The Insulting, Damaging Racism Of The "Anti-Racists"
It is my belief (and my experience) that what divides people in this country more than anything is social class and the money that comes with.
I went to high school with black kids from upper-middle class, intact families -- families that were far more well-heeled than mine -- and these kids went to Ivy schools (with the grades and accomplishments to do it) and one became a mid-market newscaster.
Terrif John McWhorter piece about the self-serving people in charge who tell an ugly tale of black people as "weak and dumb," as McWhorter puts it. And his subhead:
Tracing, facing and erasing what psychology titles the Victimhood Mentality will be key to, among other things, saving America's educational system.
He writes.
As I develop a sense of how we might reverse this anti-intellectual tide of pious, self-congratulatory nonsense from depriving generations of children of true education, I have settled upon a sense that black people will have to play a major role in the pushback, and that this can only happen if we get honest about a certain obstacle to black America's doing so.
He then lays out the tripe of Tom Taylor (which you can read at the link):
He's the head of the upper school at Riverdale Country Day school, and has penned an article where he serenely lays out his educational philosophy. You know the drill from the title alone: "Independent School Rhetoric and its Role in the Neoliberal Construction of Whiteness."...And this leads to my second proposition. This KenDiAngelonianism, in its infantilization of black people for purposes of white self-congratulation, is racist, as I have discussed in this space recently. Perhaps the only way to discourage its takeover of our educational institutions will be for black people to start protesting against it on those terms, because abjuring being racist is what The Elect consider a paramount, dealbreaker reason for living. But there is a crucial obstacle to this.
Namely, many black people - and especially more educated ones, overrepresented in education, academia, and the media -- accept being treated the way Tom Taylors prefer to treat us.
Why do so many of us accept this condescension as a compliment, almost enjoying being told we are too dumb to be truly educated, to be specific, or to be subject to genuine competition? Psychology has an answer to this question: a personal trait called the tendency for interpersonal victimhood, or an embrace of victimhood status.
In a word, there are people who exaggerate the degree of their victimhood, and by extension, groups of people who do. For clinical details, this article is useful; I also recommend this overview. There is a whole literature on this syndrome.
The syndrome manifests itself according to these four facets:
1) Constantly seeking recognition of one's victimhood
2) Frequently ruminating about past discrimination
3) A sense of moral elitism, as a way to maintain a positive self-image
4) Lack of empathy for the pain and suffering of others
It is impossible not to recognize a certain strain of thought in the black American community in those four tenets, let's face it. The parallel is almost eerie, and too close to be insignificant. The constant seeking of recognition as a victim - i.e. beyond what reality would lead one to expect - is, unfortunately, most writing on race today: the guilty sense you may have that racism exists but a great many thinkers exaggerate about it is stimulated by this facet of the victimhood identity. Too, the sense one may have that black people resist the basic coping strategy of getting beyond the past is due to the ruminating aspect.
...What causes a person to embrace the victimhood mindset? What is called anxious attachment, stemming from doubts about one's social value. The question is why black people would not have doubts about their social value given our history. The Elect cannot claim I am just making that up, as they found their whole approach to black people on the very idea that the society is built upon devaluing us socially.
Importantly, psychologists specify that the victimhood mindset need not come from actual victimhood: trauma may, but may not create the mindset, and the mindset may, but may not come from trauma. Rather, one can be socialized into embracing the victimhood mindset because, on a day to day level, it can function as a source of comfort and even belonging.
Psychologists have noted this tendency in various groups worldwide. Claims that somehow this analysis is mysteriously inapplicable to the descendants of African slaves in America will require careful argumentation, and will be unlikely to stand.
...Black people, black parents, black students, must understand the nature of this victimhood mindset, the fact that we suffer from it disproportionately, and get out from under it, whether Tom Taylor likes it or not. We must get past the idea that for the descendants of African slaves and only us, studied defeatism is a strategy for success and contentment.
Now: how to turn a call for action like that into reality is something I am still thinking about. Actively.
"It is my belief (and my experience) that what divides people in this country more than anything is social class and the money that comes with. "
You just made a case for forced wealth redistribution.
Would you insist that musicians or authors with significant talent be robbed to pay the mediocre?
Radwaste at April 29, 2021 11:21 PM
Raddy, that's profoundly silly.
"You just made a case for forced wealth redistribution."
Crid at April 29, 2021 11:26 PM
This discussion of victim mindset brings to mind the actor-formerly-known-as-Ellen-Page, now Elliot Page.
Whether you acknowledge her as male or not, as Ben Shapiro points out, she does have the legal right to change her name. So the former Ellen Page is Elliot Page and the former Wayne Bruce Jenner is now Caitlyn Jenner.
Like I do on most issues, I have mixed feelings about whether the transgendered should be acknowledged as their adopted gender. On the one hand, if you don't believe gender is malleable (which I don't), then why should I buy into their delusion? On the other hand, I am not their therapist. I have no obligation to disabuse them of any lurking notions.
