>how does American society create these structural barriers?
>
>"Despite that sponsorship, I hope this list will be a forum for
>speaking across intellectual and social boundaries that have divided
>the left, such as it is, for too long. (etc.)
Doug asked yesterday what are Michaels' critics afraid of.
I think one answer is that he can be taken as a go signal by people who lean left, even ever so slightly, ---- and who are open to the idea ---- that racism is not that critical a problem anymore.
Maybe that's not what Michaels intends, and I certainly don't believe that's what Doug thinks, but I think it's there.
So if anti-racism is taken to be a bigger problem than racism itself, not only do you not have to put up with Tim Wise's guff, but you can also focus on other things that are more important without having to get bogged down thinking, reading, and talking about complications of race and history of racism.
Imagine a book, especially one well-written by a respected left scholar, that says anti-sexism is a problem because focus on it is interfering with progressive politics. How many people, especially men, would think "thank goddess I don't have to worry so much about that anymore."