'Race Hustlers' Are Masters at Exploiting White Guilt

Insight ^ | June 18, 2003 | Walter E. Williams

[Tailgunner Joe]

Few Americans have heard of the National Slave Memorial Act (HR 196), legislation that proposes to erect a national slave memorial on The Mall in Washington. Last year, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) made this suggestion whilst groveling at the feet of black politicians and civil-rights activists after his remarks supporting the 1948 presidency of then-segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.). Since then a few Republicans have joined with Democrats to cosponsor the legislation.

Supporters say the National Slave Memorial Act will begin the racial "reconciliation" and "healing" processes. It's amazing how people can say this with straight faces and believe it.

We've heard this claim as justification for one government program or another, most recently being former president Bill Clinton's "race initiative." How much healing and reconciliation did it produce? It simply produced a forum for charlatans, demagogues and race hustlers. If a slave memorial is built on The Mall, it simply will become a media backdrop for the likes of race hustlers such as the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and the Congressional Black Caucus to spew their anti-American venom and call for quotas and reparations for slavery.

There's no way the National Slave Memorial Act could become law without the assistance of useful idiots in the Republican Party. You'll recall that "useful idiots" was a term Vladimir Lenin coined to describe mindless Western do-gooders who were helpful to the Communists but nonetheless detested. Republicans can't believe their support for the National Slave Memorial Act will deliver them more black votes and greater acceptance by Democrats; that's assuming Republicans have a modicum of good sense. The only other reason why they might support the act is to assuage their feelings of guilt for the injustices of slavery that made a mockery of the values expressed in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

Guilt is one of the worst human motivations. It promotes self-serving actions while ignoring or discounting the effects of those actions on the object of the guilt. I recall my first year as an assistant professor of economics at Temple University in 1973. Black students had demanded that a course in "black economics" be taught. What's worse is that some of my colleagues were giving the demand serious thought.

Not being able to convince myself there was such a thing as black economics, I asked several of my colleagues what their response would be had some Polish or Italian students demanded a course in Polish or Italian economics? I answered the question for them by telling them they'd probably kick the rascals out of their offices.

That was just the tip of the guilt iceberg. One Temple colleague took me to lunch and confided to me that he was having numerous academic problems with his poorly prepared black students. I asked him what his response to their poor preparation was. He replied that he tried to take into consideration racial discrimination and the poor education they received. I asked him how he assigned grades, to which he responded: If they come every day and look as if they're taking notes, I give them a "C".

After I recovered, I told my colleague that's very much like having a dog in an English class and one day the dog sits on his hind legs and says, "You not po da do dat." You'd give the dog an "A." Why? You don't expect the dog to speak at all, and no matter what he says you'd deem it laudable.

Motivated by these and other experiences, some time ago I created a "Certificate of Amnesty and Pardon" for guilt-ridden Americans of European ancestry under "Gift" on my Webpage. I now extend that gift to Congress and White House supporters of the National Slave Memorial Act.

[TomGuy]

Brush this aside.

Since Hispanics have surpassed Blacks as the major minority, they should consider a monument to them--a Sinko de Mayo monument.

[playing background Hispanic dittie music]

SINKO DE MAYO

There are many stories related to the sinking of the "Titanic." Some have just come to light due to the success of the recent movie.

For example, most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellman's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. The "Titanic" was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after New York City.

The Mexican people were eagerly awaiting delivery and were disconsolate at the loss. So much so that they declared a national day of mourning which they still observe today. It is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Statement: "'Race Hustlers' Are Masters at Exploiting White Guilt"

Response: What guilt ???

[lizma]

It simply produced a forum for charlatans, demagogues and race hustlers.

Yep.

I don't think it's just guilt. I think the biogtry of low expectations is also a big part of the problem. I've heard black parents complain about it at school board meetings, quite loudly.

But for the most part I don't see a good percentage of blacks embracing education. WHY???? It just makes no sense. A couple hundred bucks from reparations will by you a nice new TV, but an education will buy you the future. It's frustrating to see a group of people letting themselves be abused, very frustrating.

[mhking]

Black conservative ping

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[Navy Patriot]

LOL

[quebecois]

I agree with you...I can honestly say that I feel no guilt whatsoever in the realm of race relations. Thus, attempts to manipulate me along these lines have always fallen on deaf ears.

[Jason_b]

What guilt?

Another manifestation of political correctness mostly exhibited by liberal socialists pandering for black votes.

[Ken H]

Dr. Walter E. Williams nails it again.

[ysoitanly]

My take on this, and affirmative action, the demand for Martin Luther King day be a national holiday, the changing of the Southern flag, the non-mentioning of any potential criminal's race unless they are white on the news, Abercrombie & Fitch being racist, and on and on and on and on is that since NO ONE would stand for writing a 'reparations' check per se when that was put on the table, that this is all part of the big shakedown of corporations and companies to get the reparations in a less public way, but get the money nonetheless. It's perfect - if you object as a white person, you're a racist. If you don't play the shakedown game, your company is racist and discriminatory. So pay up or shut up or you'll be outed as practically wearing a white sheet. This is the perfect Dem strategy of keep the racism coming, folks!

[Blue Leader]

How do you describe 4 Mexicans slowly submerging in a bog of quicksand?

Cuatro sinko!

[xrp]

I'd be for exporting any black American who wants reparations for slavery or any other continued handouts back to Africa. It seems to be what a lot of them embrace, I'm all for it. In return, lets import plenty of Africans like the 1st generation Africans who have moved to the United States and have children here and stress hard work in school, hard work in the workplace and hard work at having strong, solid families.

In fact, let's do this for any ethnicity.

The formula for success in America is extremely simple: hard work + education = wealth

[aristeides]

Quite a few African immigrants here in the D.C. area. They work very hard -- and also quite cheerfully.

[aristeides]

Black linguist John McWhorter was on C-SPAN for Book Notes a few weeks ago. He says blacks are under a lot of social pressure to keep up the myths about white oppression of blacks, because to be honest lets Whitey "off the hook."

[xrp]

and are they striving to learn English or ebonics?

[aristeides]

The ones I'm thinking of speak English better than most of the locals. And it's their second -- or third -- language. They come from Francophone countries in Africa, and they speak French to each other. (Talking to them is my big chance to speak French these days.)

[DManA]

Check out this guilt fest. The event was forgotten for 2 generations till someone dug it up. Now we need to spend a whole week a year agonizing over it in order to bring "healing" to the community:

http://www.vdare.com/francis/dismantling_america_guiltfest.htm

[expatpat]

IMO it's not guilt -- it's mostly fear: avoiding the hassle that comes from not giving in to the hustlers.