So, despite being a supporter of Yang's new agenda, I also am critical of parts of it, and I've already expressed some concerns. Today, I kind of want to discuss some further reflections on his forward party planks, specifically his fixation on centrism and the whole grace and tolerance thing.
First of all, on the whole centrism thing. I disagree with it. Yang is not a centrist. And I think that progressive critics are right in criticizing Yang for this. If one side of the aisle wants to kill all of the Jews, and the other side is like "wtf no, that's a terrible idea", do you compromise and try to kill half of them to make both sides happy? NO! I mean, ultimately, you have to stand for something, and on a lot of issues, you either have to come down on one side or another. You can't just avoid the issues and avoid taking a stand in trying to make everyone happy. If anything you'll push people from both sides away.
Now, that doesn't mean that Yang has to take a strong stance on every issue. I would describe yang as being on the left. After all, most independents are closet partisans who clearly lean one way or another. However, they might not agree with every aspect of party orthodoxy or agree with every view held by the party. This is because let's face it, having two options sucks. People are independent enough where they don't identify with one party or the other, but they do kind of lean toward one or the other. For example, I am an independent who hates the democrats, but one can't deny I'm significantly closer to them than the GOP. I mean based on isidewith, I have a roughly 80-90% vs 10-20% split between democrats and republicans on issues. But, at the same time, I just feel like the democrats don't represent me. And I despise their internal politics. And I have different priorities. Yang is the same way. I don't see him suddenly being conservative on abortion or gay marriage or race. He might be less offensive on these issues than the SJW crowd, which is a good thing, and I do expect this to win over some independent leaning conservatives at times, but let's not act like he's 50-50 between the two. He's mostly going to appeal to disaffected democrats with some disaffected republicans too. This is fine. I always say elections are won by independents, and I believe if independents who voted trump had the option to support yang or bernie, they might. It might not be a large number, but it would be enough to win elections given how narrow they are. Even getting 3-5% of another party's base is a significant thing given how narrow elections are nationally. But, all in all, it's not 50-50. And Yang shouldn't abandon principles. And let's not forget his economic principles. UBI and human centered capitalism are strong values to hold. And they often tell you a lot about a person. They tell you that this person believes the system should work for people, and that everyone should get an income regardless of situation. These are actually flagrantly left wing priorities in modern society. And Yang should own up to that. Trust me. I surfed the_donald's new home. They don't buy yang at all. They see him as a radical leftist. As an ex conservative I see where they're coming from. At the same time, he also doesnt fit neatly into the democratic party, which is often more moderate and welfarist. Nor does he match progressives, who are more aggressive on the safety nets, but still welfarist. And the socialists hate him because he doesn't want to abolish capitalism. So yang doesnt fit into the left, sure, but he isn't on the right.
I really keep saying this because I feel like it needs to be said. Being an independent doesn't make one a centrist. You can lean one way, but still fundamentally disagree with your own side. That's where I'm at too, and I would say I fundamentally see the world in a similar way as yang on economics. Yang isn't a moderate. He's a left winger. He's just an independent one. And maybe that can bring in some trumpers, sure, but let's not act like he's totally in between and nonpartisan. I feel like this framing is disingenous.
At the same time, given his disagreements with other groups, i feel like a lot of reactions I've been seeing yang get, and myself lately, are really ridiculous and hostile. And this is where I'm kind of coming around to grace and tolerance. I'm gonna be honest. I'm partisan as fudge, in the advocacy of my ideas. As I just explained, I have values, I promote my values, I dont compromise my values much. Especially on top issues. I tell it like it is, and if people don't like it they can sod off. But, the over the top reaction Yang has been getting all over the spectrum is, crazy. Progressives act like yang, just by existing, killed their dog. They scream he's a right wing grifter who doesnt stand for anything and that he's a techno libertarian for not agreeing with them. Then the center left and SJWs are like a ERMAHGERD WHY DOESN'T HE SAY ANYTHING ABOUT MUH WHITE SUPREMECEH!?, as if that's the litmus test for any candidate ever. Never mind the fact that Yang, and a lot of his supporters, dont really care much about those cultural issues or the race circlejerk. And then the right just sees him aas being a communist. And he's none of those things. And neither am I. I got told tonight that my brain must be full of worms by supporting yang. Not really, I just am a passionate believer in UBI and human centered capitalism, to the point I deem it more important than much of the standard progressive agenda. Im really starting to realize it, but progressives are genuinely hateful toward people who dont see the world their way. Even if we're not centrist, as in, biden supporting establishment democrats, they still hate us as such.
And honestly, this is where yang's grace and tolerance comes in handy. He believes we need to stop dehumanizing people and understand them to be people with unique perspectives. i do this, and have actually had some elements in this worldview since i left conservatism. I know most conservatives arent evil. I think that they're ignorant as fudge, but I get them, kind of. Not as much these days, but I get that they're not evil just by virtue of being conservative. Likewise I understand the same for most other groups too. That isnt to say I wont be snippy when dealing with partisan hacks, or tell people who are flat out hostile or disingenuous to screw off, but I at least recognize their humanity. So yang actually does have a point here and watching the spectrum freak out over yang just seems to be proving his point. This insane tribalism needs to stop. Not everyone who disagrees with you is an evil grifter shill or a fascist or something. That isnt to say harmful ideas shouldnt be criticized, and I'm not even above calling people idiots if they really deserve it. But they're people. Let's be honest. They are people and deserve to be treated as such.
All in all, that concludes this episode of me analyzing yang's grace and tolerance in more detail. yang is wrong to some extent and his framing is bad and offputting, but at the same time he also kind of has a point and people need to understand that reality is a bit more nuanced than their tribalism suggests.
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