SASS: Identity Politics Essay

Audrey Currey-G

Self and Society Seminar

Leaton

4 October 2019

Project One: Identity Politics

        Identity politics play an interesting role in our political climate and have a long and interesting history. The effects of identity politics and even status, reach as far back as 1964 to the civil rights group, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. This group, made up of activists, aimed to desegregate the Mississippi Democratic Party, and ultimately was successful in achieving their goals by helping to eventually help pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Dade, npr.org). Another example would be the La Raza Unida Party in 1970, comprised of Mexican-Americans, and then later all Latinos. Their objectives focused on benefitting the members based on their race. The third party received early success in smaller local elections but ultimately lost momentum in larger-scale elections. Identity politics have a long-standing and interesting relationship with American Politics and play an important role in our country’s politic climate to come. Identity politics can be both negative and positive, and both sides of the aisle have their own ideas. 

             Identity politics are based on how people see their own individuality. People take identifying aspects of themselves and use those qualities to form political relations and views. This tendency, whether consciously or not, allows people to more easily define their political views without necessarily doing their own in-depth research and without betraying their own. In doing so, people move away from the conventional wide-ranging political parties. This can be both negative and positive. This negatively affects the political environment by somewhat allowing voters and citizens to focus only on how the government and policies affect their own lives based on their backgrounds rather than focusing on the country’s health as a whole. It polarizes the country’s interactions politically, and places focus on the generalizations of culture, race, sexual orientation, religion or social background. Identity politics comfort people and drive the idea of hyperindividualism rather than supporting a productive means of improvement. Identity politics can also be a positive influence in our political climate. Identity politics provide people with the reassurance that supporting certain issues and candidates that will benefit them. They allow people to engage politically to further their interests without researching extensively. This encourages people to get involved and vote. There are both good and bad sides to identity politics and both sides of the political aisle have differing opinions internally.  

              Carrie Sheffield, a writer for CNN, argues that the Democratic party does not recognize the harmful effects identity politics can have. In her article, “Nancy Pelosi’s Mistake on Identity Politics”, Sheffield discusses how Pelosi’s political stance and comments concerning both identity politics can be dividing. The author analyzes how Pelosi and other Democratic candidates have used their race, gender, background, etc. to attract and gain support. While decidedly only mildly effective, Sheffield argues that this tactic causes discord. She goes as far as to argue that this method of campaigning “follow(s) the same playbook that lost Democrats the White House and kept them from gaining the congressional majority in 2016” (Sheffield, CNN.com). The author also mentions how this “identity politics play” is not used solely by playmakers from the left. Republicans can also be found using their identity as a method of gaining support, despite the ever-rising levels of diversity in our country. However, with celebrities of color like Kanye and Ben Carson showing support for conservative candidates, the tides of Republican identity politics shift as they move slightly towards attracting people from all walks of life. Sheffield’s piece aims to convey that identity politics divide voters and candidates who use this idea to win over voters are not successful.  Micheal Dougherty, a senior writer for the conservative magazine and website TheNationalReview.com, has a differing opinion. In his article, “Sympathy for Identity Politics?”, Dougherty discusses the benefits of identity politics on America’s political climate. Using Mary Eberstadt’s book, Primal Screams, the author describes how America’s rapidly changing familial structure and social interactions have caused muddled political views. Doughtery uses both Eberstadt’s book and other sources to defend identity politics and their role in supporting the country as it undergoes these dramatic social changes. Identity politics allow people to cling to a part of their identity that they can defend and support. Identity politics give comforts to voters and make the political world easier to manage. Identity politics also give minorities a voice and create a space for progress. By being given a space, people feel more comfortable to speak up and bring their own issues forward. In sum, according to Micheal Doughtery, identity politics provide a positive and progressive place for voters to congregate.

            Identity politics played an important role in our political climate in the past, and still affect our world today. While not everyone chooses to engage or support this concept, it is vital that voters understand what this means to them in order to most properly choose a candidate to support. Without a comprehensive understanding of how identity politics affect our government and world, people cannot vote justly. Understanding identity politics gives voters the tools to more equitably chose a candidate that can represent their beliefs and morals. 

