These Woke Boots Were Made for Destruction
“Lived experience” isn’t about walking a mile in someone else’s shoes
Have you heard the term “lived experience” and wondered what it really meant? You’re not alone. So, what’s it really about?
Dr. James Lindsay provides one of the clearest definitions of this term. As he explains it, “’Lived experience,’ as Critical Social Justice uses the term, refers more specifically to one’s life experiences in allegedly systemic power dynamics of dominance and oppression that shape society structurally as understood with a critical consciousness and interpreted through Theory. That is, one’s ‘lived experience’ refers to the interpretation that Critical Social Justice Theory gives for the anecdotal accounts of experiences one has had.”
In other words, “lived experiences” must affirm theories like critical race theory, are political in their constant use of the oppressor/ oppressed theme, and filtered through a social justice framework. For the woke, these “lived experiences” are the new way of knowing to justify their cause.
So, why shouldn’t “lived experience” become the new way in which we see and then order our individual and collective lives? Here are a few reasons:
1. Reality loses its meaning.
We’ve been hearing things like “there is no objective reality,” “you have your truth, I have mine,” and “truth is a social construct” for quite some time. While there is room for subjectivity in the human experience, and social constructions can be a part of that, that doesn’t mean true reality doesn’t exist. And our limited capacity to understand reality in its entirety does not mean that we should live as if it doesn’t exist.
So, what does that all mean? First, there are things like individual tastes and preferences that are subjective. My husband’s favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla, and even though I think he’s crazy, I must admit that there is no one objectively superior ice cream flavor. And if there were, it would be mint chocolate chip.
Now, subjectivity in areas like ice cream does not mean that objectivity in other areas cannot exist. Regardless of what you order at Baskin Robin’s, the sun still rises in the east. And yes, we call it the east, so the name is something created by society, although a sunrise clearly is not. Furthermore, although we couldn’t always explain the science behind a sunrise, sunrises are and have been a part of reality… since the dawn of time, pun intended!
The problem of “lived experience” as the standard for reality becomes even more shaky when we consider how two people can have the same experience at the same time and develop wildly different accounts. None of us are blank slates when it comes to experience; factors like personality, our past, expectations, and how we interpret the context all come into creating a “lived experience.” How can we live together in a reality based on “lived experience” when the experiences we do share are “lived in” so differently? The answer is some “lived experiences” are valid, while others are not.
2. Only some “lived experiences” actually matter.
As explained above, what qualifies as “lived experiences” are those experienced by a representative of an oppressed group, and all of these experiences validate critical theories like critical race theory that are hell-bent on taking down the “oppressors” and the society they have created.
As such, a “lived experience” must include accounts that highlight the racism, sexism, homophobic, transphobic, etc. elements of society in order to justify the woke’s claims that America and the west are oppressive bastions of white supremacy, the patriarchy, and the corrupt system of capitalism. And of course, these “lived experiences” don’t necessarily need to align with reality because, as explained above, the truth comes from the voices of those who have been and are silenced through oppression.
So, the “lived experiences” of white people, men, and others who say that what they experienced does not comport to this narrative of exploitation and oppression are invalid. Such people cannot see the truth of their experiences because they have adopted a false consciousness that blinds them from the truth. The woke, of course, have shed this false consciousness as they “woke up” and became enlightened.
Do you see a problem here? On the one hand, truth is subjective and localized, while on the other hand, those who belong to the historically marginalized and oppressed groups have a monopoly on truth the rest of are compelled to accept. Just don’t point that out with your white, male, westernized logic.
It’s also horrible that the woke and those whom they brainwash see everything in terms of power, oppression, racism, and discrimination. I genuinely feel bad for them because they see life through a hate-filled filter, and explain everything they don’t like as an affront to justice. What’s more, they make the world all about them when they force such their victimized, ego-centric view of the world on the rest of us. And that leads us to the next problem.
3. There is no room for dissent.
Ironically, “lived experience” is both highly subjective, yet it is absolute in the sense that it cannot be refuted. First, how can you argue against what someone has experienced? It would put you in the awkward position of critiquing something highly personal with logic that is not personal at all. This gives an unfair advantage to those who champion their “lived experience” as proof of their point of view and, in effect, shuts down thoughtful debate.
Secondly, denying certain people’s “lived experience” is impossible in this political climate. To do so is seen as a denial of racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination that do exist but are far from the defining features of Americanism and western civilization. In fact, both American and the west have created the most tolerant and free societies mankind has even seen, despite all of their flaws. But according to the woke, the flaws, real or imagined as part of a “lived experience,” are the only part that matters.
Thirdly, such a denial of an “oppressed person’s” “lived experience” is a non-started because you likely don’t belong to their matrix of identities, so you don’t have the authority that they do. You see, the more oppressed identities someone has, the more moral authority they hold, and those lower on the reverse oppression matrix must defer to the more oppressed. So white, straight, able-bodied men born male are at the bottom, and a non-white, binary, disabled, trans person is close to the top.
Despite the problems with perception to which we are all vulnerable, those who share their “lived experiences” are never expected to consider the flaws in their perceptions, how they can account for other’s divergent experiences, or that data and other evidence runs counter to their claims. Bring up any of these objections, and you’ll be called a bigot of one kind or the other.
Parting Thoughts
I’m just waiting for the next wave of illogical standards, which I hope includes “dreamed experience.” If so, Christopher Nolan’s Inception was ahead of its time, and I would expect a blockbuster sequel to complete my “cinematic experience.”
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Photo:
"Work boots" by ricky.montalvo is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/04e2c9c1-a1bb-4f7d-9b31-5fcbc4b9b591