Problematic: The Psychology of Social Justice Fanaticism

by Ryan Rogers

For most Americans it can be confusing the first time you hear that gardening is racist or that men can have babies. But most of us realize that to question these things would bring a world of trouble, so we keep our heads down and our mouths shut. This book delves into the psychology of social justice fanaticism, or as it more commonly called, Wokeness. In this book you will learn how Wokeness mimics several psychological disorders, such as OCD, paranoia, and borderline personality disorder. You will see the social psychology of how the Woke are able to unconsciously dismiss or ignore any information that fails to confirm their worldview. The social justice movement is compared to cults, conspiracy theories, and political fanaticism like communism. This ideology is perhaps most accurately compared to a religion, one where its adherents conduct their rituals loudly to let others know how much holier they are than the unbelievers. After reading this book you will gain a thorough breakdown of the Woke mindset which could help when interacting with such people in the future.

Genres: Nonfiction

345 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 27, 2023

About the author

I received my bachelor's degree in psychology from Baylor University and was also in a philosophy-based honors program. I am currently a graduate student in counseling working on becoming a therapist. I write on the intersection of philosophy, psychology, mental health, politics, and culture. I hope to bring insight on complex topics in ways that are more easily digestible to most readers.

Reviews

[Corey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is fascinating in that apparently if you get angry enough because someone said gardening is racist (no one is saying this) and trans people just Existing, you will proceed to write six books where you wildly misinterpret and misconstrue psychological concepts and engage in titanic levels of projection in your attempts to desperately prove you aren't a reactionary weirdo.

The author references White Fragility by name and author multiple times in text for literally no reason. No one is making you read that.

He also attempts to paint democrats as far left. At no point is any real representation of leftist politics or positions presented. There ARE actual issues with scrupulousity OCD being made worse in online leftist spaces but the author isn't actually interested in exploring or discussing that in any meaningful way opting instead to be angry about how 14 year old teenagers on tumblr behaved in 2014 and pretending that this has any actual meaningful bearing on how leftist politics and social justice spaces operate in real life.

When not wildly misrepresenting psychological concepts and philosophical takes the author just outright lies.

The New York Times is not a leftist news source and only people completely out of touch with reality and isolated in their online christofash reactionary echo chambers would ever claim it is. But then again, what do you expect from the guy who rated his own book five stars twice.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The word 'problematic' has become like a mating call for lazy people pretending to be intellectuals". - Ryan Rogers

Author Ryan Rogers shares not only his personal experiences from his life and his work in addiction and mental health, but his education in psychology. He unravels the fanaticism of the social justice movement, particularly in universities. It certainly goes on in education of much younger students, as there is a push for all to believe a certain way and shame those who believe differently. There is indoctrination and censorship in schools to control this belief system that is being pushed on students of all ages. His stories are compelling, heartbreaking, and eye-opening. His education and training unravels the many mental health issues that today's world is causing on our young adults. Parents should open their eyes before sending their children off to universities, prepare them, and follow up with wise questions after they are there.

FYI - After a recent visit to Roger's undergrad university, I know major changes have taken place for very positive results. If only more universities could be this bold.

[Pamela Mogen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first several chapters and the last several of Problematic were quite helpful in beginning to understand Social Justice Fanaticism (Wokeness), but the middle 2/3 in which the author tied specific psychological conditions to every aspect of Wokeness was tedious and doubtful to me. This is probably because I know little about psychology to begin with and what I do know leads me to be very suspicious of its truth claims and utility. This is a good resource as a Kindle Unlimited for the aspects mentioned. I am heading over to the 2nd book in this trilogy: Building Insanity, which I'm already finding to be more understandable.

[AMAO]

May 11, 2024

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd say this author has drank deep from the kool-aid pool of the far right. He tries to come off as someone who started liberal and "woke" to his own wrongness of thinking. I call that rationalization and justification of his own bias. Yes, there are people who take things to far in social justice, but perhaps they are here to help offset the mindset of people like Ryan Rogers.