Recently interviewed by Oprah about the victimization that transgendered people experience, I note that Elliot Page is enamored of the victim mindset discussed in Amy's blog entry. Remember: She's one of about eight people in the entire country who actually believed Jussie Smollett's hate-crime hoax. (Kamala Harris being another.) "Victim" is more her identity than whatever gender she wants to pretend she is.
Patrick at April 30, 2021 2:42 AM
I'm also reminded of a video I once saw of Joel Patrick (black conservative) and Kaitlin Bennett (a supposedly beautiful woman who posed for a photo at her alma mater in a minidress and an assault rifle, so you know, of course, her opinions are important) at the University of Akron.
What struck me about this is that someone -- a black female student -- told Joel Patrick that she was stopped in public with her mother, by someone who called them "niggers" and "those people."
And all I can think of is that the standards for "victim status" have been dramatically lowered. So one person once called her ugly names.
From my own experience, I was assaulted in the hallways at school, had my lunch taken from me on a regular basis, assaulted in gym class while a complicit instructor looked the other way. I was afraid to walk home from school. And to top it all off, this problem was solved by sending me away to boarding school.
And this girl is guarding her victim status like her virtue, because someone called her names.
I grew up in Vermont, which has a very low black population. Although the black people we did have were treated as peers. The same students who congratulated themselves for nonracist attitudes considered it equally virtuous to be violently homophobic. And it wasn't sufficient to be indifferent to gays, adopting a "live and let live" attitude. Unless you wanted to be assumed to be a faggot yourself, you had to be violently homophobic as well.
Contrary to what Crid will tell you, I don't share this because I'm looking for coddling. I could have used protection in Junior High, but I don't need it now.
But I only point this out to say that standards of victimization sure have changed.
I once told a very liberal friend of mine that I could walk past a Westboro Baptist Church protest and not be the least bit bothered by it.
And he said, "And I would beat the shit out of them, give you a hug and say I was sorry."
Yes, he seriously said this.
And I replied, "And I would call the police and have you arrested for battery, and without hesitation I would testify against you in court."
Patrick at April 30, 2021 3:23 AM
✔ Patrick at April 30, 2021 2:42 AM
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Outstanding blog comment in all respects.
I think it would always be difficult to think of you as a man if you were never a little boy. But for most social involvements, the kind that begin with an introduction (and in olden days, a handshake), it won't be difficult to indulge someone's preferences in the matter… That's been my practical experience.
But I also agree with those who say that before the social media craze for this, a lot of trans people came from profoundly disturbed circumstances.
Sailer also notes that a many M-to-F's were men who lived comically arrogant lives. You should read his posts about it. But they are difficult to find, because Google, um, "shapes the discussion."
Crid at April 30, 2021 5:20 AM
> Contrary to what Crid will
> tell you, I don't share this
> because I'm looking for coddling.
Oh Patrick, you couldn't stay in the adult realm, could you? We'll you had a moment.
Text-search/find Steve Sailer's comments here.
Crid at April 30, 2021 5:37 AM
My apologies, Crid.
But in fairness to me, you have accused me of using my gayness for sympathy.
And sharing my personal story in such a way seemed like it would be too tempting a target for you.
Obviously, I pegged you wrong. And for that, I'm sorry.
Patrick at April 30, 2021 6:13 AM
Wanting to be a victim seems to be more of a girl thing than any kind of racial thing. Part of the toxic femininity of American culture.
Long story that I don’t want to get into but I worked once with a beautiful, impeccably dressed black woman who was pure poison. After she moved on I inherited her office phone number and the bill collectors called on pretty much a daily basis.
Her trope was “the only state I have ever been called the N word in, is this one. (Of course, it is my belief that the name of the state changed on a regular basis as she moved around the country from one grift to another)
It was her way of smearing an entire demographic as a bunch of racists.
Isab at April 30, 2021 6:40 AM
I'll disagree. Racism is still a thing. Even rich, preppie black people experience it. People assume they're drug dealers or something. I've had this happen to people I know.
But yes, overwhelmingly social class is the biggest discriminator.
NicoleK at April 30, 2021 7:41 AM
I hadn't realized you grew up in one of those communities Patrick. If I offended you over that you have my apologies.
And of course feel free to keep being offended by me on other topics. Lord knows I deserve it some times.
And yours is an excellent example of real victimization vs. fake. My sister goes on and on about how oppressed women are and just how hard her life has been growing up as a woman. She has lots of tales where the misogynists at work call her dirty names and that she doesn't get promoted because of them. And it is all bullshit. She also gets called racist and other names at work. She just doesn't care about those so she doesn't bring them up. The truth is it is a union job. You get promoted only when someone quits. And the best way to make that happen is by making your coworkers and bosses lives a living hell.
