I just listened to the clip where you discuss the history of racism in America. I agree completely with your summary. As to the question you raise about why slavery and racism persisted for as long as it did, I would posit that it had a lot to do with Darwinian ideas as laid out in his book, “The Descent of Man”, where he refrains from actually ranking races, but sets the foundation for doing so. As his ideas were further developed, others had no compunctions and explicitly set up rankings with blacks just above animals and Northern Europeans at the top. In his newly published book, “ Darwinian Racism, How Darwinism Influenced Naziism, Racism, and White Nationalism”, Richard Weikart clearly documents this using primary sources. I would highly recommend this book because we are still dealing with these deep ceded ideas today. Another recommendation I would make is a powerful documentary video I saw on YouTube called “Human Zoos”. It was difficult to watch, but it clearly demonstrates the cultural and scientific ideas about race in the late 19th and early 20th century.
I just listened to the clip where you discuss the history of racism in America. I agree completely with your summary. As to the question you raise about why slavery and racism persisted for as long as it did, I would posit that it had a lot to do with Darwinian ideas as laid out in his book, “The Descent of Man”, where he refrains from actually ranking races, but sets the foundation for doing so. As his ideas were further developed, others had no compunctions and explicitly set up rankings with blacks just above animals and Northern Europeans at the top. In his newly published book, “ Darwinian Racism, How Darwinism Influenced Naziism, Racism, and White Nationalism”, Richard Weikart clearly documents this using primary sources. I would highly recommend this book because we are still dealing with these deep ceded ideas today.
I have always looked askance at the assertion that systemic racism is a major favor obstructing black progress in the 21st century. Moreover I’ve never really heard anyone explain to me what it is clearly. That is, until Glenn circa 2000 just laid it out in the clearest possible manner. That was an absolutely brilliant breakdown of the social structures that result in a smorgasbord of inferior outcomes and how they are based on a system constructed and refined at a time when anti-black racism was not only prevalent but the de facto way of behavior.
But then again, I don’t see so much discord between Glenn 2000 and Glenn 2020. As with so many “debates” in this country, the argument isn’t about WHAT’s wrong but rather about HOW we should try to fix it.
Thanks again and as always for these podcasts. Ancora Imparo.
Is it possible to agree with the old Glenn and new Glenn. I think so. I believe it’s apparent 20+ yrs ago any implementation the government puts forth falls short and does so at the expense of the people those programs were meant to help. Bandaids don’t work. Which leads to “no one is coming to save you.” The government pacifies without ever doing the “hard stuff.” IE now we hear “gun violence,” so remove guns or more gun laws. Or “Black Lives Matter,” which is a slogan of no substance and a group who has literally done nothing for the black people. There are many of these examples.
What were you (what are you) proposing as "work" toward improving life? Specifics matter. What specifically do think white folk should do and why? Will white efforts be accepted or rejected by BIPOC? Should "changes" be imposed from the top down? How would people react, assuming it would be difficult, if not impossible, to reach consensus about what should be done?
I’m also Glenn’s age. Personally, 95% of any hope that I had for a better future has vanished. Consider the cultural impacts of Rap; BLM; Joy Reid, communist Pan-Africanist spirit of CLR James/FFanon by Quintez Brown and the challenge of agency. I fail to see how the history of black-on-black crime/murder rates will decline in the future. Though a few individual bi-racial relationships will stand as small examples of progress, I don’t think social peace among the races will ever arise in the US. Race and racial identity will remain intractable dividing lines for decades, until/unless the philosophy of Joy Reid, Quintez Brown, and Snoop Dog are rejected, in-toto. Or, until the white folks become the psychological lapdogs to hip-hop and denigration of academic standards and rigor. At what point in the future can anyone believe that when a black is fired for objective cause, there will not be a Federal investigation for allegations of bias and white racism?
Racial harmony? Racial peace and equality? Perhaps among a few academic departments at Yale and Harvard, but nowhere else. Populist winds of hip-hop/Rap among the masses clearly show that the future will be anti-intellectual, rigor-less, and characterized by a new totalitarian intolerance.
I was a bit surprised at Glenn's hesitancy in relation to some of this. The Old Glenn clips had a fire in the belly that reminded me of what I once liked about Malcolm X. But Malcolm X also had a New Glenn side of him that said white people are NOT going to do it for black people, blacks must do it for themselves. I think that is far more so now than it was in the 1960s. The New Glenn has of course harped eloquently on that theme as well, but here he seemed to be a bit too deferential to the Old Glenn. If there is a follow up to this, I think he needs to hit back at his old self with a bit more gusto (and just for the record, I say this as someone who could easily do likewise to my old selves).
