Setting PC Ablaze

the GOPNation ^ | June 9, 2005 | Bernard Chapin

[bmweezer]

Setting PC Ablaze Posted: June 9, 2005

Larry Elder did all of us who wish to live in an equal and just society a tremendous favor back in 2000 when he penned, The Ten Things You Can’t Say in America. The work is highly effective as it does much to deface the radioactive edifice that is political correctness. The author’s writing style is efficient and the pages fold by effortlessly. Elder is obviously, given his career as both a lawyer and radio talk show host, quite used to verbal repartee and his points are evident and clear. He scores against his opponents with the ease of a Cuban heavyweight, and reminds one of that phrase once used to disrespect President Reagan as he is a “great communicator.” Yet, the most important thing about communicating is having something to say, which is definitely the case with Larry Elder.

Anybody who discusses racism in public and refuses to relegate their analysis to falling within the safe confines of white America opens themselves up to charges of racism. This is ridiculous, however, as racism is something practiced by humans of all shapes, sizes, and colors and to pretend that it is unique to Caucasians is to negate any possibility for cross-cultural understanding.

Elder will not be deterred or intimidated from mentioning the racism endemic to many minority groups. As a black male, his arguments are far more difficult to dismiss than if the same words were uttered by a presumed oppressor like your humble reviewer. In the first two chapters, he illuminates the denied aspects of racism and showcases many irrational examples of it from within his own community. Then he illustrates the way in which white condescension towards blacks is the real force keeping people down (although the majority of blacks now are members of the middle class).

The Klan, Jim Crow laws, and slavery are repugnant and disreputed elements of our nation’s past and must be regarded as such. The were historical aberrations and are not an active influence in our twenty-first century. We all have overcome and it is essential that we acknowledge it. Elder denounces those who maintain that the Confederacy is alive and well, particularly the race baiting, “Victicrats” like Maxine Waters. While America is not perfect, the author offers us a perfect quotation from Orlando Patterson regarding the status quo when he said that we are “the least racist white-majority society in the world.”

What I found most valuable was Elder’s economic refutation of racism. It simply is not a viable option for corporations wishing to survive within a capitalist system. It cannot be practiced and is fiscally self-defeating. The conclusion here is that “racism is bad for business.” It is something mutually exclusive with profit as to only hire workers of a certain persuasion would allow rival firms to destroy you as they would have the flexibility of hiring whomever they wanted for whatever price the employees would accept. I had not heard such a perspective before opening this book. Another bit of cleverness can be found in his proposal to do away with affirmative action and replace it with “affirmative attitude.” It’s tough to see how anyone sensible would argue with the 32 suggestions that he offers.

White condescension and obsession with race is shown to be an attempt on the part of some to regain the moral authority lost due to us over the course of the last century. This authority takes the form of a holier than thou superiority worn by many upper class and Trustafarian Caucasians. They’re never happier than when they self-righteously label those who disagree with them as rednecks or crackers. Their condescending appeals to give minorities special treatment and unearned advantage is repulsive and tells us far more about their own internalized racial prejudices than it does about the condition of minorities in America. Every time Caucasian-Americans apologize for things they haven’t done, or for the arbitrary hue of their skin, it negatively impacts the nation’s race relations. Americans can’t be equal if one group insists it is the spawn of Satan [see Susan Sontag of “the white race is a cancer” fame] and, thereby, inferior to the rest. No citizen should be condemned as guilty for crimes they never committed. Elder confirms what many of us instinctively know when he makes clear that cowering before minorities will not bring about racial harmony.

Overall, these ten chapters are spirited, irreverent, and necessary. Elder is particularly passionate about gun ownership and also about the way in which the two party system fails to represent all Americans (Chapter 8, “Republicans Versus Democrats—Maybe a Dime’s Worth of Difference”). His defense of libertarianism is very topical considering the outrageous government spending bubble that has been created by the past two presidential administrations.

