Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Racism and AmRen

Fred Reed sounds off on racism and AmRen, and in the process has seemed to ruffle a few feathers, or maybe a bit more accurately, has managed to step on enough toes to fill a podiatrist's office for the next few months.  As usual, Fred's essay is worthy of a read.
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2 comments:

historymike said...

AmRen puts on a front of respectability, I have to admit their willingness to at least tolerate Jews puts them a notch higher on the slimy underbelly that is American racism. yet they are still racists who believe in biological determinism, that people of African descent are inherently inferior.

They also tenaciously cling to discredited 18th and 19th century notions about race, which is largely a human intellectual creation beyond a handful of minor physical variations that "identify" people as members of what we deem to be "races."

Social class, family unity, and access to wealth and education are much more reliable predictors of future success than skin color. Unfortunately, racists like those found in AmRen (and minority elites who champion equally outdated racial victimization models like a certain SB loon we both know) simply perpetuate the idiotic stereotypes that divide humanity.

Of course, Reed does have a point that in some quarters it is still dangerous to a person's career to raise legitimate questions about demography. However, I think it is more productive to push for less emphasis on race in all facets of life, starting with the federal government, which reinforces divisive notions of race by forcing people to self-identify on Census forms, job applications, and student loan forms.

I had an interesting discussion with an African American student a few semesters ago about slavery reparations. Since we were already on good terms (she had taken a few of my classes before) I stood next to her and observed that I had darker skin than she did. I asked if I could start self-identifying as "African American" and take advantage of reparations schemes if they ever came to fruition.

I then discussed family lore about the likelihood that my Southern ancestors included African American and/or Native American, and how I could pass for any number of ethnic identities. My brother, for example, swears I look like a Pakistani cab driver he knows.

Anyways, it was an eye-opening moment for both of us and the rest of the class, and for that class notions of race seemed untenable.

March 18, 2010 at 10:07 PM
Mad Jack said...

AmRen is what it is - a thinly camouflaged racist site. That doesn't keep them from printing a certain amount of truth on occasion, but it does keep me from reading the site carelessly.

I enjoy reading Fred immensely, but I think Fred writes with a glass of Bourbon at his elbow. I know he reads best that way.

You don't look much like a cab driver to me. Maybe, in the right light, more like a Fuller Brush salesman.

March 22, 2010 at 6:06 PM

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