This election cycle, “identity politics” has become one of those phrases that joined the political lexicon. Even though it has become widely used, many people are still unsure of what identity politics means. Identity politics refers to the political interests of women, minorities, and other marginalized groups in American politics. These interests are far ranging and include everything from fighting for equal pay for women to fighting against police brutality in minority communities. Typically, identity politics has been used as a put-down by the alt left. By now, almost everyone has heard the insult: “She was engaging in identity politics, and not focusing on the real issues.” But what are the “real issues” which identity politics “distracts” us from? Generally, those who use identity politics as a deriding term want the left to focus on class instead of issues that pertain to the identities of marginalized people. When the alt-left says “identity politics,” what they actually mean is “civil rights.” They want marginalized groups to stop fighting for civil rights because that would upset poor white people who might otherwise vote Democratic, if not for minorities and women pushing their issues. Unequivocally, this is a call for white supremacy. Telling minorities or other marginalized groups that their issues are “distractions,” and that they must be subservient to the issues of white men is a path that leads right back to 1950s America. It certainly isn’t a path that leads to equality or racial justice.

The Far Left Has Begun An All Out Assault On “Identity Politics”

The alt-left has begun an all-out assault on identity politics. It is an assault which started in earnest over a year ago, with Bernie Sanders candidacy. But it has since grown into a larger movement, with far left blogs and even New York Times columnists calling for the Democratic to stop engaging in identity politics. Make no mistake, this is a purposeful push to shut out minority interests in the Democratic Party. It is a call for a kind of racial triangulation that many on the alt-left believe would appease whites. Sanders has led the charge, going as far to lob the insult that “It is not good enough for someone to say, I’m a woman, vote for me.” Not only was that a massive insult to Secretary Clinton, who had dozens of pages of policy proposals and was the most qualified candidate in modern US history, it was also a call to arms for other white people who felt the same way. Sanders is leading a group of white people who feel that the interests of minorities and women have become too prominent in the Democratic Party, and that their interests should be deferential to class interests.