One of the best articles I've read on the subject - quite aligned to what John McWhorter & Glenn Loury often speak about. As an Eastern European I could never get over the fact Angela Davis was proudly fighting for liberty while receiving prizes from the East German regime.
It is a very telling difference to compare differential outcomes for various groups who have suffered from racism. Asian & Jewish "survival styles" have been very different over the course of prior discrimination eras, and it clearly shows that the way a culture responds to suppression determines outcomes. As has the experience of recent immigrant groups who've come from Africa and not fallen into the same negative patterns.
There is an interesting theory by Thomas Sowell about Southern-White culture having contaminated traditional African-American culture with maladaptive elements and then spread across America as the pseudo-authentic Black culture.
Although I agree that a major focus of change in society should be on race neutral economic growth for all poor people. There are a number of aspects of black culture that are worthy of discussion.
Can one post anything even mildly critical of blacks without being smeared as a racist?
What the hell, here goes anyway.
It’s past time for society to quit pandering to the middle and upper class black community and to demand that it take the lead in correcting the problems that the black underclass faces and creates. Here are a few suggestions.
There is a systematic lack of respect for education within the black community. Tolerance of disruptive students by black school administrators and lack of effective discipline hinders learning in many black majority schools, stifling students’ potential achievement. The simple answer is to expel repeat offenders so that those who desire to learn can learn. Once you set a high standard the number of offenses should quickly decline.
There is a casual acceptance of criminal behavior within the black community that results in a failure to cooperate with police in solving crimes. Until this is reversed there will be zero economic development within the areas where they live.
Finally, someone must find a way to make black fathers love and care for their children and especially their boy children. Young black men (15-34) are just 2% of the population and commit about half of the nation’s homicides. A rate fifty times higher than the average American. The lack of a father’s involvement in raising their sons is at the heart of this problem yet few acknowledge it and seek answers to it. Where the hell are the middle and upper class blacks (and especially black politicians) who even publicly acknowledge this problem?
Good points all . Although white liberals sure share a lot of the blame in tolerating black criminality, then accuse others of racism for pointing it out. This is what Shelby Steele argued 35 years ago in The Content Of Our Character, which I've referenced a few times already and didn't mention in this article. In 1990 he argued that blacks have to step up to the plate and do for themselves as well and not always depend on white handouts. And what you say about the black middle and upper classes is what Bill Cosby got nationally damned for saying, that the black lower classes aren't doing their part to lift themselves up. Even though it's what the upper black classes were saying behind closed doors. His critics were also unhappy that he said it in front of the white people, little realizing that *we* were saying the very same things behind closed doors ourselves.
Reading Steele's 1990 book really made me see how much in common black and white female disempowerment have in common. Like, you could take Steele's book, replace 'black' with 'women' and 'racist' with 'sexist' and you'd have the exact same on-point book about two different types of people. I see *so much* of the self-disempowerment and self-victimization going on in white feminism, and esp so when I was on Medium, which was just infested with whiny little girls of all ages. I long ago learned to handle, "You've never been abused by a man; who do you think you are blaming women for their abuse?" with "I know something *you* don't know - how not to be abused. It's a CHOICE, as I've clearly demonstrated." I'm tired of hearing about victim-blaming; I'll stop 'blaming' the victims when they stop agreeing to *be* victims (more on that next week.)
One advantage of growing into an old lady, though, is I no longer give a shit if someone calls me a racist, sexist, transphobe, broccoliphobe, fascist, right-winger, woke progressive, whatever :)
The Black Panther Party’s legacy is to be sure a complex one. They are today hailed as heroes. But the true story of the Panthers is more complicated. Did they do some good things? Absolutely they did! The Panthers gave free breakfasts to poor black children in the inner cities, defended the black community against police brutality, formed the Rainbow Coalition with the Young Patriots Organization and the Young Lords, Created a Ten Point Program to help the black community, founded over 60 community support programs, and they were open to and inclusive of, women and gay people. There can also be no doubt Fred Hampton’s assassination by the Chicago Police with the assistance of the FBI in 1969 at just the age of 21 was a terrible tragedy. He was a brilliant leader and organizer no doubt.
