I can’t believe I’m writing this, but in light of several things lately, one of them being Joe Biden alleging that black people are all the same, members of one monolithic group, unlike Latinos who are diverse, I think I really need to. Yes, he actually said that. He is only one of many who have said something similar this week.
Something I think we’ve done wrong as Americans, (ha don’t roll your eyes) but seriously something we need to change and fix is the way we’ve allowed stereotypes about black people to dominate the narrative in a way that presents black people as all being of one mind, one culture, one style.
They are really culturally diverse, from city folks to country folks, from conservatives to liberals, from far right extremists to far lefty nutcases. There are atheists and Christians, Buddhists and New Agers. There are single parent families and people married for life. There are well off black folks and poor ones, people with privileged and entitled kids and people with broken and wounded ones, and everything in between. There are genuine Marxists and some real patriots who love their country. There are some strong family values advocates and some out trying to “smash the patriarchy and end heteronormative social relations.”
I’m having a chuckle here, this really happened to me a few weeks back. Someone on the internet was doing their usual thing, “you’re a racist, you need to get woke, you need to talk to black people about social justice,” and I looked up from my phone and there was a black guy in camo, armed, and not looking like he wanted to discuss “social justice” at all.
Nah, not at all.
It totally cracked me up because rather than being a member of BLM or Antifa, this guy was clearly planning to be part of the resistance. It was a hilarious juxtaposition, a downright comical contrast between the rigid stereotypes and harsh accusations coming at me on my phone and the truth standing right before my lying eyes. If I wasn’t such a chicken I would have taken his photo and posted it, but he didn’t look real inviting and open to such things.
Trust me, there are quite a few black folks who want nothing to do with BLM, antifa, or defunding the cops.….
Black folks are diverse, in fact it can get even more complicated than that. I worked with some guys from South Africa that had absolutely nothing in common with Americans, black or otherwise. They were absolutely charming. Seriously, they brought donuts and coffee and held doors open and pulled out chairs and stood up when a lady walked into the room. Tragic but funny too, because our first thought was, you guys sure aren’t from around here, are you?
There are black folks from Britain, some who are even very well off and privileged. I went to high school with one and he had a heavy accent, spoke better French than I did, and insisted on wearing his old school uniform and a tie. He couldn’t wait to go home and he thought all Americans were nuts. He was probably right.
There are black folks from Jamaica and Haiti, from Canada and France, and some French Canadians who don’t even speak English. Some black folks are descended from slaves and some are descended from slave owners. You aren’t supposed to say things like that, but it’s true. Life is complex, generations ebb and flow, and circumstances change.
I’m angry, bothered by the fact that we treat black folks like a monolithic voting block, and say things like “the black vote.” There is no actual “black vote” in that all encompassing sense. Obviously I can’t change politicians, but I can plead with people and ask them to not be misled, to not buy into the political narratives that try to enforce a stereotype.
BLM, at least in Seattle and Portland, is so predominantly white as to be almost worthy of satire. Very white, very privileged, and mostly just very confused as to the nature of the world around them. I keep trying to speak about the Adam Haner video, a white guy being pulled out of a pick up in Portland and assaulted. I keep trying to tell the story because while Adam Haner was indeed assaulted by a guy of mixed race, Adam himself was also a BLM protestor.
People have got to resist this narrative that tries to suggest that what is happening in our country is some kind of racial war. This is far more like a group of wealthy white elitists trying to create bread and circuses for the masses while using quite a few dumb white kids as useful idiots.
I hope I haven’t offended any “dumb white kids” in the writing of this post. If I have, well than don’t be one. God gave you a brain. Use it.
See, there's this thing called biology... 
That one thing that MLK said about being judged by character… I am super old fashioned, but I actually agree with that.
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Right? It’s a great quote.
Laughing here, but If he was still around I’d have a chat with him about adding some grace to that equation. Even if your own character is a bit shady, take heart! We have been invited in and will be judged by Christ’s character more than our own. 🙂
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That’s a good point. I think from a rhetorical standpoint he was trying to talk about what should not be a part of the equation rather than an exhaustive list of what should be.
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I had someone on Facebook basically tell me I was white supremacist because of something I posted, and when I was confused, they sarcastically said, “Why don’t you ask your black friend?” (I got the feeling she didn’t think I had any.) I responded, “Which ones, and what am I asking them?” My black friends range from BLM and rabid Trump haters, to opponents of BLM and secret Trump supporters, to passionate, outspoken devotees of Trump. But most of the black Christians I know are just into minding their own business, loving their families, and doing whatever ministry God has placed them in.
