9 Comments

Thank you! Asians appreciate you speaking out. I've always been a believer that the key to success is just work ethic. There are plenty of days where I don't even pass my own standards. I think one of the worst things parents and society can do is to set expectations low for any group. The world is not a controlled system. Once the training wheels come off, reality will take control.

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I have become a big fan of Professor Reilly. He sets forth facts and and then applies cogent analysis. If there are readers who disagree I hope we hear from them, but without libeling the professor or calling him nasty names. I would submit one question to those who challenge his analysis: seen any movies lately starring Kevin Spacey?

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I live in Southern Maine, one of the most white states in the country. Much of my family is from, or continues to live in, poor rural parts of the state where education attainment is low and good employment opportunities are lower, yet marijuana and hard drugs like meth and heroin flow freely. Thank you for recognizing that achievement is more about social class and life choices than it is about race. In my opinion, when you experience poverty in a rural area where there is no public transportation, no accessible social services and few work opportunities, escape from poverty is even more challenging. Race is, at that point, almost irrelevant.

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I noticed that one of the editors who reviewed the letter emphasized the feelings of a young black girl. I say leave the feelings to Barry Manilow.

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Thank you Professor Reilly. I admire your bravery and courage to go against the controlling narrative. With facts and data. Would love to know who if anyone challenges your arguments in a like manner. BTW, your Twitter feed is a daily must read.

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Thank you Mr. Reilly! So well said, so compassionate, and so real.

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Thank you Dr Reilly! There are some false beliefs that can inspire people and motivate them to achieve great things(Militaries around the globe rely heavily on this). OTOH: some beliefs can demotivate folks by convincing them that trying is futile - like the beliefs you highlighted - these are hard to stomp out because they provide an excuse and some comfort in times of failure (especially failure to try).

On top of that, some rhetoric from anti-racism contains even more destructive beliefs for People of Color, notably attributes of Dominant White Culture (DWC). DWC embraces perfectionism - the job must be done right! DWC embraces urgency - the job must be done on time! Funny that White Supremacists agree with Kendi that if you want to get the job done right and on time you'd better hire a white guy for it. Strange Bedfellows, indeed.

Anti-racism will be more devastating to People of Color than a century of Jim Crow because Jim Crow imposed a pattern of failure from the outside; anti-racism will indoctrinate generations of People of Color that success is a White Thing and if they do succeed they are selling out. As long as educated liberals keep fanning this fire it will never burn out. I wouldn't be surprised to find Black children start believing that Africans were culturally suited for slavery because "Not being servile is a White Thing."

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I already subscribe to several of the substacks listed. I have few visual skills and often don’t know a person’s race. That occurred several years ago with my friend and dentist. I knew he had attended Va Tech as an undergrad and saw he was collecting donations for a professional society. I wrote a check and asked for the name; it was the Society of Black Engineers. He looked at my puzzlement and had an Aha moment.

“You never realized I was black.”

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Professor Reilly presents interesting information in his well written article.

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