JohnEngelman
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- Jan 8, 2022
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In “How to be an Antiracist” Ibram X. Kendi complains that whites get away with behavior that gets blacks into trouble. Then he says that the election of George W. Bush to the presidency in 2000 made him hate whites. Later he says that the white response to 9/11 reinforced his hatred for whites.
If a white author wrote that the George Floyd riots, which cost an estimated two billion dollars in damage, made him hate blacks, his book would probably not be published. If it was, few book stores would sell it. No libraries would include it. If he had a teaching position he would probably lose it, even if he had tenure.
Later in his book he backs away from his declaration of hatred for whites. Nevertheless he admits that he was delighted by the acquittal of O.J. Simpson, even though he thinks Simpson was guilty of murder. A white man who wrote that he was delighted by the acquittal of a white man who murdered two inoffensive blacks would become unemployable.
“How to be an Antiracist” is a target rich environment. On every few pages he makes a claim that merits rebuttal. I will restrict myself to several of his most egregious errors.
On practically every page of this book Ibram X. Kendi uses the word “racist” at least once. One has the right to expect him to supply a good definition of “racist.” This is how he defines racist in the beginning of Chapter 1, “One who is supporting a racist policy through their actions or inaction, or expressing a racist idea.” Then he defines an anti racist as “One who is supporting an anti racist policy through their actions or expressing an anti racist idea.”
Do you see what he did wrong? A definition of a word is not supposed to include the word. From the way he uses the word “racist” I surmise that he means that a racist is anyone who criticizes blacks. I plead guilty to this serious and career stopping charge, and throw myself at the mercy of the court. When one is accused of being a racist, truth is no defense; it is evidence for the prosecution. Race has become an issue where the more one ignores facts that can easily be documented, the more enlightened one is said to be.
I have known blacks who were more admirable than most of the whites I have known. Ibram X. Kendi condemns blacks like that, saying that they are “assimilationist.” He thinks blacks should demand acceptance regardless of poor performance and behavior.
In his Introduction Ibram X. Kendi writes, “intelligence is as subjective as beauty.” Here he articulates an error that permeates his entire book. I cannot describe what makes a face beautiful, but I agree with the consensus. It is a consensus that crosses lines of race and time. Men of all races usually agree on which women of all races have beautiful faces, and which women do not. I think beauty contests are silly, and somewhat demeaning. Nevertheless, women who won beauty contests during the 1920’s would win beauty contests now.
Below the neck men and women are attracted to characteristics that had survival value during the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras. Men are attracted to female characteristics that indicate proficiency in child birth. Women are attracted to male characteristics that indicate proficiency in hand to hand combat. Instincts born back then continue to influence preferences.
Standards for intelligence are even more important, objective, and easy to test. Everyone does not have the intelligence to learn a skilled blue collar trade. Everyone who has the intelligence to learn a trade does not have the intelligence to become a computer programmer, like me. Every programmer does not have the intelligence to design new computers, new computer systems, and new computer languages. I know I don’t.
For decades IQ tests have established their validity by accurately determining who can learn complex skills quickly and well, and who cannot. The only reason this is not generally agreed on is because the discussion of IQ has been coerced. Also, people do not want to admit that a factor over which they have no control has so much control over their lives. I dislike admitting it of myself.
This is relevant to “How to be an Antiracist” because Ibram X. Kendi writes, “To be an antiracist is to view national and transnational ethnic groups as equal in all their differences.” Countries composed largely of people who are intelligent, obedient to the law, and monogamous are countries with low crime rates, high standards of living, and well functioning governments. (Japan, Singapore, and Iceland come to mind.) Countries where such people are rare are known for high crime rates, low standards of living, and inefficient, corrupt governments. This is true regardless of climate, or the presence or absence of natural resources in different countries.
Ibram X. Kendi thinks all countries are equal. Many who live in them do not agree. This is why hundreds of thousands of African Negroes risk their lives crossing the Saharan Desert and the Mediterranean Sea in order to move to Europe. It is why many Hispanics risk slightly less serious dangers to immigrate illegally to the United States.
Ibram X. Kendi writes that he sees himself “as a close ally of Latinx, East Asian, Middle Eastern, and Native peoples and all the world’s degraded peoples, from the Roma and Jews of Europe to the Aboriginals of Australia.”
East Asians and Jews faced discrimination and persecution when they moved to the United States. Now most of them are more prosperous than most white Gentiles like me. This is because most of them perform and behave better than most white Gentiles. Nevertheless, Ibram X. Kendi writes, “One endorses either the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist, or racial equality as an anti racist.”
Ibram X. Kendi writes that we should achieve equity. By equity he means equal results despite unequal ability and achievement. He claims, “The only remedy to racist discrimination is anti racist discrimination.” If my life depends on it I do not want to go to a doctor who was admitted to medical school, despite lesser achievement, so that the school would have a student body that “looks like America.” IQ is important. It will become more important as our society and technology become more complex.
Americans fawn over books like “How to be an Antiracist.” With no taboos and sanctions to inhibit them, Chinese scientists are looking for gene alleles that determine intelligence. They are finding that the Chinese have more than their fair share of these alleles. This is why Chinese, and Chinese immigrants usually perform well everywhere in the world that they live. They also tend to have low rates of crime and illegitimacy, even when they are poor. The Chinese military is developing the ability to augment the Chinese ascent with military aggression. The fact that “How to be an Antiracist” and similar books are taken seriously in the United States indicates that Americans are losing the will to prevail.
