Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Race

  • Is ‘Wuhan Virus’ Racist?

    I'll grant you that it is if you grant me that leftism is a deadly virus and that leftists, 'liberals,' 'progressives,' and members of the Democrat Party in the USA knowingly and willingly carry and transmit it. Do we have a deal?  But if 'Wuhan Virus' is racist, then then so are the following: West…

  • The Wages of Frugality

    Some of us from modest origins will end up with more money than we will ever need or be able to spend. The wages of our frugality will not be spent by us but passed on to benefit others. We credit our success to the old-time virtues.  We understand that poverty is more a lack…

  • Stand Up for Innumeracy and Vote Democratic!

    If Michael Bloomberg had given the 500 million dollars he threw away on a quixotic bid for the Dem nod to the American people, then each of us 327 million would have received one million, and 173 million would be left over to be given as reparations to the 'victims' of "Stop and Frisk." Right?…

  • Which is Worse? Crime or ‘Racism’?

    'Racism' obviously. Take a stand against 'racism' and vote Democratic!   This short video demonstrates that crime is no big deal.

  • Is There Such a Thing as Racial Profiling?

    A re-post from 5 December 2014 …………………………… One of the tactics of leftists is to manipulate and misuse language for their own purposes.  Thus they make up words and phrases and hijack existing ones. 'Islamophobe' is an example of the former, 'disenfranchise' an example of the latter.    'Racial profiling' is a second example of the…

  • Some Questions about White Privilege

    There is a lot of talk these days about white privilege.  The notion cries out for some squinty-eyed scrutiny. 1. White privilege is presumably a type of privilege.  What is a privilege?  This is the logically prior question. To know what white privilege is we must first know what privilege is.  Let's consider some definitions. D1.  A privilege is…

  • Is ‘Again’ a Racist ‘Dog Whistle’?

    We must never forget the contemptibly vile things that regressive 'progressives' and illiberal 'liberals' say about us. This is a repost from 25 May 2016. …………….. Some liberal-left idiot is arguing that 'again' in Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' is a racist 'dog whistle.'  The suggestion is that Trump wants to bring back slavery…

  • Would a Cut in the Capital-Gains Tax be Racist?

    But of course: Most of us think of the capital-gains tax, if we think about it at all, as a policy that is neutral as regards questions of race or racism. But given that blacks are underrepresented among stockowners, Klein asked, would it be racist to support a capital-gains tax cut? “Yes,” Kendi answered, without…

  • Illegal Aliens and Black Reparations

    Here is another problem for the ill-starred notion of black reparations. Should those who reside illegally in the U. S. pay them? Why not? Don't they benefit from the putative legacy of slavery like everyone else?  On the  other hand, if you think that only the  descendants of slave-holders should pay reparations, then we citizens…

  • Amy Wax Interviewed

    Here is a taste: Once again, you’d have to define racism. You’re basically saying any generalization about a group, whether true or false—and we know it doesn’t apply to everybody in the group, because that’s just a straw man—is racist. I mean, we could do “sexist,” right? We could. So, women, on average, are more…

  • Grievance, Demand, and Supply

    The elimination of the causes of grievance does little to dampen demand for the need to feel aggrieved, a demand the Left is ever eager to supply, especially in matters racial. (My formulation of a Larry Elders riff.)

  • Environmental Racism!

    The other night we heard Elizabeth Warren speak of various forms of racism, including 'environmental racism.' Bear with me as I try to figure out what this might be. An industrial polluter dumps chemicals into a river. Now rivers come in colors. Anything that has a color, however, has a race. After all, race =…

  • Will Middle America Go Gentle . . .

    . . . into that good night? Patrick Buchanan: Writes The New York Times‘ Charles Blow in a column that uses “racist” or “racism” more than 30 times: Americans who do not concede that Trump is a racist—are themselves racists: “Make no mistake. Denying racism or refusing to call it out is also racist.” But…

  • Archeologists Discover Long Sought-After Racist Bone

    On Tuesday, in a region of Arizona once known for its Neolithic settlements, a prominent archeology team made a historic discovery when it unearthed a frequently referenced and formerly elusive racist bone (ulnis bigotris). And you thought that "He doesn't have a racist bone in his body" was just a manner of speaking? Story here.

  • The White Supremacy Phantom

    An excellent column by Roger Kimball.