It's also far less racist than any alternative provided by modern progressives, which tend to be paternalistic (e.g. it's "racist" to expect black people to show up to meetings on time) and/or bigoted (white people are inherently morally deficient)
Here’s a secret that isn’t supposed to be shared or spoken: the people that say a colorblind ideal is racist- I mean the people that have thousands of followers, work at places like NYT, the sociology dept. at Harvard, probably your Congressperson et al, and were formerly critically thinking academics, they all know it’s not racist. They also know that “power + prejudice” doesn’t = racism. There’s already a word for that definition and it is discrimination.
Here’s some other things that they also know and are pretending not to:
•Not all white people and cops are racist.
•Black people aren’t being hunted by the police.
•Biological sex isn’t a spectrum or a social construct.
•Children shouldn’t be allowed to choose their gender and go on hormone blockers without the consent of their parents.
•Test scores matter
•Culture- specifically subcultures nestled within a larger culture, upbringing, and environment are chief predictors of engagement in violent criminal behavior and abysmal academic performance.
•Words are not violence.
The list goes on and on. They know the goddamned historical record as well as any of us- likely better. This is especially true for people that were alive in the 60s and 70s- people like Al Sharpton or anybody that engages in such contemporarily nonsensical assertions.
Sure, it needs to be stated outright; that a colorblind ideal was once the cornerstone of an anti racist social agenda, the most successful one in American history, I might add. Who better to do it than the always cogent and eloquently spoken stoic philosopher Coleman Hughes?
But what this essay doesn’t address is why so many prominent figures engage in such easily falsifiable rhetoric. Do we really believe stop and frisk led to a crime wave? Do we really believe black Georgians are systematically being denied the right to vote? Do we really believe that simply by “virtue” of less melanin, that Jethro and his wife Jolene from Fayette County, West Virginia, who earn 58k collectively and annually, are more privileged than let’s say, Malia Obama?
Fuck no. No one actually believes this bullshit. So why do so many people pretend like they do? Why are people allowed to spew rhetorical, illogical, divisive drivel like this with impunity? Sure, some people are calling it out- just like some poor lost souls just trying to be liked and trying to fit in might have actually convinced themselves that these things are true.
Most people aren’t stupid though. Most people know that these people with decades of education at the highest level- these elites, don’t believe the things they’re saying. Most people know that even a couple years post George Floyd that it is still unsafe to espouse heterodox views in all but the most unique circumstances and only to trusted, like-minded friends. That is, if you’d like to keep a steady income and be able to provide for your family.
Furthermore, we should all be asking ourselves not only why this tsunami of socially destructive newspeak lingers and still has so much influence and social currency, but also what the long-term consequences and outcomes might be as the by product of the ire, indignation and resentment of those that suffer the negative effects of not affirming this twisted ideology. What damaging, irreparable effects that having to nod in agreement against one’s values in order to subsist and hold down a job might inspire.
The families of the old Christian ladies that politely asked if they could abstain from wearing the pride flag at a Kroger grocery store in a rural location and were fired for it are to whom I refer.
The owners and employees of a rock climbing gym that had activists protest, lodge social media campaigns against and who attempted to damage the business, only to have to allow those same people back in like nothing ever happened after they tried to destroy the business (simply for not using the word “black” in their pledge to be inclusive in a social media post in summer of 2020) lest they suffer that consequence again is to whom I refer.
The people that have moved out of urban centers en masse because of unstoppable violent and property crime are to whom I refer.
The people that had their shops and markets burned down by rioters who were largely pardoned and not prosecuted by Democrat legislators are to whom I refer.
The man who was fired for inadvertently making the “white supremacist hand signal ok sign” as he hung his arm out of his work truck window in Yascha Mounk’s article Stop Firing the Innocent is to whom I refer.
The people that watched their restaurants and livelihoods close because of Covid while politicians and debutants enjoyed meals inside in public unmasked are to whom I refer.
The people that use social media to help make their living as independent journalists and were banned from speaking at the behest of the FBI, the Biden campaign, and others for “misinformation” are to whom I refer.
Do we really believe this won’t have any negative consequence? What happens when people get fed up with double standards? What will our society look like when people look to populists and bad actors like DJT who will inevitably tap into this clandestine fury- a fury that eagerly awaits a vessel to deliver it to the country?
