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A new shadow rises
Jun. 16th, 2021 03:17 amWith regret, I have to report that the culture wars have reached the hitherto docile and apolitical realm of the Tolkien Society. As we speak, there are people plotting to disrupt their proposed seminar on diversity. This is because some right-wing idiot (and UKIP candidate) called Sargon of Akkad (I kid you not) posted a whiny YouTube video about 'those leftist woke Tolkien Society people' (for context, the chairman of the TS is a Tory council leader in some part of England I never knew existed).
It was of course only a matter of time, because the narrative of 'cultural Marxism' and 'those damn woke people' needs constant feeding with further examples to agitate the online anti-intellectual gammons with, to constantly feed their victim complexes about being on the losing end of a titanic struggle. It would be ridiculous (and untrue) to say that diversity has a central place in either Tolkien scholarship or the Tolkien society, yet the narrative decrees that 'the woke are taking over' and 'we have to fight them' because we are up against a conspiracy theory that sees imaginary 'SJW' enemies everywhere it looks.
Tolkien's works are the sort that appeal to all - from left-wing hippies to blood and soil nationalists. This is why he is so popular and loved. His books teach basic human values that speak to all and are almost totally apolitical. But that sort of truce is unacceptable to the new disruptive force, because it does not recognise truces. To it, anything that has alignment with/inclusion of the Left must be controlled by the Left. It is of course a staple part of how conspiracy theories work - if you think a shadowy group (here, 'the Left') is behind everything, then unless they are visibly excluded you will keep thinking it.
For the record, I think many of the talks are ridiculous, applying theories in a way that just does not work, however none of that excuses the sort of 'gate-keeping' and attempted 'cancelling' of the whole TS that seems to be mooted.
It was of course only a matter of time, because the narrative of 'cultural Marxism' and 'those damn woke people' needs constant feeding with further examples to agitate the online anti-intellectual gammons with, to constantly feed their victim complexes about being on the losing end of a titanic struggle. It would be ridiculous (and untrue) to say that diversity has a central place in either Tolkien scholarship or the Tolkien society, yet the narrative decrees that 'the woke are taking over' and 'we have to fight them' because we are up against a conspiracy theory that sees imaginary 'SJW' enemies everywhere it looks.
Tolkien's works are the sort that appeal to all - from left-wing hippies to blood and soil nationalists. This is why he is so popular and loved. His books teach basic human values that speak to all and are almost totally apolitical. But that sort of truce is unacceptable to the new disruptive force, because it does not recognise truces. To it, anything that has alignment with/inclusion of the Left must be controlled by the Left. It is of course a staple part of how conspiracy theories work - if you think a shadowy group (here, 'the Left') is behind everything, then unless they are visibly excluded you will keep thinking it.
For the record, I think many of the talks are ridiculous, applying theories in a way that just does not work, however none of that excuses the sort of 'gate-keeping' and attempted 'cancelling' of the whole TS that seems to be mooted.