The grounds where Men of Morehouse become Morehouse Men is sacred ground. Many graduates turned their backs to Biden during his speech. Professors behind Biden stood up and unfurled a Congolese flag to point out the ignored genocide in that country. Another Professor silently held up a raised fist. There was not going to be physical turmoil or shouts of protest because it is sacred ground. Conservatives miss the forest for the trees.
Faculty was divided over the Biden invitation, but they knew they could show disapproval.
TAURA TAYLOR: Yes. So, one of the things that I understood was that there is definitely a contingent amongst our community regarding the invitation for Biden, one, to be the commencement speaker, but then, on top of that, that he was to receive an honorary degree. Luckily, now I can speak kind of freely, because some of our information has become public, but the faculty, we basically were basically divided regarding wanting Biden as a commencement speaker, but we understood that we could voice our discontent, but we were not going to rescind him being the commencement speaker.
The Morehouse valedictorian called for a ceasefire in his commencement speech.
AMY GOODMAN: And can you talk about DeAngelo Fletcher, the psychology major, the valedictorian’s call for an immediate ceasefire, the significance of what he did, standing before, really, the world, because this was being broadcast by many news outlets around the world?
TAURA TAYLOR: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: And then also President Biden calling for immediate ceasefire, Dr. Taylor?
TAURA TAYLOR: Yes. So, I was proud of Fletcher. He wasn’t a student of mine. And I also understood the mounting pressure for these students, basically, to make a statement or to not make a statement. And the young man, even as he spoke, he said he was a little bit nervous about being the valedictorian, knowing that he would have to give a speech. I mean, anyone who’s ever done public speaking can understand. You know, everyone’s there. Your family’s there. You don’t know what your nerves are going to be, but now this heightened moment. And the fact that he made the statement — and there was some divide even amongst the students — that he took this moment to basically use his platform to make a statement, I was very proud of him. I mean, it brought honor to his fellow peers, but it also honor to those of us who stand on the shoulders of Dr. King, because one of the things that we’re also always hearing about being faculty and in community at Morehouse is that this is Dr. King’s alma mater and that we should stand up for social justice and humanitarianism. And at the same time, we, as a community, get another message from our administration in terms of how to not embarrass the college, to be dignified and to engage in a certain form of respectability politics. So, for that young man to take that moment to send that message, I was very, very proud of him.
That's what you say if you confuse a phone number, or misremember a date.
What Biden unleashed, there at Morehouse, was an anti-American, racist, hate-filled rant. It was the twisted, unanchored maundering of an aged fool trotted out in a vain, and selfishly politicized attempt to pander votes from those he quite sincerely believes are incapable of making a decision for themselves. He knows best, or so he and the balance of the Democratic party believes, what is 'best for them young Black Folk'.
Big Daddy Varner makes a speech to the little people, the common people, the people whom he believes are just waiting for him to tell 'em when and how high to jump. And jump they should, or so he tells them, to avoid all those bad things that bad America (who loves them not nearly as much as Big Daddy loves them) would undoubtedly otherwise do.
I'm surprised we didn't hear the rest of the ramble: "I guess you don't know who I am. I better introduce myself. I'm the big landowner, chief moneylender in these parts. I'm commissioner of elections, veterinarian, own a store and a cotton gin and a grist mill and a blacksmith shop... and it's considered unlucky for a man to do his trading or gin his cotton or grind his meal or shoe his stock anywhere else. Now that's who I am." Call me Mr. President!
How angry can we / should we get at Joe Biden for spewing such garbage?
Why should there be a limit?
The fact that he's consistent in this racist, Heepish litany, decade after decade....the fact that he's been saying the same thing since forever, does not make what he said any less hateful and divisive & wrong. So yes, we should hate it! Hate it with a passion!
Or not.
We can always, nod our head, shuffle & say: 'You're right, boss. Without your help, your guidance, your steering hand on my shoulder, pointing me in the right direction, and giving me a consistent push, I sho wouldn't have a clue out there in that big, scary world of yours. Thank goodness you're giving me money, you're giving my family money... thank goodness you're fixing our plumbing and giving us free hi-speed internet (woulda been nice if he'd quoted some speedcheck numbers!).... Thank goodness you're dumping my student debt obligations on someone else! (I sure wouldn't want to pay it). And I especially like the fact that you're deliberately, consciously, with malice aforethought celebrating your continued efforts as President of the United States to reject what the Supreme Court quite clearly said.
I'm glad you're breaking the law to fill my pockets, Mr. Commander in Chief, sir! And all you want, in return, is my vote!?
Heck yes...and maybe you can get me a job, there at the Big White House, with all them other Morehouse grads you told me about!!
It would have been an honor to have the President speak at any graduation.
But Biden is no President.
The whole graduating class should have walked out.
