The achievements of black Americans prove that success does not require perfect visibility. Perhaps the deeper lesson is the courage to move forward without waiting to see ourselves first.
I am sure of only one thing: the radical leftist movement to foreground black people, in every aspect of western culture, from billboards, to actors, to ads, to, well lets face it, everything, has done nothing to change views on 'race' or attitudes to black people.
Its simply exhausting, shallow, takes jobs or attention away from all the other non white actors/stories, and if anything has made people less inclined to care about black lives.
The irony....
We were doing just fine until Obama...we had it, progress, anti racism, more equity, etc...now we see the rise of racism again...no wonder...basic pyschology.
There have also been studies (one I'm aware of in particular was conducted at UC Berkley) showing that the focus on minority poverty has the byproduct of reducing feelings of compassion for people in poverty who happen to be white. Any time the focus shifts to race, there's always a number of losers and very few winners outside of the circle of elites who tend to drive said focus.
I find a lot of similarity between black victimhood and feminist victimhood. In fact, when I read The Content of our Character a few years ago, I was struck by how you could replace 'black' with 'woman' and 'white' with 'male', and the book would still make a lot of sense. It would instead call out the character weaknesses and the self-imposed victimhood of feminism, instead of the exact same for blacks.
So succinct as well as sagacious! Thank you for this little piece.
I am sure of only one thing: the radical leftist movement to foreground black people, in every aspect of western culture, from billboards, to actors, to ads, to, well lets face it, everything, has done nothing to change views on 'race' or attitudes to black people.
Its simply exhausting, shallow, takes jobs or attention away from all the other non white actors/stories, and if anything has made people less inclined to care about black lives.
The irony....
We were doing just fine until Obama...we had it, progress, anti racism, more equity, etc...now we see the rise of racism again...no wonder...basic pyschology.
There have also been studies (one I'm aware of in particular was conducted at UC Berkley) showing that the focus on minority poverty has the byproduct of reducing feelings of compassion for people in poverty who happen to be white. Any time the focus shifts to race, there's always a number of losers and very few winners outside of the circle of elites who tend to drive said focus.
Which might explain why less privileged whites think how they do, vote how they do, and don't care what you call them.
I find a lot of similarity between black victimhood and feminist victimhood. In fact, when I read The Content of our Character a few years ago, I was struck by how you could replace 'black' with 'woman' and 'white' with 'male', and the book would still make a lot of sense. It would instead call out the character weaknesses and the self-imposed victimhood of feminism, instead of the exact same for blacks.
Enjoyed the nuance and humor.
I think this is very well stated.
Well written, courageous, mindful of history, and full of common sense. Bravo.