What happens to kids like mine who can't possible answer the question "correctly" because of individual perception? If they say they are white/ non-Hispanic they are "bigots" denying their Cuban heritage and their father being a 1st generation college graduate (even though I don't think they are related, I have discovered the demographics lunatics do). If they say they are Cuban they are "stealing" opportunities from "disadvantaged" kids - how dare an upper middle class "mostly white" child who grew up going to private school do that? It's a catch-22 that applies not only to them, but at least 25% (possibly more) of their friends. This obsession with race is nuts. There is one human race (but they also can't write that because they'll be accused of being racist bigots).
Honestly, as a mom I just want my kids judged on their merits. I want them to attend a university that challenges them to de the best version of themselves. But where is that? i can't name one anymore (any yes, my husband and I both have masters degrees). The fact that universities deny merit as the most important factor to success in LIFE is a huge reason they are increasingly a waste of money that provides no higher learning, no enlightened anything, and no marketable skills training. If universities can't embody the strive for truth or excellence, how in the world do they think themselves capable of teaching young adults to strive for excellence in any particular field?
Kendi wants to "remedy" past discrimination with present discrimination against his notion of unfairly advantaged groups. People who want to go to college end up facing discrimination. Kendi's recently cancelled Peter Boghossian--blocked up on Twitter--and an hilarious parody of his "Antiracist Baby" book on YouTube vanished. A strong thinker would have welcomed criticism, I believe. Means people are thinking!
What ever happened to teaching the reality that "life isn't always fair"? (pardon the pun!) It's a great disservice in preparing our children for adulthood if we lead them to believe that they will always encounter "fairness" in a world that can't accept that there are different paths to the same destination. "Their way" is the "right" way regardless of the destination. What a terribly self-defeating attitude.
As much as I would love to experience "heaven on earth", that happens only during fleeting moments which help to inspire my personal commitment to reflect love, compassion and empathy to whomever I encounter in my day to day life. That is often the best I can do while living in this, sometimes cruel and un-empathetic, world.
It seems that we all, until we come to understand better, live with "rose-colored glasses" in order to survive those who don't "do onto others". It's not a reality we can escape as we grow into adulthood but we, as individuals, can do our best to brighten the corner of someone's experience on a day-by-day basis showing the way of love and fairness by personal example.
Kendi thinks he is helping his Black community, but he is not. Still waiting for Black leadership to wake up and smell the coffee - help their young to stay in school, not to get pregnant before they are married and to work on keeping their families together.
Stephen Wright once said that “42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.“ I think today that can be modified to “42.7 percent of all 'facts' are made up on the spot.“ I think 42.7 percent may be a bit low, though.
The concept of remedying past discrimination with present discrimination, as advocated by Ibram X. Kendi, is fundamentally flawed and antithetical to fairness and justice. This approach, often referred to as "anti-racist discrimination," seeks to dismantle existing power structures by inverting them, discriminating against those perceived as privileged to uplift those historically marginalized. However, this methodology is inherently unjust and counterproductive.
Firstly, it operates on a false premise of moral equivalence. It equates past discrimination against marginalized groups with present discrimination against those deemed "privileged," ignoring the historical context. This false equivalency not only trivializes the suffering endured by historically by 99% of all the population but also unfairly punishes individuals based on their group affiliation rather than their actions.
Secondly, "anti-racist discrimination" reinforces harmful stereotypes and undermines meritocracy. By assuming that all individuals within a particular group are inherently privileged or disadvantaged, it ignores the complexity most people were not wealthy or have choices. This approach risks perpetuating harmful stereotypes and creating a system where individuals are judged based on their group identity rather than their merit, leading to resentment and further social divisions.
Furthermore, this approach echoes the troubling findings of the Milgram experiment, which demonstrated the disturbing ease with which individuals can be manipulated into inflicting harm on others under the guise of authority and perceived moral righteousness. Kendi's ideology, while claiming to fight injustice, risks creating a new hierarchy of oppression, where those in power determine who is deserving of discrimination and who is not. This not only perpetuates the cycle of injustice but also erodes the fundamental principles of fairness and equality.
