The Far, Far Left: Regressive, not Progressive

In recent years, the Democrats have been portraying themselves as a Progressive party, which means they support initiatives such as legalizing marijuana nationwide, single-payer healthcare and the replacement of the nation-state with a global government.  However, some of the most recent actions of the far, far left; a group which is gaining influence in the Democratic party; seem more regressive than progressive.

 

Harvard University’s “black only graduation” is perhaps the best example of this.  Today’s social justice warriors seem to miss the whole point of the civil rights movement; which was to end the widespread segregation of blacks and whites throughout the south.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted people to be judged by “the content of their character and not the color of their skin.”  He would be very disappointed to see that some African-American students would want to hold a separate graduation after he and the other civil rights leaders worked so hard so that they would be able to attend an integrated graduation with their white peers.  Who would have thought that 2017 Cambridge would be so similar to 1950s Little Rock? 

 

Similar nonsense is occurring at UC Santa Cruz, where a group of black students commandeered a campus building and refused to leave unless their administrators agreed to a list of “demands” that they put together.  The students demanded that all black and Caribbean-identified students (would that include Rachel Dolezal?) receive a 4-year housing guarantee to live in an African-American themed house.  They also demanded that the building’s exterior be painted the “Pan-Afrikan” colors of red, green, and black.  The final demand included mandating all incoming freshmen to attend diversity training. It did not take long before the college administration agreed to these demands. The administrators apparently learned how to cave from Congressional Republicans. 

 

After seeing the ease in which university administrators caved to their first set of demands, the student group released another set of demands.  This time, they want the university to purchase a building to serve as low income housing for historically disadvantaged students and set aside $100,000 for the college’s “SomeCA” student organization. In addition, the group wants to Santa Cruz to create a Black Studies department or a major or minor in the field.  The group threatened more “reclamations” if these demands were not met. 

 

These recent events at UC Santa Cruz should be Exhibit A for the case against free college.  America’s hardworking taxpayers should not be subsidizing entitled snowflakes who fail to realize that in the real world, there are no safe spaces.  If they are not paying for college themselves, these snowflakes are going to spend even less time in the classroom than they do now.  That would allow them to focus more on their favorite extra-curricular activities such as pepper spraying conservative comedians and setting buildings on fire.  The SJWs fail to realize that at some point, they are going to have to work with or encounter people who do not necessarily look, think or act exactly like they do. In other words, they are going to have to work with people that are not part of their “tribe.”  

 

Tribalism is the only way the left can win elections.  The left convinces various minority groups, as well as women, that America is a racist, misogynistic and bigoted country. It tells these groups that Christian white men are to blame for their misfortunes and that, if elected, it will carry out justice against those who oppress them.  This type of “identity politics” does not help to unite an already-divided country.   Remember if a group of white students wanted to hold a “white only graduation”, all hell would break loose. Perhaps the left should distribute a handbook listing which groups are allowed to be proud of their identity.  

 

If the far, far left really wants to maintain its reputation as a group of progressives, then it needs to stop with the racial politics.  Dividing Americans along racial lines is not progressive, it’s regressive.  Until the left realizes this, it is going to be impossible for ordinary Americans to take them seriously.