Acting White: McCain and Obama Wrestle in the Dirt

Each side denies that they are doing it, but our eyes and ears tells us something different. Obama and McCain both want the top job, and each is willing use the race card as sure as Lee Atwater and Johnny Cochran playing poker behind the gates of someplace starting with an H. And after the way Bush played the race card on McCain in 2000, he is not about to get caught sleeping.

Each knows that all of America has its race glasses on, so they barely have to try (or even not at all) and each side will see racial politicing. In the cartoon above, if you are looking for race, the first thing you see is a white woman kissing Obama. A few days a go, McCain shows Britney, Paris, and Obama and America sees Jungle Fever. Obama mentions in speeches how he doesn't look like ususal suspects, and the white-guilt-o-meter soars to new heights.

So what. Boxing has rules, fighting does not. And believe me folks, winning the presidency in this country has always been a fight. It's about winning, not healing the racial divide, or jobs, or education, or anything else, just winning. The candidates quietly tell themselves that they will get to the high road on race, after they get into the oval office. But they never do. The first thing they would have to expose is their own hypocrisy.

So let's not get our knickers too bunched up around what either side does or how people perceive it, unless we are ready to open up the full kimono on race. It needs to be opened for sure, but the reason should not be around choosing a leader, but rather reflecting the direction that we want to go as a country.

James C. Collier

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Acting White: Gallup Poll Says Americans Believe Racism is Widespread

This country has intelligent people, ignorant people, and everyone in between. So should we really be surprised that racism is widespread? Gallup should also add that racism seems not to be going anywhere anytime soon, as the grip of ignorance is strong. So now what?

We need to examine racism under a modified light, and this won’t be easy. Racism always has an agenda, but is it always evil? Sure, it can seek to unfairly promote some while demoting others. But it can also be a defense. What? If I fear I might get stomped by someone, I might avoid them. The only agenda here is self defense. Should I risk life and limb to prove to Mr. Gallup that I am not a racist? I think not.

The real problem is that it is easy to see problems through the lens of race. So it looks like race is the cause, while it is not. The state of a person’s ignorance is influenced by a myriad of background factors, including economics, education, employment, and culture. But what we see on the tube is behavior and race. Viola, race must be driving it. Wrong.

Before we ever get past race issues we must get to the whole of them. To do this we must quell our knee jerk reaction that racism is always malicious. This is simply not true. Sometimes it is just a natural short-cut defense that is philosophically wrong, but practically prudent. It’s like choosing sides in pick-up basketball. All things being equal, the wise choice is the black guy in the Air Jordan’s. The NBA is >80% black (if you haven’t noticed) – philosophically wrong, maybe, but practically the best bet, if winning is the goal.

So when we hear about widespread racism, it would be great if we could recognize and begin to talk about the behaviors, on all sides, that aren’t about being malicious, but which are concerned with avoiding difficulty, as well as getting ahead. This is the elephant in the living room that we do not see, or hear of in national polls, or television network specials on race.

James C. Collier

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Acting White: Intelligence and Genes

I have been known to make statements about race and intelligence that have earned me both praise and vilification. A large part of the vilifying is my own fault, for not heeding the taboo restriction on the subject. I am also to blame that my perspective has undergone a shift that makes a big difference in how my words are formed and perceived, and I have not made that shift clear.

This post will begin the task. I do not believe that race or genetics drives the disparity in intelligence between blacks and non-blacks. However, the disparity is real, by modeling and empirical observation, and most visible by race. This visibility, through the convenient lens of race, leads us to focus on superficial physiology differences as evidence of the drivers of difference, even though they drive nothing.

I do believe that intelligence is inadvertently responsible for the different ethnicities, or races (if we must continue to use that word). With a few possible exceptions, there is only one distribution of inherited intelligence for humankind and it cares nothing about race. It established itself in Africa long before the events that precipitated the races. That same distribution of intelligence exist to this day, beyond the contorted optics of race. It is the distribution of intelligence that allowed certain Africans to walk off that continent and around the globe over 7,000 years ago.

