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Marianne Williamson's Progressive Platitudes Are a Fig Leaf for Narcissistic Neoliberal Toxicity [1]

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Date: 2023-06-06

“I’m not thinking in terms of defeating the right.”

This inane disqualifying dismissive response, “I’m not thinking in terms of defeating the right,” — a segue into yet another predictable condescending spiritual-psychotherapy lecture on tone policing — in response to Francesca Fiorentini’s earnest question about political strategy to defeat the fascist right, perfectly sums up the danger Williamson’s fraudulent political candidacy poses to Democrats and the left. It perfectly illustrates how Williamson ultimately has nothing useful to offer the progressives she is trying to bamboozle with unserious memorized progressive platitudes used to close the sale on the only product the Hollywood New Age guru has been hocking for 40 years: a self-centered New Age self-help religion. It's typical Southern California New Age bullshit that has never supported progressive values because it has always been about telling the privileged well-to-do that they can solve their own problems with navel-gazing positive thinking (along with $875.00 workshop tuition, or $3,250.00 weekend retreat).

At 10:55 Francesca Fiorentini asks Marianne Williamson about political strategy to defeat the right.

Marianne Williamson’s Bible — A Course in Miracles — is “a dumpster fire of victim-blaming responsibilism presented through the smug voice of a channeled New Age Asshole Jesus”

Having A-list Hollywood celebrities (Oprah Winfrey, Bette Midler, David Geffen, Cher, and Shirley MacLaine, among others) among a spiritual leader’s clientele can catapult them into millionaire status and get on the world’s radar. This is immensely helpful if one wants to run for president. The vehicle Williamson has used to attain and afford this presidential candidate status is a New Age book and a spiritual philosophy that is the very definition of narcissistic neoliberal toxicity — A Course in Miracles. Here’s a sampling of the “wisdom” from the bible Williamson has been preaching from (and profiting off of) for 40 years:

Your body isn’t real

All conflict is in the mind

Getting sick means you’re defending yourself against God

While on the political stump, Williamson speaks a slew of memorized vague progressive platitudes affecting the persona of a trained politician offering overly simplistic solutions. Whether or not Williamson sincerely believes in or is committed to any of these progressive platitudes, it quickly becomes apparent that she has no idea or theory of social/political change to actually obtain any of these goals.

What Theory of Change? Williamson’s mechanism of change consists of incantation of wishes and psycho-spiritual spells

Williamson’s victim-blaming, tone policing, and “all conflict is in the mind” nonsense is the very antithesis of progressive politics’ Theory of Change through collective power of working class solidarity and mass social movements to directly confront entrenched power. Instead, Williamson’s simplistic universalist pseudotherapy schtick solution-to-everything tends to disarm political activism by telling activists how they should feel. As Matthew Remsky (Conspirituality.net) says:

It comes through most clearly when she’s pressed on questions of strategy. She will instantly pivot to talking about the spirit and the soul. The effect is a disarming oscillation between the political and the personal. Are we talking about defeating fascists? No, no, that’s too worldly! We’re talking about opening our hearts. And if that feels good during a politically tense exchange, it’s because she changed the subject.

Williamson’s self-centered navel-gazing New Age woo woo philosophy schtick — if only the person would change their minds about their problem, the world would be healed — may be fine for the workshop circuit catering to the Hollywood well-to-do class who live in a privileged world completely separate from the struggles of normal working class and poor folks. But it has no place in our politics. As an interpersonal technique it is both presumptuous and incurious in a way that no progressive politician can afford to be. It is, however, extremely useful to the corporate oligarchy as a way to pacify/neutralize the majority and divert them from what they fear most: effective political change. One could predict that Williamson would make a perfect useful idiot to the billionaire class, who would happily fund her campaign as controlled opposition to capture gullible progressives.

There’s actually some good research that suggests that New Age self-centered “It’s all in the mind” way of viewing the world tends to make a person more selfish and less interested in working with others — the opposite of the goal of progressive politics: Mindfulness can make you selfish: A pioneering new study examines the social effects of mindfulness

As Matthew Remsky points out:

A Course in Miracles is a central fixture in a subculture that when not chronically politically disengaged, is vulnerable to right wing or libertarian social movements.

Check out the excellent Conspirituality Podcast from May 6: Brief: Marianne Williamson’s Spiritual Therapy Schtick

megaphone.link/…

x Brief: Marianne Williamson’s Spiritual Therapy Schtick https://t.co/sH7g8OR2kV - Source : Conspirituality Podcast — DS/SD (@DerivesSectes) May 6, 2023

Marianne Williamson’s anti-science, reality-denying, victim-blaming, denial of illness, “5D channeled wisdom” batshit nonsense is extremely dangerous and inappropriate for anyone running for elected office, let alone the most consequential leadership position in the entire country.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/6/2173236/-Marianne-Williamson-s-Progressive-Platitudes-Are-a-Fig-Leaf-for-Narcissistic-Neoliberal-Toxicity

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