My second comment is about Gloria Ladsen-Billings whom you and John have spoken about. I came across a Critical Race Theory lecture of hers here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=katwPTn-nhE where she essentially seems to think that CRT is recounting all of the racism that existed in the past in America. It seems to me that "CRT" advocates merely want more more lengthly recounting and discussion of all of the racism in the past. At one point she says "When white people talk about color blindness, they think it absolves them of the nation's deepest sin." She seems to really be intending to blame white people for lots of racism existing in the past almost like the people she's talking to did it.
Hey Glenn, I wasn't sure where to post this. Briahna Joy Gray did a YouTube video/podcast with Thomas Chatterton-Williams and a Jewish woman, and she (Briahna) just insisted Jews were "white" in America. Anyone with a brain knows that most (not all) Jews have olive skin and darker hair and eyes than a Nordic person. What is with the insistence on this degree of lying?
I paid my monthly Dues today. Don't know where to email this. I want to say: I am very happy to pay for my membership because you have Mr.s Petrov and Sussman working for you and doing amazing things, and because of the money you are donating to making the world better, as well as for your deep listening, and dedication to understanding and accurately representing complex and important issues.
Looks like Lajuan and Sussman are trying to tug you back to the left.
IMHO the left's (whether they identify as socialists, progressives or liberals) solution to every problem is to spend more money building larger more Byzantine bureaucracies that inevitably become self serving corrupt entities that are incapable of solving the problems they were created to solve.
It seems to me that Glenn of 2000 still believed it was government's responsibility to solve social problems. Glenn of 2022 focuses more on individual responsibility and initiative for solving problems as opposed to waiting for someone else to solve them for you. The Bob Woodson approach as opposed to the Ibrahim X. Kendi approach.
Interestingly, this demonstrates that your thinking was still quite powerful, logical, rigorous, serious, etc. back then, if today you're finding it so difficult to tear down your (slightly) younger self.
Most of us have no trouble at all tearing apart our thinking from 20 years ago =)
I just listened to the clip where you discuss the history of racism in America. I agree completely with your summary. As to the question you raise about why slavery and racism persisted for as long as it did, I would posit that it had a lot to do with Darwinian ideas as laid out in his book, “The Descent of Man”, where he refrains from actually ranking races, but sets the foundation for doing so. As his ideas were further developed, others had no compunctions and explicitly set up rankings with blacks just above animals and Northern Europeans at the top. In his newly published book, “ Darwinian Racism, How Darwinism Influenced Naziism, Racism, and White Nationalism”, Richard Weikart clearly documents this using primary sources. I would highly recommend this book because we are still dealing with these deep ceded ideas today. Another recommendation I would make is a powerful documentary video I saw on YouTube called “Human Zoos”. It was difficult to watch, but it clearly demonstrates the cultural and scientific ideas about race in the late 19th and early 20th century.
I just listened to the clip where you discuss the history of racism in America. I agree completely with your summary. As to the question you raise about why slavery and racism persisted for as long as it did, I would posit that it had a lot to do with Darwinian ideas as laid out in his book, “The Descent of Man”, where he refrains from actually ranking races, but sets the foundation for doing so. As his ideas were further developed, others had no compunctions and explicitly set up rankings with blacks just above animals and Northern Europeans at the top. In his newly published book, “ Darwinian Racism, How Darwinism Influenced Naziism, Racism, and White Nationalism”, Richard Weikart clearly documents this using primary sources. I would highly recommend this book because we are still dealing with these deep ceded ideas today.
I have always looked askance at the assertion that systemic racism is a major favor obstructing black progress in the 21st century. Moreover I’ve never really heard anyone explain to me what it is clearly. That is, until Glenn circa 2000 just laid it out in the clearest possible manner. That was an absolutely brilliant breakdown of the social structures that result in a smorgasbord of inferior outcomes and how they are based on a system constructed and refined at a time when anti-black racism was not only prevalent but the de facto way of behavior.
But then again, I don’t see so much discord between Glenn 2000 and Glenn 2020. As with so many “debates” in this country, the argument isn’t about WHAT’s wrong but rather about HOW we should try to fix it.
Thanks again and as always for these podcasts. Ancora Imparo.
