Mano Singham is on the anti-Pinker train.
But if you claim to be of the left and yet find yourself frequently being criticized by others on the left but not by those on the right, and if you find yourself being repeatedly invited by those whose views you strongly disagree with and being quoted approvingly by them, it may be good for you to pause and reflect on why that might be so, and not simply dismiss your critics as being dogmatic and irrational.
The trigger here is Pinker’s flirting with the racist scum on Aporia, but it’s been a frequent issue in his career. He’s a faux leftist, and it shows.
i see razib on there, and wonder again if his name was the inspiration behind the rapsona “razzle khan” of a famous tech world thief that got busted a few years ago. that culture is fairly enamored of scientific racism.
When is the last time Pinker claimed to be on the left? I suspect at least a decade ago. He is following the getting-more-crotchety path of many aging privileged white men.
@ ^ imback : Crotchety is one thing. Deterioratingly regressively reichwing and hateful and associating with the hateful bigots and not calling them out but supporting them instead is something quite different..
Libertarian.
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Steven Pinker
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As the hoary chestnut goes:
What do you have if you’re sitting at a table with 9 Nazis?
A table with 10 Nazis.
@2–
Crotchety is annoying. It’s the cognitive rigidity and regressive falsehoods I don’t like. And even then, it’s not about age per se. I think it’s more about coming to see one’s privileges and comforts as inalienable rights over time.
@StevoR and @chrislawson, I agree crotchety was not the right word, but it seems you both were on to what I was thinking.