I used the example of gaslighting as an analogy. You have no actual proof that racism and misogyny aren't as bad as they are being made out to be. It just FEELS like that to you. I think it's a lot more likely that they are much worse because both are so insidiously woven into our entire culture and social system. And there's ample proof of that, both statistically, and from the personal experiences of millions.
Did you know that studies indicate that if there are 17% women in any group, it feels to the men like it’s 50–50. And if 33% of the group is women, it feels to the men like they are in the minority. What you are espousing is analagous to that.
And, telling oppressed people that they are handling their pain wrong is condescending and wildly inappropriate. Some might even say that it's racist or misogynistic. It's essentially the dominance hierarchy defending itself. It took 100 years of struggle for women to get the right to vote. It wasn't just handed to them eventually, because they were nice. Empowerment of the simplest narrative was THE only way that eventually got accomplished. Same with Civil Rights legislation.
The solutions to these problem are for those at the top of the dominance hierarchy to stop complaining endlessly about the inconvenience of the oppressed asking for justice and using that place of societal power to move in that direction. In other words, calling speaking up about oppression a "knee-jerk reaction" is what is making the situation a quagmire, not the invonvenient voices of the oppressed.
You spend a lot of your words on the page complaining about those who speak up about their pain. I stand by my assertion that you've created an intellectual sounding framework for what is essentially an emotional response - because that's what the evidence supports. Scratch the surface of your framework and it's just a veneer. There's nothing of substance underneath. You make assertions but there is nothing to back them up. In fact, for many of them there is ample evidence that the opposite is actually true.
I've been a life coach for 15 years and its my professional opnion that feelings are always helpful. They are the barometer that guides and informs our actions. Of course, one shouldn't only act on feelings, but they are a vital bit of information. By way of example, the anger after George Floyd's death led to a lot of concrete things like laws being changed and both individuals and companies taking greater responsibility for instances of implicit bias or casual racism. There's a lot more work to be done, but that "empowerment of the simplest narrative" changed this country for the better.
"The TV shows Cops and Live PD, were canceled. Both had been criticized for reinforcing the stereotype of dangerous and inherently criminal black men."
"A bipartisan bill in Congress proposes to rename military bases that bear the name of Confederate generals. In the case of Fort Bragg, General Braxton Bragg only won one battle and was no-one’s idea of an actual hero. It has been suggested that this base be renamed after WWII Congressional Medel of Honor winner Ray Eubanks instead."
"Laws and policies related to policing have undergone changes on both the Federal and the state level. Most states and even some foreign countries (Canada and New Zealand) have enacted new laws in response to these protests."
So no, you deciding that racism or misogyny are overblown based on nothing other than that it FEELS that way to you is not a substantive argument. It's not one that stands up to scrutiny. There are some legitimate issues with what you term "woke culture" but so far you haven't identified or spoken to any of those. You're just one of the mouthpieces for patriarchy defending and justifying itself.
