Intersectionalities of Evil
The War on the Posters is a horrifying manifestation of the October 7 mentality
I was not particularly surprised to learn that celebrated climate scientist Greta Thunberg is also a fervent anti-Zionist, unswervingly dedicated to “justice for Palestine.” Comrade Congressperson AOC pointed the way when she explained how her Green New Deal would not only save the planet but combat racism and white supremacy, establish social justice, etc. and so forth. Miss Greta’s broadside was just one more example of progressivism’s Theory of Everything: the claim that it’s all connected. This is called intersectionality, and it’s been well on display since the Hamas pogrom in Israel on October 7—though not, perhaps, in the way that progressives intended.
Of the brutalities we’ve witnessed recently, you might imagine that tearing down posters showing the faces of the hostages taken by Hamas is a minor offense—a misdemeanor, so to speak, in the context of the antisemitic rage that has overtaken the Western Left. I disagree. This War on the Posters is a horrifying manifestation of the October 7 mentality. And it’s all connected.
Intersectionality as developed by progressive intellectuals is a way of assessing an individual’s level of privilege or oppression. A heterosexual white male, for instance, is highly privileged, a homosexual white male is somewhat less privileged, while a BIPOC trans woman is in a really bad spot. From this it follows that the highly privileged must be named, shamed, and brought low, while the highly oppressed must be exalted.
This is b.s., of course, in that it disregards the infinite variability of human nature. But if the technique of intersectional analysis is applied to a specific act, it does have its value.
Take, for example, the case of Sarah, who recently was caught on video ripping down hostage posters in Brooklyn, New York. “Dog,” she growled, tossing one of them to the ground. When she realized that someone was recording her, she turned to that person and snarled: “Fuck you. Fuck you. And burn in hell.” Candace Mittel Kahn wrote about Sarah for The Free Press.
Sarah is a female—I should say, an actual biological female. She is Palestinian. She has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Chicago. Her online bio informs us that she’s working to better her community through “internal, interpersonal, and systems change.” Sarah is also “dedicated to supporting queer and trans youth as they learn to love themselves, radically and unapologetically, and gain a healthier understanding of their resilience and power.” Sarah has described herself as a prison abolitionist, a therapist, a social worker, a sexual assault crisis counselor, a teaching artist, a resource advocate, and a performer in participatory educational theater. In addition to all this, Sarah is a rabid antisemite.
How’s that for intersectionality?
Nor is Sarah the only such young progressive woman. There is also the case of Yazmeen Deyhimi, an NYU student who was caught ripping down posters. Called out, she issued a self-serving apology: “I have found it increasingly difficult to take my place as a biracial brown woman, especially during these highly volatile times. I find myself more and more frustrated about the time we currently find ourselves in.”
So the real victims of October 7 are not hundreds and hundreds of dead, wounded, and kidnapped Jews but a few frustrated biracial brown women. Well, boo-hoo.
I believe it’s safe to assume that a large majority of the poster rippers share various elements of Sarah’s intersectional identity. So many of them are working for “internal, interpersonal, and systems change”; so many are “dedicated to supporting queer and trans youth”; so many are prison abolitionists, therapists, social workers, sexual assault crisis counselors, etc. And so many are young women.
It’s not difficult, indeed, to get from “prison abolitionist” to “antisemite”; it’s but a short step from Attica to Gaza. The doctrine of intersectionality positively encourages such straight-line connections. But it also establishes a connection between all things great and good—at least as progressives conceive of them—and the most atavistic, inhuman hatreds. Somehow it makes perfect sense that the progressive who is working to improve her community is the same progressive who supports, even celebrates, the bestial atrocities carried out by Hamas against women, children, old people, who happen to be Jews.
It’s a choice irony of the moment that the core doctrine of postmodern progressivism can so easily be turned against those who embrace it. And with these intersectionalities of evil in mind, what decent person can listen to calls for “social justice,” “equity,” “our democracy,” etc. without a shiver of revulsion?
The only way I get intersectional points as a hetero White guy is if I become a homeless drug addict, or maybe a "minor attracted person".
Anecdotally, this self identification as rabid haters serves a great purpose.
We are seeing the people who want to destroy our civilization.
And we are choosing where we stand.
As a less welcome byproduct, I am also less tolerant of the biased people who see terrible things in conservatives, but see nothing noteworthy in the censorship, partisanship, and larceny of the Biden administration.
We have entered a period where a political stance is not enough.
We are now cognizant of people's moral positions.