The erosion and attempted removal of logical, fact and evidence-based debates on impactful public policy issues will certainly have a price- how high that price will be remains to be seen.
I fear what is lurking under the surface of this growing resentment that is motivated and catalyzed by social tyranny. I think we all should. I think one would be a fool not to.
We’re all so wrapped up in the vocal minority that we are, to our country’s detriment, ignoring a silent majority.
Fantastic article Coleman. It should be a sobering reminder to all those that are caught up in the insidious alternatives that are being peddled by the likes of Kendi, D'Angelo and countless others. I must admit though, in my most cynical of moments I see the incredible momentum racially divisive idealogies have achieved in our day and age and I dismay. I can only hope that younger voices such as yourself will cut through the morass and find a strong footing to shine a light for the misguided masses. Cheers my friend and welcome to Substack!
Coleman's discussion of the roots of colorblindness provides a much-needed correction to the historical record as portrayed by many leading critical race theorists. I look forward to his book on this issue.
I identify as a woman who checks the Caucasian box and and CIS box. If I were to write this piece, I would be considered racist because folks believe working towards colorblindness would result in racist-blindness.
I can assure the world that I KNOW that white supremacist racism exists. Can't we still fight against racism and strive towards treating everyone fairly? AM I really so naive?
The irony is that “anti-racism” IS racism. MLK would be turning over in his grave over woke identity politics/obsession. You’re not naive. They’re (young white wokies) crazy. And ‘writers’ like DeAngelo are making a profit off uncourageous, ignorant, virtue-signaling white people. It’s very sad. And all this just fuels the hatred on the political right, too; it’s a positive feedback loop. No one wins. We all lose.
I am 68 years old. I was greatly influenced by MLK Jr. Color blindness is what he was promoting. Color blindness does not result in racist blindness. Color blindness results in fighting white supremacist racism, black supremacist racism, Asian supremacist racism, etc. MLK's civil liberties/rights movement was universal (color blind.) I lived in the day where there was an abundance of racism. I saw a lot of racism from all colors. Each decade there has been a significant decrease in racism. The modern "anti-racism" movement is reviving racism and creating racist. I refuse to see color. I will chose to see individuals with hearts, passions, disappointments, dreams, potentials, families, failures, successes, etc. If you just look at the color of their skin you will miss the real treasure of a person.
Love Coleman’s podcast. Found him here. Glad he joined the Stack community too. Great, powerful article. I think he nailed it. The fringe woke left has gone so far left they’re now holding hands with the fringe right; two sides, same coin. Their ideology is totally insane at this point. They’re essentially using racism to ‘fight’ racism. White woke academics get to mock black thinkers who happen to have a different view. Black people are considered too stupid to figure things out on their own; they need Whitey to think for them. It’s disgusting. I’m no fan of Republicans either. They’ve both lost their minds. Though some conservatives seem to be coming slowly back to some version of centrist sanity. Maybe.
The thing about the music and the camera is a perfect example of the pathology of Wokeism and identity politics: If a camera on its own happened to catch more people of one race doing A B or C, and that number was more than said group represents in terms of population, then it’s somehow racist and immoral and cannot be. What???? This isn’t how reality works. But the fringe left doesn’t care about
reality. They care about power. Narrative control.
I enjoyed the historical context Coleman added. Yes: We all notice race. How can we not? But the notion that we should care as much as possible about race--and what that says about you as a human being--instead of noticing it and not really caring, seems nuts to me. Race is skin pigmentation. Sure, there may be some similarities between people in broad groups, but ultimately we’re all unique individuals. Being white doesn’t make you ‘like white people.’ Being black doesn’t make you ‘like black people.’ We’re all just people.
The class comment is true: I think we all identify more with people of our class versus difference in race. Coleman and I have much more in common, say, though I’m white, versus myself and a working-class white dude from Boston or something.
Reality has a way of smacking smug faces. I would enjoy this phenomena more if it wasn’t indicative of poor health of our social fabric and cohesion generally.
I can think of two concrete examples in the same venue- American cities.