The fact that those exiting Africans would change skin color, hair and eye color, and other superficial features during their two thousand year journey explains why our dissected brains show no difference that can explain the disparity in intelligence we experience. The Ashkenazi Jews of Northern Europe and the Aborigines of Australia are the only candidates (I know of) for enhanced brain physiology that could lead us to believe that they are more intelligent by virtue of their genetics. The Ashkenazi’s have mean IQ’s well above all other groups as the possible result of the same disorders that cause Tay Sachs. The Aborigines have phenomenal memories, a vital factor of intelligence, as the result of, or caused by, the lack of a written language.

While the lens of race distorts our understanding of intelligence, it (measured intelligence) nonetheless accurately captures outcomes of performance for groups relative to each other, and for this reason should not be dismissed. However, inherited intelligence is only one factor influencing the level to which a person can be educated and contribute to themselves and society. Once we are past the distortion of race views, perhaps we can better go about the effort of supporting development of all people, and away from the notion that one size of education fits all.

James C. Collier

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Acting White: 2008 Cluelessness vs. Floppiness

Two different friends sent me these YouTube's on the presidential candidates. I take each with a grain of salt, but I will let you decide how big each of those grains needs to be. Enjoy.





James C. Collier

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Acting White: US Congress Apologizes For Slavery

My son is thirteen. When he was four, he took a poke at his mother. His seventeen year old sister did the same when she was three. Each was a tense moment, but we got past it and everybody is fine now. No apology is required now that they are mature on the point of not hitting people, especially their mother.

For thousands of years people enslaved each other without batting an eyelid. In the 1700 and 1800's, humankind finally began questioning the morality of it. After a skirmish called the Civil War, America began grappling with its new position. In essence the country matured past it, like my kids hitting their mother. No apologies needed. Just keep on grappling.

That's how I feel about apologies for slavery. I'm past it. My enslaved ancestors are dead, and so are the people and system that enslaved them. I can't un-ring the slavery bell, nor would I want to. But symbolism don't feed the bull dog, so I'd rather Congress spend time on fixing real problems, rather than making hollow gestures.

Now some people will try to make the apology less hollow by attaching reparations and slavery-era disclosure requirements, to generate dollars to line the coffers of certain un-named so-called civil-rights leaders/groups we wish would retire, but this is adding insult to injury. It is extortion, and we should not allow it.

Personally, I don't need or want anyone to apologize to me, I was never a slave. If anything, I apologize daily to the memory of our ancestors for people wasting the day's opportunities earlier denied, including that which is unavailable to those ancestral kin in West Africa. I try to show respect by practicing community-mindedness, lawfulness, work-ethic, patriotism and positive spirit. The rest will take care of itself.

James C. Collier

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Acting White: Lewis Hamilton Leads Formula One

Over half way through the Formula One racing season, 23 year old Brit and 2nd year racing phenom Lewis Hamilton, leads the sport in driving points. He recently signed a five year deal with his team, McClaren, for $75 million (US). People don't know whether to compare the bi-racial driver to Tiger Woods or Barack Obama, but it is clear he is setting the racing world on its edge. McClaren first signed him up at the tender age of thirteen, when he was beating the socks off of adults in competitive radio controlled (RC) car racing. From there he climbed his way to F1 by winning in every category and level. So far, this season he has had four first place wins including the British Gran Prix earlier this month. He has set numerous records for being first, but most importantly he has crushed the notion that blacks cannot drive at the elite level of racing where billions of dollars line up behind the best. Go Lewis!


James C. Collier

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Acting White: Affirmative Action Hot Potato

I don't understand politicians and their responses to affirmative action. Philosophy aside, if you care about results you are against it, because it simply has not worked the way it was supposed to. It's like a 40 year old wearing braces - good idea, but way too late in the game. Now if you want to replace it with something better that identifies recipients by objective need, rather than arbitrary color of skin, then go stand with Senator Obama. Or if you want to do away with it in sum and cast the disadvantaged, of all colors, to the wind, then go stand with Senator McCain - I think. When politicians say they are against it does this mean abolish or replace? Part of McCain's audience, wealthy conservatives want is abolished, while poor conservatives quietly know they need help too. So John, who just wants to get elected, ends up dodging two-way traffic and hoping not to become road-kill on the issue. Heads up, hot potato!

James C. Collier

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