Called It 15 Years Ago – The Use of Race As A Political Weapon “Has Damaged Our Society In Ways We May Not Understand For Years”
Just three days after I launched the then-solo blog Legal Insurrection in October 2008, I wrote a post that rings true to this day.
This Thursday, June 23, I’m giving a lecture for the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, titled “The Fight Against Critical Race Theory Is A Fight For National Survival”:
William A. Jacobson joins the Martin Center on Thursday, June 23rd for a talk about the ideology of critical race theory and how to curb its influence on higher education policy.
I’d invite you, but it’s already Sold Out. (You would have known about it in time to sign up if you subscribed to our newsletter, Morning Insurrection, which you can do here.)
So right now, I’m in panic mode. OMG, what am I going to talk about, I’ve never done this before! Talking in front of people is scary! Of course, for those of you who know me, I enjoy in-person appearances and I never lack for words (even though I am an introvert by nature), and I’m looking forward to it.
In preparing, I thought back to one of my first posts at Legal Insurrection. The then solo-blog launched on October 12, 2008. Just three days later, on October 15, 2008, I wrote “Race” As Political Weapon. It was the 4th post at Legal Insurrection; we now have over 45,000 published.
The post reflected my growing frustration with the media bias and manipulation that was the reason I created Legal Insurrection. I went through several examples of how Obama weaponize claims of racism to deflect from his own problems and to force John McCain not to touch the hotest issue of all, Obama’s deep and personal involvement with Jeremiah Wright.
Here’s the conclusion to the post:
There is nothing racist about criticizing Obama’s connection to Jeremiah Wright, a connection far deeper and more important than Obama’s connection to William Ayers. Jeremiah Wright represents the worst element of our society, a true George Wallace albeit of a different race. Wright represents the kind of racial politics which truly divide our nation, and Obama was knee deep in those politics before running for U.S. Senate. Obama and Wright were mutual enablers, and the relationship is fair game.
But the race card has worked again. McCain is afraid to attack the Wright/Obama connection for fear of being called racist.
It is the stifling of legitimate debate which is fueling anger throughout the country. We are on the verge of electing a president who built his political career on the backs of race-baiters and anti-american zealots, and we can’t talk about it out of fear of being called “racist.”
The suppression of legitimate political expression through false accusations of racism by the Obama campaign and its supporters is the defining theme of the 2008 campaign. This tactic, while it may be successful, is shameful and has damaged our society in ways we may not understand for years.
Almost 15 years later, this remains the tactic but it goes far beyond political campaigns, and is entrenched in education at every level. It’s disgusting and it’s consuming the nation.
The use of race as a political weapon started long before anyone heard of Critical Race Theory or the misnamed “anti-racism” or “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” or whatever other terms are used to describe what remains the use of “Race” as a Politcal Weapon.
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Comments
Young people, CEOs, academics, women, and many others fear being an outcast, so they very easily give in to whatever thoughts make them accepted. The Left recognizes this, so they use language effectively, clubbing them with the term “racist” if they dare to think outside far left thought. The right, being easy pushovers, unquestionably accepts their use of language. Language is far more effective weapon than bullets, that’s why we see no gunfire from the radical left. They are dragging the nation far to the left without bullets. They aren’t interested in proper rules of evidence and proofs. They want to turn people into squeamish suck ups. Hundreds of millions of Americans oblige them.
The pressure to conform to CRT from the leftists on campus is severe. Virtually Soviet/ChiCom in its execution. Like Hogwarts under Delores Umbridge’s control, for you Potter fans.
The use of race in any measure is just plain racism. “Equity” REQUIRES racism, while equality abhors. it.
Amusingly, most high school students, in unprompted comments, are far more conservative than you will ever hear.
Øbama did exactly what Alinsky told him to do.
Any question?
Sold out fast – there is a big demand for the prof. So glad you are getting the word out. Don’t be nervous, everyone wants to be there to hear your thoughts and wisdom.
Wish I didn’t live 1,202 miles away!
Congratulations PROFESSOR!
Recently from the Martin Center:
https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2022/05/diary-of-a-mad-emerita/
Diversity [dogma], Inequity, and Exclusion (DIE)… first, they came for the babies.
Prophet Bill called it.
I felt the same way at the time and Bill and I are the same age, but I will let him take full credit. Maybe we really are long lost twins.
That was a very brave thing to write at the time, Bill!!
Since then, that mentality has spread far beyond just race. Wrongspeak has taken over everything. There is no debate nor discussion. Say the “wrong” thing and you are cancelled. Good luck finding anyone to defend you when they can do it to the POTUS.
Sold out! Haven’t seen anything like it since the Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965!
Daggone! You’ll be down near my neck of the woods, and I’ll be out of town.
I am not surprised that it’s sold out. Plenty of people are hopping mad, and there are several parent groups fighting crt in NC.
You were prescient in 2008, before we had even seen BHO in office. I began a bit later to suspect the problem after seeing him arouse racial animus from such incidents as black Harvard law professor Gates, Travon Martin in FL, then the fake “hands up” shooting in Ferguson MO. The guy was (and still is) a grifter, a con man, of the highest order, not only skilled at reading from a teleprompter but also frighteningly adept with words in more impromptu settings. He set in motion the racial strife that we observe in today’s USA.
Lots of $ in tribalism. Diversity coordinators and inclusion staffers. Larger HR departments. Legal fees to the trial bar for sue and settle suits. Grants to hire and pay for community outreach. Entire pseudo academic departments have been created. Don’t forget payments to third party centers to come into corporations and schools to indoctrinate staff so they can in turn indoctrinate students.
Concise and exactly on point reflecting Academia, but also the same transformation and climate adopted and found in the corporate world.
The Barack Obama presidency was like a huge pile of dog shit that the American public stepped in. All these years later we are still trying, in vain, to scrape that shit off our shoe.