Listening to John on Biden and giving him a pass "How mad can you be with Biden he is old." compared to the way he seems to imply a veiled assaisnation desire against Trump is startling. Until John clarifies what the hell he was alluding to when he stumbled through some word salad against Trump, that is what I will assume he was inferring. In the interim, John's blatant soft take on Biden's pandering and demeaning speech is a testament to the fact he will sacrifice his ideals for the Democrat party.
In fact, John is obviously mistaken in giving Biden a pass on the contents of the speech due to Biden's age because Biden didn't write the speech. People who are younger and more mentally supple than Biden is (or ever was) did and deliberately chose to demoralize the graduating students in order to persuade them to keep seeking "help" from the Democratic Party.
Biden gave the speech and is responsible for doing so, but for John to give Biden a pass on a speech whose content John disagrees with is an analytical failure on John's part that is inconsistent with his intellect.
Either conciously or subconciously John can't really bring himself to take down the left full throttle anymore. I feel that he feels guilty for the way that the his book "Woke Racism" was used to combat the Democrats craziness.... Just a couple of months after the books was published he started to backpeddle on the book. He is a man torn between what he knows to be just and the fact that it will mean the Republicans will gain power since, for the most part, that is the party that is more aligned with his ideals on equal rights and fairness for all. He has struggled with that notion on this substack in episodes. Shit, there is even a clip where John is called out to pick a side. We are not at a time for waffling anymore. Democrat party, in my opinion is beyond repair. It has been hijacked by Democrat Socialisist, Communists and Marxists. Moderate Dems will not break with them because they will cede power to the right. I have always considered myself a Classical Liberal and I believe that John is from that same cut of person. I was always fiscally conservative and socially liberal (in what those terms meant decades ago) I feel that the best of both parties held my ideals. But now.... the Dem party is the party of racism, hate and have nothing to offer moderates.... I think John knows that....but purely speculation on my part :)
I agree pretty much with your assessment of John. I think that deep down he and Glenn are close on almost all issues, so the comparison between how they present themselves might be illuminating.
Glenn's been to hell and back quite a few times (as his memoir makes clear, on tickets he purchased himself). Now he's somewhat of an elder statesman, close with a number of other people of his generation on all sides of the issues he comments on, and firmly entrenched at Brown for however long he wants to stay at it. At this stage in his life, he feels comfortable saying what's on his mind.
John's quite a bit younger, his life is centered in New York City and academia, and he wants to continue to be accepted by the circles he moves in. I think that plays into how he expresses his opinions and even influences the opinions themselves.
Biden is old. Trump has dementia. Trump is talking about shark attacks and is having major difficulty finding words during his speeches. Trump is also telegraphing the punishment he will hand out to those who don’t support him. Biden will win.
This would normally be posed as a question but given my comment on the last conversation where I state I lost all respect for John with his ‘it’s ok to break the rules because it’s Trump’ comment, I’ll just say this: John always makes excuses for Biden and the Democrats on things that if it were a Republican, and especially if his last name were Trump, he’d be all over it.
Seriously John, as a thought experiment imagine if Trump had delivered that speech and respond.
You are proving yourself to be intellectually dishonest time and again on these matters and I don’t know how anyone is supposed to take your seriously when your TDS is so strong.
I suppose growing up privileged as you did causes a certain amount of bias, as we all have in different ways, but it’s sad to see that your bias is so strongly in favor of the elites who as Glenn rightly says just spoke down to a group of black men.
A Fox News pundit says Blacks will vote for Trump because they love tennis shoes.
Fox News contributor suggested that Black voters would back Donald Trump in the 2024 election because they "love sneakers."
Raymond Arroyo made the remarks on The Big Weekend Show while discussing the $399 limited-edition shoes that Trump promoted at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Former president Donald Trump sought to appeal to Black voters on Friday night in South Carolina by repeatedly citing the 91 felony charges he faces and comparing them to unfair treatment from the criminal justice system toward minorities in America.
Given the above, no serious person believes Conservatives are really outraged by Biden’s speech. Nothing was more offensive than Republicans running Herschel Walker for the Senate, and promoting Diamond & Silk.
There was also the dancing done by Black Voices for Trump.
I’m not outraged, and I understand that politicians are always going to pander to people in their own ways. Biden showed up at a black family home with a bucket of fried chicken for gods sake!
The point isn’t that politicians do these stupid things, or that people fall for it.
My point was the fact that John continually refuses to apply the same fairness and logic to what the Democrats do, to what the Republicans do, and even more specifically Trump and Biden, is what I take issue with.
To put it more simply; if John is to be taken seriously as a commentator or pundit, then he must be as impartial and unbiased as possible, and also point out and acknowledge where his biases are. He is doing none of that.