Works Cited

Dade, Corey. “Identity Politics: A Brief History.” NPR, NPR, 12 July 2011,           www.npr.org/2011/07/12/137789802/identity-politics-a-brief-history.

Gao, Michelle I. “Why I Don’t Support Identity Politics Anymore: Opinion: The Harvard Crimson.” Why I Don’t Support Identity Politics Anymore | Opinion, 24 Jan. 2018, www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/1/24/gao-identity-politics/.

Perrybaconjr. “Why Identity Politics Could Be Good Politics For Democrats In 2020.” FiveThirtyEight, FiveThirtyEight, 2 Apr. 2019, fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-identity-politics-could-be-good-politics-for-democrats-in-2020/

Sheffield, Carrie. “Nancy Pelosi’s Mistake on Identity Politics.” CNN, Cable News Network, 4 May 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/05/03/opinions/identity-politics-pelosi-opinion-sheffield/index.html.

 

Big Save and Bigger Goal by Joey Keane

The goalie dives into the top corner of the net and the gloved hand enters stage right, the ball deflected, skips over the white bar.

The ball knuckles through the air, and sweat flies off of the goalies head,

The fans begin to cheer, as the smell of burgers and popcorn fly through the air

His bright yellow jersey screams at the opposing players

Joey electrifies the fans at Stokes Stadium

The bulldogs march down the field connecting passes, while Luke Payne hits a banger at the opposing keeper

The goalie leaps through the air like a jaguar in the jungle, but The NCAA ball finds its way into the back of the net for a Bulldog goal

Luke runs to the corner and does a double backflip celebrating the go ahead goal in the game

Joeboy Keane continues to lock down the net and keep a zero on the board 

The bleachers bang loudly and the speaker yells as the game comes to an end

The bright yellow jersey rips into two off the back of the sweaty and tired keeper as the team celebrates the victory

Identity Politics and Its Effects on Me

Brad Lay

Dr. Leaton

S&S

10/13/19

Identity Politics

Identity Politics is a new phrase to me. I have not been too invested in politics to indulge in learning all the different types of politics and how they affect different people. Until I was a registered voter, I didn’t even follow politics at all because it was never a topic in my house. I have since voted in two local elections. These two elections haven’t had much identity politics in them as they were for school board positions and alderman positions and other smaller positions along those lines. I have voted on issues with legalizing marijuana which is probably the most trivial topic I have voted on yet. I feel that the legalization of marijuana has some identity politics involved because of the incarceration of so many people with charges related to marijuana. With the upcoming 2020 Presidential election looming large, I have tried my hardest to keep up with the main issues and the obvious current issue of impeachment. However, since I have been at college, away from my parents, I have found it harder to keep up with politics. This is because I would have talks with my parents about how they are currently affecting people across the US.

I have been able to be in touch with many people that identity politics truly effect. My cousin, who is on broadway and is a ridiculously good actor and dancer, is gay and had trouble with being comfortable around people that didn’t know, but is now as happy as can be. My best friend is mixed, and my other best friend is black. They face issues everyday with racism from other people. They sometimes don’t feel safe playing games outside after dark because they are afraid of what some people may think they’re doing out late at night in their predominantly white neighborhood. My best friend’s dad, who is black, is perhaps the nicest man I have ever met. He is always smiling and cracking jokes. This doesn’t stop other people from expressing their prejudices towards him. These issues are across the country, but I feel with having seen these experiences first hand, I have a perspective that I feel plenty of other people need to have. It is because of these people and my awareness of their circumstances that I have begun to build my definition of identity politics. Through this exposure, identity politics is when people of minority groups, who experience prejudice that majority groups never experience, build political views based off of said prejudices.

After learning what identity politics is, I realize that identity politics is happening every day. Whether it be issues on LGBTQ+ or race, identity is one of the most talked about topics of today. Now that I have knowledge on the subject of identity politics, I can say that in today’s society, especially if you are a politician, you have to pay attention to these types of politics and make sure that you empathize with these crowds. As a politician, if you want to win an election, you really better pay attention to these issues.

