support Affirmative Action. I No Longer Do.
https://medium.com/@lisalau110/i-used-to-support-affirmative-action-i-no-longer-do-693ed3c71fae
And just so you know, I do write about other topics!
(edited to correct typos)