The ‘it’s ok to break the rules because it’s Trump’ statement shows, in my opinion, a real immaturity and dishonesty. The fact that a serious scholar will say throw away the rules because I don’t like this man is contemptuous in my opinion.
Of course he’s not without bias, no one is. Buy like I said, I would expect someone of John or Glenn’s caliber to be aware of their bias, and to call it out for themselves. Glenn seems to do that, I see Glenn critiquing his own opinions often. John has a huge blind spot with Trump in particular. He’s not arguing from a position of fact like he does with some other topics, but from feelings.
I think you’re missing my point so let me try to do better at explaining what I mean.
I couldn’t care less as to whether Glenn, John, you, I, or anyone else likes Trump, hates Trump, likes Biden, or hates Biden. I don’t wish to debate the merits of Biden or Trump. In fact I would say I think neither should be candidates. If we were a serious country we’d be demanding a much higher standard.
What I object to is someone like John, who is supposed to be an intellectual and therefore interested in ideas and the truth, saying that it’s ok to break and bend the rules of our country to get Trump, “because it’s Trump”. I find that to be a disgusting attitude, and a contemptuous idea.
As Glenn was correctly, in my opinion, stating; we should all be concerned about the precedent that has now been set by prosecution of Trump on nonsense charges. This is a terrible path for our country to now be on. I would hope you and I can agree on that much at least?
I’ll ask that specifically so it doesn’t get missed; do you agree that prosecution of political rivals is a bad precedent for our nation?
So back to my point; I think John has a morally questionable position, and again one I find personally to be contemptuous of anyone living in our great country. The reason I mention that he doesn’t hold Biden to the same standard is simply to backup my point. There are many people who believe there are actually legitimate grounds to prosecute Biden. The Robert Hur report stated as much. So following John’s reasoning, should we now prosecute Biden and every other corrupt politician?
The answer to that may be yes, and having a clear out may be actually what’s best to start getting serious and honest candidates again.
But that aside my complaint is that John, who is an intellectual, has such a huge double standard that he’s willing to suspend law and precedent just to get rid of someone that he doesn’t like.
Remember that right or wrong half the country at least, likes Trump.
Currently, according to the recent Pew survey of African Americans, (with a sample size of 8,709 and a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points) 83% of Black registered voters identify with the Democratic Party, or lean Democratic, while 12% are Republican or lean Republican. While it is true that this is a smaller share than the 88% who identified with the Democratic Party in 2020, it is well within the level of party identification the majority of Black voters have felt toward the Democratic Party over the last 30 years. There is no evidence that these patterns have changed significantly since the 2020 election and, absent some major historical event not currently on the horizon, they aren’t about to in 2024.
There is, however, one unique aspect to Pew’s recent findings on Black voters that helps explain the current media fascination with Biden’s support, or possible lack thereof, among Black voters. In a reversal of the age profile in the rest of the electorate, younger Black voters have tended to be more Republican than older Black voters over the last 25 years. In Pew’s latest survey, 17% of Black voters under 50 either strongly align with or lean toward the Republican Party, while only seven percent of Black voters over 50 identified with the GOP. As with Black party identification overall, this pattern has not changed over the past three decades
Joe Biden and family, like the Clinton's or Obama's are now worth hundred's of millions of dollars, all from a monthly salary? DofR should investigate. Trump can explain his wealth and it has taken the combined power of a corrupt POTUS; DofJ, and NYC judge to frame Trump and convict him of a no-crime, crime. John McWhorter's ignorance as to the Democrat Party is more than shocking it is a willful refused to see.
I would suspect that 80%+ of all political speeches are not written by the speaker.
(And that may be low)
If it's a brilliant speech....if it's an incredibly stupid, demaning, racist, and insulting speech....if you're the one speaking, it's your speech: you get the credit; you get the blame.
I agree with your reply to my post, and the several similar ones. Biden gave the speech, and he's as culpable as anyone for the content.
My comment was intended as a criticism of John, and maybe I should have made that clearer.
John himself rightly criticizes the content of the speech, but then passes it off as the ranting of an out-of-touch old man. John's dismissal is summarized around the 1:20 mark, where he says the speech is "one more sign of his [Biden's] antiquity."
I like John, and I respect his intellect. But he has some huge blind spots.
This speech, like anything scripted coming out of Biden's mouth, is the work of much younger, more supple minds than Biden's (or that Biden ever had). It was intended to demoralize and inflame its audience. And it was intended to tell them exactly who they should turn to stop the injustices that they are purportedly subject to.
It's not clear who made the call when it came to the final version of the speech.
The black people around Biden are all older and upper income. Many of them struggle to understand the issues that resonate with young black people. The White House Juneteenth celebration is a good example of the kinds of black people who are in Biden's circle. The crowd and the performing artists (e.g., Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight) are older and have upscale sensibilities. Use this link to see an AP video of the event:
You will struggle to find many black people who appear to be under the age of 45 or are working class. It's not surprising that Biden struggles to connect with these black voters. .