In conclusion, the notion of remedying past discrimination with present discrimination is a dangerous and misguided approach. It is morally bankrupt, reinforces harmful stereotypes, undermines meritocracy, and risks creating a new cycle of oppression. A truly just and equitable society can only be achieved through policies that focus on addressing systemic inequalities, promoting equal opportunity, and fostering understanding and empathy among all individuals, regardless of their background or identity.
Talk about missing his own most pertinent point. 30% of white American college students are liars about their race. What kind of lies will they tell about more serious things? Duh...
I'm not following this logic at all. From the Evolution is True writeup (Quillette is predictably behind a paywall): "Now clearly Kendi removed it (though he denies it; see below) because it appears to show that lying about your race if you’re white improves your chances of being accepted in college. I can see no other reason for the removal, especially given the pushback he got from people like Greenwald."
The original tweet, as we all know amounted to the following: 3/4ths of the 2/3rds of White students who allegedly lied about their race on college applications were accepted.
OK, so what? Is there any data showing that if they *hadn't* lied about their race they *wouldn't* have been accepted?
I’ve read Kendi’s book. Certainly no part of my takeaway was that we are solely constrained to membership in “set groups” but rather those groups that are a part of our identity, culture and history make up the complex pieces of the individual that we each are. We can recognize our diversity as well as different unique privileges and struggles within a community or as an individual without jeopardizing a pro-human position. It shouldn’t have to be a binary choice.
Kurt, I appreciate your read on Kendi and can only go by what you share here, as I have not read his book.
If your assessment is correct, I think he would be much better received (and his mission better served) if he tried to incorporate more nuance and less condemnation of all those with different color skin from his own.
When ANYONE chooses to avoid "giving credit where credit is due", focusing rather on the "failures" of man (of which ALL of us are a part regardless of skin color), it should come as no big surprise many take issue with his personal approach.
His purposes are suspect when he chooses to pigeon hole people based on the color of their skin.
It's the SOUL of each individual that ultimately informs who they are, NOT the color of their skin.
Again you are rational, imagine if more ppl were. Loving your books Dr Reilly! Please go on tour in 2022 we need your voice to bring us back to true American ideals.
What happens to kids like mine who can't possible answer the question "correctly" because of individual perception? If they say they are white/ non-Hispanic they are "bigots" denying their Cuban heritage and their father being a 1st generation college graduate (even though I don't think they are related, I have discovered the demographics lunatics do). If they say they are Cuban they are "stealing" opportunities from "disadvantaged" kids - how dare an upper middle class "mostly white" child who grew up going to private school do that? It's a catch-22 that applies not only to them, but at least 25% (possibly more) of their friends. This obsession with race is nuts. There is one human race (but they also can't write that because they'll be accused of being racist bigots).
Honestly, as a mom I just want my kids judged on their merits. I want them to attend a university that challenges them to de the best version of themselves. But where is that? i can't name one anymore (any yes, my husband and I both have masters degrees). The fact that universities deny merit as the most important factor to success in LIFE is a huge reason they are increasingly a waste of money that provides no higher learning, no enlightened anything, and no marketable skills training. If universities can't embody the strive for truth or excellence, how in the world do they think themselves capable of teaching young adults to strive for excellence in any particular field?
Well written
It worked for Elizabeth Warren.
Lovely. So well-written and well argued. I'm daydreaming about folks walking around in T-shirts that read "Defund Ibram K"
Kendi gives new meaning to 'grifter'.
Kendi wants to "remedy" past discrimination with present discrimination against his notion of unfairly advantaged groups. People who want to go to college end up facing discrimination. Kendi's recently cancelled Peter Boghossian--blocked up on Twitter--and an hilarious parody of his "Antiracist Baby" book on YouTube vanished. A strong thinker would have welcomed criticism, I believe. Means people are thinking!
What ever happened to teaching the reality that "life isn't always fair"? (pardon the pun!) It's a great disservice in preparing our children for adulthood if we lead them to believe that they will always encounter "fairness" in a world that can't accept that there are different paths to the same destination. "Their way" is the "right" way regardless of the destination. What a terribly self-defeating attitude.
As much as I would love to experience "heaven on earth", that happens only during fleeting moments which help to inspire my personal commitment to reflect love, compassion and empathy to whomever I encounter in my day to day life. That is often the best I can do while living in this, sometimes cruel and un-empathetic, world.