As you say about Page, victim is my sister's identity. One she can't give up. If she isn't on the bottom she can't justify her actions as punching up. Heck, she might have to give up punching altogether. Lord knows she doesn't want to do that.
Ben at April 30, 2021 7:42 AM
"I'll disagree. Racism is still a thing." ~NicoleK
It is still a thing. And the most racist people in the US are black. But if you are talking about success in school or business then racism isn't a very significant thing. Other factors have a much larger impact.
Ben at April 30, 2021 7:46 AM
I think you're right, Isab. Women get more social rewards for being a damsel in distress than a Lady Knight, and so it cultivates this toxic cycle.
NicoleK at April 30, 2021 7:50 AM
> overwhelmingly social class
> is the biggest discriminator
Who gets more discrimination than dim people? Almost no one in our culture thinks they're a class deserving protection.
Crid at April 30, 2021 12:21 PM
Thinking about the Chauvin-Floyd confrontation, it occurs to me that Officer Chauvin didn't encounter so much a black man as he encountered a low-class dirtbag high on drugs and passing funny money. So, he treated Floyd like a dirtbag, throwing him around and showing little concern for his "I can't breathe" protests. Had Floyd been white and behaved the same way, I think the outcome would not have been any different.
Watch an episode of Cops. The police don't treat white dirtbags with deference. Police are probably far too accustomed to dealing with people who are in the process of breaking the law, people who live in the kinds of neighborhoods that experience wanton lawlessness, and people for whom the police represent not so much a protector as a tax collector to be avoided and resisted.
The underlying hostility in Ferguson was due to the fact that the police were used by strapped local governments to issue traffic citations for even minor infractions, a practice that resulted in poorer people having court dates in multiple towns with multiple non-dismissible court fees that were usually higher than the penalty itself.
A police car pulling behind these folks in traffic did not mean a well-patrolled street, it meant another traffic ticket -- just like the one they were issued in the next town over only a short while ago -- for a repair they could not afford to effect this month. Since those police issuing the summonses were mostly white, leftovers from when the small towns surrounding St. Louis were built from white flight, race became a dividing line.
Thousands of nuisance laws have been passed for the sole purpose of allowing police to write tickets and issues summonses, to pad the coffers of local and state governments. Unnecessary licensing requirements and fees for low-skill occupations that don't actually need them rake in millions for state coffers.
Folks in the socio-economic middle classes and higher brackets can afford the license fees, the required classes, and to effect the automobile repairs that will keep them out of legal hot water. Poorer folks -- those employed in lesser-paying fields -- cannot.
The bottom line is that governments -- local, state, and national -- need to stop using law enforcement agencies as collection services and need to stop treating the public as a no-limit ATM.
Conan the Grammarian at April 30, 2021 1:18 PM
People are reacting to the white mass gunmen often being brought in just fine.
Probably it is because they surrender, but it does look questionable from the outside.
NicoleK at April 30, 2021 1:24 PM
Amy: "It is my belief (and my experience) that what divides people in this country more than anything is social class and the money that comes with."
Raswaste: "You just made a case for forced wealth redistribution.
um, no, I didn't read it that way. Who says that every divide in society should be closed?
charles at April 30, 2021 2:19 PM
Awesome. Well said.
The Stanford Prison Experiment revealed how people readily conform to social roles they are expected to play, especially if the roles are strongly stereotyped as those of prisoners and guards.
Whether we are divided intentionally, will be a matter for hindsight should foresight fail.
Control is messy. Some point out and history recalls, when division is imposed as a form of political control, many compromise freedom for security.
Totalitarian regimes in the 20th century employed state-run media to foster distrust, create fear and social pressure, justify direct and indirect violence against political rivals.
Having these tactics cloaked and buttressed by a media-run state, is far from a distant possibility.
Aldi at April 30, 2021 2:21 PM
I'm just a person, no more qualified than by the questionable virtue of being human.
But I've seen the worst of people in the best of situations and the best of people in the worst of situations, and I truly admire your courage.
You bring that. And now is a time for courage.
Aldi at April 30, 2021 5:00 PM
Aldi- The SPE was bullshit. Zimbardo trimmed his beard every morning and built a career out of a scam.
Courage!
Crid at May 1, 2021 6:30 AM
> Thinking about the Chauvin-Floyd
> confrontation
Floyd's said to have ingested three times the lethal dose of Fentanyl.
From a popular columnist: "Floyd was at least 6-foot-4 and weighed 230 pounds. The largest police officer on the scene was Chauvin, coming in at 5-foot-9 and 140 pounds."
Crid at May 1, 2021 6:42 AM
Great article, Crid.
"They were white college kids just like us, so it was a very safe situation."
Berkeley graduate, I see.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at May 1, 2021 4:18 PM
"Obviously, I pegged you wrong."
Are we still doing phrasing?
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at May 1, 2021 4:21 PM
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