Social Justice Warriors and the Fallacy of Association

To a Social Justice Warrior, bigotry anywhere = bigotry everywhere.  This is why, when white supremacist groups from all over the country, and from Canada, orchestrated what was to be the biggest white supremacist event in decades (in Charlottesville) but could only muster 100 people, it became emblematic of an America that is deeply racist, rather than an America where racism is so rare that even a handful of racists spark outrage.  ‘Bigotry anywhere = bigotry everywhere’ is why every action that can be spun to look racist, whether it is or not, gets passed around like wildfire on social media with captions that imply that these things are common.  To the Social Justice Warrior, ‘bigotry anywhere = bigotry everywhere’, so one racist tweet in a country of 330 million people proves that all of society is unjust.

The notion that ‘bigotry anywhere = bigotry everywhere’ is an example of the logical fallacy known as the ‘fallacy of composition,’ which is a fallacy in which one assumes that what is true of a part must be true of the whole.  One example of racism in America gets extended to the whole of America, with the implication that we are all guilty because of the actions of a few.

The ‘fallacy of composition’ is usually used to defend racism.  Someone will be victimized by someone of another ethnicity, and when talking about it later will say, “they,” rather than, “he” or “she.”  The action of one person suddenly becomes the action of an entire ethnicity of people, with the implication that ‘they do it all the time.’

When this fallacy is used to imply that some minority all acts the same, or that women all act the same, people see it for what it is: racist or sexist.  Somehow, when the same fallacy is used to imply that all white people are racist, society loses focus of the fact that it is still a logical fallacy, and a racist one at that.  Social Justice Warriors, at their core, attempt to fight racism with racism.

Fighting racism with racism is a fool’s errand, and for that matter, fighting any evil with another evil is a fool’s errand, for no matter who wins, it’s evil.

If we look at some of the things Social Justice Warriors believe in, we can see the result of fighting racism with racism.  Affirmative Action leads to significantly higher dropout rates among minority college students (http://www.nber.org/papers/w18523), leaving people who wanted to get an education saddled with debt, but without a degree.  The result is that we have more minority students in our colleges, but fewer in the higher paying fields of our workforce.  Far from benefitting minorities, the only people who benefit from this program are the Social Justice Warriors, who pat themselves on the back for all the good they do, while minorities are artificially suppressed in the workforce by the policies Social Justice Warriors support.

Who came up with the idea that welfare would only be given to single parent households?  The answer, of course, is Social Justice Warriors.  Prior to these provisions, more than 75% of African American children were born into two-parent homes.  Today, a scant three generations later, fewer than 30% of African American children are born into two-parent homes, and with terrible effect on the outcomes for African American children (http://www.heritage.org/welfare/report/how-welfare-harms-kids).  It’s particularly brutal on men in our inner cities, who, with few other economic opportunities, are far more apt to turn to crime (https://www.cato.org/publications/congressional-testimony/relationship-between-welfare-state-crime-0).

Who wants a $15 minimum wage?  Social Justice Warriors do.  The minimum wage is the most racist law America has ever employed, as shown here:  http://thedailylibertarian.com/case-minimum-wage/.

How convenient it must be for Social Justice Warriors to be able to promote policies that harm people, and then to point to the harm they themselves caused, and use it as proof that their efforts are necessary!

Are all cultures equal?  Of course not.  We can look through all of recorded history, and see that different cultures were better at different times, in different places, at different things.  There has never been a time or a place where all cultures were equal, and yet Social Justice Warriors say that they are, and as a consequence we cannot place one culture ahead of others, even if doing so would help people succeed.  Once again, Social Justice Warriors put feeling good ahead of doing good, and they pat themselves on the back for being the ‘good guys’, while committing great harm against others.

When confronted with the harm they do, Social Justice Warriors always have an out: they’ll point to one person who may have benefitted from their programs, and say, “See?  It helped.”  This is, of course, another example of the ‘fallacy of composition’, assuming in this case that if a policy helped one person it must have helped everyone.  No amount of evidence to the contrary will dissuade the Social Justice Warrior, for their entire world view is predicated on believing themselves to be the ‘good guys’ championing a cause.  If they had to confront the fact that their entire world view is predicated on a logical fallacy, they would have to also confront the fact that the low expectations they have for others is racist, and that by holding minorities to lower standards in schools, they are creating artificial barriers for minorities in the workforce.

When we see bigotry anywhere, we must confront it and correct it.  When white supremacists carry torches in Charlottesville, we must show up in greater numbers and peacefully show them that their views belong in the dustbin of history, but when the typical white supremacist march can fit in the backseat of a Ford Focus, we must also recognize that theirs is not only a fringe movement, but the fringe of the fringe.  We want to confront them of course, but we want to do so without amplifying their voice.

The real menace is on the other side of the fence, where misguided souls who believe they are champions against oppression create policies that oppress, leading to higher dropout rates, higher poverty rates, lower employment rates, lower representation in higher paying fields, and higher crime rates.  These things have been studied into the ground.  We know that Social Justice Warrior policies cause harm, and yet we are afraid to confront them lest they turn their anger against us.  The time has come to let the Social Justice Warriors know that their racism can no longer be tolerated either.  They need to wake up, and move on.