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  1. DonG (CAGW is a hoax) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a hoax)
    @DonG

    I am NatCon.

    Anybody who thinks “American Culture” equals “White Culture” is ignorant.  There are lots of kinds of “white culture” and many are bad:  Marxists, socialists, communists, fascists, …   A lot of bad ideas came out of Europe!  But, some good ideas came out (thank you Scotland).

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  2. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    DonG (CAGW is a hoax) (View Comment):

    I am NatCon.

    Anybody who thinks “American Culture” equals “White Culture” is ignorant. There are lots of kinds of “white culture” and many are bad: Marxists, socialists, communists, fascists, … A lot of bad ideas came out of Europe! But, some good ideas came out (thank you Scotland).

    White racism is dumb. Black racism is also dumb. Same thing.*

    * I lived in Asia for awhile. Various Asians are also dumb racists. I see a pattern.

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  3. Unsk Member
    Unsk
    @Unsk

    Derryck, Fantastic presentation.

    Is there a written form of this presentation? There are many great ideas presented in your speech but it is difficult to address them all in verbal form and would be so much easier to address them from a written presentation.

    Much of the speech centered around the lack of a positive Black Identity and the unfortunate descent into a black victim of slavery as one’s identity.

    That said, I do have one racial bias that relates to that issue.

    Although American Blacks fall slightly below in Academic Achievement  and other quantifiable measurements of intelligence , I have long believed that American Blacks excel in at least two areas that more than compensate for those  other measurements:

    • First – Creativity. Black Achievements in the Creative Arts far exceed on a per  Capita  basis any other racial group. That fact is undeniable with so many great black performers in music, film, dance and other arts. Simply put, Blacks lift way above their weight class in the Arts.

    • Second, but perhaps much more important to this issue , I have long believed after many experiences that American Blacks have a significantly higher social/emotional IQ than other races. Such talent is greatly helpful and hugely marketable in the business world when working  with , managing, leading or selling ideas to other people.  As such Social/Emotional Intelligence should be looked upon as a  treasure , and should be something someone who has it should be proud of. Other talents  in such quantifiable aptitudes like math, science, writing and other forms are more easily taught to most people but   Social/ emotional intelligence and aptitude is much more difficult to teach and therefore is a problem for a great  many people who do not have it.  Blacks should be proud – in fact greatly proud – of those abilities.

    Furthermore, I believe there actually has been a conscious systemic racism present in our government run programs but not in the way the Left presents it.  The Left has sought to destroy the American Family  and destroy the American Economic    structure by restricting  employment opportunities that service the Working class and by dramatically raising the cost of living.  All these efforts have been felt most strongly in the predominately minority working classes which made it much more difficult for blacks to have stable family relationships resulting in millions of emotionally wounded individuals and have resulted in much less working class appropriate economic opportunities than there aught to have been.

    That said, this descent into this angry,  belligerent black victim of slavery identity often negates the opportunities presented by this superior social/emotional intelligence because it is in the working with other people of other races that presents the greatest opportunities for advancement in society. Simply put, no one really wants to work with and are often fearful of working with someone who plays the angry victim, which is exactly the identity too many blacks portray to the world.  This needs to change.

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  4. Gossamer Cat Coolidge
    Gossamer Cat
    @GossamerCat

    “No standards and no expectations.  The hard bigotry of no expectations.”

    Great speech!  I wholeheartedly agree that Blacks should shed the bonds of victimhood forge an American identity and it is rightfully theirs.  I look at American culture – it dominates the world.  American culture would not be what it is without the contributions of Blacks to our glorious melting pot.  One could say that Africa’s major contribution to the current world culture is via American Blacks through their creation of new musics, entertainment, cuisines, customs, businesses, philosophies influenced by their African roots but only possible through the melding that America provided.  So I hope that your message resonates.

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  5. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    What an amazing speech!  With the loss of Walter E Williams and the aging of Thomas Sowell, two men I admire, I have been depressed about the possibility of righting our listing ship. Derrick gives me hope again. Everyone needs to hear this. Sadly, the five minute bites on TV can’t do his message justice. He needs the whole hour of a Mark Levin’s show.

    A highlight of my National Review cruises was the presentations Deroy Murdock would give. I started following him years ago because of his excellent reporting on Iraq. One presentation he gave was on the contributions American Blacks have made on music. It was fascinating and uplifting. 

    https://www.nationalreview.com/author/deroy-murdock/

    These wise men are proof that brilliance isn’t determined by one’s race but by the culture one embraces. The four examples here (Sowell, Murdock, Williams, Green) are wiser and more accomplished than I am. They are role models for what all men can be in the US. We must fix our culture, not cater to the grievance lobby.

