 Our identity politics actually ruining the left and the right and which side uses it more man this op-ed is going viral and this guy really broke it down. Yeah, we gotta talk about it. The Boston Globe op-ed is called identity politics is a game the left can't win opinion by Frederick de Boer. He is a self-proclaimed Andrew old school Marxist liberal, but he Andrew was listening out the ways that in a way that I guess he's not happy with his own party. And this went really viral, I think on both sides. Right, right. So we're going to summarize and go through the top comments, give your own thoughts, please hit that like button and check out other episodes of Hop Hop Boys as we got a little political one. I would say from silly to serious Andrew, this is probably more on the serious side, right? I mean this has to do with what? A national divorce, I didn't tarry in things or identity politics legit. Are they not legit? What is the role of government in governing these things even? I don't know David. I think it's pretty silly because what is anybody gonna do about it, huh? Everybody's just gonna be a read a bunch of articles and not take action. I'm just kidding, but anyways, we'll talk about it. So long story short, Andrew, let's just summarize the article. He basically was saying that the left right now is going very like identarian, right? Like there's a hierarchy of oppressed groups. This group is more oppressed than that. The impression Olympics. But it sort of matters like what you're talking about, right? Like this group might be oppressed in sports. This group might be oppressed economically, right? And they're trying to like rank all these things and that the right is almost also playing identity politics by just saying, yeah, you know, all that stuff that they're about. I'm against that. Right. So the right's identity is just anti-left. Whatever is left, I'm anti that and that's my identity, right? Anti-woke, right? Right, anti-woke. And yeah, and it seems like what this guy's also trying to say and you can read the whole article down below. It's not a long read. He's kind of saying like, yeah, in the left side is kind of alley-ooping it to the Republicans to the right side to let them slam it down because there's an easy slam right now. We're making it easy for them. Is it a little bit like if we were in boxing and I'm trying to throw all these complicated like tricks and gimmicks and combos at you. And then the guy just like blocks them all and just hits me with like a simple left jab. Like he's like the right is like counter punching the left. Yeah. He also says the reasons that it's allowed to work is because 70% of the electorate is white even though 70% of America is not white necessarily. Right. Because white people have a higher rate of voting than other groups. Yeah. So he's talking about of the voting group when the left side kind of vilifies or makes fun of white people or makes white people feel bad. You're actually making a lot of the people who vote feel bad. Right. Because a lot of minorities have a relatively low voting rate. Exactly. He also says that all college educated people including college educated whites generally are left leaning but that only 40% of the US electorate actually graduated from college. Is that shocking. Yeah. But you know what I realized Andrew actually a lot of the older generation of people who are like let's say for example 80 they didn't college was not as common for them. Right. They didn't all go to college but a lot of them still vote. Yeah. Andrew says the assumption that a more tannish skin mixed race America automatically means more liberal is being challenged by the stats because a lot of Latinos and possibly some Asians are drifting right. Right. And so if you take obviously the term Hispanic and Asian are huge huge umbrella terms but there's definitely both those groups are getting split. Yeah. And a lot of people don't even understand there's even like communism like geopolitical like almost these are like global historical things that if you're just the average murk and you don't even know what they're talking about. Like these are concerns from the motherland you know. Somebody saying he also said that the left is attacking the American way and American exceptionalism and pointing out the flaws and he agrees with those because he himself has always been a leftist but he also does not agree that they're not. He's they're not galvanizing anybody behind an actual grand vision that is realistic of what is to come in the future. Right. And I think that this is what a lot of people talk about when you can like. Man what was that one clip of the newsroom. Right. That went viral when he's just talking crap about America and saying like oh America's behind America's doing this. America's doing this. Right. Because evil America's history did this. America's did it. We did this and this and this. America's in the dumps but it's like this guy in the article is saying yeah I don't know if that's the best thing to unite people that we all agree America sucks. I don't know. I get what you're saying because sometimes I think you have to acknowledge the problem to find in a solution but I'm not sure if it's working. Yeah he says that the right uses patriotism and capitalism and even though he as a leftist Marxist is not the biggest fans of those things. What can I honestly say that the left is using and sum it up so easily. He also talks about Hillary Clinton's thing. You know it was stronger together at first but the one that was more