You know, Amy, I was struggling with that point, but I thought...
Tom Send a noteboard - 20/12/2012 07:07:55 PM
Fundamentally, it sounds racist on its face, but I don't really think it is (regardless of the race of the author). It is a recognition of a reality that I believe has helped covert racism to survive in this nation far longer and in far more places than would naturally be the case. The reality is that the black community chose a particular path to overcome racism and discrimination that emphasized collective action and political organization that by its nature bore undertones of socialism. This in turn allowed many to oppose it by evoking the spectre of world communism.
Most Americans recognize Martin Luther King's truth from his "I Have a Dream" speech, and look to him as a voice of reason with respect to race relations. However, when one looks at his socioeconomic politics, I think that a vast majority of Americans would find his ideology unappealing. He was a socialist and made no bones about it. He wanted redistribution of wealth. And this position has not been alien to the black civil rights movement or the generation of black leaders that followed it.
In fact, it is really because Barack Obama is NOT associated with that community that he had a chance to be elected, which betrays the fundamental truth that this article highlights, which is that the black community in America is far to the left of the center. Obama's election showed that color was not the defining factor that allowed racism to continue in America. It is the socioeconomic platform that the black community has adopted.
When Black Republicans speak out against the stigmatizing of successful blacks by their former communities (calling them "Uncle Toms" or "house slaves" or other disparaging epithets), they are speaking out against a groupthink that hurts primarily blacks. I think that the author of this piece may not have expressed it as well as he could, but he is speaking out against this phenomenon. Bill Cosby has had a lot of good things to say on these issues.
Breaking the "groupthink" mentality is a crucial part of moving beyond a difficult past in race relations and letting people move forward without too much baggage from the past.
Most Americans recognize Martin Luther King's truth from his "I Have a Dream" speech, and look to him as a voice of reason with respect to race relations. However, when one looks at his socioeconomic politics, I think that a vast majority of Americans would find his ideology unappealing. He was a socialist and made no bones about it. He wanted redistribution of wealth. And this position has not been alien to the black civil rights movement or the generation of black leaders that followed it.
In fact, it is really because Barack Obama is NOT associated with that community that he had a chance to be elected, which betrays the fundamental truth that this article highlights, which is that the black community in America is far to the left of the center. Obama's election showed that color was not the defining factor that allowed racism to continue in America. It is the socioeconomic platform that the black community has adopted.
When Black Republicans speak out against the stigmatizing of successful blacks by their former communities (calling them "Uncle Toms" or "house slaves" or other disparaging epithets), they are speaking out against a groupthink that hurts primarily blacks. I think that the author of this piece may not have expressed it as well as he could, but he is speaking out against this phenomenon. Bill Cosby has had a lot of good things to say on these issues.
Breaking the "groupthink" mentality is a crucial part of moving beyond a difficult past in race relations and letting people move forward without too much baggage from the past.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
Detroit, MI - A case study of how to destroy a city.....
20/12/2012 05:54:05 AM
- 787 Views
Interesting, however it smacks of...
20/12/2012 04:22:50 PM
- 433 Views
Williams tends to focus on race, specifically erosion of the black family
20/12/2012 05:10:10 PM
- 352 Views
Yes and No..
20/12/2012 05:15:02 PM
- 537 Views
Re: Yes and No..
20/12/2012 05:26:56 PM
- 377 Views
Re: Yes and No..
20/12/2012 05:32:33 PM
- 427 Views
You know, Amy, I was struggling with that point, but I thought...
20/12/2012 07:07:55 PM
- 399 Views
+1 - "groupthink" is probably the biggest thing that's holding back.
20/12/2012 07:52:25 PM
- 367 Views
Yeah, it's absurd how people keep calling Obama an African-American.
20/12/2012 08:59:21 PM
- 368 Views