This got awkward

President Trump calls out South Africa during a white house visit.

You know what's weird? Calling criticism racism.

Piers Morgan and Jordan Peterson dissect the protective wall Democrats construct to insulate themselves, in this case Kamala Harris, from any sort of criticism. More weirdness from the left. It's an attitude that will lead to homogeneity of thought which is the worst and most exclusive 'ism' that exists.

Jordan Peterson's pointing out how the virtue signaling of the left mirrors how the Pharisees, enemies of Jesus, were committing the exact same sin, is brilliant.  

America finally stops discrimination against Asians

But racism!!!

Woke Latino racists versus truth and logic

In this reaction video, HistoryLegends points out what we are dealing with intellectually when we are talking about woke racism. The reactor has a wonderful knowledge of history and his smart interpretive look at the potential reasons for some of the DNA infusion results, using logic and his knowledge of history (and DNA tests for that matter).

A reasoned monologue on anti-white racism

If you keep talking about race, you perpetuate the problem.  But a reasoned discussion like this one by Charlie Cheon is helpful and positive.

Schooled!

 Don Lemon got schooled, and deservedly so.

Truth will out

 If you focus only on racism rather than truth, it's all you will ever see.

It's all about whose side you are on, for Whoopi

 Whoopi Goldberg, hypocrite on racism. Because it's a Democrat, Whoopi is okay with racism.

By the way, why did Jill Biden also butcher the word bodega?

More ASU reaction

I'm tired of hearing about race in America, and I'm about to contribute to it.  But when someone has a common sense lens on things, they deserve to be recognized for thoughtful consideration of issues.  Simply Jai reacts to the ASU video.  She's grounded even though this clearly upset her.

A good discussion on racism

Looking from outside in, America spends way too much time focused on race. But once in a while, a good discussion is a good thing.

Critical Race Theory is racist

As Depeche Mode said, "people are people". Not according to Critical Race Theory. Thankfully people are standing up to it.

Critical Race Theory according to Britannica:

Critical race theory (CRT), intellectual movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour. Critical race theorists hold that the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans.

Critical race theory (CRT) was officially organized in 1989, at the first annual Workshop on Critical Race Theory, though its intellectual origins go back much farther, to the 1960s and ’70s. Its immediate precursor was the critical legal studies (CLS) movement, which dedicated itself to examining how the law and legal institutions serve the interests of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the poor and marginalized. (CLS, an offshoot of Marxist-oriented critical theory, may also be viewed as a radicalization of early 20th-century legal realism, a school of legal philosophy according to which judicial decision making, especially at the appellate level, is influenced as much by nonlegal—political or ideological—factors as by precedent and principles of legal reasoning.) Like CLS scholars, critical race theorists believed that political liberalism was incapable of adequately addressing fundamental problems of injustice in American society (notwithstanding legislation and court rulings advancing civil rights in the 1950s and ’60s), because its emphasis on the equitable treatment under the law of all races (“colour blindness”) rendered it capable of recognizing only the most overt and obvious racist practices, not those that were relatively indirect, subtle, or systemic.

There are many flaws with Critical Race Theory if that definition is correct. If you have a problem with "equal treatment under the law", then you have a problem with equality. If you have a problem with equality, you are racist, sexist and/or other forms of prejudiced. There's no place in a  free society for that sort of belief system.

Critical Race Theory teaches racism

 Tim Pool breaks it down.  This is what happens when you teach people only white people can be racist:

THIS is higher education? It's racism. Yale should be ashamed.

Via Hot Air:

...Today, Herzog has a follow up about a lecture which Yale School of Medicine’s Child Study Center hosted in April. The talk featured a New York psychiatrist named Aruna Khilanani. Her public lecture was titled “The Psychopathic Problems of the White Mind.”

Wait, it gets worse. Much worse:

• “This is the cost of talking to white people at all. The cost of your own life, as they suck you dry. There are no good apples out there. White people make my blood boil.”

• “I had fantasies of unloading a revolver into the head of any white person that got in my way, burying their body, and wiping my bloody hands as I walked away relatively guiltless with a bounce in my step. Like I did the world a fucking favor.”

After that first quote above she goes on to say that she “took action” five years ago by distancing herself from all of her white friends. After the second quote she explains that her assassination fantasy was really about her own feelings of futility.

That Yale has not disavowed this outrageous diatribe is bad enough (considering they've banned conservative speakers for, you know, having ideas) but why have they not barred Aruna Khilanani entirely for her clearly racist rant? 

You know they answer - she's speaking their language.  This is the type of thing they want to hear and want to teach your children.  Everyone should speak out about this - to Yale directly.

If no one speaks out about this, to Yale, in massive volume, this sort of thing is going to continue unabated.  Do not let the left institutionalize racism. Do not let fear of speaking out about impropriety take hold or you will find a time when speaking out is no longer an option.  That point is much closer than you would think.  