All that being said, this anecdote provided by Labia shows us that even in their heyday, the BPP had its flaws. Like them wining and dining white liberals to play on their guilt and lecture them about how they had an obligation to help the black community. As Shelby Steele said, they didn’t want white people to give them a helping hand so they could stand on their own two feet, they wanted them to intervene on their behalf. This is how the victimhood culture we know today was born.
Their antisemitism and antizionism was glaring as well which their Jewish supporters understandably did NOT appreciate! Nor did they vet the people who they would welcome into their organization. As a result, you had criminals and psychopaths joining the party such as Eldridge Cleaver who as one party member so eloquently said “was that m**********r crazy? H*** yeah he was!” I think I’ll just leave it at that. :) Huey P. Newton brilliant an organizer as he may have been, was also prone to violence and went to prison in 1967 for killing Oakland Police Officer John P. Grey. He was only released because the prosecution didn’t have sufficient evidence to convict him.
Things shifted and got even worse in 1970 as the organization began to erode due to Huey Newton’s erraticism and paranoia which was fueled by substance abuse, organizational rivalries and infighting and the relentless COINTELPRO actions against the Panthers by the FBI. The group split into two factions.
One was headed up by Newton who called for a future revolution that would be lead by the working class. The other was led by the aforementioned Eldridge Cleaver. Cleaver advocated for an immediate revolution led by the underclass including unemployed criminals. He was at the time in exile in Algeria hiding out from the law. As the organization continued to splinter, Newton’s cocaine and alcohol addictions got worse and he would end up being shot to death in 1989 in a crack house by a drug dealer he was trying to shake down. Meanwhile, Cleaver murdered a fellow Panther who he accused of sleeping with his wife.
The Panthers had never been averse to using violence but in the past they used it only in self-defense, but that would change as the 1970s progressed. Take the story of young Alex Rackley for instance. He was suspected of being an FBI spy, so party members in Connecticut led by Erika Huggins brutally tortured Rackley by means of beating him and pouring scalding hot water on him. “Crazy George” Sams a convicted felon, recorded the whole thing to scare other party members. After he “confessed” (he was in truth, innocent) he was brutally murdered. After being arrested up in Canada, George Sams spilled the beans 🫘 and revealed that Bobby Seale had ordered Rackley’s interrogation and liquidation. Funny how PBS forget to mention all those facts in their documentary: “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” and Hollywood forgot to too in the movie “Judas and the Black Messiah” 😉. Both were whitewashed, glorified accounts of the BPP.
I actually did have a bit about what good the Panthers had done but the article was already too long and if I'd gone on any longer it would have resembled a Tom Wolfe article, lol. Radical Chic and the Mau-Mau'ing one were both very long for essays, however engaging. In fact, Wolfe could have stood to cut it down...he went on endlessly sometimes in both articles.
Good summary. I agree with most. Yes, economic vulnerability is the number one cause of bad results. The fact that blacks were discriminated against for lots of our history helped to make them economically vulnerable, but it wasn't just African Americans who were poor. Also, fathers matter. I agree totally rather than virtue signaling, the answer is to do something other than simply writing a check or screaming about it. If you meet a young person who needs help with school, mentoring in a job, advice and concern or just listening, do it! I had a friend from NYC who was all in for the racist virtue signaling and I asked her how many African Americans she knew. You should have seen her face--the answer was NONE! In the 70's we had a course in the Army that taught us not to be color blind. They emphasized the vulnerability part and to help if you could--I did. Since 20% of my soldiers were black, I made it a point to mentor them. Guess what--it worked most of the time. Yes, there is still racism, probably always will be, but I truly believe it is far less a problem than it was. It's time to pull up our pants and get to work and this includes African American leaders. Victimhood has never helped anyone. Encourage, guide, mentor, set standards and love.
