By Sam Huntington
Let me begin by encapsulating what the experts are drumming into our heads:
- People have racist attitudes because they tend to take on the views of people around them.
- We only hang out with people like us.
- We’re too quick to judge others.
- We tend to blame others for our problems.
- There are no reasons or excuses for racism. It’s just wrong.
Historically, our understanding of racism has focused on individual psychology and how an individuals’ beliefs and behaviors drive it. Then we were told that the problem was that some people were quite intelligent, while others were dumb as rocks — the smart ones being white. Looking around, I have to say that white people have no claim on innate intelligence.
![](https://theobserver63.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dunderhead.png?w=188)
Modern researchers say this is all wrong. Instead, we must seek to understand racism through cultural psychology — that is, through practices and behavioral patterns embedded in culture. This is significant because the “researchers” now intend to focus on changing the behaviors of entire cultures. Good luck with that.
God forbid, I’m not saying the experts are wrong. I am saying, “Give me a break.”
The thing to know about these experts is that they develop their careers (and a gratifying income) by teaching, leading research teams, applying for and receiving research grants, publishing findings, paid lectures, etc., from racism. The longer this topic remains a hot-button issue, the more money they stand to make.
So, to ensure that their careers become and remain robust, the experts coordinate their efforts with people who can help them propagate their claims: journalists, activists, community organizers, and justice warriors. The buzzwords supporting their popular propositions include racism, racialism, white privilege, and so forth. One may recall something Vladimir Lenin told us back in 1923: the more you tell a lie, the more people believe it’s the unvarnished truth. Quite soon, before anyone realizes it, every white person is a racist, every successful white person, and every wealthy white person has gained an unfair advantage over his black brother or sister — all because of skin color.
All of the preceding propositions are generalizations — and, as with all such claims, they are oversimplifications. Of course, there is some truth to what they say, but no cigar. Why? Because most people (regardless of skin color) are not racists. There are plenty of reasons for blacks to resent whites that have nothing to do with skin color — and the same is true about whites not having much interest in black culture.
Look — people are not racist simply because they don’t have any “different-skinned” neighbors or because they don’t bowl on Tuesday night with minority members of society. Racism is a peculiar psychological dysfunction, and it is patently stupid to accuse everyone of being a racist. The problem is that all these experts and their journalist/activist co-conspirators are making matters worse — and profiting from it.
Here’s my contention: People who make outlandish claims about white privilege are exhibiting racist behaviors. Blaming white people for their whiteness, their social position, their educational attainments, and the size of their bank accounts — is not only racist but also unfounded. So what we have here is a condition where the experts have become racists to help society deal with racism.
How bizarre is this — ?
A journalist was speaking about the concept of white privilege, the belief that being white comes with unearned advantages. He asked a white retiree if he believed in white privilege, and the man said no, but he did believe in black privilege. Aghast, the black journalist demanded to know one perk that a black man enjoyed that the retiree didn’t. The man answered, “Black History Month.” The journalist observed that this proves whites are becoming the new blacks in America.
Need more proof? Black people can belong to clubs and organizations that cater specifically to blacks; white people can’t do that. Moreover, there is no such thing as a National Association for the Advancement of White People. That would be racist. Any white person suggesting the observance of white history month would be skewered by every federal bureaucrat and community organizer north of the Mason-Dixon line. Black people can refer to whites as Honky and an expletive with the abbreviation M. F., but if a white person uses the word nigger, Katie Bar the Door.
What this is — is stupid. In such cases as I’ve described, there is no sign of mutual respect, and yet the experts on racism claim that this is all the fault of white society. The word for such conclusions is dumb.
Yes, there are racial and ethnic disparities in our society. It may even be true that the wealth of white households is thirteen times the median wealth of black households — but whose fault is that?
Fact: Leaving school before graduation dramatically affects future employment, earnings, health, and overall well-being. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (2018), high school dropouts are over three times more likely unemployed than college graduates.
Fact: Even when employed, high school dropouts earn about $10,500 a year less than high school graduates and approximately $35,000 less than college graduates (U.S. Department of Labor, 2017).
Fact: In some locations, the dropout rate among black students remains steady at just under 10%. Nationally, black children represent around 18% of preschool enrollments and around 50% of children with multiple suspensions from school. Why is that? How is this a white-people problem? How is it a white-people problem when dozens of blacks descend on a department store and mob rob it?
And maybe the statistics, as horrible as they are, do not reflect any inherent racism at all. Do members of the black community strive to assimilate mainstream culture, or are they happy to remain within the margins of society? If education is the pathway to success in life, why aren’t black communities embracing it? Why aren’t black fathers staying home with their children and modeling for them what it is to be a good man?
I agree that we have a lot of work to do to improve our society. We were better off in that regard before Bobo Obama came along with his racist rhetoric and programs, but that’s water over the dam. But if we need to restart race relations, let’s stop calling each other silly names.