Is it possible to agree with the old Glenn and new Glenn. I think so. I believe it’s apparent 20+ yrs ago any implementation the government puts forth falls short and does so at the expense of the people those programs were meant to help. Bandaids don’t work. Which leads to “no one is coming to save you.” The government pacifies without ever doing the “hard stuff.” IE now we hear “gun violence,” so remove guns or more gun laws. Or “Black Lives Matter,” which is a slogan of no substance and a group who has literally done nothing for the black people. There are many of these examples.
As a mere listener, I limit my comments:
What were you (what are you) proposing as "work" toward improving life? Specifics matter. What specifically do think white folk should do and why? Will white efforts be accepted or rejected by BIPOC? Should "changes" be imposed from the top down? How would people react, assuming it would be difficult, if not impossible, to reach consensus about what should be done?
I’m also Glenn’s age. Personally, 95% of any hope that I had for a better future has vanished. Consider the cultural impacts of Rap; BLM; Joy Reid, communist Pan-Africanist spirit of CLR James/FFanon by Quintez Brown and the challenge of agency. I fail to see how the history of black-on-black crime/murder rates will decline in the future. Though a few individual bi-racial relationships will stand as small examples of progress, I don’t think social peace among the races will ever arise in the US. Race and racial identity will remain intractable dividing lines for decades, until/unless the philosophy of Joy Reid, Quintez Brown, and Snoop Dog are rejected, in-toto. Or, until the white folks become the psychological lapdogs to hip-hop and denigration of academic standards and rigor. At what point in the future can anyone believe that when a black is fired for objective cause, there will not be a Federal investigation for allegations of bias and white racism?
Racial harmony? Racial peace and equality? Perhaps among a few academic departments at Yale and Harvard, but nowhere else. Populist winds of hip-hop/Rap among the masses clearly show that the future will be anti-intellectual, rigor-less, and characterized by a new totalitarian intolerance.
I was a bit surprised at Glenn's hesitancy in relation to some of this. The Old Glenn clips had a fire in the belly that reminded me of what I once liked about Malcolm X. But Malcolm X also had a New Glenn side of him that said white people are NOT going to do it for black people, blacks must do it for themselves. I think that is far more so now than it was in the 1960s. The New Glenn has of course harped eloquently on that theme as well, but here he seemed to be a bit too deferential to the Old Glenn. If there is a follow up to this, I think he needs to hit back at his old self with a bit more gusto (and just for the record, I say this as someone who could easily do likewise to my old selves).
My second comment is about Gloria Ladsen-Billings whom you and John have spoken about. I came across a Critical Race Theory lecture of hers here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=katwPTn-nhE where she essentially seems to think that CRT is recounting all of the racism that existed in the past in America. It seems to me that "CRT" advocates merely want more more lengthly recounting and discussion of all of the racism in the past. At one point she says "When white people talk about color blindness, they think it absolves them of the nation's deepest sin." She seems to really be intending to blame white people for lots of racism existing in the past almost like the people she's talking to did it.
Hey Glenn, I wasn't sure where to post this. Briahna Joy Gray did a YouTube video/podcast with Thomas Chatterton-Williams and a Jewish woman, and she (Briahna) just insisted Jews were "white" in America. Anyone with a brain knows that most (not all) Jews have olive skin and darker hair and eyes than a Nordic person. What is with the insistence on this degree of lying?
I paid my monthly Dues today. Don't know where to email this. I want to say: I am very happy to pay for my membership because you have Mr.s Petrov and Sussman working for you and doing amazing things, and because of the money you are donating to making the world better, as well as for your deep listening, and dedication to understanding and accurately representing complex and important issues.
Thanks!
A clever Idea.
Looks like Lajuan and Sussman are trying to tug you back to the left.
IMHO the left's (whether they identify as socialists, progressives or liberals) solution to every problem is to spend more money building larger more Byzantine bureaucracies that inevitably become self serving corrupt entities that are incapable of solving the problems they were created to solve.
It seems to me that Glenn of 2000 still believed it was government's responsibility to solve social problems. Glenn of 2022 focuses more on individual responsibility and initiative for solving problems as opposed to waiting for someone else to solve them for you. The Bob Woodson approach as opposed to the Ibrahim X. Kendi approach.
Great stuff, Dr. G.
Interestingly, this demonstrates that your thinking was still quite powerful, logical, rigorous, serious, etc. back then, if today you're finding it so difficult to tear down your (slightly) younger self.
Most of us have no trouble at all tearing apart our thinking from 20 years ago =)
This is utter brilliance - awesome!
This is a delightful idea and I can't wait to watch!