Call & Respone with Ralph Ellison

from my point of view.

First of all, the "plantation" metaphor. I use that all the time in referring to liberalism, and it has nothing to do with race. It has to do with a plantation being populated primarily with people being unable to freely express their opinions.... just like a slave plantation. Liberalism disallows any expression of opinion that strays from the dogma, regardless of the race of the person doing the expressing.


Second, and you hit it accurately, Flag, is the issue of "culture" being one of race. It's not... or at least shouldn't be. Theoretically, at least, we are supposed to be one culture: American. When we start having cultural subsets is when we start getting in trouble. It divides us (liberalism's goal) and sets us against each other. I don't recall King ever saying anything about remaining separate; "separate but equal" was a policy that was anathema. Now we have race p!mps extolling the idea. It's a form of Balkanization that will destroy the country eventually.

Ellison essentially excoriates Williams and Sowell for not being "Black enough", and that is one very unhealthy mindset.

On the plantation metaphor, you understand what it means, I understand what it means, and I wold wager that Ralph Ellison knowns what it means...but since a conservative says it it muist be a racial slur. Because, you know, all conservatives hate blacks...except for those they have induced to "sell out" and become conservatives. That is the attitude that I get not only from Ralph Ellison, but from liberals of all stripes when they see a black person who has decided that liberalism isn't working for them and they need to find a better way.

And you're right, IMO about Williams, Sowell, et al being slammed for not being "black enough". Ralph tells me how he respects my decision to be a consevative, but I have my doubts about that statement when Ralph goes on to basically call any strong conservative blacks sell outs. If that is how they view Williams, Sowell, Watts, or Keyes, then that is how they have to view me as well.

It just gets tiresome to hear the same old name-calling, and doubts about my "blackness" simply because I don't toe the Democrat/liberal party line. Liberals don't want there to be a free excgange of ideas...just an echo chamber of theirs.

you wrote, Flag, because it encapsulates the whole discussion so perfectly.

The sad thing is that they don't even see the irony. How can one not be "Black enough" if they're not saying that being "Black enough" means one has to think in a certain prescribed way?

Yet, all Whites apparently hate Blacks, as you said. I mean, if all of that isn't stereotyping personified, what is?

Well, I guess it certainly makes life easier, if you can just glance at a person's skin and know what they're thinking, and stick them in a cubbyhole without further analysis.

Yep, it does about sum it all up. And it is ironic that liberals do exactly the things that they claim to hate soooo much...stereotype, pigeonhole, and discriminate against anyone whose ideas do not squarely fit with the liberal ideas.

And the irony escapes them!

Talk about dense!



Along thos elines, I just posted a new Christmas-themed essay at the Island, "The Christmas Care and Feeding of Liberals"

Swing on by.

Interesting piece here. Ralph seems like a good sort, looks like he made the mistake of bringing a knife to a gunfight. Maybe I'm being over-simplistic here, but I don't much give a rat zazz about something as unimportant as to what makes a man a man simply by the color of the skin. Don't care if one is green, black,ttpink,or neon-blue,it is what they THINK,and how they state it,even if I disagree,is what counts. A HUGE problem in my eyes is the term RESPECT is like so many others in it's meaning has been severely bastardized by those who have ABSOLUTELY no idea of what it means. Hope this screed makes some sense.

It makes perfect sense, and I think you're right about Ralph. Even though I don't agree with his politics, I do like getting into these debates with him because for the most part he argues his points and refrains from the usual liberal name-calling that goes on. He has always been able to disagree with me without being disagreeable, and I appreciate that.