[Tolik]

Thomas Sowell:

 ...Teachers are not supposed to correct black youngsters who speak "black English" and no one is supposed to be judgmental about the whole lifestyle of black rednecks. In that culture, belligerence is considered being manly and crudity is considered cool, while being civilized is regarded as "acting white."

 These are devastating, self-imposed handicaps that prevent many young ghetto blacks from getting a decent education or an opportunity to rise to higher levels.

 Multiculturalism today celebrates all cultures but it is the poor who ultimately pay the price of that celebration in stunted development, missed opportunities and blighted lives.

 No one today would dare to do what Northern missionaries did after the Civil War, set up schools for newly freed black children in the South with the explicit purpose of removing them from the redneck culture that was holding back both races there.

 A wholly disproportionate number of future black leaders and pioneers in many fields came out of the relatively few and small enclaves of Northern culture deliberately planted in the post-Civil War South. What they did worked and what the multiculturalists are doing today repeatedly fails.

 But results are no longer the test. The test is whether what you say makes you feel good as someone who is a "friend" of blacks. But friends like that can do more damage than enemies.

Nailed It!

This ping list is not author-specific for articles I'd like to share. Some for perfect moral clarity, some for provocative thoughts; or simply interesting articles I'd hate to miss myself. (I don't have to agree with the author 100% to feel the need to share an article.) I will try not to abuse the ping list and not to annoy you too much, but on some days there is more of good stuff that is worthy attention. I keep separate PING lists for my favorite authors Victor Davis Hanson, Lee Harris, David Warren, Orson Scott Card. You are welcome in or out, just freepmail me (and note which PING list you are talking about).

[elk]

I've been running into a lot of this lately. I was at a library booksale, and one [white female, mostly likely liberal as shown by the following comment] person in line commented to me, "I'm saddened that there aren't any minorities here, though."

This is rich.

I didn't want to start an argument, so I just said, after looking at the line, and thinking a moment, with all the sincerity in the world (because I did mean it), "well, I usually find that I can't base my opinion of whether or not diversity exists based solely on visual cues."

Pregnant pause.

"Uh, well, I meant that I don't see any African-Americans here."

Now, ain't that rich, on top of rich. So, when she said "minority" she meant a certain minority group, eh? Hmmmm. This gets so interesting.

I bet she had no idea by looking at me that she was possibly looking at a "minority." Any, I guess the several Indian families in the line didn't count, either?

My thought was, perhaps the members of the African American group she singled out was busy elsewhere. Say, perhaps running their businesses? Or they order their books online, instead of coming to library book sales?

I recall the attempt to put "white guilt" on me in college....but I didn't fit the category, they just assumed I did by stereotyping me per how I looked. I kept wondering why these professors tried to put a shoe on me that didn't fit. Man, I guess this lady in line is still wearing those shoes.

[antisocial]

I used to have a lot of respect for Thomas Sowell, in fact I have some of his books. This article sounds like he is just another Yankee that hates anything Southern and blames
Southerners for all the woes of blacks. Doesen't sound like much of a conservative to me any more!

[Tokra]

Mr. Sowell is absolutely right! I have an old engraving from 1840 that shows an English peasant girl talking to a man on horseback. The caption at the bottom of the print is "Who Axed You?".

[antisocial]

What do you think of this?

[TXBSAFH]

Could you please add me to your ping list, thank you.