Progressive activists on the left have abused the terms ‘racism’ and ‘racist’ for many years, as a way of silencing their political opponents. In doing so, these extremists have so diluted the concept as to render it almost meaningless. Like the fabled boy who cried “wolf!”, leftists have distorted and overused the ‘racist’ label to the point where all accusations of racism are viewed with skepticism. The victims of such a tactic are, of course, people – of any race – who become targets of actual racism.
Republicans, conservatives, and libertarians – who consistently are branded as racists – are now almost entirely desensitized to the term and, rather than experiencing revulsion, when confronted with speech or action deemed racist, experience suspicion.
Since the election of President Donald Trump, the left has taken the racism narrative to a whole new level. They have done so using pseudo-scientific research and entirely new definitions of certain words and phrases. They have even gone so far as to interpret the intent of certain statements in a way that fits their narrative.
The Washington Post, along with certain relatively obscure leftwing political blogs, recently began peddling the notion that racism was the most significant factor in the president’s victory in November. Citing a poll conducted by American National Election Studies (ANES) – a project run by Stanford University and the University of Michigan – the Washington Post concluded that racial prejudice, rather than economic issues, was the primary motivation of Trump supporters.
According to a report in the Daily Caller, the poll did not ask direct questions about strictly racial attitudes; instead, it asked voters how much they agreed with such statements as “Irish, Italians, Jewish and many other minorities overcame prejudice and worked their way up. Blacks should to the same without any special favors,” and “It’s really a matter of some people not trying hard enough; if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites.”
As the Daily Caller article points out, those who analyzed the results of this report and concluded that Republicans are racist completely failed to account for the fact that people who vote Republican tend to favor self-reliance and achieving success through one’s effort.
The first of the two statements, (as pointed out by the Caller above), is worded precisely to suggest a prejudice against black people. For instance, substitute the word “blacks” for “all minorities” in this statement and Trump supporters would have expressed the same level of agreement. In the second imperative, the phrase “if blacks would only try harder they could be just as well off as whites” could easily have been rephrased “if some people would only try harder they could be just as well off as anybody else.” Once again, anyone who voted for Donald Trump would have concurred. The deliberate interjection of race into these statements shows that the point of the study was to create the perception that Trump supporters are racist.
The idea that whites – particularly, white males – enjoy a status as unfairly privileged, in a nation that is more than 75% white, is a ridiculous notion. Blacks account for less than 15% of the population, and most live in majority-black communities within larger metropolitan areas. These communities are represented and administered mostly by Democratic politicians and have been for decades – in many cases, by black Democrats. In the face of these facts, inner-city blacks are still, allegedly, the victims of oppression by privileged white Republicans. It is an illogical argument that has no factual foundation.
The extreme left has, for decades, exploited blacks for its own political purposes. It is not racist to point out that there are problems within the black community. It is racist, however, to push the idea that blacks deserve special consideration because they are unable to succeed without help.
It is symptomatic of the flaw at the heart of leftwing political thought; that the poor are victims of the rich; that women are victims of men and that non-whites are the victims of whites. To right these perceived injustices, the left argues, the focus should not be not on raising up the former groups, but on tearing down the latter. Instead of working to improve the prospect of success for the poor, one must demonize and punish the rich; instead of fostering educational and economic development in black communities, one must chastise – and even attempt to marginalize – white people.
A recent blog published by the Huffington Post even suggested that white men should be deprived of the right to vote. The post – a rambling diatribe against white males, liberalism, conservatism, and libertarianism – suggested that all the troubles of the world could be erased, if only white males were stripped of, not only their right to vote but also their total wealth and assets – which would then be redistributed “to those who need them.” The article also stated, “If white men no longer had the vote, the progressive cause would be strengthened.” The Huffington Post took this article down the following day, claiming that the author “appears not to exist.” However, the author certainly does exist; someone wrote the post, even if they assumed a false identity and the HuffPo still approved and published it. Phrases such as “white privilege” and “toxic white masculinity” are often heard in the academic world. Racial hatred – directed against whites – is being deliberately fostered by the extreme left. What progressives refuse to admit, however, is that the overwhelming majority of white people who vote Republican are welcoming to anyone who shares their values, regardless of race or social status. Racism only creates more racism, and no good will come of the left’s narrative – not for whites and certainly not for people of color.
