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Sowell: The Demand for Villains
Creators Syndicate ^ | January 26, 2016 | Thomas Sowell

Posted on 01/25/2016 1:57:46 PM PST by jazusamo

The latest tempest in a teapot controversy is over a lack of black nominees for this year's Academy Awards in Hollywood.

The assumption seems to be that different groups would be proportionally represented if somebody were not doing somebody else wrong. That assumption carries great weight in far more important things than Academy Awards and in places more important than Hollywood, including the Supreme Court of the United States.

In an earlier era, the groupthink assumption was that groups that did not succeed as often, or as well, were genetically inferior. But is our current groupthink assumption based on any more hard evidence?

Having spent decades researching racial and ethnic groups around the world, I have never yet found a country in which all groups -- or even most groups -- are even roughly equally represented in most endeavors.

Nor have I been the only one with that experience. The great French historian Fernand Braudel said, "In no society have all regions and all parts of the population developed equally." A study of military forces around the world failed to find a single one in which in which the ethnic makeup of the military was the same as that of the society.

My own favorite example of unrepresentativeness, however, is right at home. Having watched National Football League games for more than 50 years, I have seen hundreds of black players score touchdowns, but I have never seen one black player kick the extra point.

What are we to conclude from this? Do those who believe in genetics think that blacks are just genetically incapable of kicking a football?

(Excerpt) Read more at creators.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: cuckservatives; nationalreview; racism; richlowry; society; sowell; thomassowell
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To: EternalHope
used to care what he had to say.

because he denied the Donald once? He has two more to catch up with Peter.

21 posted on 01/25/2016 3:09:34 PM PST by windsorknot
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To: Opinionated Blowhard

I agree, and when he speaks he thoroughly enjoys it and has a good sense of humor.


22 posted on 01/25/2016 3:10:21 PM PST by jazusamo (Have YOU Donated to the Freep-a-Thon? https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: windsorknot
Good point.

Like many, I was disappointed in Sowell recently but it wasn't the first time.

I used to work with a bunch of guys who called everybody uncle. Uncle Joe, Uncle Bob, whatever your name was got preceded with the word uncle. It was all in good taste and fun and never meant to disrespect anyone.

Similarly, I've always thought of Thomas Sowell that way. No disrespect. No implications beyond the enduring intellect of man my senior who I've been reading and following for Lord knows how long.

Like that Uncle you see on holidays or read on Sundays, Thomas Sowell is always a person I listen to. Sometimes we don't agree, but I always hear him out first and give it some thought. He deserves that kind of respect from me anyway.

23 posted on 01/25/2016 4:00:41 PM PST by WhoisAlanGreenspan?
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To: jazusamo

So do I :)


24 posted on 01/25/2016 5:21:25 PM PST by LauraJean (sometimes I win sometimes I donate to the equine benevolent society)
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To: jazusamo

The late, great, Reggie Roby was a great punter in the NFL and earlier at Iowa, where I well remember him. And he happened to be black. I’m not sure he still has the career punting average record, but he set it at the time. IIRC, had he hit his final punt two yards longer he’d have averaged 50 yards per punt over four years. Alas our gunners were too slow to cover his long kicks so he net wasn’t that good. But it sure was fun when he’d boot one 20 yards over the coverage. He didn’t hit them as far in the pros as they finally got him to kick for hang time rather than distance, but he did well enough to make all pro. He placekicked in HS at Waterloo, IA, and tried that some in college, but wasn’t accurate enough to keep that job in spite of having the strongest leg anywhere. But I did see him kick some extra points and thus have seen a black kid do that.


25 posted on 01/25/2016 6:22:11 PM PST by JohnBovenmyer (Obama been Liberal. Hope Changed)
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To: EternalHope
"I used to care what [Walter Williams] had to say."

What happened? Did you become more stupid?

26 posted on 01/25/2016 6:38:49 PM PST by TXnMA ("Allah: Satan's current alias. "Obama": Allah's current ally...)
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To: jazusamo
"I don’t believe I’ve seen anything more ridiculous than this Academy Award affirmative action fiasco."

~~~~~~

I would put the removal of Confederate statues and place names, and the banning of the Confederate flag right up there with it -- and with the Muzzies' destruction of monasteries and anything else Christian.

I have yet to see how my diminishing of another elevates me...

27 posted on 01/25/2016 6:45:41 PM PST by TXnMA ("Allah: Satan's current alias. "Obama": Allah's current ally...)
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To: EternalHope

Cool, one and done... No thinking required...


28 posted on 01/25/2016 6:45:44 PM PST by DB
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To: JohnBovenmyer

Thanks, I don’t recall Reggie Roby but I see he had a very successful career and was a bid guy, I didn’t specify but I was referring to place kickers.


29 posted on 01/25/2016 6:45:53 PM PST by jazusamo (Have YOU Donated to the Freep-a-Thon? https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: TXnMA

Yep, those are ridiculous also.


30 posted on 01/25/2016 6:48:48 PM PST by jazusamo (Have YOU Donated to the Freep-a-Thon? https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: TXnMA
[Walter Williams] [Thomas Sowell]

My own stupid mode just kicked in...

31 posted on 01/25/2016 6:49:16 PM PST by TXnMA ("Allah: Satan's current alias. "Obama": Allah's current ally...)
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To: Iron Munro

And how about if they roll back their numbers on welfare and increase their numbers in the workforce?


32 posted on 01/25/2016 6:56:21 PM PST by generally
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To: generally
And how about if they roll back their numbers on welfare and increase their numbers in the workforce?


33 posted on 01/25/2016 7:07:22 PM PST by Iron Munro (The wise have stores of choice food and oil but a foolish man devours all he has. Proverbs 21:20)
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To: jazusamo

Not gonna read you this time, sir. You disappointed me.


34 posted on 01/25/2016 7:33:18 PM PST by Albion Wilde (Who can actually defeat the Democrats in 2016? -- the most important thing about all candidates.)
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To: jazusamo
My favorite part of the Obama era is all the racial healing.

(Seen on instapundit.com, originally posted somewhere other than that.)

35 posted on 01/25/2016 7:41:47 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: jazusamo
Do those who believe in genetics think that blacks are just genetically incapable of kicking a football?

No, but you Cuckservatives kept thinking we conservatives would continue running up to kick a football again and again forever no matter how many times the GOP-e pulled it away from us.

36 posted on 01/25/2016 7:42:51 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: VRWCmember
What happened to cause your change in perspective?

I'll answer that one.


37 posted on 01/25/2016 7:44:49 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: TXnMA
[Walter Williams] [Thomas Sowell] My own stupid mode just kicked in...

You know, that came suspiciously close to a back-handed admission that "they all look like to you" /sarc>

...but not Obama. His ears are too big.

38 posted on 01/25/2016 7:47:03 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: C. Edmund Wright
"how can you post something by Thomas Sowell....the trumpettes have declared him idiotic and an establishment elitist hack......."

Sowell has three things in excess as far as the Typical Trump supporter is concerned:

IQ points
Conservative credentials
Melanin

Hank

39 posted on 01/25/2016 8:06:10 PM PST by County Agent Hank Kimball (Trust Fund Donnie Trump thinks "Nuclear Triad" is a death metal trio.)
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To: jazusamo
A study of military forces around the world failed to find a single one in which in which the ethnic makeup of the military was the same as that of the society.

I totally forgive Sowell for not backing Trump...

40 posted on 01/25/2016 8:36:26 PM PST by GOPJ (It's more important to have a gun in your hand than a cop on the phone- Florida Sheriff Grady Judd)
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