Um, is a high school report? "Black" people are at best 13% of the population. They do not have anywhere near as much influence politically or nationally as they do culturally - on Netflix, TV, music or academia/schools.
At least half "black people" are conservative or apolitical, either happy with the GOP or unconcerned with wokery or events in the 1500s in the Atlantic.
Thinking of a separate party are you? Do we have a parliamentary system? Or is it presidential? Do we have proportional representation? Do you have a hope in hell of mobilizing "those people who have one thing in common- black skin" in any way? No. (Caribbeans aren't so mad. Africans are just happy to be in the US. Both groups lean conservative.) No more than Asian, Arab, Latino, Native Americans, whites or Armenian-Serbians all unite around any issue in the US.
Face reality. The only hope for "those black people who are not doing well" is to vote for the Dems (but so many don't), to recreate the black family, to go to school, then college and to play the game the way every other social/ethnic group has in the US, and done very well from it.
And indeed the hyperfocus on "blackness" is year by year creating more conservatives in "other groups of people that are not white."
This fight the power Malcom X mixture of aggression/idealism/delusion is doing more harm to "black people" than any events in the past still do.
I point you to Thomas C Williams, Glen Loury, and though you won't like it, Thomas Sowell. Ranting is easy: reforming a complex society is incredibly difficult.
Connie does a great interview. Great questions to a thoughtful and articulate person who is speaking for a growing population of disillusioned voters. That’s the take from this 76 year old male Canadian.
Oh, I agree. I am done with both parties. Pan-fried, then stuck in the oven at 400°, refried, grilled, boiled, thrown in a bonfire, then finally left to dry in the sun for a few years. The Dems kicked classic liberals such as I to the shattered curb what feels like a millennia ago, in favor of the ever-parched and never-sated emotional gratifications of identity politics. That's a shared sentiment among the FBT audience, yes? So I want to tell you know about my heartbreak at the utter betrayal of the Grand Old Party.
I apologize to you, Barbara, for I do want to discuss you and your convictions, but I'm using this space to take a detour off of the title of this episode. And please accept my empathic tears for the loss of your brother. I understand all too well.
The Republicans are okay with killing people. With killing entire nations of people. And this sickens me. It should sicken anyone with a heart. Here's a hypothetical for you: if a handful of Black men were to kill, say, a handful of Whites in an ideologically-fueled rampage, would the rest of our nation's Whites be morally justified in killing even more Blacks than the handful killed in the first place? See, that ideology I mention is key. In this scenario, that group of killers write a manifesto detailing how White people are hopelessly corrupt and evil and need to be wiped off the Earth. And in this scenario, there are more Blacks - not many, mind you, but more - who signed off on this manifesto.
So the leaders of all the Whites, you see, want to amass legions of armed forces to hunt every single one of these ideological fools to extinction, and to that end are willing to invade every single inch of land in these United States where a Black person treads. And are willing to exact any amount of collateral damage to any and all Black Americans. Let 'em all die to crush that murderous ideology!!!
That wouldn't fly very well. I have faith that this plan would be thoroughly discredited and rejected by the overwhelming majority not only of Americans, but by international commentators the world over. In fact, this has already been proven, since there are Blacks and Whites who draw breath in this country right now who harbor these reprehensible convictions... And yet our leaders haven't called the troops in.
Connie, you make it lavishly clear that there is no single Black Perspective, just Black people with perspectives. So we know that there are (blessedly) few Blacks who want to exterminate Whites. Likewise we know there are blessedly few Whites who want to exterminate Blacks. So let's unthread this horrific fictional tapestry to its all-too-evident conclusion: if the fever of hunting-and-killing a small minority of an ethnocultural group were to rule this nation, then anyone who would dare to douse that fever would of course be labeled a... well, take your pick. What are the worst things we can call someone these days? Racist, sexist, supremacist, hater, homophobe, and all the rest.. With such ferocity that those who want to urge caution will not. In fact, they even might saddle up with the revenge-seekers. At first they'll do this to get along and protect themselves, but then quickly will get caught up in the intoxication of the fever themselves.
Fevers are contagious.
This is precisely the situation in Israel. This is precisely the situation with our Republican Party. I should not have to declare that what Hamas perpetuated was heinous, was a level of depravity beyond consciousness. But I do have to declare this obvious fact, so that no one here or elsewhere can delight in calling me a bigoted, hate-mongering, anti-Semite. But the bare fact of the matter is that those in power in Israel have used Hamas' debased actions as an excuse to wipe Palestinians from the map. Not only in Gaza, but in the West Bank.