Duplicity on police policy

Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. said yesterday that Rayshard Brooks shooting a taser at a police officer was not a threat.  Except two weeks ago he said the police shooting a taser at Brooks was use of a deadly weapon.

Duplicity plus stupidity without accountability = Paul L. Howard, Jr.

This was an unfortunate situation that escalated unexpectedly and quickly.  Police are in a difficult situation wherein they are called to deal with an issue.  The situation is never entirely one they can control.  Manage, yes.  Deescalate, possibly. Resolve, yes.  But how they resolve it depends on the cooperation of others involved.

The police are called upon to be everything from social workers to rescuers.  They often have to go well beyond what they have been trained to do.  They are human, and mistakes are possible.  Add in the fact that there are untold thousands of police in America and it becomes inevitable that mistakes will be made.  But while most of the time mistakes are not made, when they are made to casually attribute it to racism is also a self-serving lie. 

Obviously more training, more screening, more pay will make a difference and reduce errors.  No matter what, errors will never reach 0%.  Unless there are no police.  But calls to defund the police is also an example of duplicity, because that is the exact opposite of what is needed.  No police is an error of epic proportion because those in need of police assistance would then never receive it.  Often those most in need and who will suffer are the poor, including people of every race.

Criminals would be the ones to flourish without police.  Or more consequentially, criminal organizations.  So why are so many Democrats in favor of defunding the police?  Maybe they are in the group that stands to benefit.

Defund the police should be replaced by defend the police.  They need more support, more training  and deserve more pay given what they are required to deal with on a daily basis.

Not racist

The knee-jerk liberal cries of racism any time the president (or anyone) makes a point liberals cannot refute, are being taken less seriously every day.

L.A. Times - Beyonce loss to Adele was (wait for it) racism

It couldn't possibly be that Adele's album was better than Beyonce's.  Nope.  HAD to be racism. Had to be.

Beyoncé and Adele went head-to-head four times at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night. Both were nominated for album of the year, song of the year, record of the year, and best pop solo performance. In every category, Adele was awarded the Grammy. Every time, Beyoncé, the peerless pop music icon of our time, was told she came in second at best.

This should be a shock. While Adele’s singular voice, talent, and devotion to her craft are undeniable, Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” was as complete an artistic statement as we have seen in our fractured pop moment — a one-of-a-kind visual album comprised of genre-crossing track after track, conceived and produced on a scale unrivaled by any artist, living or dead. It was also a pitch-perfect rallying cry for black women to get in formation, their allies behind them, and forge a way forward despite the human imperfections of the men in their lives.

And yet, sadly, it isn’t. Unequaled artists have long bumped up against the glass ceiling that awards shows impose on black excellence.

Bam. Racism.   To have to explain to some Beyoncé fan-boy or maybe a deluded Black Lives Matter activist that art is subject seems like a waste of time but thatès where we are at as a society.  So here it goes.

A lot of people who have deserved more recognition at the Grammy Awards never got it.  I'll admit I am not much of a fan of Beyoncé. I think she's a pale shadow of a Diana Ross or a Nina Simone (as examples). Yes she has talent, so does Adele (whom I am also only lukewarm on by the way).  A lot of people never get their due, stars and regular people alike. Additionally, Beyoncé is no starving artist.  I'm sure she can console herself with millions of dollars in sales, or just maybe the 22 other Grammy Awards she has won.

Maybe this was just Adele's year.  Maybe she won each Grammy by a squeaky single vote ahead of Beyoncé.  Nope.  Had to be racism. I'm a fan of Stevie Nicks. In 1981 her album Bella Donna one of the best albums I've ever heard, lost to Pat Benatar. The album wasn't even nominated in the category.  Stevie Nicks has never won a Grammy as a solo artist.  Anyone who tells me that Beyoncé is 22 or more times better than Stevie Nicks will have a fight on their hands.  Musical taste is subjective, always was and always will be. 1982 was when I decided that the Grammy's were irrelevant and stopped caring.

What a waste of LA Times article space.  

Quick Hits - African American hate crime

Another Quick Hit. Web celebrities and Trump supporters Diamond and Silk discuss racist black teens torturing a mentally handicapped white teenager.

Common sense is not confined to a single ethnic group.  These ladies clearly have their thoughts and ideas martialled and just make a lot of sense.

Is this Trump playing to his strength?

Let me postulate a theory.  Donald Trump is going to reach out to African Americans.  His words on Democrats taking advantage of a secure voting block are true: Democrats see African Americans as a secure vote and nothing more - at least those running for president or as president.  But he's polling 1% among African Americans in some polls. The likelihood of him changing that to more than 3% is pretty low.  On the surface that doesn't seem to be the best use of his time.  So why do it?

It's true that the GOP needs to be more inclusive because in many communities or demographics that Republicans have ceded to Democrats, there are issues that Republicans can connect with voters on.  That's as true for African Americans as it is for any group.  I've been writing about that since 2008.  But that's the long game.  That doesn't help Trump against Hillary right now (at least not in any polls the public is seeing, so far as I know).  