The research didn't say fathers didn't matter, but pointed out nuance re missing fathers--kids are better off in 'hoods with active engaged fathers, no matter the race. I think one of the biggest mistakes liberals & progressives make is treating people differently because of their race--overcompensation is just as bad as skin-based bigotry and infantilizes others. My friends are whomever they are--I have no DEI requirements. If you're cool, funny, intelligent, interesting--you're in. Holding everyone to the highest standards lifts all boats, and jump-starts some of the ones who simply aren't trying hard enough.
Yeah, I got that the research showed missing fathers had an impact and was simply emphasizing that point. BTW, single parent families statistically tend to be the most economically vulnerable. Like you, I've never cared what color, sexual preference, or religious affiliation a person subscribed to in deciding whether I like or trust them. Still, if someone has come from a hard life and they're trying, reaching out to help if you can is generally a good thing.
Abrogation of recognition of personal responsibility has been more demonstrated on the left in the last several years, but it's actually a pretty human, universal, non-partisan thing. We're seeing the rise of it on the right, along with all the other sins of wokeism, because the templates for crazy-ass extremism are the same. What I'd like to see is more helping hands but with the proviso that you still have to do your own part to help yourself. I'm happy that the Trumpies are destroying the worst of wokeness, I just wish they'd stop adopting and adapting it for themselves. But, if you trace the warring ideologies back far enough (like, thousands of years) you find nothing much changes. The faults and moral failings they complain about on the other side are 100% universally human.
OK, 100% agree, lol. Humans will never be perfect, and the see saw of politics is part of that. Wish we could achieve the globalist idea of a "perfect world" but unless we make homo sapiens perfect, don't see it happening.
Heads up: Remember that info you sent me on COVID a few years ago? Finally got around to the research and will be writing about it in May. Can I mention you by name or would you prefer not?
Some of it may be out of date. Don't mind if you mention me as long as you've done the research because the science has evolved. Don't believe there is anything in my write-up that has been disproven, but I'm not sure where I saved it to review it myself. Also, if you're interested, I can send you my write-up on the biological differences between men and women that I put together in an effort to explain to my niece and Facebook friends why trans women should not be competing in women's sports. I was shocked to find even more than I understood.
One of the best articles I've read on the subject - quite aligned to what John McWhorter & Glenn Loury often speak about. As an Eastern European I could never get over the fact Angela Davis was proudly fighting for liberty while receiving prizes from the East German regime.
It is a very telling difference to compare differential outcomes for various groups who have suffered from racism. Asian & Jewish "survival styles" have been very different over the course of prior discrimination eras, and it clearly shows that the way a culture responds to suppression determines outcomes. As has the experience of recent immigrant groups who've come from Africa and not fallen into the same negative patterns.
There is an interesting theory by Thomas Sowell about Southern-White culture having contaminated traditional African-American culture with maladaptive elements and then spread across America as the pseudo-authentic Black culture.
“Black Rednecks & White Liberals” - read it! Got it! I will re-read it again eventually. Awesome book.
Although I agree that a major focus of change in society should be on race neutral economic growth for all poor people. There are a number of aspects of black culture that are worthy of discussion.
Can one post anything even mildly critical of blacks without being smeared as a racist?
What the hell, here goes anyway.
It’s past time for society to quit pandering to the middle and upper class black community and to demand that it take the lead in correcting the problems that the black underclass faces and creates. Here are a few suggestions.
There is a systematic lack of respect for education within the black community. Tolerance of disruptive students by black school administrators and lack of effective discipline hinders learning in many black majority schools, stifling students’ potential achievement. The simple answer is to expel repeat offenders so that those who desire to learn can learn. Once you set a high standard the number of offenses should quickly decline.
There is a casual acceptance of criminal behavior within the black community that results in a failure to cooperate with police in solving crimes. Until this is reversed there will be zero economic development within the areas where they live.
Finally, someone must find a way to make black fathers love and care for their children and especially their boy children. Young black men (15-34) are just 2% of the population and commit about half of the nation’s homicides. A rate fifty times higher than the average American. The lack of a father’s involvement in raising their sons is at the heart of this problem yet few acknowledge it and seek answers to it. Where the hell are the middle and upper class blacks (and especially black politicians) who even publicly acknowledge this problem?
What are they waiting for?