Anyone who criticizes them is an anti-Semite. Anyone who criticizes them in the U.N. is an anti-Semite. Anyone who criticizes them in America is an anti-Semite. To drive home this point, there are numerous organizations and unsanctioned groups alike who have taken to amassing long lists of "anti-Semitic" actions within our borders. Their lives have been given purpose in compiling these lists and pointing their ever-wagging fingers.
I know synagogues have been bombed. I know that sad, untrue, disparaging things continue to be spat about Jews even today. But we all know that Blacks and LGBT and Asians and Muslims have been murdered on our soil, too. (And an astounding number of White folks.) And yet we of sound heart and rational thought - including those of us here on Free Black Thought - continue to rightly contend that America is not systemically "racist" (yes, in quotes; no such thing as race) or ethnoculturally bigoted. And then we rush to say the exact same thing... the Exact. Same. Thing... about Jews. Dang, Jew bigotry even gets its very own proprietary term. How's that for feeling special about feeling lousy?
Why is this happening? Republicans have rightly elucidated the inherent dangers of the identity politics that Democrats fervently use to define this nation. They correctly point out that the Left's obsession with identity politics will leave our citizens - particularly our young - unmoored and bitter. And yet this is exactly what Republicans are, too, doing.
Republicans have gone woke. Republicans hide behind identity politics, Republicans would dare to pit Blacks against Jews. And Republicans may well lose this election because of this one issue. This one enormously incendiary, yet easily-negotiated issue. But they're not negotiating it because they're scared. And they're intimidating anyone else who wants to say "Yeah, but..."
Even here. Free Black Thought features those who want to lead all Black people to embracing Israel, right or wrong. FBT features those who rightly decry genuine acts of bigotry toward Jews committed by Ivy League presidents and others, but who are deafeningly silent toward bigotry and murder of Palestinians. And then there's FBT co-founder Jake Mackey, with whom I was having a pleasant email conversation until I asked him what he thought of the Israeli/Gaza situation, and then his correspondence dried up faster than Tutankhamun-era papyrus in an air fryer.
The greatest offense - the greatest sin - Israel and its Republican supporters have executed against the Palestinians is their insistence is that they are a Godly people, and that this is what God would have done to the Palestinians. I can quote from Genesis, Exodus, Ezekiel, Isaiah and elsewhere how Israel has turned its back to God and to the peoples of the Earth in pursuing this course. I can quote from St. Paul and from Yahweh Himself. Israel has betrayed God, betrayed its people, betrayed its place in this World. Again.
The betrayal is profound.
I have heard numerous Republicans swear on camera that this conflict is too "nuanced" for them to comment upon, while in each preceding and subsequent breath they give themselves leave to comment on everything else: BLM, LGBTQ+, Asians, Covid, Latinos, military funding, Hollywood, literary censorship, you name it. But suddenly this one issue of Israeli's mercilessly killing, starving and in every other possible manner destroying Palestinians is too "nuanced" to be anything than an "Israel - love 'em or you're an anti-Semite" issue.
I also know that Israeli apologists love to point out the oh-so-lovingly-wonderful concessions Israel has offered the Gazans over the decades. Always extolling their own untouchable virtue. Always conflating Gazans with Hamas. Always conflating the past with the present.
Make no mistake: those Jews who teach that every Jew needs to feel weak, exposed, in constant danger, eternally outraged and vigilant are demeaning their own people. Just like those Blacks who teach that every Black needs to feel weak, exposed, in constant danger, eternally outraged and vigilant are demeaning their own people. Just like those Latinos... well, you get the gist.
I hope FBT posts this. I hope you truly appreciate how thoroughly disgusted I am with the Republican Party, and with anyone who can't bring him- or herself to express empathy for the Gazans and Palestinians of the West Bank. And not just to express a word or two about what a shame this nuanced situation is, but to express whole essays and paragraphs and speeches decrying the vicious demolition of an entire nation of peoples.
... So Barbara, I again apologize to you. I hope that those who maintain and interact with Free Black Thought can see the wisdom in my words. I pray that the Republicans and fellow declared "conservatives" can find the fortitude to examine their stated principals and instead declare their siding with virtue and God's universal love.
It is truly important for me to post this now, Holy Thursday, because I want to remind you all: Christ died and rose for Palestinians. He died and rose for Jews. He died and rose all of us... Thanks for your time.
