A better anti-racism will help, but not much. Because the problem isn't racism. That's the left's Big Lie. The factors driving wide racial inequality are chiefly cultural. This culture problem could be divided into two categories: 1) Various anti-social, anti-societal attitudes and behaviors among poor blacks. 2) The progressive elites who enable those attitudes and behaviors in every conceivable way. They then capitalize on the dysfunction they helped created by blaming whites. Mr. Hughes knows all this perfectly well, I'm sure. I admire his work and there's certainly a place for his calm, measured reasonableness. But what's really needed is a fire and brimstone culture war against both the race-mongering progressive elites and the nihilistic subculture of poor blacks. The former should be given no moral credence whatsoever. They are socially destructive. On the latter front, a tough-minded grassroots leadership, stoking a cultural revolution of self-empowerment, is the only answer. I keep waiting for that leadership to emerge.
I've seen two videos of interviews with Rahm Emanuel while he was Chicago mayor where the interviewers asked him the same question: "What's up with all the gun violence in Chicago?" In the first interview, early in his term of office, he declared it was the gun laws in neighboring Indiana (of course, the next question that immediately comes to the mind of someone with any intellectual curiosity at all would be, "So how come Indiana doesn't have anywhere near the gun violence Chicago does?" but our interviewer was of the new breed of credulous stenographer journalists and so moved on to something else).
In the second interview, which I believe was conducted after Emanuel had already decided to leave office, when he was asked the question he said it had something to do with a broken culture (my words, not his, but he did mention culture). And boy did he get in trouble for saying that, and later he was fired from the Atlantic for it. But he didn't care, he was leaving office, he could tell the truth as he saw it.
Recently Lori Lightfoot was asked the same question. She blamed not only Indiana, but Michigan and Wisconsin as well (!). And then she said that anyone who disagreed with her was racist, misogynist and probably homophobic.
I don't see how we can make any progress if the only people who can tell the truth are those who are about to leave office.
The one thing that can never be attributed to victims is agency.
The moment that is done, victimhood is diluted and consequently no longer provides expiation for the sin of white guilt. That dynamic is at play regardless of the victim's identity and it is far, far more critical than the "white rage" the General Milley referred to in Congressional testimony.
I fully agree with TH Spring. We also need critical debate on Kendi’s notions of parity and disparity. How is it that so many college educated kid learned nothing about how a free and equal society — flaws and all — works.
A better anti-racism will help, but not much. Because the problem isn't racism. That's the left's Big Lie. The factors driving wide racial inequality are chiefly cultural. This culture problem could be divided into two categories: 1) Various anti-social, anti-societal attitudes and behaviors among poor blacks. 2) The progressive elites who enable those attitudes and behaviors in every conceivable way. They then capitalize on the dysfunction they helped created by blaming whites. Mr. Hughes knows all this perfectly well, I'm sure. I admire his work and there's certainly a place for his calm, measured reasonableness. But what's really needed is a fire and brimstone culture war against both the race-mongering progressive elites and the nihilistic subculture of poor blacks. The former should be given no moral credence whatsoever. They are socially destructive. On the latter front, a tough-minded grassroots leadership, stoking a cultural revolution of self-empowerment, is the only answer. I keep waiting for that leadership to emerge.
I've seen two videos of interviews with Rahm Emanuel while he was Chicago mayor where the interviewers asked him the same question: "What's up with all the gun violence in Chicago?" In the first interview, early in his term of office, he declared it was the gun laws in neighboring Indiana (of course, the next question that immediately comes to the mind of someone with any intellectual curiosity at all would be, "So how come Indiana doesn't have anywhere near the gun violence Chicago does?" but our interviewer was of the new breed of credulous stenographer journalists and so moved on to something else).
In the second interview, which I believe was conducted after Emanuel had already decided to leave office, when he was asked the question he said it had something to do with a broken culture (my words, not his, but he did mention culture). And boy did he get in trouble for saying that, and later he was fired from the Atlantic for it. But he didn't care, he was leaving office, he could tell the truth as he saw it.
Recently Lori Lightfoot was asked the same question. She blamed not only Indiana, but Michigan and Wisconsin as well (!). And then she said that anyone who disagreed with her was racist, misogynist and probably homophobic.
I don't see how we can make any progress if the only people who can tell the truth are those who are about to leave office.
The one thing that can never be attributed to victims is agency.
The moment that is done, victimhood is diluted and consequently no longer provides expiation for the sin of white guilt. That dynamic is at play regardless of the victim's identity and it is far, far more critical than the "white rage" the General Milley referred to in Congressional testimony.
I fully agree with TH Spring. We also need critical debate on Kendi’s notions of parity and disparity. How is it that so many college educated kid learned nothing about how a free and equal society — flaws and all — works.
Perfect stated and beautifully explained.
Well written, thank you.