Politicians today are talking about identity politics, whether they realize it or not. Issues of LGBTQ+ and racism have one side or the other, for or against, which is why they are so polarizing. For example, Richard Patterson of the HuffPost said, “How do Democrats beat Donald Trump? Start by facing an unpleasant truth: Trump’s racism helped elect him” (Patterson). As wrong as it may seem, Patterson backs it up by claiming that “Trump understood and decided to exploit” the resentment of racial diversity among “white working-class Americans”. Trump is not the only President, and certainly not the only politician to exploit the racial divide in America to gain votes in order to obtain office. Trump uses identity politics to his benefit, which is targeting the white working class, and it ultimately got him elected as President. The Democratic party is using identity to their benefit for the upcoming 2020 election as well, “Most Democrats considering a run for president in 2020, whether they’re brown, black or white, are talking about race more frequently and frankly than their predecessors” (Khalid). Along with talking more about race, the party itself has become much more diverse over the past 20 years. “In 1996, three-quarters of registered Democratic voters were white, according to the Pew Research Center. By 2017, that number had shrunk to 59 percent” (Khalid). This represents the change of the focus of the party toward more social issues which is what the Democrats are appealing to now. Both parties use identity politics, it just depends on how they use it to appeal to their respective audiences. 

The current landscape of politics is quite fragile and a bit hard to maneuver between topics without crossing the line somewhere. With the Senate and Presidency controlled by Republicans and the House of Representatives controlled by the Democrats there is an obvious split between power. The House was just recently taken back by the Democrats, and by voters of minorities; ““At the end of the day, we know how Democrats took back the House, and it was because of black and brown voters throughout the country and female voters,” said Bakari Sellers, a Democratic political strategist” (Davis). This shows how the Democratic party targeted voters of minority populations using racially driven messages to get their support. However, the Democratic party has racial issues of their own. According to Julie Davis, a former White House Correspondent and current Congressional editor of the New York Times, “Weeks after Democrats assumed control of the House with the most diverse class ever, the leaders of their campaign arm invited more than a dozen top political consultants to lead a discussion on the message for their fragile majority. Every one of the strategists was white” (Davis). This issue is being addressed by people within the Democratic party, “For the Democratic Party to lack diversity in any way in the year 2019 is unacceptable,” he added, “and I’d rather fix it now than have to deal with it later” (Davis). The “he” in this quote is Bakari Sellers, who is a Democratic political Strategist. The fact that the Democrats rely on the vote of minorities and yet have very little diversity within their own party could potentially be disconcerting for many voters that would regularly vote Democrat. 

Identity politics is obviously an issue that deserves much attention from the American public. With the constantly evolving social issues today, one can’t be so blatantly naive to miss their impact on other people that have truly struggled with racial or sexual prejudice, or if they are struggling with who they truly are. These issues will be undoubtedly some of the top issues for the 2020 Presidential election, and the elections that follow.

 

Works Cited

Davis, Julie Hirschfeld. “Identity Politics Roil Most Diverse House Democratic Caucus Ever.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/02/us/politics/democrats-identity-politics-diversity.html.

Khalid, Asma. “Democrats Can’t Avoid Identity Politics In 2020.” NPR, NPR, 20 Dec. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/12/20/673937768/democrats-cant-avoid-identity-politics-in-2020.

Patterson, Richard North. “Opinion: How Democrats Can Beat Trump’s White Identity Politics.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 17 May 2018, www.huffpost.com/entry/opinion-patterson-identity-politics_n_5a7391a6e4b01ce33eb12c61?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaHVmZnBvc3QuY29tL3RvcGljL2lkZW50aXR5LXBvbGl0aWNz&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAK5UzU-o1R8i4YM31fxbFnKGziB2wPj1K6Yr3UOLN6KNZ4XvHCuroh2RyqaSPBuAPcjvoTnnI2A2ARV31s_O8vz6GKhF38P234fV7OE8c5YedJ0qQJ3zf-ncBT6L2MaPKIafKx0L2m6zIXJGRJQqAlCQpklmVQn0ZJTLuBOq2oS1.

