The Mainstreaming of Black Lives Matter
with John McWhorter and Ian Rowe
Black Lives Matter’s critical stance toward America's claims on democracy and justice is, in my view, disastrously misguided. So why is it so popular? In this excerpt from our recent conversation, John McWhorter, Ian Rowe, and I discuss the mainstreaming of BLM and ask whether there is any way to change course.
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The prescription isn't that hard. The implementation is harder. Ian Rowe kinda said it in that episode (albeit in his own GOP conservative kind of way).
That is to say, there is a major opportunity with what appears to be a silent majority out there. But my approach to this cohort would differ somewhat from Ian's.
Focus on people who aren't particularly political. People who care deeply about education and economic growth. People who care about the long-term success of their children and grandchildren.
Don't ask people to make a choice between Trump's Republican Party and Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. That's not a serious choice. It's not a serious conversation. And most serious people know this.
Find, encourage and promote conscientious people; decent people; logical people; entrepreneurs, scientists, thinkers, readers. But discourage groupthink-for-the-sake-of-groupthink.
Don't require people to feel confined to past norms unnecessarily. Yes, we want to conserve life's most fundamental and utilitarian principles, but we don't want to waste time on the periphery fighting over minutiae like vernacular, accents, clothing styles and musical choices. Don't worry about who is / is not a theist; or what kind of theist they are. Don't worry about who is / is not "patriotic".
Do NOT make your pitch about "America". Make it about the opportunities that exist throughout the world; because frankly, I don't think that any kid born between now and 20 years ago has a choice given the future of the economy.
These are my initial views. I am certain that even I will find glaring flaws in some of what I have said here, but I am more than happy to adjust as needed.
That’s the problem: ‘critical’ stance. They’re completely uncritical when it comes to thinking. Pure blind tribalism. We see it on the right and the left. Antiracism is racism.
Michael Mohr
‘Sincere American Writing’
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/