“There are times when I want to scream out: “F*** this entire indifferent, hypocritical and violent world!’†So writes philosopher George Yancy in a recent piece for Truthout entitled “If the State of the World Makes You Want to Scream, You’re Not Alone.†From endless militarism and war profiteering to climate chaos and the reactionary right’s attacks on democracy and civil rights, the most natural response to the compounding crises we face today is to be filled with rage. In this installment of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with Yancy about the necessity of feeling the fullness of that rage—not suppressing it with theoretical abstraction or false calls for civility—and then channeling that rage into collective action.
George Yancy is the Samuel Candler Dobbs professor of philosophy at Emory University and a Montgomery fellow at Dartmouth College. He is also the University of Pennsylvania’s inaugural fellow in the Provost’s Distinguished Faculty Fellowship Program (2019-2020 academic year). He is the author, editor, and co-editor of over 20 books, including Black Bodies, White Gazes; Look, a White!: Philosophical Essays on Whiteness; Backlash: What Happens When We Talk Honestly about Racism in America; and Across Black Spaces: Essays and Interviews from an American Philosopher.
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Pre-Production/Studio: Adam Coley, Cameron Granadino
Post-Production: Stephen Frank, Adam Coley
Read the transcript of this interview:
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Another good attempt to focus on elevating human 'goodness' that missed the mark. George Yancy demonstrates the right attitude in terms of the need to focus on the better parts of our nature, such as love, empathy etc. in order to feel the connection of being one, regardless of superficial differences, in order for people to rise above fears that drive people to be inhumane.
And yet he missed the key issue, which is one of ignorance and it's product, fear.
Most often, feelings and actions emerge from the depths of human nature driven by fear. Fear itself is created and fuelled by ignorance.
Unfortunately, not being ignorant in some areas does not offset being ignorant in other areas. This is evidenced for example by academics, scientists and other people with highly specialist knowledge in some areas who consider themselves knowledgeable, but who have demonstrated the darkest of human traits. Nazi doctors, oligarchs and politicians across the spectrum of nations.. the list goes on.
People allow ignorance to take seed in their minds. Driven by their egos, they ignore the possibility of consequences. These ignorances manifest as fears, resulting in biases and prejudices, leading to racism, sexism etc. and eventually if not addressed result in psychosis. Even George Yancy made an imaginary "Russians raping Ukranian women" remark, is if he witnessed it. Evidence of strong bias.
Yes, Russian and other soldiers have done terrible things – events such as the cannibalism inflicted on individuals and families by Russian soldiers returning back home at the time of WW2, and American soldiers dropping Afghanistani civilians from their planes in the skies when departing from Kabul. Almost all armed forces everywhere have done such things.
Notwithstanding, the statement made by George demonstrated his own susceptibility to ignorance, displaying his vulnerability towards very thing to which he proposed his solution.
And herein lies the rub.
The devil has access to the deepest of human fears and it's only a matter of time and opportunity before people act on those fears. The only thing one can do is to dedicate oneself to remove all ignorances, honestly owning up to the biases that expose these ignorances..and hope that it's not too late.
Divided we fall… Well,,, We're divided… Everybody's pissed and Paranoid
How many blacks killed, raped, car jacked, looted, etc on white people, other blacks, asians, hispanics, since George Floyed that never gets talked about on liberal news stations, tv networks ???
"Ukrainian women being raped by Russian soldiers" If George hasn't seen this with his own eyes he needs to check the reporting of Eva Bernett who's been reporting in the field.
It's interesting that a smart philosophical thinker like George Yancy chooses to believe the nationalist Ukrainian claims of Russian soldiers raping women. I wonder if he has seen the footage that points to the sexual abuse, torture and murder of women of the Donbass by Ukrainian soldiers. This is not to take away from his genuine attempts at critical analysis, but to me shows the grip US hegemony has even over much of the best of our intelligentsia.
The VS where the bigest criminals get away with their crimes because they where POLICE UNIFORMS
I'm glad that something like that doesn't happen in the Netherlands.
Just 2 racist speaking in riddles.
Rubbish, all of it.. look hard enough and you can find something in nothing.
Marianne Williamson is being pillories by the Left, George, for her program of empathy & loving-kindness.
(from GREEN FIRE, UK) 🌈🦉
George may be the first person that I totally agree with. Great discussion!
Unfortunately, faith based religion teaches anti critical thinking. People are taught to suspend critical thinking. This keeps them in a weakened and vulnerable state.
I don't want to be "loved" by everyone and I don't want to "love" everyone either! I want to be recognized as human among humans, who're exercising humanistic values as their priority. So do I!
Your inner Howard Beale. 🌡ï¸
A bit beside the point but. What color is Mark's jacket? I like it!
I believe there was a time in America where police were honest and a caring group that believed in Protect and Serve. I may be naïve and maybe that’s not accurate. I also believe there was a time when Federal level in office politicians believed what the founding fathers setup and did what was best for the country and all citizens. Again I may be naïve but that’s what I think.