Isn't Biden just Charles Murray, Jared Taylor, Amy Wax, et al. in blackface? As Matt Taibbi brought to focus the last 18 months this latest democrat homily from Biden is an example of "malinformation" and I just laugh so incredibly hard. I didn't see the speech but I imagine Biden was called sir and the graduates referred to as boys. Possibly a few "yes'sums" could be heard coming from the audience. Was there a voter registry done at the end of the event? Didn't Biden wash their feet and ask for forgiveness?
Charles Murray and Amy Wax are as disappointedly mindful of the one standard deviation in IQ, measured on average in some groups, as are African-Americans. It is upsetting, but 'Evolution' remains unconcerned. IQ is the luck of the draw.
Audience reactions to these speeches speak for themselves. President Biden's message of ongoing racial discrimination (What is democracy if you have to be 10 times better than anyone else to get a fair shot?) fell flat compared to Dr. Black's message of empowerment (Here they come, y'all!).
Hopeless pedantry on the Bassett speech that according to Dave Marsh Ruth Brown is the first woman widely identified as a rock and roll singer and "Lucky Lips" reached #25 pop in 1957. (The Billboard Hot 100 was not unveiled until the following year.)
But he made my point that I recalled reading that 60% of Morehouse students receive Pell Grants and the quality of how they have to work hard is different than someone who thinks that they are a failure if they don't work for Latham and Watkins.
People on the right almost universally condemned Biden's speech. Some came with facts to refute Biden's message of racial discrimination. Here's an excerpt from a review that David Harsanyi wrote for The Federalist:
But most companies, schools, and institutions these days go out of their way to find nonwhite candidates to diversify their operations. According to Morehouse’s own statistics, nearly 83 percent of its graduates have a job right now or are continuing their education. The 70 percent employment rate is the same as the national average. The top 20 employers of Morehouse graduates include industry giants like Deloitte, Cigna, Google, Lockheed Martin, and AT&T. The average starting salary for a Morehouse graduate is $76,543. The average starting salary of a person with a bachelor’s degree in the United States is $68,516.
Embedded links don't cut and paste into a Substack post, but you can access them by using the link I provided. Here's a link for a Morehouse web page titled, "Student Outcomes;"
As Harsanyi points out, Morehouse's Class of 2023 is doing well. That's not to say that student debt isn't an issue for Morehouse graduates. This NBC News piece said that the average graduate in the class of 2019 had between 35 and 40 thousand dollars of student debt before Robert Smith agreed to pay off the student loans for the entire graduating class:
No, I do not question that prestigious institutions recruit at Morehouse, I was singling out the line about having to work 20-30 hours a week to keep body and soul together and maybe support one's family while in college.
But the idea that Biden has no clue how to go out there and talk to younger Black people with less education than those Morehouse graduates is worrying at least to me.
If the desired audience is Black WOMEN the fellow Black woman will sometimes say that her peers do nothing but work and sometimes have the equivalent of a second full-time job in community service. She will also sometimes say that the organization in which the Black woman is underrepresented does not appreciate the work.
Hilarious. Now criticize the Black Republicans running for Governor of North Carolina and for Senator in Minnesota. Are these great role modes for young Black men?
Given the disparity in wealth between Black families and white families, Morehouse graduates will have to work harder to build familial wealth.
The grounds where Men of Morehouse become Morehouse Men is sacred ground. Many graduates turned their backs to Biden during his speech. Professors behind Biden stood up and unfurled a Congolese flag to point out the ignored genocide in that country. Another Professor silently held up a raised fist. There was not going to be physical turmoil or shouts of protest because it is sacred ground. Conservatives miss the forest for the trees.
The president of Morehouse made it clear ahead of time that commencement would be cancelled if Biden's speech was interrupted:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/05/16/morehouse-college-graduation-ceremonies-cancelled-if-joe-biden-speech-interrupted/73719262007/
Faculty was divided over the Biden invitation, but they knew they could show disapproval.
TAURA TAYLOR: Yes. So, one of the things that I understood was that there is definitely a contingent amongst our community regarding the invitation for Biden, one, to be the commencement speaker, but then, on top of that, that he was to receive an honorary degree. Luckily, now I can speak kind of freely, because some of our information has become public, but the faculty, we basically were basically divided regarding wanting Biden as a commencement speaker, but we understood that we could voice our discontent, but we were not going to rescind him being the commencement speaker.
The Morehouse valedictorian called for a ceasefire in his commencement speech.
AMY GOODMAN: And can you talk about DeAngelo Fletcher, the psychology major, the valedictorian’s call for an immediate ceasefire, the significance of what he did, standing before, really, the world, because this was being broadcast by many news outlets around the world?