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Right?? That’s it exactly. In fact, people who say, “why don’t you ask your black friend” make me doubt they’ve actually come out of their own bubble long enough to engage with anyone. My second thought is, I better not, she already thinks I’m a flaming liberal without a lick of sense, LOL! 🙂
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The reason Biden thinks blacks are not diverse is that over 90 percent of them vote for Democrats. It is a narrow minded view, but it is what he cares about.
The fact that blacks for Democrats is rather surprising. Democrats are racists, and they practice the soft bigotry of low expectations. It is kind of weird if blacks don’t know that, and it is even more weird if they do
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Well, even that “90%” is kind of misleading. Only about 56% of blacks actually vote, so now we’re down to about half, a better turnout than white voters, but still. A good chunk of that half, about 67%-72% do vote Democrat. But if we crunch those numbers what it really amounts to is something more akin to, “about a third of black folks overall vote Dem.”
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@insanitybytes22
That’s funny! Good illustration of how we can make numbers tell the story we wish told.
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Some Democrats are racist, but in general racists are probably not going to feel very comfortable in a party as racially diverse as the Democratic Party.
The GOP is a bizarre mashup of open racists, people who are emotionally invested in the idea that there is no real racism, and people who insist that Democrats are real racists. When you consider the GOP’s reliance on white grievance politics and the fact that they don’t bother to actually campaign in black neighborhoods then it is obvious why black voters mostly vote blue. The tiny number of black voters who are Republicans is more a reflection of shortcomings in the GOP than of black people’s diversity of culture and political thought.
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@Nonya
Well, it appears you are a Christian. So, you understand that our racial differences don’t actually matter. We just use those differences as an excuse to sin. As a Christian, you should also understand that the root cause of most of our sinfulness is pride.
So, what about the racial diversity of the Democratic Party? Well, the old South during the era of plantations and slavery was quite racially diverse, and the blacks got along well with the whites so long as those blacks understood their place. Would you call that tolerance? Doubt it.
What racists do is put an importance upon race that is far greater than race logically deserves.
When we associate with people of a different race, should we feel virtuous? No. Our racial differences are almost literally skin deep. What is actually much more difficult and challenging is associating with and tolerating people who think differently, people who uphold and live by different truths.
You may wish to do is read https://melwild.wordpress.com/2020/08/18/why-critical-race-theory-is-not-compatible-with-christs/.
Identity politics, Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality and the like is not compatible with Christianity, but this is the ideology that Liberal Democrats apply when they call themselves tolerant. As MLK suggested, when as Christians we must judge someone, we should do so based upon what their words and deeds say about the content of their character.
So, is the GOP superior to the Democratic Party? If we look at their policies and how they attempt to implement them, I think so.
It is difficult to judge a politician. Consider Trump, for example. Even though Trump has not been a lifelong, professional politician, he is still a superb salesman. So, he is not as easy to read as we might think. In addition, Trump’s political opponents and the news media have done their best to savage his reputation with every kind of lie they can contrive. Therefore, we have to separate fact from fiction and what Trump actually says and does from what is said about him. Given what you said about the GOP, perhaps you need to be more skeptical of the news media. There are worst things that being emotionally invested in the idea that on the whole America is not a racist country, that being preoccupied with race doesn’t make good sense.
Is Trump campaigning for the black vote? Think he is. Do you yourself a favor. Check out what he has done and intends to do. Try looking up some Conservative news media. Check out the other side of the story.
https://familyallianceonline.org/conservative-websites/
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Hi Nonya. I believe you’re right about Republicans writing off the black vote, traditionally speaking. But that’s become a stereotype that is not true anymore. Of course, the mainstream media and Hollywood is faithfully keeping up the narrative. Ironically, it actually started to change since Trump got in office considering all the anti-Trump propaganda from the left. But it’s even bigger than Republican or Democrat. Now, you have grassroots organizations like Candace Owen’s “Blexit” movement (https://blexitfoundation.org) and, on a wider level, the #walkaway campaign (https://www.walkawaycampaign.com), started by Brandon Straka, a former liberal Democrat. These are movements that are waking many Americans up to what is happening to our country right now.
I have encouraged everyone to see Larry Elder’s documentary movie, “Uncle Tom.” http://www.uncletom.com. It will open your eyes to the larger story going on here.