Sadly, for us the world, the country, the politicians and the police have changed and We The People are in huge trouble if life continues in this direction. PROTECT OUR FUTURE and STOP CRIMINAL POLICING IN AMERICA would be a great first step because Americans are afraid that the police are the criminals. That they have become the enemy of the people. They seem to all lie, some cheat and steal and others maim and murder innocent people. The police perpetuate the Us vs Them mentality and the American people will not tolerate this criminal police force forever.
Recently the police formed a national hostile force gang that uses a Desecrated American Flag as their symbol to rally the troops and intimidate everyone else. This group also has access to high technologies and weapons. My hope is that the US military has not been infiltrated by these people.
This is not a new concept. History shows the Mr. Hitler used his Nazi Flag for the same purposes. We know how that work. Millions dead.
I fear the same for America and I pray I’m wrong and this gang gets investigated by the US DOJ for criminal activity, being a Hate Group with terrorist behaviors such as undermining the rights of all citizens. Again, PROTECT OUR FUTURE our children need a good place to live.
Heschel and Heidegger, the rabbi and the nazi: nice eclecticism, wouldn't call it critical, though …
Great talk. TY Prof Yancy. Sooo true. The ONLY way that change happens is the few that have a RADICAL vision and LOVE is a RADICAL vision. So many truths in this talk. All suffering comes from a deep sense of separation….. Our BEINGNESS is the CAUSE what we DO is EFFECT. Address BEING and the DOING will naturally evolve.
BTW Marianne Williamson seems to be the only voice in politics who had the courage to put Love and compassion at the centre of her message.
The solution to all the problems in the world is this simple…
Joh 3:3 ASV Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Man's nature can never result in peace he must die and be born again with a new nature…
#FTIH&VW!
Omg he acts like Ukraine wasn't murdering Russians for the last 8 years. Wtf?
Fck those that assume some sort of magical authority over We The People…. Freedom is not a privilege it's a God given Right. ðŸ‘ï¸
why is communism ridiculous?
Right wing isn't it the loony left destroying the world covid, Ukraine digital ID, mandatory experimentation
This conversation, as astutely intellectual as it is, only helps to obscure the fact that EVERY human being, by the mere fact that they are living entities, requires adequate food, shelter and security. The simple fact that growing MILLIONS are becoming apprehensive about their ability to sustain their families while a relative handful of others live like royalty, is a huge "elephant in the room" that politicians choose to ignore.
George Yancy is a beautiful example of a deep thinker, a human being of the finest kind. Sadly he seems to be the antitheses of most of our politicians and of the American Public in general who have been dumbed-down and manipulated to such an extent that they are the equivalent of stupefied zombies. Critical thinking and objective reasoning are faculties that have been intentionally "leached" out of our American psyche. "Buy, eat, consume but don't think" has been the siren call of politicians and plutocrats for decades. Our contemporary self-destructive dysfunction is the bastard child of the societal greed and ignorance that they promoted.
"Our collective inability to be outraged" pretty much sums up my own gut-churning angst for the future of young people. If they are insensitive or unaware to the horrors of the moment, what does that bode for the future?
As a white old man I feel compelled to acknowledge the fact the the failure of the American Nation to recognize its own egregious behavior towards "citizens of color" utterly terrifies me.The facts have been chronicled for centuries. Examples fill our history books. Contemporary racial issues merely echo the history that preceded it. Our collective willful "ignorance" of those realities concerns me deeply for the viability of the future. As a white old man it is a future I will never see, yet I dread the thought of it, nevertheless. Realizing what we might have been compared to what we actually have become, does not bode well for young people today – of ANY color.
Excellent discussion. I would like to point out that there are way too many narcissists in the corridors of power. That it is important to look at how our society is highly narcissistic.
A solid understanding of narcissism is essential to make any kind of progress on any of the issues raised in this discussion. Narcissism is much more than the obvious blowhard braggart of Trump. There is no logic when it comes to dealing with narcissists whether that narcissist has a PHD or is flipping burgers they both have the emotional maturity of a 4 year old and will never accept responsibility for their actions.
Bottom line is they simply couldn't care less about anything anyone says or does unless it benefits them or props up their fragile egos.
Narcissism needs to be brought into all discussions of this type. People need to be educated on narcissism and the constant gaslighting of narcissists. The NRA being the most relevant and topical example of this sick behaviour.
Peace!
George Yancy is anti-white. Wokeness is weakness. Weakness is a great evil.
The Right is NOT the issue when you have bipartisan support to send $40 billion to ethno-fascists in Ukraine…while there's no baby formula for infants in the U.S. This Left/Right ridiculousness is a trick bag…it's slight of hand.
can we discuss all the real problems of society without spreading cia propaganda of russian soldiers raping?
We're here because we're supposed to be🦉
momma always said people who have to resort to cuss words don't have anything to good to say at all.
“The right would sell their souls for more votesâ€â€¦?
🤦â€â™€ï¸ 🤦â€â™€ï¸ 🤦â€â™‚ï¸ ðŸ¤¦â€â™‚ï¸ ðŸ¤¦ðŸ¾
A mixed bag with a dash of cringe