Does hate speech law need to be updated or clarified? How has the situation changed in universities in the two years since the Committee’s report on the issue? Does everyone have equal protection of their right to freedom of expression?
Critical/Cynical Facts/Theories
A new book on ‘social justice scholarship’ Who wants social justice? Or, to ask a simpler question, who wishes to live in a society that is unjust? Nobody, I expect. Or nobody except those cranks relegated beyond the fringes of acceptable discourse. Why, then, are we not all marching hand-in-hand, step-by-step, in support of ‘Social […]
Black History Month at Don’t Divide Us
Black History Month (BHM) is an educational initiative whose aim is to celebrate the contributions of black people in history. Its aims are therefore curricular and socio-political. It began in America in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was adopted in Britain in 1987 under the aegis of the GLC. It takes place in […]
Implicit Bias FAQ
Carrie Clark and Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert dissect “Implicit Bias Testing”. The concept of implicit bias, which in current public discussion means white bias, is at the heart of almost all anti-racist initiatives that institutions including the British Museum, businesses, universities and schools, as well as some trade unions. The concept shifts the burden of proof of […]
FAQs: What is Implicit Bias and Why Do I Need to Know About It?
Introduction The concept of implicit bias, which in current public discussion means white bias, is at the heart of almost all anti-racist initiatives that institutions including the British Museum, businesses, universities and schools, as well as some trade unions. The concept shifts the burden of proof of the existence of racism from social systems of […]
The Psychology of Critical Race Theory
Psychologist Dr Carole Sherwood analyses Critical Race Theory—and finds it wanting: Critical Race Theory does not provide the best tools to tackle racism. Blaming others, rather than taking responsibility for your actions, leads to a culture of victimhood and division. Always trusting your feelings to tell you what is ‘true’ produces mental health problems. But, […]
Critical Race Theory: helpful or harmful?
“What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves but the way in which we think about them”. Epictetus Imagine, while out walking, you see a friend across the road. You wave but she doesn’t wave back. She passes by, ignoring you completely. What would go through your mind? “What have I done […]
A New (Third) letter to a Vice Chancellor from a Don’t Divide Us supporter
Over on our Universities, you can follow a link to our third letter to a Vice Chancellor To be told that, simply because of an immutable characteristic, your skin colour, you are actively complicit in the deaths of black people, is psychologically very dangerous. I would question whether it is in fact against equality legislation […]
David Butterfield reviews Cynical Theories
And he declares it a polemic all the more damning for its scrupulousness. The research behind Cynical Theories is substantial – evidently exhausting, if not exhaustive. Despite ploughing through some 250 articles and books of very variable quality, the authors resist the temptation to descend into mockery. This will surprise some, since the writers are […]
Why Nobody is Systemically Racist
James Lindsay argues why falling prey to bad theory can make it harder to ascertain moral responsibility where racism is concerned Given the events of the past few months, it has probably been explained to you at least once that all people who are “white” and “white-adjacent” are allegedly complicit in “systemic racism.” This may […]