It seems that we all, until we come to understand better, live with "rose-colored glasses" in order to survive those who don't "do onto others". It's not a reality we can escape as we grow into adulthood but we, as individuals, can do our best to brighten the corner of someone's experience on a day-by-day basis showing the way of love and fairness by personal example.
Kendi thinks he is helping his Black community, but he is not. Still waiting for Black leadership to wake up and smell the coffee - help their young to stay in school, not to get pregnant before they are married and to work on keeping their families together.
Stephen Wright once said that “42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.“ I think today that can be modified to “42.7 percent of all 'facts' are made up on the spot.“ I think 42.7 percent may be a bit low, though.
The concept of remedying past discrimination with present discrimination, as advocated by Ibram X. Kendi, is fundamentally flawed and antithetical to fairness and justice. This approach, often referred to as "anti-racist discrimination," seeks to dismantle existing power structures by inverting them, discriminating against those perceived as privileged to uplift those historically marginalized. However, this methodology is inherently unjust and counterproductive.
Firstly, it operates on a false premise of moral equivalence. It equates past discrimination against marginalized groups with present discrimination against those deemed "privileged," ignoring the historical context. This false equivalency not only trivializes the suffering endured by historically by 99% of all the population but also unfairly punishes individuals based on their group affiliation rather than their actions.
Secondly, "anti-racist discrimination" reinforces harmful stereotypes and undermines meritocracy. By assuming that all individuals within a particular group are inherently privileged or disadvantaged, it ignores the complexity most people were not wealthy or have choices. This approach risks perpetuating harmful stereotypes and creating a system where individuals are judged based on their group identity rather than their merit, leading to resentment and further social divisions.
Furthermore, this approach echoes the troubling findings of the Milgram experiment, which demonstrated the disturbing ease with which individuals can be manipulated into inflicting harm on others under the guise of authority and perceived moral righteousness. Kendi's ideology, while claiming to fight injustice, risks creating a new hierarchy of oppression, where those in power determine who is deserving of discrimination and who is not. This not only perpetuates the cycle of injustice but also erodes the fundamental principles of fairness and equality.
In conclusion, the notion of remedying past discrimination with present discrimination is a dangerous and misguided approach. It is morally bankrupt, reinforces harmful stereotypes, undermines meritocracy, and risks creating a new cycle of oppression. A truly just and equitable society can only be achieved through policies that focus on addressing systemic inequalities, promoting equal opportunity, and fostering understanding and empathy among all individuals, regardless of their background or identity.
Talk about missing his own most pertinent point. 30% of white American college students are liars about their race. What kind of lies will they tell about more serious things? Duh...
I'm not following this logic at all. From the Evolution is True writeup (Quillette is predictably behind a paywall): "Now clearly Kendi removed it (though he denies it; see below) because it appears to show that lying about your race if you’re white improves your chances of being accepted in college. I can see no other reason for the removal, especially given the pushback he got from people like Greenwald."
The original tweet, as we all know amounted to the following: 3/4ths of the 2/3rds of White students who allegedly lied about their race on college applications were accepted.
OK, so what? Is there any data showing that if they *hadn't* lied about their race they *wouldn't* have been accepted?
Talk about a tempest in a teapot.
I’ve read Kendi’s book. Certainly no part of my takeaway was that we are solely constrained to membership in “set groups” but rather those groups that are a part of our identity, culture and history make up the complex pieces of the individual that we each are. We can recognize our diversity as well as different unique privileges and struggles within a community or as an individual without jeopardizing a pro-human position. It shouldn’t have to be a binary choice.
Kurt, I appreciate your read on Kendi and can only go by what you share here, as I have not read his book.
If your assessment is correct, I think he would be much better received (and his mission better served) if he tried to incorporate more nuance and less condemnation of all those with different color skin from his own.
When ANYONE chooses to avoid "giving credit where credit is due", focusing rather on the "failures" of man (of which ALL of us are a part regardless of skin color), it should come as no big surprise many take issue with his personal approach.
His purposes are suspect when he chooses to pigeon hole people based on the color of their skin.
It's the SOUL of each individual that ultimately informs who they are, NOT the color of their skin.
Again you are rational, imagine if more ppl were. Loving your books Dr Reilly! Please go on tour in 2022 we need your voice to bring us back to true American ideals.