galvanizing but that ultimately caused her to lose was I'm with her because it was gender divisive because you know what I mean it almost like made it. So it was like you'll vote for me because I'm about to make history as the first woman to win. By the way guys this is just his article. I'm not saying I fully agree or agree with him. He wants to recenter the left and we're talking about class versus the working class versus the elites. So the only consciousness is not identity consciousness or maybe he says it's a little bit important but what's may more important is class consciousness class consciousness. Yeah and then yeah he just basically says that the Democrats seem to campaign in ways better suited to win inspiring positive op-eds in the New York Times than actual voters. Like what actual people who go to the polls care about. You have to understand like the way it works is like you have to get people who vote. It doesn't matter how many tweets you get it doesn't matter how viral the New York Times get it doesn't matter repost on IG story. It actually comes down to the vote. What do you mean Andrew this guy is trending on the Internet. Have you seen his YouTube views and his Tik Tok engagement. It doesn't matter if every kid in Soho retweets and reposts if they don't vote. Finally his ending is finally I must simply assert something the point of view that I'm not going to try to justify with empirical evidence but that I believe both I and most of you reading believe most people want to come together across the differences for the good of all rather than be divided into smaller slices based on identity categories they don't control. That was kind of a fire bar. Anyway guys make sure you like subscribe turning your notifications again we're about to get in our quick thoughts and then the comments section. This is a complicated topic we're not going to bet a thousand on this one guys you don't you're not even going to find other YouTube Asian food channels addressing this depth. Let me tell you this this is a spicy one but you want to know what else is spicy. 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I feel like there are other things that are more number one but it's not number 20. I actually think identity is almost like number one when it comes to like social things or like social interactions and pings. But as far as the role of government goes even me as someone who cares a lot about identity I'm like yeah I don't know if because the government would just like mess it up if they try to do it. But identity politics is still really important because America hasn't figured out and kind of like I guess rectify the past and things like that. So to be honest then people are going to be like well America didn't solve it so that's why we make it so important. So I guess that's our argument and makes sense. You know what I see is the issue right now under one side is ranking identity politics number one identity politics number one one side is ranking at number 10. We just need to figure out where does it actually rank because if it ranks higher than five then a bunch of billions of trillions of dollars needs to be like dedicated to government programs to fixing it or like getting to at least a part where we can agree to disagree. And if it's not below five legitimately then we need to table it and move it to second or third tier behind infrastructure concerns. Right. Another part that quick thought is that don't you feel like in both parties the bulk distribution or maybe just in a macro sense the bulk distribution of the electorate is being pulled by the bookends on the curve. Like you know what I mean the extremes are right. Right. Yeah. I mean a lot of elections are determined by like the most extreme 15%. It's not really what most people want but it's just what the people who all are going to go out to the polls and vote for. But do you blame the bookends for being these fiery charismatic like hucksters or whether they believe it or not. Or do you blame the bulk distribution for probably just being on Netflix being consumeristic and like being like I don't know you guys pull me entertain me and I'll just vote for one of you guys. Perhaps you get the democracy that you deserve. Yeah. Of course I will acknowledge absolutely there's inequities there's inequities in different ways and different things and like I just don't know how we're going to fix them or how we need to address them or is it about setting the place as equal as we can now. And then addressing those things with like other supplementary complementary programs later. I just don't know man I just I feel like everybody wishes they could hit a button and fix everything at one time Andrew but that's just not how it works because there's like priorities right. I mean I think a lot of my feeling is like the clock is broken right now you can fix the time and move the little hands to the right time. But if the clock gears are ultimately broken the time is going to be off eventually anyways. So you need to fix the clock but are we still disagreeing on what the clock is. Right. And how to fix it. That's the next. Let's get into the comment section guys like we said this topic is very very complicated. So guys let me know what you guys think in the comment section below and please be several we're just here to have like a good discussion about it. This guy says I'm something of a libertarian by nature socially liberal on some issues conservative on others this issue says this essay by Kevin DuBourg says much that I agree with