Um, is a high school report? "Black" people are at best 13% of the population. They do not have anywhere near as much influence politically or nationally as they do culturally - on Netflix, TV, music or academia/schools.
At least half "black people" are conservative or apolitical, either happy with the GOP or unconcerned with wokery or events in the 1500s in the Atlantic.
Thinking of a separate party are you? Do we have a parliamentary system? Or is it presidential? Do we have proportional representation? Do you have a hope in hell of mobilizing "those people who have one thing in common- black skin" in any way? No. (Caribbeans aren't so mad. Africans are just happy to be in the US. Both groups lean conservative.) No more than Asian, Arab, Latino, Native Americans, whites or Armenian-Serbians all unite around any issue in the US.
Face reality. The only hope for "those black people who are not doing well" is to vote for the Dems (but so many don't), to recreate the black family, to go to school, then college and to play the game the way every other social/ethnic group has in the US, and done very well from it.
And indeed the hyperfocus on "blackness" is year by year creating more conservatives in "other groups of people that are not white."
This fight the power Malcom X mixture of aggression/idealism/delusion is doing more harm to "black people" than any events in the past still do.
I point you to Thomas C Williams, Glen Loury, and though you won't like it, Thomas Sowell. Ranting is easy: reforming a complex society is incredibly difficult.
Leadership personified!
Connie does a great interview. Great questions to a thoughtful and articulate person who is speaking for a growing population of disillusioned voters. That’s the take from this 76 year old male Canadian.
Oh, I agree. I am done with both parties. Pan-fried, then stuck in the oven at 400°, refried, grilled, boiled, thrown in a bonfire, then finally left to dry in the sun for a few years. The Dems kicked classic liberals such as I to the shattered curb what feels like a millennia ago, in favor of the ever-parched and never-sated emotional gratifications of identity politics. That's a shared sentiment among the FBT audience, yes? So I want to tell you know about my heartbreak at the utter betrayal of the Grand Old Party.
I apologize to you, Barbara, for I do want to discuss you and your convictions, but I'm using this space to take a detour off of the title of this episode. And please accept my empathic tears for the loss of your brother. I understand all too well.
The Republicans are okay with killing people. With killing entire nations of people. And this sickens me. It should sicken anyone with a heart. Here's a hypothetical for you: if a handful of Black men were to kill, say, a handful of Whites in an ideologically-fueled rampage, would the rest of our nation's Whites be morally justified in killing even more Blacks than the handful killed in the first place? See, that ideology I mention is key. In this scenario, that group of killers write a manifesto detailing how White people are hopelessly corrupt and evil and need to be wiped off the Earth. And in this scenario, there are more Blacks - not many, mind you, but more - who signed off on this manifesto.
So the leaders of all the Whites, you see, want to amass legions of armed forces to hunt every single one of these ideological fools to extinction, and to that end are willing to invade every single inch of land in these United States where a Black person treads. And are willing to exact any amount of collateral damage to any and all Black Americans. Let 'em all die to crush that murderous ideology!!!
That wouldn't fly very well. I have faith that this plan would be thoroughly discredited and rejected by the overwhelming majority not only of Americans, but by international commentators the world over. In fact, this has already been proven, since there are Blacks and Whites who draw breath in this country right now who harbor these reprehensible convictions... And yet our leaders haven't called the troops in.
Connie, you make it lavishly clear that there is no single Black Perspective, just Black people with perspectives. So we know that there are (blessedly) few Blacks who want to exterminate Whites. Likewise we know there are blessedly few Whites who want to exterminate Blacks. So let's unthread this horrific fictional tapestry to its all-too-evident conclusion: if the fever of hunting-and-killing a small minority of an ethnocultural group were to rule this nation, then anyone who would dare to douse that fever would of course be labeled a... well, take your pick. What are the worst things we can call someone these days? Racist, sexist, supremacist, hater, homophobe, and all the rest.. With such ferocity that those who want to urge caution will not. In fact, they even might saddle up with the revenge-seekers. At first they'll do this to get along and protect themselves, but then quickly will get caught up in the intoxication of the fever themselves.
Fevers are contagious.
This is precisely the situation in Israel. This is precisely the situation with our Republican Party. I should not have to declare that what Hamas perpetuated was heinous, was a level of depravity beyond consciousness. But I do have to declare this obvious fact, so that no one here or elsewhere can delight in calling me a bigoted, hate-mongering, anti-Semite. But the bare fact of the matter is that those in power in Israel have used Hamas' debased actions as an excuse to wipe Palestinians from the map. Not only in Gaza, but in the West Bank.