 

 

Crisis

College is the midlife crisis of a young individual’s life

It is supposedly the best four years of your life, or so they say

Wake up in the morning to the musty aroma of anxiety drifting through the dorms

Go to bed at night to the sounds of freshman complaining about lack of sleep

When in reality it is because of this thing called procrastination

Feel the keys on your laptop as your fingers fly

Hurry, finish that paper due an hour from now before it’s too late 

Take a break and taste the cheap yet wonderful flavor 

As the ramen noodle soup touches your lips and tongue

As you are walking to class, take the time to look around 

Admire the different cultures and styles of all the people

Stop and look around to see the bright, hardworking young men and women

That will determine the future of our country

Last week while walking to class I saw a young man who’s hoodie was loud, blinding, and vitriolic

If you are lucky enough you will see me and my roommate Andrew at the on-campus Starbucks Caffeine – I need it to fuel the gears of my young yet ever hard working brain

Was that young man really wearing that hoodie?

College is the best four years of your life yet a crisis

If you want to fit in just act dope as hell and make sure to have a lot of drip 

Party way too damn hard like all the cool kids

Keep both hands on the wheel or you’ll lose control

Take control of your own life

You’re an adult now and have to balance responsibilities

Don’t crash or you will spiral out of control before you can blink – crisis

The other day my roommate found an assignment on the ground that someone had dropped They had received an A on it 

Which lead to me getting an A on my paper

Does that make me a genius?

The young people of Kirksville are caterpillars that are soon to be butterflies

Dumbass was late for class the other day, but at least he has a cool nickname

Looking back I realize the stupid mistakes I made my first semester of college

Now I am thriving and working hard every day

As the German’s say I often experience “Fernweh” when I long to be somewhere else

Back home in my old yet comfortable bed

Keep both hands on the wheel and don’t take your eyes off the road

Life is full of crises – take control

 

Cherry Blossoms

The blossoms push through like a businessman rushing to work.

Is a leaf’s only purpose to fall?

A chill wind across my face.

The cold air tasted sweet.

 

The Cherry Blossom petals rained down in the streets of Fujinomiya, spring was in the air in Inosuke’s hometown.

The air felt warm and alive.

The trees, in full blossom, showered pink onto the street.

The petals finessed their way towards the ground.

 Because they fall they die.

 

A duck carrying leek on its back passes by.

The pink petals glistened with peace.

The petals seemed to hover in the air, flying.

Inosuke could talk to the petals as they fell.

Andy could see Inosuke watching the petals fall.

 

The blossoms cover the ground, none left hanging in the wind.

As they bravely fall, knowing not what is beneath. 

The blossoms traveled vast, beyond the horizon.

忙中閑あり

The petals danced and all would stare.

The pink blossoms, showering like rain in the crisp spring air.

Flow

 

Class sturdily halted my mind–it dammed me.
Or it was the iceberg in the Atlantic.
And I was Edward J. Smith.
Its attentive hands deliberately perforated my hull.
It permitted the frigid surf of thought to enter,
And I dove through it–engulfed it without ever breathing.

Yet it blocked my flow.
It broke the will of my mind’s river–
But unlike the water, I was not chill.
It forced vapid deadlines upon me,
Imminent as the threat of drowning.

“It’s just one hour a day,”
Uttered my parents in an attempt at consoling me.
“¿Solo una hora?” responded an exhausted and stretched brain.
An hour maybe, but a trapped hour that leads to Remi’s unhappiness.
Try as I did to avoid it, it stood sturdy.
My typically smooth waves slammed up against the dam with erratic slaps
As the smell of rain and the taste of seafoam clouded everything.
It felt gray–numb. 

It was the torpid waterspout of my nightmares.
It stood over mental waters and hurled their contents miles away.
Though spin as it might,
It will never break the river’s spirit.
It will continue to hurl its spirited seafoam high in the air
And soak and spread the sleepy silts,
Whose misfortune has led them to lie in its bed. 