even though no one considers me to be a leftist. And then he said yeah I'm just for equal opportunity but not equal outcome with that said education at a young age needs needs to be made made way more available to all. We need pre like pre K like solid everything dude we just need to examine like other countries how they're doing things and stuff like that and just test things. This guy said the left is so deeply invested in identity politics. Good luck putting that toothpaste back in the toothpaste. That's funny that toothpaste tube carbon pollution highway design health care education tax policy whatever issue it is the left will find racism as the root cause. Someone else said listen I'm I spent a lot of time in leftist spaces online and there does seem to be some fatigue on the left when it comes to talking about and stressing identity politics perhaps something is shifting right now. Yeah, that is interesting. I do think that you know there was a moment in time and I don't know it's weird because you know the political parties and there's these like two gigantic tents right and not everybody even within the tent like even agrees with each other right. But what happens is when one of the teams loses and usually how you know how the president for the most part like 85% of the time it's like you get two terms. Usually sometimes it switches off right you only get one term but it's almost like the other tent just shifts like left or right to try to win the next election. And that's why everybody in the tent is always unhappy. Right. So I'm saying it's just so goofy the two system but then if we otherwise we it's a parliamentary system that's more like Australia UK Canada where there's like eight parties. Right. Because they want to represent all the subdivisions of each party. Someone was saying no man the Republicans don't play identity politics man or anywhere close to a man. It's just the dams that are splitting everybody into smallest groups of oppression and ranking them in a hierarchy. I mean Kevin DeBoer did say this in his video. Yeah. Also someone was like hey well you know it is natural for people to organize around identity but maybe there needs to be some larger identity but how do you build that. Yeah. That's a good question. And then I said you know I'm a minority and I was center left and I switched to the center right for all these following reasons and they just listed out all this stuff that was basically criticizing the current version of I guess what they view as like the current version of the left versus what it was. And you know what the interesting thing is Andrew political parties are always shifting. You know what I mean like what what you were today is not there like Mitt Romney he loses so the Mitt Romney country club guys are out you know and they get bringing a new guy to Sarah Palin you know. They're like they're so excited. They're so excitable. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. You're saying like even the Republican or the Democrat of 40 years ago is like not the same as it was today. And sometimes I almost like feel like they just shift to win not even out of some sense of what they believe in. Right. They literally are just like shifting a product that they it's almost like Tim Cook versus Steve Jobs you know Steve Jobs believed in just like what Steve Jobs believed in but Tim Cook as the CEO of Apple's kind of like oh that makes a little bit more money for the shareholders. Let's do that let's not change the iPhone for like 10 times this guy said all I know is that depending on where you live You're not gonna get too far in politics if you alienate or vilify white suburban married couples We want a nuclear family one vehicle or two vehicles in a yard people still want that life a lot of them vote, too And then somebody said come on to think that only white people want that life is wrong There's a lot of young minorities second generation that want that traditional lifestyle, too. Yeah. Yeah, no That's actually honestly true And I think that when it comes to don't think of it as a white suburban life But just a well-rounded suburban life actually a lot of people want that in their minorities, too Yeah, because the one thing that I will say is lost in all this hustle culture and like get rich stuff online Andrew Is that you got to work really hard to get really rich some people? They want to work like medium hard at their job work like 45 hours a week and then really enjoy a lot of free time with their family and pursuits outside of career and Monetization right somebody was saying that you know the Republicans they just need to let me let abortion go through They need to stop hurting the climate. They need to stop targeting people with LGBTQ identities and they need to stop embracing anti-intellectualism and I will come back And then yeah, it was pretty much like can the Republicans just refocus on fiscal conservatism rather than social conservatism Because that's what I would rather vote for right and I guess a lot of these comments Andrew were from people I guess, you know, not exactly like Kevin DeBoer the writer of this article But they are like white people who are sick of identity politics that might even be like very left. