Episode One: Identity Politics

Thanks for listening to our inaugural podcast! You want show notes? We have some show notes for you.

Tim: I know how to  pronounce “inaugural”, I promise. I was just having a difficult time.

This episode we talk about

-What do people mean when they talk about “identity politics?”

-Are discussions of identity divisive to unity? Also, we talk about the political fiction of Asian-Americans.

-Is immigration without integration an invasion? (Spoilers: No – also Bobby Jindal is a massive tool). 

Some clarifications – Alok: In part 1 I was starting to make a point about intersectional identity and how people with multiple axes of oppression experience threats differently than those with privilege along most but not all lines. However, then I got distracted and never made that point, which led me to inadvertently separate out one identity from another as though they are disparate and women are different from black people are different from gay people. Obviously, people are lots of things all at once. My apologies for being inarticulate on the matter.

Tim: I was discussing how in America, Asians are largely treated the same despite varied backgrounds. I was making a point that all East Asian-Americans are called “chinks”, and Alok offered that his experience was somewhat different. He related that he was sometimes called “sand nigger”, I repeated that, and it felt awful and bad coming out of my mouth. I apologize for utilizing an awful slur.

Permalink to episode: https://raceinvadersorg.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/riep1_1.m4a