TAURA TAYLOR: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: And then also President Biden calling for immediate ceasefire, Dr. Taylor?
TAURA TAYLOR: Yes. So, I was proud of Fletcher. He wasn’t a student of mine. And I also understood the mounting pressure for these students, basically, to make a statement or to not make a statement. And the young man, even as he spoke, he said he was a little bit nervous about being the valedictorian, knowing that he would have to give a speech. I mean, anyone who’s ever done public speaking can understand. You know, everyone’s there. Your family’s there. You don’t know what your nerves are going to be, but now this heightened moment. And the fact that he made the statement — and there was some divide even amongst the students — that he took this moment to basically use his platform to make a statement, I was very proud of him. I mean, it brought honor to his fellow peers, but it also honor to those of us who stand on the shoulders of Dr. King, because one of the things that we’re also always hearing about being faculty and in community at Morehouse is that this is Dr. King’s alma mater and that we should stand up for social justice and humanitarianism. And at the same time, we, as a community, get another message from our administration in terms of how to not embarrass the college, to be dignified and to engage in a certain form of respectability politics. So, for that young man to take that moment to send that message, I was very, very proud of him.
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/5/20/morehouse_college_biden_speech
Morehouse’s president did not want the spectacle of students being removed by police.
Wrong message?
That's what you say if you confuse a phone number, or misremember a date.
What Biden unleashed, there at Morehouse, was an anti-American, racist, hate-filled rant. It was the twisted, unanchored maundering of an aged fool trotted out in a vain, and selfishly politicized attempt to pander votes from those he quite sincerely believes are incapable of making a decision for themselves. He knows best, or so he and the balance of the Democratic party believes, what is 'best for them young Black Folk'.
Big Daddy Varner makes a speech to the little people, the common people, the people whom he believes are just waiting for him to tell 'em when and how high to jump. And jump they should, or so he tells them, to avoid all those bad things that bad America (who loves them not nearly as much as Big Daddy loves them) would undoubtedly otherwise do.
I'm surprised we didn't hear the rest of the ramble: "I guess you don't know who I am. I better introduce myself. I'm the big landowner, chief moneylender in these parts. I'm commissioner of elections, veterinarian, own a store and a cotton gin and a grist mill and a blacksmith shop... and it's considered unlucky for a man to do his trading or gin his cotton or grind his meal or shoe his stock anywhere else. Now that's who I am." Call me Mr. President!
How angry can we / should we get at Joe Biden for spewing such garbage?
Why should there be a limit?
The fact that he's consistent in this racist, Heepish litany, decade after decade....the fact that he's been saying the same thing since forever, does not make what he said any less hateful and divisive & wrong. So yes, we should hate it! Hate it with a passion!
Or not.
We can always, nod our head, shuffle & say: 'You're right, boss. Without your help, your guidance, your steering hand on my shoulder, pointing me in the right direction, and giving me a consistent push, I sho wouldn't have a clue out there in that big, scary world of yours. Thank goodness you're giving me money, you're giving my family money... thank goodness you're fixing our plumbing and giving us free hi-speed internet (woulda been nice if he'd quoted some speedcheck numbers!).... Thank goodness you're dumping my student debt obligations on someone else! (I sure wouldn't want to pay it). And I especially like the fact that you're deliberately, consciously, with malice aforethought celebrating your continued efforts as President of the United States to reject what the Supreme Court quite clearly said.
I'm glad you're breaking the law to fill my pockets, Mr. Commander in Chief, sir! And all you want, in return, is my vote!?
Heck yes...and maybe you can get me a job, there at the Big White House, with all them other Morehouse grads you told me about!!
It would have been an honor to have the President speak at any graduation.
But Biden is no President.
The whole graduating class should have walked out.
Listening to John on Biden and giving him a pass "How mad can you be with Biden he is old." compared to the way he seems to imply a veiled assaisnation desire against Trump is startling. Until John clarifies what the hell he was alluding to when he stumbled through some word salad against Trump, that is what I will assume he was inferring. In the interim, John's blatant soft take on Biden's pandering and demeaning speech is a testament to the fact he will sacrifice his ideals for the Democrat party.
In fact, John is obviously mistaken in giving Biden a pass on the contents of the speech due to Biden's age because Biden didn't write the speech. People who are younger and more mentally supple than Biden is (or ever was) did and deliberately chose to demoralize the graduating students in order to persuade them to keep seeking "help" from the Democratic Party.
Biden gave the speech and is responsible for doing so, but for John to give Biden a pass on a speech whose content John disagrees with is an analytical failure on John's part that is inconsistent with his intellect.
