John McWhorter is back again for the latest installment of our ongoing conversation. This week we’re tackling racist taunts, the resignations of labor leaders in LA, the “victim” role, and more.
We begin by discussing John’s recent New York Times column focusing on an alleged racist heckling incident at a college volleyball game. Given the absence of any corroborating evidence, John doubts any racist taunting ever took place. In fact, he’s now usually skeptical whenever claims of outrageously racist behavior arise (like screamed racial epithets and hung nooses). If you can’t take the pressure, you’re going to find it hard to compete, in sports or in any other arena of life. We move on to the recent blow-up at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, where several leaders have resigned following the leak of a recording that captured them making racist remarks. John notes that, while their comments are unacceptable, they’re not unprecedented behind closed doors. We go on to discuss the ways that exaggerating one’s status as a “victim” can pay off. And finally, we talk about John’s column decrying anti-Asian discrimination at elite schools and plan for my daughter Tamara’s upcoming TGS appearance.
Another fun one is in the books. As I always, I look forward to reading your comments.
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Featured Content from City Journal
Chris Pope on the Brett Favre scandal in Mississippi and what it says about America's broken system of “cost-shift welfare federalism.”
0:00 Is racist heckling at sporting events a real problem?
15:13 John: “If you can’t be made fun of, you’re not part of the group”
26:42 The LA City Council racism scandal
34:10 Why is there no Latino Michael Brown?
41:22 Exalting (and exaggerating) the victim role
47:47 Glenn’s daughter’s upcoming appearance on The Glenn Show
49:48 Elite discrimination against Asians
Links and Readings
John’s NYT piece, “What a Report of Extreme Racism Teaches Us”
Wilfred Reilly’s book, Hate Crime Hoax: How the Left Is Selling a Fake Race War
John’s NYT piece, “Stop Making Asian Americans Pay the Price for Campus Diversity”
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