But Trump's goal in holding those meetings may be broader than getting more support from African Americans in November.  Trump may be able to disaffect some African Americans from supporting Hillary Clinton in addition to the voters he manages to attract.  And it goes even further than that.

Trump may be able to impress non-African Americans - women, Asians, Hispanics and maybe even non-Trump-supporting Republicans with the effort.  And that effect may be twofold. (1) he may create the impression that he is a caring person and capable of a softer tone and reaching out.  That impression can cut across demographics and lift his support more broadly.  (2) What if Trump emerges from some of these meetings with a 'deal'?  If he comes out of them with quotes from the those he met with along the lines of 'a productive meeting', 'common ground' or dare I say it 'agreement' then there could be a truly large boost.

Trump is playing to his strength - deal-making.  Offer the community something different from Democrats have offered for 60 years, and something that benefits them in exchange for some level of amicability if not support and that proves Trump can make deals.

It also offers a lead-in to challenge Hillary at the debates regarding his supposed racism.  He can counter with Democrats' soft racism, their hidden racism.  

All in all, if Trump is thinking in those terms, this is actually a pretty slick move, especially if he can pull it off (AND get visibility of that in the media, which is an entirely different story).

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Thoughts on the Dallas police shooting (Part 2 of 2)

Continuing the thought exercise on race and police shootings, (you can find Part 1 here), I neglected to mention on Saturday that my thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of the murdered police officers. The loss of any human life is tragic, but double so for those who selflessly serve others in the community.  Police officers and Firefighters have some of the riskiest jobs around and they deserve our appreciation, not our hatred.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0Yq1iZjSpY

The police walk a fine line in our society.  As a civil libertarian leaning person, I do not want the police to intrude into my life whatsoever.  I don't live in a police state (admittedly in Canada, but the police here are relatively similar to the police in America - more on that later), and I'm sure most people do not want to live in a society like that either.  On the other hand, how often do we see TV interviews with victims or witnesses to a crime saying "the police never came!" or "it took forever for the police to get here!"?  The job itself is often thankless and difficult and finding the right balance for everything from police visibility in your neighborhood to the appropriate level of response to a situation that protects victims of crimes, perpetrators of crimes and the police themselves is something that cannot come down to a formula.

It's tricky.  It's complex.  And a lot of people with a civil libertarian attitude or an inherent bias of their own or a chip on their shoulder do not help matters.

On the weekend I also came across this video made by country music singer Coffey Anderson.  It's simple, it's sensible, and helpful.  Looking at the comments he got a lot of backlash for this video (along with a lot of positive comments).  The negative comments are ridiculous because he's trying to help.

Stop the Violence Safety Video for when you get pulled over by...
What do you actually do when you get pulled over by the police? Here is a video that helps diffuse tension at traffic stop, it gives solid steps into ways of staying safe, and getting home. SHARE this. It's a must for all to see and show to your loved ones.
Posted by Coffey Anderson on Thursday, July 7, 2016

Granted, it seems a little bit police state-y to have to go through this if you get pulled over by police (regardless of your race), but it something we should all think about because it makes the situation easier for all concerned.  If you have no reason to hide anything (okay, maybe you were speeding but you did nothing else wrong), then it's a small price to pay for actually having police around and not so full of adrenaline when you don't need them to be, and prepared to react with force when it is required.  Every little bit helps, and if you aren't willing to do even that, you are just being negative for negative purposes.  If that is the case, I have little respect for your opinion because you are not offering any positive solutions you are merely complaining for the sake of complaining.

Ben Shapiro destroys that position in the video below, particularly from about 2:15 onward (he uses some short-hand arguments that I would take issue with per Part 1 of this discussion, but he is predominantly correct).

The point is do not make this about race, because if there is a problem with police training and how they react to situations, it is not a black and white issue (no pun intended). By that I mean that police are not given one set of instructions to deal with African Americans and another set of instructions to deal with white people. There is no institutional racism unless you count the Democrat party which promotes social policies that relegate African Americans to poverty and social second class by leveraging welfare to perpetuate poverty and single mother households in poorer class. That's not even institutional racism, it's institutional classism.

Ridiculousness on racism

No, black people cannot be racist - and if you try to claim they can be, you'll just get shouted down:

Students at a “safe space” at Claremont McKenna College in California shut down an Asian woman who was describing racial harassment by a black man, booing her when she declared, “black people can be racist.”

She then recounted a time when she and a group of friends were walking down the street, and a black man pulled over and shouted, “go back to your home!” She said a “white lady” stopped to ask if the young women needed police assistance.

“The point I’m making here is that we should not distinguish people by their race or gender or anything. Black people can be racist,” she declared, at which point a black woman holding a sign that reads “It’s too late to say sorry” approached her.

“Oh no honey,” someone in the crowd said over a chorus of boos.

The lesson:  when decrying racism, you are only allowed to focus on white racism.  As a corollary, do not distinguish people's attitude individually, paint all people of a color with the same racism brush. You know, because that's not racist.