I'm working on an essay about the blatant cultural appropriation of the black intelligentsia - the fact that they seem to want to associate themselves with the struggles and experiences of poor/working class black Americans. I was planning to post it within a few hours but your essay has given me more to think about. Thank you!
Race talk is certainly confusing and often counterproductive when it comes to identifying underlying causes of disorder and developing appropriate policy strategies.
The reality is that when almost 20% of black male students in school exhibit disruptive behavior, race is a useful tool for identifying an urgent problem, even if just over 80% of black male students in the school are not acting disruptively.
I read the study you cited: the model shows that the working class white man’s family is almost 100% certain to experience violence as the proportion of blacks living in his neighborhood rises high enough.
When a mental model works this well on an issue that really matters, ie our personal safety, that mental model gets applied by all but the ignorant, the self-deluded, and fools.
> "... a substantial proportion of Martin Luther King’s speeches and writings were directed against moral failings within African-American communities—something that contemporary academe memory-holes."
I remember being gobsmacked -- literally!! 😉🙂-- when watching Obama's first inauguration where he decried the high percentage of single-parent families -- mostly headed by women -- among the black community.
I'm working on an essay about the blatant cultural appropriation of the black intelligentsia - the fact that they seem to want to associate themselves with the struggles and experiences of poor/working class black Americans. I was planning to post it within a few hours but your essay has given me more to think about. Thank you!
https://jmpolemic.substack.com/p/white-supremacy
Excellent essay.
Race talk is certainly confusing and often counterproductive when it comes to identifying underlying causes of disorder and developing appropriate policy strategies.
The reality is that when almost 20% of black male students in school exhibit disruptive behavior, race is a useful tool for identifying an urgent problem, even if just over 80% of black male students in the school are not acting disruptively.
I read the study you cited: the model shows that the working class white man’s family is almost 100% certain to experience violence as the proportion of blacks living in his neighborhood rises high enough.
When a mental model works this well on an issue that really matters, ie our personal safety, that mental model gets applied by all but the ignorant, the self-deluded, and fools.
Stereotype accuracy is a thing. Moreover, we are pattern recognisers for a reason.
> "... a substantial proportion of Martin Luther King’s speeches and writings were directed against moral failings within African-American communities—something that contemporary academe memory-holes."
I remember being gobsmacked -- literally!! 😉🙂-- when watching Obama's first inauguration where he decried the high percentage of single-parent families -- mostly headed by women -- among the black community.
Great series. Much to think about.
You may have heard of it already but Fox Butterfield wrote a book on the legacy of Southern honour culture on African-American crime:
https://www.amazon.com.au/All-Gods-Children-American-Tradition/dp/0380728621
Butterfield was exceptionally liberal, but his findings were astonishing. If you can get a copy, it is worth reading. .