If a white author wrote that the George Floyd riots, which cost an estimated two billion dollars in damage, made him hate blacks, his book would probably not be published. If it was, few book stores would sell it. No libraries would include it. If he had a teaching position he would probably lose it, even if he had tenure.
Later in his book he backs away from his declaration of hatred for whites. Nevertheless he admits that he was delighted by the acquittal of O.J. Simpson, even though he thinks Simpson was guilty of murder. A white man who wrote that he was delighted by the acquittal of a white man who murdered two inoffensive blacks would become unemployable.
“How to be an Antiracist” is a target rich environment. On every few pages he makes a claim that merits rebuttal. I will restrict myself to several of his most egregious errors.
On practically every page of this book Ibram X. Kendi uses the word “racist” at least once. One has the right to expect him to supply a good definition of “racist.” This is how he defines racist in the beginning of Chapter 1, “One who is supporting a racist policy through their actions or inaction, or expressing a racist idea.” Then he defines an anti racist as “One who is supporting an anti racist policy through their actions or expressing an anti racist idea.”
Do you see what he did wrong? A definition of a word is not supposed to include the word. From the way he uses the word “racist” I surmise that he means that a racist is anyone who criticizes blacks. I plead guilty to this serious and career stopping charge, and throw myself at the mercy of the court. When one is accused of being a racist, truth is no defense; it is evidence for the prosecution. Race has become an issue where the more one ignores facts that can easily be documented, the more enlightened one is said to be.
I have known blacks who were more admirable than most of the whites I have known. Ibram X. Kendi condemns blacks like that, saying that they are “assimilationist.” He thinks blacks should demand acceptance regardless of poor performance and behavior.
In his Introduction Ibram X. Kendi writes, “intelligence is as subjective as beauty.” Here he articulates an error that permeates his entire book. I cannot describe what makes a face beautiful, but I agree with the consensus. It is a consensus that crosses lines of race and time. Men of all races usually agree on which women of all races have beautiful faces, and which women do not. I think beauty contests are silly, and somewhat demeaning. Nevertheless, women who won beauty contests during the 1920’s would win beauty contests now.
Below the neck men and women are attracted to characteristics that had survival value during the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras. Men are attracted to female characteristics that indicate proficiency in child birth. Women are attracted to male characteristics that indicate proficiency in hand to hand combat. Instincts born back then continue to influence preferences.
Standards for intelligence are even more important, objective, and easy to test. Everyone does not have the intelligence to learn a skilled blue collar trade. Everyone who has the intelligence to learn a trade does not have the intelligence to become a computer programmer, like me. Every programmer does not have the intelligence to design new computers, new computer systems, and new computer languages. I know I don’t.
For decades IQ tests have established their validity by accurately determining who can learn complex skills quickly and well, and who cannot. The only reason this is not generally agreed on is because the discussion of IQ has been coerced. Also, people do not want to admit that a factor over which they have no control has so much control over their lives. I dislike admitting it of myself.
This is relevant to “How to be an Antiracist” because Ibram X. Kendi writes, “To be an antiracist is to view national and transnational ethnic groups as equal in all their differences.” Countries composed largely of people who are intelligent, obedient to the law, and monogamous are countries with low crime rates, high standards of living, and well functioning governments. (Japan, Singapore, and Iceland come to mind.) Countries where such people are rare are known for high crime rates, low standards of living, and inefficient, corrupt governments. This is true regardless of climate, or the presence or absence of natural resources in different countries.
Ibram X. Kendi thinks all countries are equal. Many who live in them do not agree. This is why hundreds of thousands of African Negroes risk their lives crossing the Saharan Desert and the Mediterranean Sea in order to move to Europe. It is why many Hispanics risk slightly less serious dangers to immigrate illegally to the United States.
Ibram X. Kendi writes that he sees himself “as a close ally of Latinx, East Asian, Middle Eastern, and Native peoples and all the world’s degraded peoples, from the Roma and Jews of Europe to the Aboriginals of Australia.”
East Asians and Jews faced discrimination and persecution when they moved to the United States. Now most of them are more prosperous than most white Gentiles like me. This is because most of them perform and behave better than most white Gentiles. Nevertheless, Ibram X. Kendi writes, “One endorses either the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist, or racial equality as an anti racist.”
Ibram X. Kendi writes that we should achieve equity. By equity he means equal results despite unequal ability and achievement. He claims, “The only remedy to racist discrimination is anti racist discrimination.” If my life depends on it I do not want to go to a doctor who was admitted to medical school, despite lesser achievement, so that the school would have a student body that “looks like America.” IQ is important. It will become more important as our society and technology become more complex.
Americans fawn over books like “How to be an Antiracist.” With no taboos and sanctions to inhibit them, Chinese scientists are looking for gene alleles that determine intelligence. They are finding that the Chinese have more than their fair share of these alleles. This is why Chinese, and Chinese immigrants usually perform well everywhere in the world that they live. They also tend to have low rates of crime and illegitimacy, even when they are poor. The Chinese military is developing the ability to augment the Chinese ascent with military aggression. The fact that “How to be an Antiracist” and similar books are taken seriously in the United States indicates that Americans are losing the will to prevail.