However, my favorite chapter was, “The Glass Ceiling—Full of Holes”, as it pokes fun of feminists who happen to be the great bullyboys of our age. They roam America’s public square with the audacity of a permanently paroled band of Manchester United football toughs. The deference with which the mainstream media accepts every feminist delusion or claim is absolutely astounding. Here, the author makes many a refutation of their basic positions and all of them are needed. Elder points out that sexism, like racism, is simply not practicable within a capitalist system. It will not and cannot work. Yet, the irony is that femasocialism, which has brought about government mandated privileges for women has decreased their attractiveness to employers. Sexual harassment liability, excessive regulation, and maternity leave have made the hiring of women rather risky.

The tendentiousness of the wage gap is also cited, although it is not convincingly debunked as it is in Dr. Warren Farrell’s new book. That female choice has something to do with why women and men elect to work in different professions is convincing, but to even suggest it can result in the epithet of “anti-woman” being thrown one’s way. Elder adds that many women don’t find the rat race to be particularly appealing, but such counter-arguments are never conspiratorial enough to appeal to grievance lobbyists. That women, all over the globe with the exception of India, prefer male bosses over female bosses when they are polled is not even a consideration for those heroically battling a patriarchy that, conveniently for them, happens not to exist. Feministas are not even swayed by the reality of numerous married women out earning their spouses because such a tidbit is but more evidence of logic being the exclusive weapon of the male ruling elite.

We should be glad that Larry Elder took the time to say 10 verboten things about America and we should pray that in the future he will say 10,000 more.[i]

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[i] I have also read his 2002 book, Showdown, which was not nearly as good, and have followed his career in since his first book appeared.

It must have been rather sweet for Bernard Goldberg to have watched the fall of Dan Rather and CBS News from the comfortable distance that comes a retiree who has just written a blockbuster confessional. In many ways, Bias was Rather’s book and it hit the shelves in 2002 with the noise of a M-80. I recall seeing Goldberg, an accidental conservative if there ever was one, lit up on the stadios of Fox News numerous times during that summer and it must now be tough to resist calling up the fallen anchor and telling him, “You should have got your act together when you had the chance.” The release of Bias was a sentry alarming us of what was to follow.

If one rereads this text now, the self-righteous arrogance that was revealed in Rather’s attitude towards bloggers and all who would question him is quite predictable. Dan Rather was a journalist on a mission and his mission was to dupe the general public into buying in to his unimaginative, disproven, leftwards worldview. We all must thank this author for having the courage that he did in exposing this little Napoleon as the dysfunctional egomaniac he is.

Bias differs greatly from Coloring the News as MacGowen’s work is an attempt to objectively describe the cult of political correctness that has subsumed journalism. Goldberg reveals many of the same practices and values in these pages but they are not the center of his focus. His is a personal tale and, by definition, a subjective account. The retelling of it, according to the narrator tortured him as he did not want to turn on his old friends and he wanted to make sure that it was liberal bias, as opposed to liberalism, that he was castigating in his account.

According to the narrator, everyone in the newsrooms concedes the existence of a liberal slant to their coverage and presentation of the events of the day, and many dismiss its importance because they mistake possessing liberal values with being a good person. His first shot was fired over an op ed he wrote that identified the notable condescension of Eric Engberg as he was reporting on Steve Forbes “wacky” flat tax proposal. There was nothing wacky about it as such a tax has helped economies in eastern Europe immeasurably but it went against orthodoxy so it became an object of derision to the journalist. After the piece came out in print, his friend warned him to enter the witness protection program. Despite his friendship with “The Dan”, the anchor went ballistic and questioned Goldberg’s patriotism for questioning the integrity of CBS News. He was attacked by such media darlings like Tom Brokaw, Bob Schieffer, and R. W. Apple. The result was not his firing but his relegation to journalistic limbo. While in this limbo, or as he knows it, “Eye to Eye with Connie Chung,” he requests to do an investigative piece or liberal bias which announces to all that he as an enemy of the people (or an enemy of the smug journalistic elite).

[carumba]

They roam America’s public square with the audacity of a permanently paroled band of Manchester United football toughs...

You shouldn't talk about somebody's grandma like that.