Note: This post is the second in a series and continued from this one.
Star Parker, the president of CURE, recently wrote an Op-Ed piece entitled The Credibility of Black Conservitivism which acknowledges the mistake of popular Black conservative, “Armstrong Williams‘ poor judgment in not revealing being compensated by the Department of Education to promote No Child Left Behind,” but then goes on to ask where the movement should go from here. She says:
In their view, liberalism is coded into black DNA. It is a genetic impossibility for a black to actually believe that government should be limited and that every person, regardless of circumstance, must take personal responsibility for his or her own life. A black espousing such views, according to liberal thinking, commits an act against nature and betrays heritage and family. The only possible explanation for any black talking like a conservative is that the person is being paid to do it.
What is worse, to continue with this line of thinking, only whites can really be conservatives. So, black conservatives outrage black liberals not just because they are supposedly sellouts, but also because they are selling out to whites.
The support for school choice is as strong in the black community as in the white community. As the national dialogue on Social Security reform proceeds, I am confident that increasing numbers of blacks will get the simple message that personal ownership rather than taxes and government will build black wealth and autonomy.
I am far more concerned with the ongoing destruction that occurs every day in the black community that directly reflects the [liberal] politicization of African-American life that has been going on for the last 50 years.
Other popular minority conservative pundits like Ruben Navarrette, Linda Chavez, Armstrong Williams, Marcela Sanchez (moderate), and Thomas Sowell are constantly hammering at the same points.
They want:
- Minorities to own their own houses and not rely on government subsidized housing programs written up by mostly White democrats in D.C.
- School vouchers so that inner city minorities (who can afford it and/or are able to secure loans) can send their children to better, private schools
- A culture of personal responsibility instead of the “New Deal notion” that a government is responsible for its people
- Privatized social security which will give minorities the power to choose where they will invest their retirement savings instead of depending on the federal government to do so for them
Minority conservatives are tired of seeing wealthy, White liberals come into the inner city, tell them it’s not their fault, talk excitedly about some new progressive program they just came up with to save all the brown people, snap a few pictures and drive back to their gated communities. Their message, is let’s do this on our own, let’s stop blaming others, get off our asses, and be responsible for our own lives.
they forgot to mention the part about pulling up the ladder.
Minority conservatives are tired of seeing wealthy, White liberals come into the inner city, tell them it’s not their fault, talk excitedly about some new progressive program they just came up with to save all the brown people, snap a few pictures and drive back to their gated communities. Their message, is let’s do this on our own, let’s stop blaming others, get off our asses, and be responsible for our own lives. –Oso
What do you tell the single moms who do work jobs and maybe two of them and need assistance. I am new to this, but there needs to be some form of help offered to them.
Maybe I am not understanding this completely. I don’t know. 😕
Ivan,
What I’m trying to do with this series is get past the “pulling the ladder up” stereotype. We’ll see if I’m successful at the end.
DD,
Your foreshadowing is supreme. You’ve obviously got a big heart.
HP,
I gotta tell em. It’s a skiing trip.
Anyway, I’m sure there are a lot of talented conservative minority pundits that I left out, but I just wanted to list the ones I was familiar with (many thanks to you) because I see them always driving at the same points. I’ll start reading WW too though.
I love skiing. I love Vail, Colorado. I am convinced God lives there. Have fun on your ski trip, HP. Don’t run into a tree. hee hee 🙂
oso,
it’s not to say that ‘pullling up the ladder’ is simply a stereotype. Keep in mind that many of these minorities (i.e. Mexican Nationals) aren’t accustomed to functioning within a system where the gov’t is supposed to care for its people and truly create an infrastructure for progress – even for the underpriviliged.
In Mexico, my family expected the gov’t to function for the gov’t and that type of cynicism is warranted in a country like that, but doesn’t do any justice to the ideas and foundations of the United States.
I mean, think about Roosevelt’s “New Deal” programs. The only type of “personal ownership” happening now is the concentration of power into the hands of a select few well-connected corporations.
WHEW, now it sounds like I’m hanging out at The Living Room on University talking about how Starbucks is “fascist” and is the coffee bean Auschwitz.
Can’t we talk about the Dresden Dolls or how Conor Oberst is a poet with streams of golden teardrops or some shit???
Did I hear someone call my name?
This is certainly an admirable cause, however it is based on shrill, disingenuous caricatures of those of us on the Left, that I must address the inaccuracies.
1.) Like most successful Black Lefties, I do not resent successful Black Conservatives, and nor have you seen me express the opinion it was due to ‘just luck’. TimeWarner CEO Richard Parsons is just a person, and I know his success is well-earned because I once worked for him.
2.) And as usual, Star Parker is dead wrong! I do not oppose Black Conservatives because they believe in principles such as limited government, and the belief that personal freedoms require personal responsibility – because those are the same ideals I share with people that I admire such as John McCain.
Meaning, there are a lot more Blacks like me who share such ideals, however Ms. Parker and Mr. Williams cannot justify their existence by acknowledging we are Democrats, as well.
Unfortunately my friend, I guess I have not been clear enough previously in articulating my ‘dislike’ for Black Conservatives, so here it is.
Like the 89% percent of Black voters who supported Kerry, I cannot understand or forgive any Black American who chooses to acquiesce, shill, apologies, rationalize or vote for a party that continues to oppress them.
Whether you believe the evidence that supports this assertion or not, I’m convinced that it exists in abundance – and so do most of Black America. From voter suppression in Ohio and Florida, an avowed segregationist running as a Republican Congressional candidate in Tenn., the GOP Governor of Mississippi shaking hands with the leader of a White Separatist group on their website, the Confederate Flag and on and on.
Hope this helps.
amen brother.
Yawn.