May 2006

Why is this woman smiling?

I’ve been on a roll with the racial stuff lately. One of my disgruntled detractors finds it disturbing that I always seem to end up “siding” with the race other than my own. Sometimes it’s incidental; other times deliberate. Others are upset that I seem to always blog about race. In fact, I’ve got three draft posts, all race-related, screaming to be published. I’ve explained why I take that approach, but if you’re not a regular, long-time reader and just a casual reader who checks the archives now and then or never, you probably missed it. Check Do You Hate Black People? and other posts. This post may be helpful, too.

Although I never intended to write about race and politics so much in my long-ago bi-weekly column and on this blog, racial topics take up a lot of my bandwidth. I’m drawn to such topics. I hear and read opinions about race and read opinions disguised as news stories about race in mainstream media, and left-leaning reporters seldom get it “right.”

I focus on the media because, like it or not, they are influential. I’m a commentator, not a community activist, so my focus is on how politicians, organizations, the media, and entertainment industry portray blacks. Individual blacks I know work hard and try to live their lives in peace, but system-wide, race-based group preferences have fostered a disturbing entitlement mentality. If all else fails, one can always use skin color to lodge a complaint.

I’ve been tempted, but I refuse to do it.

For the most part, liberals see minorities as oppressed. I see them as blessed, fortunate to live in a free, vibrant country where they can succeed if they dare. When liberals write about race, they begin from a position of weakness: that blacks are put-on children who need government to survive. I start from a position of strength: that individual blacks who’ve shaken off the victim robes and embraced America’s vast opportunities can and do succeed, and that big government intrusions have provided strong incentives not to try.

The whites-as-oppressors thing is so old, and I frankly don’t care if it exists in the real world or only in people’s minds. But there are too many people who make a living perpetuating its existence. As long as they do, I’ll keep blogging and speaking about race from a totally unexpected and out-of-the-mainstream point of view, and as often as I deem necessary.

Make sense? If not, read the archives (beginning in late 2003) and read this blog every day.

On a final note, I must clear up a misconception about this conservative. I can’t speak for others, but I don’t push the “colorblind” idea because I think it’s stupid. We couldn’t ignore differences if we tried. That’s not the way God made us. He created a truly diverse universe that is beautiful and awesome. Its various colors, shapes, and sizes are pleasing to the eye. I won’t pretend we’re all the same except for skin color. We are all part of the American culture, but each of us is also part of a sub-cultural group. These have much in common, but they also have their differences.

(God, in his infinite and unknowable wisdom, created different racial groups for his own purpose. It is not unbiblical for us to recognize and acknowledge differences between and within those groups. Spiritually, though, there are no differences. Each of us will be judged for our sins, and “racism” or “superiority” won’t excuse those sins. God’s elect belong to all racial groups, and he saves them without regard to race. He is a true equal opportunity Employer.)

We can no more ignore these differences than we could a mack truck barreling down the street as we go to cross it. What I advocate is colorblind government policy, which is definitely do-able. As long as “affirmative action” exists, however, and government tries to justify it, we will never have colorblind policy. As long as this hypocrisy flourishes, you’ll hear from me. As long as blacks embrace the double standard, I’ll keep blogging and writing about how wrong it is. As far as I can tell, I’m one of only a few doing so consistently and honestly.

If my posts disturb you and cause you discomfort, you have my sympathy. You really do. Take a pill, stop reading the blog and pick up a book instead, start working out — whatever you need to do to relieve the stress, because I promise you this: It’s going to get a lot worse.

Update: Commenter Tiffany says:

Your post on ‘Do You Hate Black People’ helped me to understand you a lot better in terms of what you feel called to do and though I don’t always agree with you, I can definitely respect your convictions. I admire folk with conviction.

With that being said, I think that some on your readers relish when you make these types of posts because it allows them to say the things they really *wish* they could say about black folks but probably don’t in public. Being an avid reader of your site for some time know, the commentary tends to be really reflective and constructive in the beginning of the thread and tends to descend into “piling on” of the Negroes by the thread’s end.

That is just my general observation…Otherwise keep it coming!

Thanks for being a regular reader, Tiffany, and you’re right. People sometimes will use what I say for nefarious purposes and pile it on. But as I’ve written before, that’s a risk I take running a public blog open to all eyes. The best I can do is make sure the discussion is civil.

A reader pointed me to this gem by Jason Whitlock:

[Bill] Cosby spoke for nearly an hour. He was funny, articulate, passionate, concise, profound and inspiring. Controversial? Not in any way. He didn’t utter one word or phrase or opinion that I haven’t heard from my parents.
…
He blasted parents for being uninvolved in their kids’ education. He invited guest speakers who shared their own stories of overcoming incredible odds or they talked about the startling negative health, education, murder and poverty statistics impacting black America.
…
Blaming racism is a copout, an admission of inferiority, an easy excuse of the sedated. Cosby wants to help black people realize that in America — even though the country isn’t perfect — the solution to any problem begins with the person with the problem.

Update II (5/26): Commenter Terrence says:

You crack me up… in a good way.

Thanks for your insights. I believe the lure of racial topics in your writing is from a desire to know the truth, even if it make us feel uncomfortable. But that’s a good thing – keep up the good work.

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