ARGUING FOR A BETTER WORLD

A philosophy professor attempts a cooler approach to divisive political questions.

In chapters with intriguing titles like "Can You Be Racist to a White Person?" "Is It Sexist To Say Men Are Trash?" and "Has Political Correctness Gone Too Far?” Shahvisi attempts not "to be ‘objective’ or ‘apolitical,’ if such a thing were even possible," but to "make my reasoning clear enough that those who disagree with me will at least see where we part ways." For example, the cases she examines to explore the possibility of reverse racism include Abigail Fisher, aka "Becky With the Bad Grades," who felt that her rejection by the University of Texas was racist because less qualified students of color were admitted; and Amy Cooper, the Central Park dog walker who became one of the original "Karens" when she called the police on a Black man who had asked her to leash her dog. The chapter also examines the possibility of sexism against men and ageism against baby boomers. In this case, as in just about all, Shahvisi finds that the real problem is capitalism. "While power and material resources continue to be distributed as they are, there can be no such thing as 'reverse-oppression.’ ” If steam is pouring from your ears right now, you probably aren't going to like her answer to the question, "Do All Lives Matter?" but the path to it is instructive. She identifies three different types of objections to the assertion that Black lives matter, calling them the color-blind response, the “whataboutery” response, and the white supremacist response, breaking each down to discover the assumptions it rests on. Particularly interesting chapters analyze "splaining" of all kinds and investigate the question of whether we should #BelieveWomen, especially considering the ironic statistic that 61% of women report lying. Why? “To get out of having unwanted sex.”

Though conservative readers may part ways with the author, even they may be interested in the cogent analysis she provides.