Yankee Values vs. Identity Politics

[Kleine Scheiße]

The reason identity politics is acceptable is because we are all identities and, as you say, it is all about "us."

The use of identity politics is automatic. All politics are identity politics, and it is our responsibility to acknowledge and account for this, rather than trying to eliminate it entirely (or worse, categorically).

Herrenvolk democracy has historically come from white male identity politics, and it is the style of government we've generally kept. The Republicans are focused on defining the Herrenvolk as a complicated series of personal tests -- racial, ideological, religious, etc. -- on the presumption that if you tick enough of those boxes, you can still be a patronized "One of the Good Ones" if you "slip up" a little and happen to be slightly distinct from their Gaussian blur of projection and insecurity. The Democrats are focused on expanding who can be a part of that Herrenvolk until eventually we have full participation, and as a result, there are petty fights among us, but it is nothing compared to the single-minded pursuit of "norms" which have never actually existed that the Republicans demonstrate.

We may lack the discipline and consistency of the Republicans in our approach to identity politics, but Democrats are committed to an actual vision -- not the emotional manipulation we see from the other side parroted by men blatantly designed to inspire repressed sexual urges to submit to men who purport to represent what they wish their father figures had been.