Either conciously or subconciously John can't really bring himself to take down the left full throttle anymore. I feel that he feels guilty for the way that the his book "Woke Racism" was used to combat the Democrats craziness.... Just a couple of months after the books was published he started to backpeddle on the book. He is a man torn between what he knows to be just and the fact that it will mean the Republicans will gain power since, for the most part, that is the party that is more aligned with his ideals on equal rights and fairness for all. He has struggled with that notion on this substack in episodes. Shit, there is even a clip where John is called out to pick a side. We are not at a time for waffling anymore. Democrat party, in my opinion is beyond repair. It has been hijacked by Democrat Socialisist, Communists and Marxists. Moderate Dems will not break with them because they will cede power to the right. I have always considered myself a Classical Liberal and I believe that John is from that same cut of person. I was always fiscally conservative and socially liberal (in what those terms meant decades ago) I feel that the best of both parties held my ideals. But now.... the Dem party is the party of racism, hate and have nothing to offer moderates.... I think John knows that....but purely speculation on my part :)
I agree pretty much with your assessment of John. I think that deep down he and Glenn are close on almost all issues, so the comparison between how they present themselves might be illuminating.
Glenn's been to hell and back quite a few times (as his memoir makes clear, on tickets he purchased himself). Now he's somewhat of an elder statesman, close with a number of other people of his generation on all sides of the issues he comments on, and firmly entrenched at Brown for however long he wants to stay at it. At this stage in his life, he feels comfortable saying what's on his mind.
John's quite a bit younger, his life is centered in New York City and academia, and he wants to continue to be accepted by the circles he moves in. I think that plays into how he expresses his opinions and even influences the opinions themselves.
Biden is old. Trump has dementia. Trump is talking about shark attacks and is having major difficulty finding words during his speeches. Trump is also telegraphing the punishment he will hand out to those who don’t support him. Biden will win.
This would normally be posed as a question but given my comment on the last conversation where I state I lost all respect for John with his ‘it’s ok to break the rules because it’s Trump’ comment, I’ll just say this: John always makes excuses for Biden and the Democrats on things that if it were a Republican, and especially if his last name were Trump, he’d be all over it.
Seriously John, as a thought experiment imagine if Trump had delivered that speech and respond.
You are proving yourself to be intellectually dishonest time and again on these matters and I don’t know how anyone is supposed to take your seriously when your TDS is so strong.
I suppose growing up privileged as you did causes a certain amount of bias, as we all have in different ways, but it’s sad to see that your bias is so strongly in favor of the elites who as Glenn rightly says just spoke down to a group of black men.
A Fox News pundit says Blacks will vote for Trump because they love tennis shoes.
Fox News contributor suggested that Black voters would back Donald Trump in the 2024 election because they "love sneakers."
Raymond Arroyo made the remarks on The Big Weekend Show while discussing the $399 limited-edition shoes that Trump promoted at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia on Saturday.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-sneakers-black-vote-fox-news-host-raymond-arroyo-1872363
Former president Donald Trump sought to appeal to Black voters on Friday night in South Carolina by repeatedly citing the 91 felony charges he faces and comparing them to unfair treatment from the criminal justice system toward minorities in America.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/24/trump-black-voters-indicted-mug-shot/
Given the above, no serious person believes Conservatives are really outraged by Biden’s speech. Nothing was more offensive than Republicans running Herschel Walker for the Senate, and promoting Diamond & Silk.
There was also the dancing done by Black Voices for Trump.
https://fb.watch/sFo7CCb40L/?
I’m not outraged, and I understand that politicians are always going to pander to people in their own ways. Biden showed up at a black family home with a bucket of fried chicken for gods sake!
The point isn’t that politicians do these stupid things, or that people fall for it.
My point was the fact that John continually refuses to apply the same fairness and logic to what the Democrats do, to what the Republicans do, and even more specifically Trump and Biden, is what I take issue with.
To put it more simply; if John is to be taken seriously as a commentator or pundit, then he must be as impartial and unbiased as possible, and also point out and acknowledge where his biases are. He is doing none of that.
The ‘it’s ok to break the rules because it’s Trump’ statement shows, in my opinion, a real immaturity and dishonesty. The fact that a serious scholar will say throw away the rules because I don’t like this man is contemptuous in my opinion.
Do you view Dr. Loury as impartial and unbiased? Is Clarence Thomas a grifter?
Is Clarence Thomas a grifter? I personally don’t think so but I’m not sure I understand the relevance of the question. Could you clarify?
Using your views on Thomas as a barometer.
Of course he’s not without bias, no one is. Buy like I said, I would expect someone of John or Glenn’s caliber to be aware of their bias, and to call it out for themselves. Glenn seems to do that, I see Glenn critiquing his own opinions often. John has a huge blind spot with Trump in particular. He’s not arguing from a position of fact like he does with some other topics, but from feelings.
It is a fact that Trump had to shut down a charity and a university. It is a fact that he was found liable for sexual abuse.
I think you have a blind spot favoring Trump.