 

 

Oil and Honey

Putting on my face for the day

Racing the clock for second place

 

My skin begs to breathe as I don my denim and velvet,  I want to feel both scratch and soothe

My reflection practices honeyed words- appearances are important

Louie on Demun awaits, irreproachably

 

Family meal is served. Olive oil drips from my bread and unctuously lands on my skirt. 

The stain will never come out.

I guess appearances aren’t too important

 

5 o’clock, customers flood in and scrape their chairs across the floor. The screech lasts only a second before their conversation picks up and I am swept away

“Miss,” he calls out, my smile, without my knowledge, an invitation for stares when his wife isn’t looking, “could we sit over there?”.

Those sought after seats, the sunlit banquette of dreams, “Sorry Sir, they’re reserved”.

“Chica tonta no sabe cómo hacer su trabajo” he says as if I am beyond earshot.

While I take their empty glasses I curse this man for coming to visit.

 

I weave through moving chairs and oncoming plates of food to return glasses to the dish pit. 

Isaac greets me there, starkly lit and face dripping with a slew of sweat and humidity.

The dishwasher cycle takes one minute, just enough time for our quick and dirty daily catch-up.

 

It’s 10 o’clock, call it a night

Denim and velvet stick to my skin as I step into the oppressive dark.

I’m Allowed to Be Me*

*Identities May Apply

A strong understanding of who you are, how you choose to live your life, and how you interact with the world around you–seems like a good enough definition for something as personalized as one’s identity. Since personal identity influences how we behave with others it’s a logical step that it would play into our political leanings, goals, and voting patterns. These identity politics have become an area of hot debate in the recent political climate, but rather than being seen as a divisive measure tearing our country apart, we should see it as a natural progression of our experiences affecting our political ideals. I will be arguing on behalf of the idea that identity politics are a healthy extension of political diversification. This only holds true if the platform given is used for the growth of the community, not for soapboxing on behalf of an individual. 

Why do we as people try to fit ourselves into these boxes–these identities? We are a nation composed of innumerable different cultures and backgrounds swirling together in one mixing pot; shouldn’t that fact alone push us towards a collective identity of outsiderdom? People are all different. Forcing folks to assimilate to a common label on account of the country they call home would cause us to lose an inconceivable amount of diversity and untapped learning opportunities. While I believe that conformation for all under one label is wrong, people grouping together has and will always be a reality, just one of smaller population size. We can only have strong bonds with so many people, and those who have shared experiences will come much easier to us.

What are these identities that we choose to describe us and why do they hold enough power to cause these social and political rifts? Race is a definite facet of identity politics. In this country (and many others) skin color factors into what opportunities a person may or may not receive. Is it wrong to bond with one another due to the persecution of race? Or is banding together and finding a home in those you can relate to exactly what is needed. The same goes for gender, sexuality, and any other identifying trait that has been used as a weapon against people, both in the past and currently. 

The 2016 election was one lost by a misuse of identity politics. Hillary Clinton put the most effort into trying to appeal to minority groups (women, LGBT folks, and people of color). Instead of unifying her vote, she made groups with more voting power feel unheard and underrepresented. It’s problems like these which usher forth a more unfavorable view of identity politics. NYT writer Mark Lilla wrote a polarizing opinion piece named “The End Of Identity Liberalism” in which he shoots down the historically liberal mindset of bringing attention to diversity through celebration by theorizing that the aforementioned idea forces a separation between people that doesn’t need to exist. Lilla goes on to say that we need a “post-identity liberalism” that restructures itself to appeal to Americans as Americans and that focuses its attention on problems that we all face, rather than making an issue where there isn’t one. While this is a valid suggestion, glossing over systematically oppressed groups to instead support what we know and are used to is a blatant expression of our disregard to those groups without power. It’s problems like these that bring us to white identity politics.Two groups face each other with a line drawn between

