Thanks to the commenter who reminded me that it's not bad to be reminded that the term is only a pejorative because conservative racists made it so.
this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2025
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From the left-liberal perspective, sure. But Libertarians and far-right theocrats have also employed the term as a positive self-descriptor, insisting that they had a more enlightened and historical view.
Racists have employed the term to mean they blatantly reject the history put forward by liberal scholars. It's a form of political denialism, not unlike climate change denial or holocaust denial.
The irony is in how reactionaries will embrace the term and its synonyms positively - Dark Enlightenment, Great Awakening, Objectivism, "Wake up Sheeple!" - to imply they're the ones who truly understand the victims of state persecution (inevitably, rich white cis/straight men).