When I first read
this Huffington Post piece I honestly thought it was the work of a black writer. When I was done I scrolled to the top looking to see "who was this Negro here?" But it wasn't. And that annoyed me. Much.
First let me get the following out of the way: There are large portions of the piece that I agree with. I do not think Carson is qualified to be president and it has nothing at all to do with his past with a hammer and knife. Nor is it due to inconsistencies or outright lies about offers of scholarships to West Point since I have seen many a President, Senator, Congressperson, Secretary of State, etc. lie on way more substantial matters. So for example I agree with this general statement:
He has compared Obamacare and abortion to slavery. He believes the great pyramids were grain silos.
I'll throw in his complete non-understanding of the
Big Bang Theory and the Theory of Evolution. The latter being a major issue due to his alleged expertise in the field of medicine. So on these grounds I agree with the author. Where I depart from the author is the typical "black conservative straw man" arguments.
Carson's popularity among white and black conservatives is a dire threat to racial and social justice. Like Clarence Thomas and other black conservatives, Carson advances the myth that we live in a post-racist society.
While I cannot speak for Justice Thomas I know that Carson does not believe we are in a post-racial society. In fact this meme actually started up by left leaning writers. Carson's position is that while racism definitely exists, it
does not excuse what Dr. Claude Anderson referred to as "Inappropriate behavior" exhibited by too many black folks. Carson believes, as I do, that
black people are not children and should be held to the same standards of behavior and expectations (academically, socially, etc.) as
every other race of people. To think otherwise is to believe in
inherent black inferiority. Because if black people are capable of the same things that every other race is doing, then they should be
expected todo so. So no, we don't live in a post-racial society, but we are also not living in "back of the bus", "get out of town by sundown", slave patrols and manumission papers times either.
As for oft maligned Thomas I have already pointed out that he has turned out to be one of America's most prophetic voices as it pertains to "high tech" lynchings in the form of crybullying as seen from many left leaning persons and groups.
I wrote:
This is of course what Thomas meant when he said:
it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas, and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you.
The events of the past few years would justify modifying this statement to read:
it is a high-tech lynching for uppity [straight, generally male, generally Christian], who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas, and it is a message that unless you kowtow to [the new] order, this is what will happen to you.
Isn't this what Steve Nelson is engaging in here? Rather than keep his critique of Carson in the realm of policy, where it belongs, he takes it to dictating what a black man (or woman) SHOULD be thinking. How is this any different than the old "We know what is best for the Nigros" of days past? How is this any different than the teachers that tell/told black boys how they don't want to be doctors because he's good with his hands? In essence Steve in engaging in the well worn "tell negroes what's best for them" habits that have been a hallmark of whites in America.
Aside from embellishments, his genuine rise from poverty to prestige is precisely the kind of narrative that keeps the foot of oppression on the necks of black men and women.
Look at this twisted, upside down vision Steve presents. It is
OPPRESSIVE to use yourself as an example to black boys if you overcame disadvantages and bad attitudes to become a super successful neurosurgeon. It is
OPPRESSIVE to tell black children that it is better to shun the company of people who aren't about shit, to get and stay in your books, to keep your eye on the long term game, to be respectful of your parents and elders. Better you look at, oh I dont' know...Rappers! Seriously, how does a
white man get away with publishing such bullshit? But wait there is more:
His "up by the bootstraps" story is the very rare exception that allows conservatives to deny the rule. If he made it, anyone can. Carson is like a shipwreck's lone survivor who is used to argue that the shoals of injustice don't exist.
Whoah, That many, many, many black folks have overcome circumstances, racism included, to become extremely successful is "very rare"? And it's the 'rule" that black folks can't overcome? That's the RULE? What did I say about having the same expectations of black folks as is expected from every other race? Exactly. Essentially Steve here is saying that as a rule, black folks are failures and that they/we are so incapable of confronting and beating racism (without the help of good white folks). Why doesn't think guy come out and say that Black folks are, as a rule, inferior to everyone else? I won't even get into his "lone survivor" theory and his disappearing of successful black folks that he doesn't know about. And let me be clear, I'm not talking about Oprah successful. If you are self sufficient, taking care of children you created you are successful. One doesn't need to be a neurosurgeon, lawyer or whathaveyou.
Donald Trump trots out "political correctness" whenever diversity or racism is mentioned, but at least we can identify the source: a rich, white, clueless boor who insults everyone. When Carson calls anti-racist work "political correctness," how might one challenge him?
Count me on Donald's side on this one. Often left claims of racism are bogus or way out of proportion to the actual offense (see Mizzou and Yale). Just like Clarence Thomas warned. It is PC and you would be
clueless, to use Steve's words, to not recognize it. It's the kind of PC bullshit that claims that black lives are under more threat by police than by other black people. Doesn't square with the facts. In dissident right circles this is referred to "hate facts". Steve hates hate facts so he rather try to sully the character of the messengers.
When Carson says black folks are playing the "victim card," what can be said?
Because black folks don't play victim cards?
Ever?
Lastly let me address Steve's [mis]use of a Malcolm X quote:
In 1963, shortly after Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, the more radical Malcolm X warned about black men whose stature within the white community afforded a level of privilege, a phenomenon going all the way back to slavery. Such a man, he said, "doesn't identify himself with your plight whatsoever," and slows progress toward racial justice.
Increasingly the black with stature "within the white community" is the black liberal. Increasingly the black liberal is advocating and creating environments that are detrimental to the black community. Black feminists join white feminists (and get paid) to say things like all men are rapists and must be taught to not rape. As if by making such statements they don't endanger black men who are already seen, due to their own disproportionate violent behavior, as dangerous.
They advocate education reform that allows black boys and girls to act a total fool in school without fear of repercussion.
They assault democratic ideals such as freedom of speech and association by getting campuses to create and enforce speech codes to protect their feelings. In doing so these people have pushed those of us who have different, and often moderate, views out of the realm of "respectability". They shut down real, fact based debate and leave that ground open to those who are far more extreme. So IF you think Carson is way out in right field, then the blame is with the left who created the environment.