1. Covid policies driven by elites based not on available data, but almost solely on politicized heavy breathing, hyperbolic assertions and a generalized belief by coastal elites and Democrat denizens of these cities that we can both force people to comply, and that people are too dumb to parse the data for themselves and make educated decisions.
The government filling the role of “doing what’s best for the population despite the population” has long been a staple of Democrat policy broadly, but only in this most extreme and publicly visible case has the misguided approach and it’s negative effects become so apparent. Pandora’s box is now open for everyone to take a look inside.
2. The same is true for the #defund movement. If we dramatically decrease police presence and by direct correlation police efficacy- in areas that were already rife with property and violent crime. Because somehow, police cause crime right? Because criminals can’t make decisions or at the very least aren’t responsible for their decisions, right? There has never been a more backward and dystopian perspective. This is true both conceptually and when one looks at the staggering wholesale increase of crime in damn near every major US city.
As a result, the elites have used their considerable resources (disposable income and the ability to work remotely) to move out of cities, which has not only rendered the real estate market in a state of disarray but the local businesses, restaurants, dry cleaners, parking garages, you name it- in dire straits as well. Mayor Adams of NYC has on several occasions addressed this phenomenon directly.
But what policies are directly responsible for both the sharp uptick in crime and shuttering businesses? Who drove these policies down peoples’ throats with moral certitude and condemnation for even daring to question these policies? These are rhetorical questions that needn’t be asked at all.
This doesn’t mean that I believe that that Republicans are bastions of good ideas. They’re not. But from where I and most other Americans sit, there is a stark contrast between the two parties regarding policy, and thus a clear lesser of two evils. This bears repeating so maybe people will get it and these sycophants will be held accountable. I don’t hold much hope for this, but wide public awareness may be the only way to avoid a “Groundhog Day” of the last few years.
Same. Democrats that haven’t run amok with the woke shit and have common sense policies seem to be where I find myself sitting with my political wish list.
Amen, brother. Reprising Sowell, one can either ensure that a *process* is equitable or that an *outcome* is a certain way. If you have a color-blind process, you cannot ensure there will be a certain distribution of skin tones and genders as an output. And if you demand a certain output, the process will be rotten. It is no more complex than that. Great work on using the 1996 California example - this so-called brand of modern activists has a very short and selective memory. Like you I found it preposterous that blind auditions for orchestras were "racist". How could that even be possible? We need to dissolve race in favor of ethnicity and heritage as soon as possible but, failing that, at least we can agree not to wield it in pernicious ways for a multi-ethnic society.
I'm not greatly educated, but foundational truths are often more obvious to those who look at truth in the world rather than those who look at the world for their own truths. I'm an old carpenter and in building, without a sure foundation, whatever is built is never as firm or lasting as it should be. The structure can only be less than it should have been. I see color-blindness as a foundation, one which society should fully stand on and build from. Otherwise, we build as if on cold and slippery icebergs where fractures, visible or in time to be visible, ultimately, leaves the 'family of man' to fall in the cracks or simply drift further away from each other in body and/or mind, on diminishing chunks of ice which by chance may be equal, but certainly be separate.
It is simple yet not easy: Resist the temptation to labeling yourself and that of others, judge yourself less and open the book of another and know them from inside out. See the beauty of the human race. It is the only race that if I had to I Identify myself to day as. That is my understanding of doing away with notions of my color yellow codified in 4 generations of Good Ol American. Nomenclature separates into disparate parts. We are not separate. Separation is not equal nor is it Holy to the cosmological consciousness of Oneness. I am named Terry and I am having a rather interesting Human experience today!
I'm sorry if you've said it somewhere else, Coleman, but how would you approach voting districts and color-blindness? Gerrymandering is rampant; how do you counteract it? AI? A neutral third party that's literally blind to the racial breakdown of neighborhoods? I don't know what the right answer is for this, but I'd love to hear your opinion
It's also far less racist than any alternative provided by modern progressives, which tend to be paternalistic (e.g. it's "racist" to expect black people to show up to meetings on time) and/or bigoted (white people are inherently morally deficient)
Exactly 🔥🔥
Hey, you two look awfully familiar!
Truly bizarre!
a brilliantly consise argument I shall point to when the topic surfaces amongst my contemporaries, keep up the great work!
