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Kitty's Corner's avatar

I read this book a few years ago and was disappointed that the author had spent the latter half of the book talking about something irrelevant (exercise) and not progressivism/wokism. But I realized that the author probably has sympathy toward this group which is why there is such a glaring omission.

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Arnold Cantú's avatar

Although a fascinating book, the author's political leaning throughout the book was quite apparent. She definitely took some jabs toward Trump. Which made me glad the reviewer I linked to pointed out that gap.

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Daniel Solow's avatar

I wish people would use Chomsky as an example. A prominent scientist and a prominent activist who kept his science and his activism separate, and therefore maintained credibility in both.

The cultish language is such a giveaway. And it's funny, that these people are talking about helping marginalized groups but they use pedantic obfuscated language that only people with graduate degrees understand.

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Arnold Cantú's avatar

I'm not too familiar with Chomsky (I know of him, but haven't read much of his stuff), but good to hear that he is a model of someone who can keep both ideas separate.

The split between the language perpetuated in the ivory tower and the clients I regularly see in front of me has been incredibly apparent and stark. It reminds me of the thesis al-Gharbi puts forth in "We Have Never Been Woke." It's a very elitist and infantilizing kind of mindset these people have.

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Daniel Solow's avatar

Thanks for mentioning that book. It sounds right on the money. I may recommend it to my irritating fake woke friends.

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Arnold Cantú's avatar

It's quite the hefty book, but well worth it. If your friends have any interest, feel free to share my original article I based this essay on. I include a list in Appendix B of other books worth reading as a way to "rebalance" the dominated critical social justice ethos: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08841233.2025.2469539#appendixes

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