Social issues that are discussed at the national level influence the culture and adds to the polarization at the local level as voters support their respective political brands.

Allegations of white supremacy created a controversy with the Nashville Farmers Market and continue to escalate issues with the current operations of the Bloomington Farmers’ Market.

The intent of this post is to reinforce the importance of applying an evidence-based method to define a problem. Terms such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and white privilege are often used as accusations and are ill-defined.

The following articles provide an example of defining a term – white privilege in this case, and using empirical evidence to conclude that one variable does not account for differences in group outcomes.

Why White Privilege Is Wrong—Part 1 – Quillette

Rarely does a single explanatory variable account for a complex phenomenon. Instead,
complex outcomes are best explained by a confluence of factors. In the case of white
privilege, there are a number of variables which, together, better explain differences in group outcomes. Moreover, there is a bevy of countervailing evidence that calls its validity into question.

When it comes to differences in group outcomes, the far-le and far-right conflate perception with reality. For neo-Nazis and alt-righters, their supposed superiority lies in their genetics. For those on the far-left, the unjust supremacy of whites is based on systemic discrimination. Both are sorely mistaken.

Why White Privilege is Wrong—Part 2 – Quillette

Many people enjoy invoking race as an explanation for all sorts of things. It is a shared pastime for both the far-left and the far-right. The media expend vast sums of money and effort to ensure we don’t escape discussions about race as something that is or should be important. This vocal minority of political extremists and news broadcasters has directed our attention away from more powerful causal explanations that underlie group outcomes. Perverse incentives for these two groups have made race a more a prominent feature of our lives.

More information  Local Farmers Markets – history and timeline of the issues.