Good points all . Although white liberals sure share a lot of the blame in tolerating black criminality, then accuse others of racism for pointing it out. This is what Shelby Steele argued 35 years ago in The Content Of Our Character, which I've referenced a few times already and didn't mention in this article. In 1990 he argued that blacks have to step up to the plate and do for themselves as well and not always depend on white handouts. And what you say about the black middle and upper classes is what Bill Cosby got nationally damned for saying, that the black lower classes aren't doing their part to lift themselves up. Even though it's what the upper black classes were saying behind closed doors. His critics were also unhappy that he said it in front of the white people, little realizing that *we* were saying the very same things behind closed doors ourselves.
Reading Steele's 1990 book really made me see how much in common black and white female disempowerment have in common. Like, you could take Steele's book, replace 'black' with 'women' and 'racist' with 'sexist' and you'd have the exact same on-point book about two different types of people. I see *so much* of the self-disempowerment and self-victimization going on in white feminism, and esp so when I was on Medium, which was just infested with whiny little girls of all ages. I long ago learned to handle, "You've never been abused by a man; who do you think you are blaming women for their abuse?" with "I know something *you* don't know - how not to be abused. It's a CHOICE, as I've clearly demonstrated." I'm tired of hearing about victim-blaming; I'll stop 'blaming' the victims when they stop agreeing to *be* victims (more on that next week.)
One advantage of growing into an old lady, though, is I no longer give a shit if someone calls me a racist, sexist, transphobe, broccoliphobe, fascist, right-winger, woke progressive, whatever :)
The Black Panther Party’s legacy is to be sure a complex one. They are today hailed as heroes. But the true story of the Panthers is more complicated. Did they do some good things? Absolutely they did! The Panthers gave free breakfasts to poor black children in the inner cities, defended the black community against police brutality, formed the Rainbow Coalition with the Young Patriots Organization and the Young Lords, Created a Ten Point Program to help the black community, founded over 60 community support programs, and they were open to and inclusive of, women and gay people. There can also be no doubt Fred Hampton’s assassination by the Chicago Police with the assistance of the FBI in 1969 at just the age of 21 was a terrible tragedy. He was a brilliant leader and organizer no doubt.
All that being said, this anecdote provided by Labia shows us that even in their heyday, the BPP had its flaws. Like them wining and dining white liberals to play on their guilt and lecture them about how they had an obligation to help the black community. As Shelby Steele said, they didn’t want white people to give them a helping hand so they could stand on their own two feet, they wanted them to intervene on their behalf. This is how the victimhood culture we know today was born.
Their antisemitism and antizionism was glaring as well which their Jewish supporters understandably did NOT appreciate! Nor did they vet the people who they would welcome into their organization. As a result, you had criminals and psychopaths joining the party such as Eldridge Cleaver who as one party member so eloquently said “was that m**********r crazy? H*** yeah he was!” I think I’ll just leave it at that. :) Huey P. Newton brilliant an organizer as he may have been, was also prone to violence and went to prison in 1967 for killing Oakland Police Officer John P. Grey. He was only released because the prosecution didn’t have sufficient evidence to convict him.
Things shifted and got even worse in 1970 as the organization began to erode due to Huey Newton’s erraticism and paranoia which was fueled by substance abuse, organizational rivalries and infighting and the relentless COINTELPRO actions against the Panthers by the FBI. The group split into two factions.
One was headed up by Newton who called for a future revolution that would be lead by the working class. The other was led by the aforementioned Eldridge Cleaver. Cleaver advocated for an immediate revolution led by the underclass including unemployed criminals. He was at the time in exile in Algeria hiding out from the law. As the organization continued to splinter, Newton’s cocaine and alcohol addictions got worse and he would end up being shot to death in 1989 in a crack house by a drug dealer he was trying to shake down. Meanwhile, Cleaver murdered a fellow Panther who he accused of sleeping with his wife.