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The Blexit movement is mostly a scam. Candace Owens might not be intentionally embarrassing black conservatives and repelling self respecting black people from the GOP, but that is what she does. She insults black people with comments that would be called racist if said by a white person. Remember Hilary’s “deplorable” comment? Does being insulted make you want to vote for someone? What makes you think that black people are any different? Conservatives spend a lot of time on white grievance politics and insulting black people. I haven’t seen Larry Elder’s documentary, but what I’ve read from him has been much of the same.
They’ve been running this “Blexit” grift since before the 2018 congressional races. What were the results? I think that Trump will probably win in November, but if he does it will be because of a lower black turnout (aided by racist gerrymandering and voter suppression) and not because black people suddenly decided to vote for the GOP, which has done nothing to earn black votes.
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I see you only accept leftist Newspeak propaganda. That’s fine. But you should actually watch the documentary and listen to these people for yourself instead of repeating the leftist spin before you make such remarks. The black exit from the radical Marxist left is much more pervasive and real than you seem to be willing to see. This is only the beginning.
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I have listened to both Candace Owens and Larry Elder in the past. My opinion is based on listening to their words. I don’t think that black people are overly concerned about the “radical Marxist left” for the most part. They overwhelming voted for the most conservative Democrat running. Radicals and Marxists have much less power in the Democratic Party than open racists have in the GOP.
In general I think that it would be a good thing if black people voted for both parties in large numbers so that they were forced to compete for votes. However, until the GOP puts aside white grievance politics and insulting black people as a political strategy that is unlikely to happen.
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There are no conservative or even moderate Democrats running for president and VP, certainly not Biden and Harris, otherwise I would agree with you that this is a good thing. Biden is openly supporting Bernie Sander’s policies, which are radical left and Marxist. As far as openly racists in the GOP, that would be a small fringe group that no one agrees with. I’ve actually heard more openly racist statements coming from the BLM organization leaders lately.
I would think it would be more honest to vote for the most conservative or moderate candidate, regardless of party affiliation. That’s what I do.
You really need to watch “Uncle Tom.” If you’re actually open to the truth, you’ll find that it’s the Democrats who have been traditionally insulting and using black people for the last 70 years. Biden is a prime example.
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Ahahahaha! You’re killing me!
Thanks for the laugh.
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Pingback: TO WHOM DO BLACK LIVES MATTER? – Citizen Tom
Reblogged this on clydeherrin.
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Thank you, Clyde. Much appreciated.
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Joe Biden’s comments about diversity made sense in context. He was
asked about Cubans and Venezuelans. Although there are black people here from all over the world, in addition to the descendants of the enslaved that make up the majority, Nigerian-Americans are not a political block in Florida voting to deport Haitians in Texas. Biden was VP to a man whose father was from Kenya and has as his VP a woman whose father is Jamaican, so I’m sure that he gets that black people aren’t all the same.
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I replied to Nonya, but I included a couple of links. So I think the comment got spammed. Could you dig up the comment? If you find it, you can delete this comment. If not, please let me know, and I will try again.
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I think I found them, tom.
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Thank you.
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insanitybytes22
Great post and logic.. I replied to CT reblog off your post with this comment.
Tom
Great post. To help you understand in a roundabout way your statement, “I don’t really know what blacks have learned to believe.”
I wrote a post today titled: BLM Conundrum, which explains “what Blacks have never learned to believe.” and why the Democrats agenda wants it to remain that way, in my opinion.
If Interested
https://rudymartinka.com/2020/08/21/blm-conundrum-king-solomon-blog/
Regards and goodwill blogging.
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Thanks, Rudy! Sorry about that, I just found your comment in spam and fished it out. 🙂
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Good word, IB. The Marxist BLM organization is no friend of black Americans. As I said in other places, if I were a black person I would want to hear from all sides of the issue. And when I heard from brilliant people like Larry Elder, Candace Owens, and Thomas Sowell, I would switch parties immediately.
Martin Luther King had it right. It’s not the color of our skin but the content of our character that matters. How different things would’ve been if the Black Americans had listened to Booker T. Washington instead of W.E.B. DuBois in the early 20th Century. They would’ve dropped the Socialist welfare system (Candace Owens calls it “slavery 2.0) in a heartbeat!
“There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”
― Booker T. Washington
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Amen! So true. As always. God bless you.
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