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah And um, yeah, I don't know. I don't know nowadays. It's almost like everybody's reacting to everybody else So I'm not I'm almost like I don't know who cares and who's just counter punching to a punch, you know I guess it's tough because a lot of people Feel like they do the right things and they still don't get seen as equal or they don't get equal opportunity and so That is wrong But how do you solve that because as an Asian guy even I feel like obviously we talk about on this channel a lot in a Different sense, maybe not like Financially but definitely socially Asian guys get underrated like like like we're not seen as everyone else We're not treated like everyone else from men and women, you know what I mean? So I'm saying obviously I still see that identity is important But even me as an Asian guy who does suffer from my dead from having the Asian American identity right now I'm like, dang I kind of like Yeah, I guess there are I don't know. Is this the biggest issue right now? I guess if I just try harder I can I can ignore it and I can just rise above it in my mind, right? Right, but is that asking a lot from people or is that what people are asking? Minority people to do. Yeah, it's a really really good question I mean, I think that that's why this article went so viral It's like I thought they really it's funny because he's mad at the left for pointing out What's wrong without a unifying vision, but then he's sort of pointing out what was wrong with the left in general, right? So yeah This guy said it all just comes down to sports guys as much as we want to say we want to get over identity politics It seems like identities have become sports teams and sports are such a powerful force in human society Precisely because they harness primal instincts that pulse through our psyche The fact that teams can command with such deep violent loyalty based on absolutely nothing but being in the same town as fans Is an incredible basically and he was saying that the identities have broken down into sports. Yo, maybe Maybe the sports needs to bring back the unity man These players need to stop signing and get traded everywhere because now it's breaking apart America Because it used to be better when oh like the whole city could just rally behind like one person whether it's like white black Asian Whatever everybody's just rallies behind the team. Yeah, I don't know man Ultimately Andrew like we said this comment this article sparked maybe like a hundred thousand comments on the American Internet arguing back and forth I mean it was a very very complicated topic But um, yeah, my major takeaway is that like man I really just think I can see why people don't even want to vote anymore Because like you said if the narrative on both sides is being pulled by the most charismatic people on the bookends And the middle people are sort of like, oh, I don't know like I'll just kind of go because I know voting is like a good thing to do That they're they're staying uneducated waiting to be pulled by the most entertaining person. Yeah, I think that Can people even unify over like two issues like what are the top two issues for America? Can we even agree on that or at least agree on that at different like levels? Because I feel like a lot of families are concerned about safety and education, right? Because that's what you would if you had kids that's what you would care about Yeah, but then safety it also what makes it safe. There's also like drugs. There's the drug trade There's guns that also could make it less safe for children There's also like all these other policing and it's funny because policing and gun Like liberation or whatever gun rights. They're like on opposite ends. Yeah It's so crazy, but they're related to so you want more police But then you want then you wanted but you got to deal with the drugs and then it's like all this I don't know man. This guy he did point out in the article. I saw this comment They're saying in Michigan. It was really interesting because they were there was a town that was like usually mostly like old whites, right? And there was a big influx of immigrants from mostly Muslim countries, right? So they were trying to ban some of the head garb or like the religious symbols like on the buildings But then so they disagreed that was a conservative versus religious issue, right? But then when it came to banning certain books that were pushing like certain identities in the schools Those two sides that were against each other on the signage agreed So there are some values that lined up. Yeah, so it was like so What which side is who voting for now, you know, I'm saying I'm saying that it's so like complicated, right? Yeah, I mean long story short guys I just think that I think that structures like education safety, you know law and order I think they're really important I also think the government subsidized Vocational training is really important for anybody who wants to sign up and actually complete it And I also think some sort of optional like civil service military service opt-in that can get you Like some extra credits in life without needing to go to war would maybe bring some national like yes serve your country Domestically but not go to war right because that's the big thing people don't people like the benefits of going to the military They don't want to go to war for something that they don't understand, right? Yeah, oh you guys let us know in the comments down below What do you think are the main issues that people need to unite around can we ever get to a point where it's like? We're all we are all different, but we're together on this Is there anything that America can actually be together on yeah? Let us know you guys think in the comment section below Keep it civil until next time with a hop-hop boys. We out. Peace