The Panthers had never been averse to using violence but in the past they used it only in self-defense, but that would change as the 1970s progressed. Take the story of young Alex Rackley for instance. He was suspected of being an FBI spy, so party members in Connecticut led by Erika Huggins brutally tortured Rackley by means of beating him and pouring scalding hot water on him. “Crazy George” Sams a convicted felon, recorded the whole thing to scare other party members. After he “confessed” (he was in truth, innocent) he was brutally murdered. After being arrested up in Canada, George Sams spilled the beans 🫘 and revealed that Bobby Seale had ordered Rackley’s interrogation and liquidation. Funny how PBS forget to mention all those facts in their documentary: “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” and Hollywood forgot to too in the movie “Judas and the Black Messiah” 😉. Both were whitewashed, glorified accounts of the BPP.
I actually did have a bit about what good the Panthers had done but the article was already too long and if I'd gone on any longer it would have resembled a Tom Wolfe article, lol. Radical Chic and the Mau-Mau'ing one were both very long for essays, however engaging. In fact, Wolfe could have stood to cut it down...he went on endlessly sometimes in both articles.
Good summary. I agree with most. Yes, economic vulnerability is the number one cause of bad results. The fact that blacks were discriminated against for lots of our history helped to make them economically vulnerable, but it wasn't just African Americans who were poor. Also, fathers matter. I agree totally rather than virtue signaling, the answer is to do something other than simply writing a check or screaming about it. If you meet a young person who needs help with school, mentoring in a job, advice and concern or just listening, do it! I had a friend from NYC who was all in for the racist virtue signaling and I asked her how many African Americans she knew. You should have seen her face--the answer was NONE! In the 70's we had a course in the Army that taught us not to be color blind. They emphasized the vulnerability part and to help if you could--I did. Since 20% of my soldiers were black, I made it a point to mentor them. Guess what--it worked most of the time. Yes, there is still racism, probably always will be, but I truly believe it is far less a problem than it was. It's time to pull up our pants and get to work and this includes African American leaders. Victimhood has never helped anyone. Encourage, guide, mentor, set standards and love.
The research didn't say fathers didn't matter, but pointed out nuance re missing fathers--kids are better off in 'hoods with active engaged fathers, no matter the race. I think one of the biggest mistakes liberals & progressives make is treating people differently because of their race--overcompensation is just as bad as skin-based bigotry and infantilizes others. My friends are whomever they are--I have no DEI requirements. If you're cool, funny, intelligent, interesting--you're in. Holding everyone to the highest standards lifts all boats, and jump-starts some of the ones who simply aren't trying hard enough.
Yeah, I got that the research showed missing fathers had an impact and was simply emphasizing that point. BTW, single parent families statistically tend to be the most economically vulnerable. Like you, I've never cared what color, sexual preference, or religious affiliation a person subscribed to in deciding whether I like or trust them. Still, if someone has come from a hard life and they're trying, reaching out to help if you can is generally a good thing.
Abrogation of recognition of personal responsibility has been more demonstrated on the left in the last several years, but it's actually a pretty human, universal, non-partisan thing. We're seeing the rise of it on the right, along with all the other sins of wokeism, because the templates for crazy-ass extremism are the same. What I'd like to see is more helping hands but with the proviso that you still have to do your own part to help yourself. I'm happy that the Trumpies are destroying the worst of wokeness, I just wish they'd stop adopting and adapting it for themselves. But, if you trace the warring ideologies back far enough (like, thousands of years) you find nothing much changes. The faults and moral failings they complain about on the other side are 100% universally human.
OK, 100% agree, lol. Humans will never be perfect, and the see saw of politics is part of that. Wish we could achieve the globalist idea of a "perfect world" but unless we make homo sapiens perfect, don't see it happening.
Heads up: Remember that info you sent me on COVID a few years ago? Finally got around to the research and will be writing about it in May. Can I mention you by name or would you prefer not?
Some of it may be out of date. Don't mind if you mention me as long as you've done the research because the science has evolved. Don't believe there is anything in my write-up that has been disproven, but I'm not sure where I saved it to review it myself. Also, if you're interested, I can send you my write-up on the biological differences between men and women that I put together in an effort to explain to my niece and Facebook friends why trans women should not be competing in women's sports. I was shocked to find even more than I understood.