If you’re a member of the dominant group,” says Vox writer Sean Illing, “your identity is taken for granted precisely because it’s not threatened.” White identity politics are an ideology stemming from one thing. Fear of becoming the minority and losing that undeniable power. Donald Trump appealed to white folk by drawing a line between Us and Them and it won him the election. Two major white identity politics group spring to mind- the Ku Klux Klan and the alt-right. These groups are founded on behalf of affording the U.S. population a white ethno-state without intrusion from “lower races”. There is a different, more subtle expression of whiteness that is even more sinister, though. In a since deleted video filmed by Richard Spencer, posterboy for the developing neo-Nazi political phenomena in the U.S., for the National Policy Institute says this: “So long as we avoid and deny our identities, at a time when every other people is asserting its own, we will have no chance to resist our dispossession, no chance to make our future, no chance to find another horizon”. This tiptoeing around race identity during a time when nearly everyone has something to say about their background and how they too face oppression is dangerously persuasive to those who see no problem with siding with a neo-Nazi. Spencer and many other conservative people harmonize when they are able to reach an audience with this rhetoric of fear of what is to come if whiteness is lost. If white identity politics are not built from distrusting other races I don’t know what they are.

While this fear of whiteness being ousted as the norm percolates amongst some groups, my whiteness is also brought to mind. I am white (no capital “W” as Spencer would have it), and I have been afforded a great many opportunities because of that. People do not cross the street to get away from some societally trained fear of me. I never worry about seeing a police officer driving slowly next to me. I receive these luxuries of whiteness without batting an eye because this is what I’m used to – this is my normal. In fairness, I do also sometimes feel spoken over in these conversations of whiteness. Not because I feel as if I should be handed more opportunities because of my skin color, but because those who do tout their lack of melanin do it from a perspective that directly contrasts with other facets of my identity and leaves me in the lurch on issues I find more pressing. 

hand chained up symbolizing oppression

Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, puts this into words I deeply resonate with; “We can talk about it as a racial issue, but it is a general economic issue. We need to start paying attention to the needs of working families in this country.”. I grew up in an area of St. Louis where the average household brought in less than $19,000 yearly for income of families of four or more. There was one health clinic nearby (of which I am still a patient) which was sliding scale only, had four different language interpreters, not out of inclusion, but necessity, and whose pharmacy windows were made from bulletproof glass to protect from robberies. My identity as Poor has a much greater impact on my life than the trappings of whiteness have brought me. As Laila Lalami of The New York Times put it, “These voters suffer from economic disadvantages even as they enjoy racial advantages” (Lalami). Whiteness affords me many things, but they present as allowing me a freedom I’ve never known to be anything but available. This is the privilege those in a white panic seem to be missing. If we are white and raised to be more racially accepting, more often than not we ascribe a different political or social minority group onto ourselves. Oppression is oppression. Who am I to say one sort of systematic dehumanization is worse than another? Yet still, I am a woman. 

Politics, race, and anything else will divide, we just need to find ways to bring everything back together. We need to listen to everyone’s voices, even if it is difficult. If we are ever to coalesce under one title, American or otherwise, we will need to understand where every last one of our fellow humans are coming from. Open minds, open hearts, open discussion for all. Of course differing opinions will have contrasting mindsets, but here at Truman people from innumerable different cultures and backgrounds are swirling together in one mixing pot, shouldn’t that fact alone push us towards trying to find a single collective identity? Isn’t bulldog enough? 

 

Illing, Sean. “White Identity Politics Is about More than Racism.” Vox, Vox, 27 Apr. 2019, https://www.vox.com/2019/4/26/18306125/white-identity-politics-trump-racism-ashley-jardina.

Lilla, Mark. “The End of Identity Liberalism.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Nov. 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/opinion/sunday/the-end-of-identity-liberalism.html?mwrsm=Email.

Haider, Shuja. “Safety Pins and Swastikas.” Jacobin, 1 May 2017, https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/01/safety-pin-box-richard-spencer-neo-nazis-alt-right-identity-politics/.

Lalami, Laila. “The Identity Politics of Whiteness.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Nov. 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/27/magazine/the-identity-politics-of-whiteness.html.