❤️❤️🔥
Here’s a secret that isn’t supposed to be shared or spoken: the people that say a colorblind ideal is racist- I mean the people that have thousands of followers, work at places like NYT, the sociology dept. at Harvard, probably your Congressperson et al, and were formerly critically thinking academics, they all know it’s not racist. They also know that “power + prejudice” doesn’t = racism. There’s already a word for that definition and it is discrimination.
Here’s some other things that they also know and are pretending not to:
•Not all white people and cops are racist.
•Black people aren’t being hunted by the police.
•Biological sex isn’t a spectrum or a social construct.
•Children shouldn’t be allowed to choose their gender and go on hormone blockers without the consent of their parents.
•Test scores matter
•Culture- specifically subcultures nestled within a larger culture, upbringing, and environment are chief predictors of engagement in violent criminal behavior and abysmal academic performance.
•Words are not violence.
The list goes on and on. They know the goddamned historical record as well as any of us- likely better. This is especially true for people that were alive in the 60s and 70s- people like Al Sharpton or anybody that engages in such contemporarily nonsensical assertions.
Sure, it needs to be stated outright; that a colorblind ideal was once the cornerstone of an anti racist social agenda, the most successful one in American history, I might add. Who better to do it than the always cogent and eloquently spoken stoic philosopher Coleman Hughes?
But what this essay doesn’t address is why so many prominent figures engage in such easily falsifiable rhetoric. Do we really believe stop and frisk led to a crime wave? Do we really believe black Georgians are systematically being denied the right to vote? Do we really believe that simply by “virtue” of less melanin, that Jethro and his wife Jolene from Fayette County, West Virginia, who earn 58k collectively and annually, are more privileged than let’s say, Malia Obama?
Fuck no. No one actually believes this bullshit. So why do so many people pretend like they do? Why are people allowed to spew rhetorical, illogical, divisive drivel like this with impunity? Sure, some people are calling it out- just like some poor lost souls just trying to be liked and trying to fit in might have actually convinced themselves that these things are true.
Most people aren’t stupid though. Most people know that these people with decades of education at the highest level- these elites, don’t believe the things they’re saying. Most people know that even a couple years post George Floyd that it is still unsafe to espouse heterodox views in all but the most unique circumstances and only to trusted, like-minded friends. That is, if you’d like to keep a steady income and be able to provide for your family.
Furthermore, we should all be asking ourselves not only why this tsunami of socially destructive newspeak lingers and still has so much influence and social currency, but also what the long-term consequences and outcomes might be as the by product of the ire, indignation and resentment of those that suffer the negative effects of not affirming this twisted ideology. What damaging, irreparable effects that having to nod in agreement against one’s values in order to subsist and hold down a job might inspire.
The families of the old Christian ladies that politely asked if they could abstain from wearing the pride flag at a Kroger grocery store in a rural location and were fired for it are to whom I refer.
The owners and employees of a rock climbing gym that had activists protest, lodge social media campaigns against and who attempted to damage the business, only to have to allow those same people back in like nothing ever happened after they tried to destroy the business (simply for not using the word “black” in their pledge to be inclusive in a social media post in summer of 2020) lest they suffer that consequence again is to whom I refer.
The people that have moved out of urban centers en masse because of unstoppable violent and property crime are to whom I refer.
The people that had their shops and markets burned down by rioters who were largely pardoned and not prosecuted by Democrat legislators are to whom I refer.
The man who was fired for inadvertently making the “white supremacist hand signal ok sign” as he hung his arm out of his work truck window in Yascha Mounk’s article Stop Firing the Innocent is to whom I refer.
The people that watched their restaurants and livelihoods close because of Covid while politicians and debutants enjoyed meals inside in public unmasked are to whom I refer.
The people that use social media to help make their living as independent journalists and were banned from speaking at the behest of the FBI, the Biden campaign, and others for “misinformation” are to whom I refer.
Do we really believe this won’t have any negative consequence? What happens when people get fed up with double standards? What will our society look like when people look to populists and bad actors like DJT who will inevitably tap into this clandestine fury- a fury that eagerly awaits a vessel to deliver it to the country?
The erosion and attempted removal of logical, fact and evidence-based debates on impactful public policy issues will certainly have a price- how high that price will be remains to be seen.
