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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Triggered summary
Donald Trump Jr.
How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us
19 mins
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Triggered
Summary of 6 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 6
The left’s overemphasis on identity only entrenches division.
The great American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. once famously described a dream he had of a world where people were judged on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.
For all their talk of equality, the American left today is calling for us to do precisely the opposite; to pay more attention to the color of everyone’s skin than the content of their character.
And not only the color of their skin, but also their gender, and sexual orientation. The left works hard to accentuate everybody's differences even while they claim to want to reconcile them.
Indeed, people on the left wear identity labels like medals on their lapels. These labels give you a certain social capital in leftist circles. And the more “oppressed“ identity categories a person belongs to, the more social capital they have. If you identify as a genderqueer, pansexual person of color, you’ve pretty much got all your bases covered.
These labels signify to others on the left how much weight to accord a person’s experiences and opinions. While these identities no doubt hold personal importance for the people who express them, they also function like status symbols among leftists.
Of course, there are a few identity labels that aren’t in vogue. If you find yourself in the wrong circle and you’re unfortunate enough to be afflicted by wealth, whiteness or masculinity, you would be well advised to keep your mouth shut. Your opinion isn’t wanted, and anyway, your admittance to these circles is only provisional until you slip up and say the wrong thing.
If you belong to the right identities, however, you can practically speak with impunity. The truth is, the value that the left accords to a person’s opinion has more to do with who’s speaking than with what they’re saying.
For example, when people began questioning the actor Jussie Smollett’s story of being attacked by two white men wearing Make America Great Again hats, they were immediately labeled racist online for the mere act of doubting a person of color. It turned out in the end that Smollett had fabricated the story.
By some strange logic, the left has determined that the views of people who have been oppressed are beyond reproach. But this is prejudicial thinking. We shouldn’t be assessing people’s claims and arguments differently depending on whose mouth they come out of.
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What is Triggered about?
In Triggered (2019), Trump Jr. presents an excoriating critique of contemporary left-wing politics in the United States. These blinks expose what Trump Jr. perceives as the violent and hypocritical tactics used by the left to advance its agenda, from rampant political correctness to online abuse. They also explore the author’s belief that the greatest threat to freedom of speech today comes from the left.
Best quote from Triggered
Free speech and the ability to tolerate offense are the hallmarks of a free and open society.
—Donald Trump Jr.
Who should read Triggered?
- Conservatives who want to defend themselves against hostility from the left
- Liberals who want to engage with conservative ideas
- Anyone who wants to better understand the forces influencing their views and language today
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