    Our outside looks are superficial. Our core beliefs are where we find our commonality. I have nothing in common with white lefties and only a little in common with moderate whites. I’m most at home with conservative blacks. Maybe growing up together in a small town did that. We were more like Mayberry than NYC. Marian Wright Adelman grew up there. The library is named for her. Despite political difference, her brother and my father respected each other.

    In the Air Force when I served, people cared more about one’s abilities than one’s race. The “”racist”military I hear about today does not resemble my experience. Perhaps after telling people for years there are demons living under their beds, people are believing normal shadows and sounds are demons. Or perhaps “racism” is both an excuse for failure and a discouragement to even trying to succeed. I wish we could unite. Being “Americans” is the best hope for that.

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  6. Derryck Green Member
    Derryck Green
    @DerryckGreen

    Unsk (View Comment):
    That said, this descent into this angry,  belligerent black victim of slavery identity often negates the opportunities presented by this superior social/emotional intelligence because it is in the working with other people of other races that presents the greatest opportunities for advancement in society. Simply put, no one really wants to work with and are often fearful of working with someone who plays the angry victim, which is exactly the identity too many blacks portray to the world.  This needs to change.

    Unsk–

    Thanks for taking the time to watch and respond! The written version of these remarks can be found here. This victim-focused identity hasn’t always existed. It was introduced after the civil rights victories of the 60s by the black power movement, James Cone’s attempt to theologically legitimize the black power movement, and what Shelby Steele calls redemptive liberalism. Before and during the CRM, blacks saw themselves not just as Negroes (a term I’m partial to), but as Americans who sought their constitutional protections, rights, and access to the American mainstream– all of which were prohibited because America wasn’t living up to the ideals expressed in the Declaration. That radical, post-civil rights period introduced the deadly poison of racial essentialism. It not only infected the black underclass (first) but also many black churches, eventually significant parts of the black middle class, and especially those who purport to speak on behalf of blacks . I’ve argued, in print and on radio, that blacks must do two things. As the most religious demographic in America (overwhelmingly Christian), they need to embrace their Christian identity above their racial identity. Secondly, blacks need to embrace an American identity, before their racial identity, which demonstrates the acceptance of this country as their home. I believe the anger, racial self-consciousness, and the feelings of rejection that occurs because of the assumed determinism of being born black are overcome with identities that aren’t limited to the labored connection to slavery and segregation. 

    You’re right: this needs to change. However, the anger and racialization that have become too associated with being “black” is much easier than essentially letting go of what has defined far too many blacks for several generations. If blacks did this wholesale, they would unleash the willingness and ability to thrive that they’ve so willingly held back as a pretense for ongoing systemic racism.

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  7. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    EHerring (View Comment):
    Perhaps after telling people for years there are demons living under their beds, people are believing normal shadows and sounds are demons.

    I’m sure this is true for young kids. 

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  8. DonG (CAGW is a hoax) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a hoax)
    @DonG

    Derryck Green (View Comment):
    need to embrace their Christian identity above their racial identity. Secondly, blacks need to embrace an American identity, before their racial identity, which demonstrates the acceptance of this country as their home.

    This is good.   I start my list of identities with family roles (husband, father), but agree that skin color/heritage should at the end of the list.  I usually assume that “black” means ADOS, but there are lots of people (eg, Kamala Harris) that have sub-Saharan roots but are not ADOS.  It is all too complicated to lump together as a single identity. 

    I blame commies and Marxists for fomenting ongoing racial division.

    Thank you for sharing your wonderful speech. 

    @bethanymandel has a new series of childrens books on Heroes of Liberty.  I really think she should do a book on Frederick Douglass, who was a champion of our founding documents.  

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  9. Derryck Green Member
    Derryck Green
    @DerryckGreen

    DonG (CAGW is a hoax) (View Comment):

    Derryck Green (View Comment):
    need to embrace their Christian identity above their racial identity. Secondly, blacks need to embrace an American identity, before their racial identity, which demonstrates the acceptance of this country as their home.

    This is good. I start my list of identities with family roles (husband, father), but agree that skin color/heritage should at the end of the list. I usually assume that “black” means ADOS, but there are lots of people (eg, Kamala Harris) that have sub-Saharan roots but are not ADOS. It is all too complicated to lump together as a single identity.

    I blame commies and Marxists for fomenting ongoing racial division.

    Thank you for sharing your wonderful speech.

    @ bethanymandel has a new series of childrens books on Heroes of Liberty. I really think she should do a book on Frederick Douglass, who was a champion of our founding documents.

    Not just Douglass but also Booker T., Walter Williams, Clarence Thomas, Rev. King and a few others. I met a couple of the people behind the Heroes of Liberty at the National Conservatism Conference (Gadi and Tal). I gave them a list of people that should be included in their series. 

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