I fear what is lurking under the surface of this growing resentment that is motivated and catalyzed by social tyranny. I think we all should. I think one would be a fool not to.
We’re all so wrapped up in the vocal minority that we are, to our country’s detriment, ignoring a silent majority.
🫰🫰🫰🔥🔥❤️
Fantastic article Coleman. It should be a sobering reminder to all those that are caught up in the insidious alternatives that are being peddled by the likes of Kendi, D'Angelo and countless others. I must admit though, in my most cynical of moments I see the incredible momentum racially divisive idealogies have achieved in our day and age and I dismay. I can only hope that younger voices such as yourself will cut through the morass and find a strong footing to shine a light for the misguided masses. Cheers my friend and welcome to Substack!
❤️❤️
Great to see you starting a 'stack, Coleman. You have been assimilated!
Any chance of a discount for those who already subscribe to your podcast?
was wondering the same thing!
Coleman's discussion of the roots of colorblindness provides a much-needed correction to the historical record as portrayed by many leading critical race theorists. I look forward to his book on this issue.
Incredibly well written. Thomas Sowell would approve.
Coleman is a brilliant writer and it's no wonder they hesitate to debate him.
I identify as a woman who checks the Caucasian box and and CIS box. If I were to write this piece, I would be considered racist because folks believe working towards colorblindness would result in racist-blindness.
I can assure the world that I KNOW that white supremacist racism exists. Can't we still fight against racism and strive towards treating everyone fairly? AM I really so naive?
The irony is that “anti-racism” IS racism. MLK would be turning over in his grave over woke identity politics/obsession. You’re not naive. They’re (young white wokies) crazy. And ‘writers’ like DeAngelo are making a profit off uncourageous, ignorant, virtue-signaling white people. It’s very sad. And all this just fuels the hatred on the political right, too; it’s a positive feedback loop. No one wins. We all lose.
I am 68 years old. I was greatly influenced by MLK Jr. Color blindness is what he was promoting. Color blindness does not result in racist blindness. Color blindness results in fighting white supremacist racism, black supremacist racism, Asian supremacist racism, etc. MLK's civil liberties/rights movement was universal (color blind.) I lived in the day where there was an abundance of racism. I saw a lot of racism from all colors. Each decade there has been a significant decrease in racism. The modern "anti-racism" movement is reviving racism and creating racist. I refuse to see color. I will chose to see individuals with hearts, passions, disappointments, dreams, potentials, families, failures, successes, etc. If you just look at the color of their skin you will miss the real treasure of a person.
Happy you’re tuning in to Coleman, Erika. -Jennifer
Love Coleman’s podcast. Found him here. Glad he joined the Stack community too. Great, powerful article. I think he nailed it. The fringe woke left has gone so far left they’re now holding hands with the fringe right; two sides, same coin. Their ideology is totally insane at this point. They’re essentially using racism to ‘fight’ racism. White woke academics get to mock black thinkers who happen to have a different view. Black people are considered too stupid to figure things out on their own; they need Whitey to think for them. It’s disgusting. I’m no fan of Republicans either. They’ve both lost their minds. Though some conservatives seem to be coming slowly back to some version of centrist sanity. Maybe.
The thing about the music and the camera is a perfect example of the pathology of Wokeism and identity politics: If a camera on its own happened to catch more people of one race doing A B or C, and that number was more than said group represents in terms of population, then it’s somehow racist and immoral and cannot be. What???? This isn’t how reality works. But the fringe left doesn’t care about
reality. They care about power. Narrative control.
I enjoyed the historical context Coleman added. Yes: We all notice race. How can we not? But the notion that we should care as much as possible about race--and what that says about you as a human being--instead of noticing it and not really caring, seems nuts to me. Race is skin pigmentation. Sure, there may be some similarities between people in broad groups, but ultimately we’re all unique individuals. Being white doesn’t make you ‘like white people.’ Being black doesn’t make you ‘like black people.’ We’re all just people.
The class comment is true: I think we all identify more with people of our class versus difference in race. Coleman and I have much more in common, say, though I’m white, versus myself and a working-class white dude from Boston or something.
