Liberal vs Wokeist ID Politics

I'm a social liberal.  I'm no academic, but I am a bit of an intellectual and a Reedie (a graduate of Reed College, in Portland OR).   As a liberal, I'm critical of Wokeism.  Many Wokeists seem to think that only conservatives are critical of Wokeism, and that the only possible reason progressives might criticize it is that, somehow, the conservatives got to them.  I'd like an opportunity to persuade you that there is a valid liberal criticism of Wokeism.

What do I mean by "Wokeism"?  

1. A particular identity politics ideology that frames the subject in terms of privilege, oppressed groups, microaggressions, etc., in which... 
2. adherents understand themselves to be warriors fighting for some sort of self-imposed "justice", based on their own concept of it, and... 
3. which is characterized by an MO that often uses authoritarianism (like cancel culture), shaming, and abuse, often at the expense of reason, to accomplish its political goals.  (I don't mean a Stalinist level of authoritarianism, but destroying someone else's career because they disagree with you is, nevertheless a type of economic force.)
   

Many Wokeists will immediately contradict me, here, claiming that the right is maligning them with false accusations.  But... 

• we all saw some people, at least, canceling and shaming, in the news.  
• we've all seen Wokeists abusing people on social media.
  
• I personally know someone who was canceled and... 
• I've been threatened twice with canceling.  
• I myself was summarily kicked off a "Democrat" group on Facebook, simply for opposing Wokeism.  

So we know for a fact that there are Wokeists who are doing this sort of thing.

Also, so what if conservatives happens to agree with me?  Attacking an idea because conservatives say it is an ad hominem attack.  Just because conservatives say something doesn't mean they're wrong.  It's on you to explain why you think they're wrong.  You cannot summarily dismiss my opinion on the argument that conservatives said it and whatever conservatives say is ipso facto wrong.

Now, you may be thinking that the abusers and authoritarians are only a small sub-faction within Wokeism, but I'd like to convince you that it's actually a very big part of the movement.  There is a spectrum of techniques in Wokeism.  

• At one end, there are Wokeists who will use economic violence (cancel culture) against dissenters.  
• Others may not cancel people, but will use abuse and shaming, but won't cancel people.
• Others may not do that, but will still dismiss dissent out of hand.
  

100% of the time when I've dissented, Wokists have lashed out at me by gaslighting me or to some extent accusing me of immorality.  I see them doing this in person, in the news, and on social media with every dissenter.  So Wokism is characterized by attacking dissent.  To lash out at others because they disagree is still philosophical authoritarianism, even when it doesn't use force.

The Problem with Wokeist Theory

How would you feel if somebody told you that you are to blame for all the murders that have ever been committed, because you're human, and all humans, at some level, have murderous impulses?  That's exactly the type of claim Wokeists make against white people, men, heterosexuals, etc.  Now you may retort that such people are not the groups we should be focused on protecting, but I'd consider the concept that all people are equal, and should therefore all be treated with equal respect and dignity, to be a categorical imperative.  Defamation of whites, men, heteros, etc. is still wrong.

Privilege

Wokeists frame identity politics in terms of "privilege".  The California DMV says that driving a motor vehicle is a privilege, not a right.  Privileges are contrasted with unalienable rights in that a right is something everybody in a free society has (or should have) whereas privileges are reserved to some people but not others.

The problem is that everyone should have the right to justice and to be treated with respect and dignity by law enforcement.  Ditto for everything else the Wokeists claim regarding privilege.  Everyone, including women, have the right to have their boundaries respected and to have their charges of assault taken seriously.  None of us have the right to be believed, however, since everyone is innocent until proven guilty.  More generally, the Wokeists have misstated the problem.  The problem is that some people in our society aren't receiving the rights that they should receive, not that other people are receiving privileges they should not.

Street "Justice"

True justice has the following qualities:

• We have the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty
• Accusers have the right to be taken seriously, but not automatically believed without proof
• We have the right to a fair trial
• None of us has the right to take the law into our own hands ("street justice" is a contradiction in terms)
  

However, Wokeists pervert justice. 

• They oppose the idea that the accused must be presumed innocent until proven guilty.  Instead, in the case of women accusing men of sexual assault, they insist that the accuser be believed without fact-finding, rather than that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. 
  
• In the public forum, they oppose our right to a fair trial.  Instead, they believe that people should be "punished" for dissenting from Wokeism, rather than that we should have an open debate.
• They believe they have some sort of privilege to "punishing" people who have "privilege".  In fact, this is, essentially, taking the law into their own hands.  It's "street justice" which, as I've said, is a contradiction in terms.
  

My Liberal Solution

As a social liberal, I see identity politics from an Enlightenment perspective.  Wokeism seems to me to be anti-Enlightenment, however.  Rather than make sure that all people receive the same rights, they seek to shame (at best) certain groups of people with a mistaken accusation of "privilege". 

I seek a solution founded in Enlightenment values:

• All people are equal
  
• Unalienable rights (including human rights)
  
• Democracy
• The duties that accompany unalienable rights (such as the duty to tolerate opinions we disagree with)
  
• Justice understood in terms of the rights of the accused, fair trials, etc.
• Equal economic opportunity (through universal healthcare, public education, public trans, wellfare, etc.)
• Democratic capitalism
• The democratization of the corporation (profit sharing within a capitalist economy, some amount of stock for everyone from the CEO to the janitor)
  

I believe that the Enlightenment project remains unfinished.  We need to make sure that everyone receives the same rights.

• All people, including black folks, have the right to be treated the same by law enforcement.
• All people, including women, have the right to have all accusations, including those of sexual assault, taken seriously and properly investigated by law enforcement (including making sure all police departments have all the rape kits they need, etc.).  However, they do not have the right to be automatically believed, because that would violate the right of the accused to be treated as innocent until proven guilty.
• All people, including Lesbians and gays, have the right to sexual relations, love, and marry whom they will, regardless of the gender of the people involved, as well as the right to give blood, etc., etc.
  
• All people, including trans folk, have the right to present their gender to the world as they prefer and be treated with the same respect and dignity as everyone else.
• All people, regardless of class, race, gender, etc., should have equal economic opportunity to be financially successful.
  

Overall, my approach is extremely simple: equality, liberty, true justice, and equal opportunity.  It doesn't rely on authoritarian tactics, an evangelical ideology, or abusing dissenters.  Rather, it affirms the values of a free society.

If you agree with me on this, you might consider joining my "Anti-woke Leftism" group on Facebook.