I think you’re missing my point so let me try to do better at explaining what I mean.
I couldn’t care less as to whether Glenn, John, you, I, or anyone else likes Trump, hates Trump, likes Biden, or hates Biden. I don’t wish to debate the merits of Biden or Trump. In fact I would say I think neither should be candidates. If we were a serious country we’d be demanding a much higher standard.
What I object to is someone like John, who is supposed to be an intellectual and therefore interested in ideas and the truth, saying that it’s ok to break and bend the rules of our country to get Trump, “because it’s Trump”. I find that to be a disgusting attitude, and a contemptuous idea.
As Glenn was correctly, in my opinion, stating; we should all be concerned about the precedent that has now been set by prosecution of Trump on nonsense charges. This is a terrible path for our country to now be on. I would hope you and I can agree on that much at least?
I’ll ask that specifically so it doesn’t get missed; do you agree that prosecution of political rivals is a bad precedent for our nation?
So back to my point; I think John has a morally questionable position, and again one I find personally to be contemptuous of anyone living in our great country. The reason I mention that he doesn’t hold Biden to the same standard is simply to backup my point. There are many people who believe there are actually legitimate grounds to prosecute Biden. The Robert Hur report stated as much. So following John’s reasoning, should we now prosecute Biden and every other corrupt politician?
The answer to that may be yes, and having a clear out may be actually what’s best to start getting serious and honest candidates again.
But that aside my complaint is that John, who is an intellectual, has such a huge double standard that he’s willing to suspend law and precedent just to get rid of someone that he doesn’t like.
Remember that right or wrong half the country at least, likes Trump.
Currently, according to the recent Pew survey of African Americans, (with a sample size of 8,709 and a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points) 83% of Black registered voters identify with the Democratic Party, or lean Democratic, while 12% are Republican or lean Republican. While it is true that this is a smaller share than the 88% who identified with the Democratic Party in 2020, it is well within the level of party identification the majority of Black voters have felt toward the Democratic Party over the last 30 years. There is no evidence that these patterns have changed significantly since the 2020 election and, absent some major historical event not currently on the horizon, they aren’t about to in 2024.
There is, however, one unique aspect to Pew’s recent findings on Black voters that helps explain the current media fascination with Biden’s support, or possible lack thereof, among Black voters. In a reversal of the age profile in the rest of the electorate, younger Black voters have tended to be more Republican than older Black voters over the last 25 years. In Pew’s latest survey, 17% of Black voters under 50 either strongly align with or lean toward the Republican Party, while only seven percent of Black voters over 50 identified with the GOP. As with Black party identification overall, this pattern has not changed over the past three decades
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/are-black-voters-deserting-biden/
Joe Biden and family, like the Clinton's or Obama's are now worth hundred's of millions of dollars, all from a monthly salary? DofR should investigate. Trump can explain his wealth and it has taken the combined power of a corrupt POTUS; DofJ, and NYC judge to frame Trump and convict him of a no-crime, crime. John McWhorter's ignorance as to the Democrat Party is more than shocking it is a willful refused to see.
I thought it was clueless and insulting to the students, profs, administration and parents!
We should keep in mind that Biden did not write the speech he gave at Morehouse.
His speech, regardless of who wrote it.
I would suspect that 80%+ of all political speeches are not written by the speaker.
(And that may be low)
If it's a brilliant speech....if it's an incredibly stupid, demaning, racist, and insulting speech....if you're the one speaking, it's your speech: you get the credit; you get the blame.
I agree with your reply to my post, and the several similar ones. Biden gave the speech, and he's as culpable as anyone for the content.
My comment was intended as a criticism of John, and maybe I should have made that clearer.
John himself rightly criticizes the content of the speech, but then passes it off as the ranting of an out-of-touch old man. John's dismissal is summarized around the 1:20 mark, where he says the speech is "one more sign of his [Biden's] antiquity."
I like John, and I respect his intellect. But he has some huge blind spots.
This speech, like anything scripted coming out of Biden's mouth, is the work of much younger, more supple minds than Biden's (or that Biden ever had). It was intended to demoralize and inflame its audience. And it was intended to tell them exactly who they should turn to stop the injustices that they are purportedly subject to.
Agree completely!
CNN reported that Team Biden consulted several prominent Morehouse alumni while crafting that speech:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/17/politics/biden-morehouse-commencement-speech/index.html
It's not clear who made the call when it came to the final version of the speech.
The black people around Biden are all older and upper income. Many of them struggle to understand the issues that resonate with young black people. The White House Juneteenth celebration is a good example of the kinds of black people who are in Biden's circle. The crowd and the performing artists (e.g., Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight) are older and have upscale sensibilities. Use this link to see an AP video of the event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZCxjiLqyEU
You will struggle to find many black people who appear to be under the age of 45 or are working class. It's not surprising that Biden struggles to connect with these black voters. .