Enter Identity: An Insight into Identity Politics

Before I begin, I will use a dictionary to define identity politics here, but please–bear with me. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines identity as, “the distinguishing character or personality of an individual.” But can someone really define such a broad and personal term? It seems unlikely that all collectives and groups that have occurred across the span of human existence can be thrown together to mean a distinguishing character or personality. To people who experience identity (everyone), it means much more than this definition, and these words trap the term identity in a box; just as identity politics has attempted to do with the masses. For some people identity is everything, it is their security, their solitude, the concept that holds their life in one piece. For others, it is little more than a term that they will let others call them to perform demographic data or apply for a job. This discrepancy of personal choice in the level of identity also contributes to what identity means. If anything, the most definable characteristic of identity is its ambiguity and personality, leading people to believe what they want about identity and classify themselves as they see fit. Labels and definitions are held in the eyes of the beholder, and, unfortunately, some individuals fail to agree on how to deal with competing concepts of each others’ perceived reality. While searching for the answer to the definition of identity politics one has to ask oneself if the definition really matters? If the problem lies in the outcomes and how people are affected, then why can we not put the complex question of definition to the side, and focus on mitigating the issues instead? It seems probable, but to fully answer the question we must first break down the definition of identity politics to build up a solution. If we can define identity politics then it will be easier to discover real solutions to the problem facing politics in America, and even help mitigate the effects that have been caused by identity politics.

The question of identity politics is far from empirical, everything about the question of identity in relation to politics has much to do with theory and human behavior, and far less to do with data and statistics. People’s opinions and experiences characterize what it means to have an identity, so to begin this specific discussion, I will start with my experience. I am a straight, white male. There’s not much more to it than that, but that does not mean that I’m any less exceptional than a gay man or a lesbian black woman. I believe that someone’s identity is not about being unique or special in an attempt to be unique or special; the goal of identity is to express one’s self in a way that makes one comfortable, not to make oneself feel unique. That’s something that I feel as if people tend to overlook when discussing identity the concept of identity is a rational choice to pick, but it is mostly influenced by how someone feels about their own lifestyle. My own identity may not say a lot about me, but it does not have to. Identity should not be a way of stereotyping people or defining their interests by the way that they are, it is a mechanism for people to maneuver the world and find others to be able to share their experiences.

Translating these ideas of identity into politics is a different question, but the previous assumptions must be held or debated to find a consensus to have at least somewhat of an idea of what it means to have an identity. The idea of identity politics from how I understand it is that groups of people with the same identity vote and protest on similar candidates to have their interests represented in government. The definition works for politicians as well: they seek to help these groups (“help” is relative and might just mean getting votes in the scheme for candidacy) and represent them in government in a way that they seem fit. Most of the people I’ve read and listened to hold the position that identity politics is a negative institutional mechanism for gaining votes. They also all hold the notion that identity politics is not much different from interest groups. While it is difficult to define identity politics, it is much easier to define interest groups. Marrian-Webster’s dictionary defines interest groups as, “a group of persons having a common identifying interest that often provides a basis for action.” This definition gives us context and insight into the definition of identity politics. So from what we have seen from this definition and how other prospective authors think about it, we can interpret identity politics as interest groups with more emotion and flavor. I think this way of thinking can be justified with a comparison: someone that represents the tobacco industry is part of an interest group, but not an identity group. However, someone that is part of the LGBT community can be part of both an interest group and identity politics for their group. As can be seen, someone cannot hold the identity of the tobacco industry; it would be ridiculous to assume that someone’s grasp of reality and identity can be invested in the sale of tobacco. Or at least, the appearance of that identity is less identifiable as many prominent identities among sex, race, etc. On the other hand, being gay or transgender is something that people hold on to as an identity. Again, this is not to say that someone who is gay or transgender has to engage in identity politics; as it was stated earlier the level of investment in one’s identity can lead to how much of that identity they represent to the outside world and if they use their identity in making political decisions. So, after distinguishing from interest groups, identity politics can be defined as groups of a certain identity (as defined earlier) making decisions that benefit the people in their group and themselves.

