Posted on 06/09/2003 9:46:48 AM PDT by fhardesian
The New Republic, at its best, offers pieces of observation such as “idiocy watch” whereby the reader is amused by the stupidity of the scions of pop who offer moronic opinions about 9/11 such as it being a magnificent artistic statement or that Osama Bin Laden would not be so violent if we could just get him in touch with his true loving nature [sic]. At its worst, it produces articles like Michelle Cottle´s Guilty Verdict about the Jayson Blair imbroglio at the New York Times.
Her piece is valuable because it offers us an inside glimpse of the theory and practice of white liberal guilt. It also illuminates the irrationality of their guilt reflex and how much it distorts the liberal´s view of the political landscape. In her column we witness the wheels that drive the toxic belief system presupposing that Caucasians like myself should continue to pay taxes to a federal government that then uses those taxes to discriminate against me with the racism of their affirmative action hiring policies.
Ms. Cottle, to her credit, opens her piece by admitting that she has no defense for the former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair. She then cites the pounds of copy that have been printed about the “Blair Affair” and specifically about the “White Liberal Guilt” of the paper´s editor, Howell Raines. This guilt was what caused him to look the other way while Blair fabricated facts and stories. Cottle then qualifies Raines´ particular guilt as being “Southern Liberal Guilt” and pokes fun at the idea of guilt like his being a concern.
She states:
“Exactly what the hell is so wrong with a little liberal guilt – or guilt in general, for that matter? In recent years, personal guilt has fallen tragically out of vogue as psychotherapists and self-help quacks have implored us to love ourselves just as we are, regardless of the hurtful, selfish things we do.”
In the words of Sam Kennison from a famous film, “is she right?” Partially. Yes, she is correct that guilt is a very healthy secondary emotion for us to feel as it alters negative behaviors very effectively. The absence of guilt is what separates the anti-social personality from the socially well-adjusted adult. Yet, this assumes that one has committed a wrong that needs to be rectified. In the case of men like Raines no wrong was ever committed. Here we see the entire liberal house of matchsticks burn like the pages of nonsensical logorrhea that most of their thoughts have been recorded upon. Howell Raines committed no crime for which he should feel guilty. In Cottle´s mind his guilt is acceptable but how can it be acceptable if there is no crime in need of redress?
The New York Times fiasco is a indication of what happens when one feels guilty for no discernible reason. They kept a clearly incompetent reporter in place long past the time that he should have been fired. He then returned their noblesse oblige by degrading and demeaning their institution repeatedly (I´d argue that it had been degraded long before Blair ever got there, but that´s beside the point). Then, as the NYT held on to their affirmative action poster child, more qualified reporters languished in unemployment lines because of their lighter skin pigmentation. Ms. Cottle has deluded herself as it is Raines´ liberal guilt that was directly to blame for this situation. Had Raines not felt bad because his relatives came from Europe, he would have terminated the societal free rider´s contract much sooner than he did.
She then justifies Raines´ guilt by stating that he hails from Alabama and that “white southerners of a mere generation ago – probably should feel a little collective guilt about the raw deal they gave blacks.” What? Alabama, and other southern states, have contributed more patriots to the cause of our freedom than many entire regions of this nation have. When Uncle Sam comes calling, it´s the southerners who are the quickest to answer. Ms. Cottle should take a gander at the geographic makeup of our heroic armed forces if she wants to see how much and how often the south defends spoiled wayward leftists like herself. Regardless, those who were cruel in the fifties and sixties should feel guilty as a response to their bad deeds, but implying that their offspring should is downright medieval. The Jayson Blair episode is just another example as to why liberal guilt is terribly inappropriate.
Then she adds the obligatory insult to Caucasians and males which is so much a part of the intellectually bankrupt education of today´s trendy liberal journalists. She states that guilt would help the “‘Screw you, I made it on my own without any help from anyone´” attitude that so many angry white men (even those who enjoyed more than a few cultural or class advantages) cling to.” Where does one begin with such agitation propaganda? I am a white man who will not accept my liberal endorsed, inferior status within this society. I, like most of the white males I know, have done nothing heinous to anybody (I am referring solely to misdeeds committed at the class, race, or gender level). There is no reason for me to apologize for fictitious crimes.
Friends, let´s acknowledge the truth, the real racists in our society are known as “liberals.”
What we need is a little more guilt from the juvenile atheists of liberal America as a response to their own relentless male and Caucasian bashing. Then maybe we could have a civil society in which people are treated equally.
These liberals like Ms. Cottle contaminate our polity with their pointless guilt and multicultural stereotypes. They should realize how much damage they do to all of us with their misassumptions and misplaced emotionality. My belief is that they should attend to their own personal problems and stop projecting them onto the citizens of the United States of America.
To comment on this article or express your opinion directly to the author, you are invited to e-mail Bernard at bchapafl@hotmail.com .
Indeed, ol' Howell Raines was being racist to allow JB to continue as he was, and he said so in so many words. Good post.
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