He didn't rewrite it either.
FYI, I received another reply similar to yours and posted a response to it, clarifying my original post.
Isn't Biden just Charles Murray, Jared Taylor, Amy Wax, et al. in blackface? As Matt Taibbi brought to focus the last 18 months this latest democrat homily from Biden is an example of "malinformation" and I just laugh so incredibly hard. I didn't see the speech but I imagine Biden was called sir and the graduates referred to as boys. Possibly a few "yes'sums" could be heard coming from the audience. Was there a voter registry done at the end of the event? Didn't Biden wash their feet and ask for forgiveness?
2024??! I'm nauseous!
Charles Murray and Amy Wax are as disappointedly mindful of the one standard deviation in IQ, measured on average in some groups, as are African-Americans. It is upsetting, but 'Evolution' remains unconcerned. IQ is the luck of the draw.
Well stated both. Thank you!
The contrast between President Biden's Morehouse commencement speech and those delivered at the other Atlanta University Center schools was stark.
Let's start with Kirk Franklin's address at Morris Brown:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_wtIatrs18
Follow that up with Angela Bassett's address at Spelman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB11-fOoCWo
Buckle your seat belts before you watch Dr. Daniel Black's commencement speech at Clark Atlanta University:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOLT59C452I
Some are saying it was the best HBCU commencement address ever
https://www.ajc.com/education/the-best-hbcu-commencement-address-ever/ZEPX7HKTN5GODHFVQLVJBQVK4I/
Audience reactions to these speeches speak for themselves. President Biden's message of ongoing racial discrimination (What is democracy if you have to be 10 times better than anyone else to get a fair shot?) fell flat compared to Dr. Black's message of empowerment (Here they come, y'all!).
Biden is telling a group of people they can't when the whole world is showing they can. Someone is badly out of step.
Hopeless pedantry on the Bassett speech that according to Dave Marsh Ruth Brown is the first woman widely identified as a rock and roll singer and "Lucky Lips" reached #25 pop in 1957. (The Billboard Hot 100 was not unveiled until the following year.)
More like best commencement speech ever.
It was definitely a barn burner!
But he made my point that I recalled reading that 60% of Morehouse students receive Pell Grants and the quality of how they have to work hard is different than someone who thinks that they are a failure if they don't work for Latham and Watkins.
People on the right almost universally condemned Biden's speech. Some came with facts to refute Biden's message of racial discrimination. Here's an excerpt from a review that David Harsanyi wrote for The Federalist:
https://thefederalist.com/2024/05/23/will-racial-paranoia-still-work-for-democrats-in-2024/
But most companies, schools, and institutions these days go out of their way to find nonwhite candidates to diversify their operations. According to Morehouse’s own statistics, nearly 83 percent of its graduates have a job right now or are continuing their education. The 70 percent employment rate is the same as the national average. The top 20 employers of Morehouse graduates include industry giants like Deloitte, Cigna, Google, Lockheed Martin, and AT&T. The average starting salary for a Morehouse graduate is $76,543. The average starting salary of a person with a bachelor’s degree in the United States is $68,516.
Embedded links don't cut and paste into a Substack post, but you can access them by using the link I provided. Here's a link for a Morehouse web page titled, "Student Outcomes;"
https://careerdevelopment.morehouse.edu/outcomes/
As Harsanyi points out, Morehouse's Class of 2023 is doing well. That's not to say that student debt isn't an issue for Morehouse graduates. This NBC News piece said that the average graduate in the class of 2019 had between 35 and 40 thousand dollars of student debt before Robert Smith agreed to pay off the student loans for the entire graduating class:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/billionaire-pays-34-million-settle-morehouse-student-loan-debt-class-n1057321
No, I do not question that prestigious institutions recruit at Morehouse, I was singling out the line about having to work 20-30 hours a week to keep body and soul together and maybe support one's family while in college.
I'm not aware of any data about this.
I was inspired by being asked to give money for the student basic needs fund operated by UMSL
Different FROM. I can write English.
"Home of the Holy Ghost" :)
But the idea that Biden has no clue how to go out there and talk to younger Black people with less education than those Morehouse graduates is worrying at least to me.
If the desired audience is Black WOMEN the fellow Black woman will sometimes say that her peers do nothing but work and sometimes have the equivalent of a second full-time job in community service. She will also sometimes say that the organization in which the Black woman is underrepresented does not appreciate the work.
Great points, Glenn! Thank you.
Hilarious. Now criticize the Black Republicans running for Governor of North Carolina and for Senator in Minnesota. Are these great role modes for young Black men?
Explain why they aren't.
Explain why they are great role models.
Robinson says Blacks should pay reparations.
White says women are too mouthy and spent campaign funds at a strip club.