Now that I have done my best to deduce what identity politics is, I will look at the outcomes and alternate perspectives of identity politics and see if that challenges my definition. Firstly, German Lopez from Vox has looked into the issue of identity politics and has a similar definition as I have, “Identity politics is a very vague phrase, but it generally refers to the discussion of and politicking around issues pertaining to one’s, well, identity” (Lopez). Their conclusion about the outcomes of identity politics is that people on the right use identity politics as a weapon against the left and the left uses identity politics to defend itself against the right. The author assumes that people of white identity hold beliefs about people based on race and want to keep them down politically and economically. People that are in identity groups other than whites set their agendas to defend themselves from the ideas of white identity in an attempt to protect their political and economic rights. I do not necessarily agree with this notion, but this is a perspective and interpretation of identity politics nonetheless. To sum up Vox’s opinion on identity politics, the author believes that identity politics is a negative mechanism overall, but it is necessary for leftist groups to save themselves. This particular CNN opinion piece is similar, and leaves identity politics up to the opinion of the reader, with clarifying remarks of dividing people as opposed to shared humanity. The author does not ask from America that we all think and act the same, but instead of playing with the identities and emotions that come with those identities, we instead put that aside for the actual issues and principles at hand. Standing as one against the issues that plague all Americans and acting in the best interest of advancements of human rights is better than one identity group demonizing another; retreating and retching further and further into polarity. This author also views identity politics as a negative, dividing institutional method of politicking that uses identity groups to gain votes by a candidate spewing the right polarizing words. Finally, the New Yorker piece on identity politics also gives some insight into the issue. Gopnik views the issue as a way by which candidates attempt to exploit the public by trying to use the most buzzwords and appeals to the most groups. He expresses that individual interests are much deeper than identity groups, and their interests are not always correctly defined by those groups. He also believes when candidates set up platforms and agendas they attempt to appeal to every group possible in an attempt to gain as many votes as possible, which does nothing but divide Americans. I think about it like this, instead of people simply discussing issues, with a pro and a con side, they assign identity groups to the pro and the con side since they generally disagree on the topic, even though some people within those groups agree with other groups. So what ends up happening is two groups of people from the same country are made out to be enemies over a simple issue and the candidates end up polarizing America by making citizens out to be enemies of each other. Again, this author agrees that identity politics is a negative way of candidates influencing elections to gain power. All of these perspectives line up with how I defined identity politics and shows that even when authors disagree on how they are used or why they still believe they are disrupting and dividing American politics.

How is it that we even get along? We are all different. We have different interests, views, and solutions to problems. Above all else, we all have our own story. With nearly 330 million people living under one system of governance, how do we pull it off? And furthermore, how have we done it for as long as we have? All of these questions are beyond a simple answer, but as all the perspectives and my own view, identity politics is making those questions seem more and crazier as our country polarized. We can define the term all we want; we can be scared of it and fight it, or give in to its promises of defense from other groups. In the same way that a person creates and molds their own identity and story, we also contribute to the story of our country. Identity politics is the chapter we are currently at in our political landscape, and it’s dividing the country. However, we must remember that we hold our own decisions, and those decisions will make up the American story.

Justice Served Off the Griddle

The green marble floors swirl in icy wave patterns

the dark wood ceiling was cold

Unfamiliar, and intimidating.

For a modern building, the interior seems 

like it was built ages ago. 



My heart pounds like a drum

I hear every beat, the incessant tempo accelerating my breath. 

I spot the shoulder of his navy suit jacket

and focus on my friends and family;

my mind drifts back




Four years ago

He played the drums; its beat follows me wherever I go. 

He follows me down the hallway

His eerie grin when we are face to face

I will never forget.




My fingers dig into my palm and I am back again.

The seal of the righted scales seems to whisper to me

reassuring, asking for the truth.

It’s all I look at when I share my story. 

The glinting sight of hope when the judge began speaking 

was enough for my body to relax. 




After, he melts through the floor like a shadow, 

the darkness following behind him.

I will never have to see him again. 




There is nothing better than pancakes.

My nose twitches at hints of breakfast:

bitter coffee,

soothing sugary syrup,

a layer of bacon grease smooths the cracks. 

A chocolate chip melts on my tongue

Bittersweet

my soul feels at peace. 




The food fills my stomach and soul

Relief fills my bones like the 

butter melting on the pancakes. 

The relief of a four year struggle coming to an end

the Scales of Justice are righted once more.