Michael Mohr
‘Sincere American Writing’
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/
Reality has a way of smacking smug faces. I would enjoy this phenomena more if it wasn’t indicative of poor health of our social fabric and cohesion generally.
I can think of two concrete examples in the same venue- American cities.
1. Covid policies driven by elites based not on available data, but almost solely on politicized heavy breathing, hyperbolic assertions and a generalized belief by coastal elites and Democrat denizens of these cities that we can both force people to comply, and that people are too dumb to parse the data for themselves and make educated decisions.
The government filling the role of “doing what’s best for the population despite the population” has long been a staple of Democrat policy broadly, but only in this most extreme and publicly visible case has the misguided approach and it’s negative effects become so apparent. Pandora’s box is now open for everyone to take a look inside.
2. The same is true for the #defund movement. If we dramatically decrease police presence and by direct correlation police efficacy- in areas that were already rife with property and violent crime. Because somehow, police cause crime right? Because criminals can’t make decisions or at the very least aren’t responsible for their decisions, right? There has never been a more backward and dystopian perspective. This is true both conceptually and when one looks at the staggering wholesale increase of crime in damn near every major US city.
As a result, the elites have used their considerable resources (disposable income and the ability to work remotely) to move out of cities, which has not only rendered the real estate market in a state of disarray but the local businesses, restaurants, dry cleaners, parking garages, you name it- in dire straits as well. Mayor Adams of NYC has on several occasions addressed this phenomenon directly.
But what policies are directly responsible for both the sharp uptick in crime and shuttering businesses? Who drove these policies down peoples’ throats with moral certitude and condemnation for even daring to question these policies? These are rhetorical questions that needn’t be asked at all.
This doesn’t mean that I believe that that Republicans are bastions of good ideas. They’re not. But from where I and most other Americans sit, there is a stark contrast between the two parties regarding policy, and thus a clear lesser of two evils. This bears repeating so maybe people will get it and these sycophants will be held accountable. I don’t hold much hope for this, but wide public awareness may be the only way to avoid a “Groundhog Day” of the last few years.
Definitely agree about the Defund phenomenon: absurd. I like Adams.
Same. Democrats that haven’t run amok with the woke shit and have common sense policies seem to be where I find myself sitting with my political wish list.
🔥🔥❤️
🔥🔥🔥❤️
You're consistently the best writer on this topic.
Amen, brother. Reprising Sowell, one can either ensure that a *process* is equitable or that an *outcome* is a certain way. If you have a color-blind process, you cannot ensure there will be a certain distribution of skin tones and genders as an output. And if you demand a certain output, the process will be rotten. It is no more complex than that. Great work on using the 1996 California example - this so-called brand of modern activists has a very short and selective memory. Like you I found it preposterous that blind auditions for orchestras were "racist". How could that even be possible? We need to dissolve race in favor of ethnicity and heritage as soon as possible but, failing that, at least we can agree not to wield it in pernicious ways for a multi-ethnic society.
Amen.
I'm not greatly educated, but foundational truths are often more obvious to those who look at truth in the world rather than those who look at the world for their own truths. I'm an old carpenter and in building, without a sure foundation, whatever is built is never as firm or lasting as it should be. The structure can only be less than it should have been. I see color-blindness as a foundation, one which society should fully stand on and build from. Otherwise, we build as if on cold and slippery icebergs where fractures, visible or in time to be visible, ultimately, leaves the 'family of man' to fall in the cracks or simply drift further away from each other in body and/or mind, on diminishing chunks of ice which by chance may be equal, but certainly be separate.
It is simple yet not easy: Resist the temptation to labeling yourself and that of others, judge yourself less and open the book of another and know them from inside out. See the beauty of the human race. It is the only race that if I had to I Identify myself to day as. That is my understanding of doing away with notions of my color yellow codified in 4 generations of Good Ol American. Nomenclature separates into disparate parts. We are not separate. Separation is not equal nor is it Holy to the cosmological consciousness of Oneness. I am named Terry and I am having a rather interesting Human experience today!
I'm sorry if you've said it somewhere else, Coleman, but how would you approach voting districts and color-blindness? Gerrymandering is rampant; how do you counteract it? AI? A neutral third party that's literally blind to the racial breakdown of neighborhoods? I don't know what the right answer is for this, but I'd love to hear your opinion