61–70 of 261 posts
It is important to note that this article was written by a black man, a contributing editor to The Atlantic. John McWhorter is not a MAGA hack. That being said... This article is the very definition of a straw man. Absolutely no one subscribes to the position it critiques. On the other hand, a fair number of people (including myself) subscribe to the position that, although things are not nearly as bad as they have b…
I've seen people argue every point listed there. Not at the same time, but still.
> We have made a lot of progress towards solving this problem. But we have not yet solved fully solved it
Sure. There's a lot of racism to fight. But that doesn't mean we should just ignore people pushing bullshit under antiracism banners.
> and anyone who says that we have, particularly when they say it in such a condescending way, is part of the problem.
Going too far with antiracism is possible and just as harmful. If you go far enough you make young people think all antiracism is a joke. Then they just stop thinking of racism as something bad in general. In some countries this point isn't far in the future.
We can argue where the line is (for me the concept of "cultural appropriation" is already absurd enough), but the fact that there is a line should be pretty obvious.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Absolutely no one subscribes to the position it critiques. Have you been on Twitter or a college campus lately? There absolutely are people who believe those things to their core. I have spoken to many people who subscribe to those positions both online and off. I am not saying we should throw the baby out with the bathwater but disregarding the extremists in the anti-racism movement is just burying your head in th…
> Have you been on Twitter or a college campus lately? No. I live in a bubble. And no, I am not being facetious. I really have not been to a college campus for a long time, and I really don't read Twitter. Nonetheless... > There absolutely are people who believe those things to their core. I have a very hard time believing this. Can you point me to some evidence on the record that is longer than 140 characters?
It is important to note that this article was written by a black man, a contributing editor to The Atlantic. John McWhorter is not a MAGA hack. That being said... This article is the very definition of a straw man. Absolutely no one subscribes to the position it critiques. On the other hand, a fair number of people (including myself) subscribe to the position that, although things are not nearly as bad as they have b…
Please elaborate and cite. You dismiss the entire article (i.e. the subject of discussion) with the wave of a hand before diving into your own battle against straw men.
For instance:
> publicly tortured and killed by authorities
In 2016, 266 black people were killed by police in the U.S. [1] In 2020, that value is estimated to be 233 [2]. That is out of 46 million black people in the U.S., or approximately 0.0006%. No data available on "public torture". While I would agree that any death at the hands of police is unfortunate (though NOT unavoidable), I think most reasonable people would agree that 0.0006% is hardly representative of a widespread or systemic issue that typifies the policing of black people.
> there is no problem
Another straw man. McWhorter states explicitly:
> [This article] is not an argument against protest
> I am calling for [black people] to be treated with true dignity
> I am not arguing against the basic premises of Black Lives Matter
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/...
It is important to note that this article was written by a black man, a contributing editor to The Atlantic. John McWhorter is not a MAGA hack. That being said... This article is the very definition of a straw man. Absolutely no one subscribes to the position it critiques. On the other hand, a fair number of people (including myself) subscribe to the position that, although things are not nearly as bad as they have b…
https://johnmcwhorter.substack.com/p/is-the-elect-a-mere-col...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Have you been on Twitter or a college campus lately? No. I live in a bubble. And no, I am not being facetious. I really have not been to a college campus for a long time, and I really don't read Twitter. Nonetheless... > There absolutely are people who believe those things to their core. I have a very hard time believing this. Can you point me to some evidence on the record that is longer than 140 characters?
Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH2WeWgcSMk
It is important to note that this article was written by a black man, a contributing editor to The Atlantic. John McWhorter is not a MAGA hack. That being said... This article is the very definition of a straw man. Absolutely no one subscribes to the position it critiques. On the other hand, a fair number of people (including myself) subscribe to the position that, although things are not nearly as bad as they have b…
> 1. When black people say you have insulted them, apologize with profound sincerity and guilt. But don’t put black people in a position where you expect them to forgive you.
Yeah, indeed if anyone feels insulted it's quite a natural first reaction to apologize. On the other hand, unless you're having a bad day, try to have a thick skin yourself.
> 2. “Black culture” is code for “pathological, primitive ghetto people.” But don’t expect black people to assimilate to “white” social norms.
This one... wtf? And no, I don't expect anyone to pretend they're white.
> 3. Silence about racism is violence. But elevate the voices of the oppressed over your own.
So is the author arguing that silence about racism is a good thing then? And we generally want expert voices elevated on specific topics. I do think many black people know quite a bit about experiencing racism.
> 4. You must strive eternally to understand the experiences of black people. But you can never understand what it is to be black, and if you think you do you’re a racist.
Replace black by science and racist by stupid. Not so illogical then, is it?
> 5. Show interest in multiculturalism. But do not culturally appropriate.
Oh come on. All people ask is things like: don't do blackface, it's dumb. Like dressing up as an SS. Fully legal, as it should be, but really dumb.
> 6. [...] But seek to have black friends. If you don’t have any, you’re a racist.
(facepalm) I'll stop here.
Anyone else see this article as incredibly two-faced? He's lowkey slipping in the assumption that we all want to be broadly excluding people from intuitions based on their beliefs and then complains about... people wanting to exclude him?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"black people being systematically disenfranchised, and publicly tortured and killed by authorities, often with impunity" And it's ridiculous statements like this that keep fanning the racial tensions. 1) Please show the data - if you even took time to review police killings it is social class that is the biggest factor not race. In fact as a percentage white people of lower income status are killed more often than b…
The wealth disparity between Black people and white people in America[1] is, itself, due to centuries of racism[2]. 1. https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/disp... 2. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2019/08...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"black people being systematically disenfranchised, and publicly tortured and killed by authorities, often with impunity" And it's ridiculous statements like this that keep fanning the racial tensions. 1) Please show the data - if you even took time to review police killings it is social class that is the biggest factor not race. In fact as a percentage white people of lower income status are killed more often than b…
> Please show the data Seriously? Have you not been keeping up with current events? Have you heard of George Floyd? The attempts by the Trump administration to overturn the 2020 election?