Anyone who criticizes them is an anti-Semite. Anyone who criticizes them in the U.N. is an anti-Semite. Anyone who criticizes them in America is an anti-Semite. To drive home this point, there are numerous organizations and unsanctioned groups alike who have taken to amassing long lists of "anti-Semitic" actions within our borders. Their lives have been given purpose in compiling these lists and pointing their ever-wagging fingers.
I know synagogues have been bombed. I know that sad, untrue, disparaging things continue to be spat about Jews even today. But we all know that Blacks and LGBT and Asians and Muslims have been murdered on our soil, too. (And an astounding number of White folks.) And yet we of sound heart and rational thought - including those of us here on Free Black Thought - continue to rightly contend that America is not systemically "racist" (yes, in quotes; no such thing as race) or ethnoculturally bigoted. And then we rush to say the exact same thing... the Exact. Same. Thing... about Jews. Dang, Jew bigotry even gets its very own proprietary term. How's that for feeling special about feeling lousy?
Why is this happening? Republicans have rightly elucidated the inherent dangers of the identity politics that Democrats fervently use to define this nation. They correctly point out that the Left's obsession with identity politics will leave our citizens - particularly our young - unmoored and bitter. And yet this is exactly what Republicans are, too, doing.
Republicans have gone woke. Republicans hide behind identity politics, Republicans would dare to pit Blacks against Jews. And Republicans may well lose this election because of this one issue. This one enormously incendiary, yet easily-negotiated issue. But they're not negotiating it because they're scared. And they're intimidating anyone else who wants to say "Yeah, but..."
Even here. Free Black Thought features those who want to lead all Black people to embracing Israel, right or wrong. FBT features those who rightly decry genuine acts of bigotry toward Jews committed by Ivy League presidents and others, but who are deafeningly silent toward bigotry and murder of Palestinians. And then there's FBT co-founder Jake Mackey, with whom I was having a pleasant email conversation until I asked him what he thought of the Israeli/Gaza situation, and then his correspondence dried up faster than Tutankhamun-era papyrus in an air fryer.
The greatest offense - the greatest sin - Israel and its Republican supporters have executed against the Palestinians is their insistence is that they are a Godly people, and that this is what God would have done to the Palestinians. I can quote from Genesis, Exodus, Ezekiel, Isaiah and elsewhere how Israel has turned its back to God and to the peoples of the Earth in pursuing this course. I can quote from St. Paul and from Yahweh Himself. Israel has betrayed God, betrayed its people, betrayed its place in this World. Again.
The betrayal is profound.
I have heard numerous Republicans swear on camera that this conflict is too "nuanced" for them to comment upon, while in each preceding and subsequent breath they give themselves leave to comment on everything else: BLM, LGBTQ+, Asians, Covid, Latinos, military funding, Hollywood, literary censorship, you name it. But suddenly this one issue of Israeli's mercilessly killing, starving and in every other possible manner destroying Palestinians is too "nuanced" to be anything than an "Israel - love 'em or you're an anti-Semite" issue.
I also know that Israeli apologists love to point out the oh-so-lovingly-wonderful concessions Israel has offered the Gazans over the decades. Always extolling their own untouchable virtue. Always conflating Gazans with Hamas. Always conflating the past with the present.
Make no mistake: those Jews who teach that every Jew needs to feel weak, exposed, in constant danger, eternally outraged and vigilant are demeaning their own people. Just like those Blacks who teach that every Black needs to feel weak, exposed, in constant danger, eternally outraged and vigilant are demeaning their own people. Just like those Latinos... well, you get the gist.
I hope FBT posts this. I hope you truly appreciate how thoroughly disgusted I am with the Republican Party, and with anyone who can't bring him- or herself to express empathy for the Gazans and Palestinians of the West Bank. And not just to express a word or two about what a shame this nuanced situation is, but to express whole essays and paragraphs and speeches decrying the vicious demolition of an entire nation of peoples.
... So Barbara, I again apologize to you. I hope that those who maintain and interact with Free Black Thought can see the wisdom in my words. I pray that the Republicans and fellow declared "conservatives" can find the fortitude to examine their stated principals and instead declare their siding with virtue and God's universal love.
It is truly important for me to post this now, Holy Thursday, because I want to remind you all: Christ died and rose for Palestinians. He died and rose for Jews. He died and rose all of us... Thanks for your time.