Althouse: "Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us!"

October 25, 2012

"Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us!"

Frederick Douglass, quoted by Clarence Thomas.

35 comments:

wyo sis said...: The cri de coeur of all freedom loving people.; 10/25/12, 9:46 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: The Obama admin and his surrogates are in full scream about "bigotry" now. See the Sarah Palin stories. She's supposed to monitor her speech for PC compliance.

I expect to see an endless stream of "racism" incidents between now and election day.; 10/25/12, 9:48 AM
Curious George said...: So no Obamaphone for Frederick Douglass.; 10/25/12, 9:52 AM
MadisonMan said...: I'm trying to figure out today's theme, but I'm coming up with nothing.; 10/25/12, 9:52 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: And, yes, doing nothing (which is your theme for the day) is often the best course of action.

The desire to "do something" about pressing human problems that have existed since, well, the beginning of human history, produces endless mischief.; 10/25/12, 9:53 AM
clint said...: Racism! and Abortion! seem to be falling flat this cycle.

How long before the "Mormons are Wacky!" front page article in the New York Times?; 10/25/12, 9:53 AM
O2BNAZ said...: The left thinks George Washington Carver is a racist for inventing peanut butter. I can only imagine what they think of Fredrick Douglas asking that blacks be treated as equals; 10/25/12, 9:55 AM
bagoh20 said...: Just more proof that Blacks always had what they needed to be successful, and the guilt and pity of whites was never a useful tool for real accomplishment. That Douglass's opinion of self-sufficiency and respect is less common today is proof of the damage done.; 10/25/12, 10:02 AM
YoungHegelian said...: Jeezo-peep, I miss guys like Freddy Douglas on the national scene!

He was, to paraphrase the Iliad, from that golden age when a true man could lift a moral conundrum that it would take ten to lift today.; 10/25/12, 10:03 AM
bagoh20 said...: Is there anything worse to rob from a man than his willingness to say: "Just let me free, I can make my way."; 10/25/12, 10:05 AM
edutcher said...: If Fred were here, he'd say, "You've 'helped' black people way too much".

PS Since we're talking about nothing, I see Clark Kent is becoming a blogger.

Anybody give any thought to what our own bloggress' superhero identity might be?; 10/25/12, 10:05 AM
Rocketeer said...: Well, you're certainly not going for subtlety with your theme today, Professor.

"Better than nothing" is a high standard, indeed.

If you'd never imparted anything else useful to me through this blog, that little insight would be quite enough.; 10/25/12, 10:06 AM
Known Unknown said...: You see why Freddy D is my homeboy.

It's time we had a Douglass dollar. If Sacagawea can get one, why not another American hero?; 10/25/12, 10:11 AM
bagoh20 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/25/12, 10:11 AM
Known Unknown said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/25/12, 10:12 AM
Rocketeer said...: EMD, a single buck isn't honor enough for Douglass...we should invent a new denomination for him.; 10/25/12, 10:15 AM
CWJ said...: Benign neglect.

The term for which Daniel Patrick Moynihan was pilloried by his fellow dems.; 10/25/12, 10:18 AM
jungatheart said...: I hadn't, ed, but something tells me yours goes something like this :)

Sadistica ~whip!~; 10/25/12, 10:31 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: What a powerful dissent by Thomas.; 10/25/12, 10:51 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Amen. Mr. Douglass and Mr Thomas.

Stop interfering. Social engineering. Creating the horrors of the inner city welfare state has done nothing good for the black middle class.

Liberal "beneficent" policies have, on the contrary, weakened and destroyed the initiative and ability of that demographic group to be self sufficient and creative. Creating a people that are even more enslaved and dependent than ever in the history of the US. Worse for the fact that it is now a willing enslavement. Trading for Obamaphones and food stamps and permanent welfare subsidies.

NOW, the government is trying to do the same to the rest of us.

Government needs to get out of the way and LEAVE US ALONE to live our lives, in freedom and with JUSTICE FOR ALL ......equally. No special deals for some.

Trying to achieve equal outcomes by shackling some instead of offering equal opportunity for all.

LEAVE US ALONE.; 10/25/12, 10:53 AM
Christopher in MA said...: It's time we had a Douglass dollar. If Sacagawea can get one, why not another American hero?

Because he's an Uncle Tom.

Rather like Colin Powell; war criminal during the Bush years, but sober-minded statesman when endorsing the Zero.; 10/25/12, 10:55 AM
eddie willers said...: I've always contended that everybody would have been better off if Booker T. Washington had won the "hearts and minds" instead of W.E.B. Du Bois.; 10/25/12, 11:02 AM
Henry said...: Double awesome.; 10/25/12, 11:02 AM
Larry J said...: I expect to see an endless stream of "racism" incidents between now and election day.

If someone is hearing all these racist dog whistles, it stands to reason he must be a dog.

Should Romney win, not only will we be subjected to years of media spinning everything as racism, we'll once again start hearing about casualties in Afghanistan, the homeless and other issues that saw little coverage under Obama.; 10/25/12, 11:19 AM
Tim said...: Has any enterprise of the US Government failed as badly, destroyed as many lives, wasted as much money, curtailed as many liberties, as the Democrat's "War on Poverty?"

I don't think so.

Yet, with blind faith, and no thought, people still vote Democrat.

It is, for one who seeks to remain faithful to the great idea that a free people can wisely government themselves, the single most distressing thought about our democratic republic.

We have every appearance of a growing class of voters in a death-clinch with an obviously horrific idea that will destroy the Republic, yet are too dumb, too blind, too lazy and too dependent to do anything but continue to promote a failed policy for no good reason but inertia.; 10/25/12, 11:20 AM
but I am a robot said...: One of the most powerful quotes in Equal Protection jurisprudence, in my opinion.; 10/25/12, 11:21 AM
John said...: "All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone!"

These are true sentiments raised by Douglas and repeated by Thomas. In two short sentences the mystery of principal guiding Justice Thomas is revealed. But of course the weak minded liberals will never understand and continue to shout, Uncle Tom.; 10/25/12, 11:25 AM
Bender said...: the weak minded liberals will never understand and continue to shout, Uncle Tom

Which only further proves their complete ignorance since Tom was far from subservient to his white masters, far from selling out his black brothers and sisters. In fact, Tom was the rebel and a savior of his people.

Meanwhile, the Plantation Party has more than its share, on the one hand, of Quimbos and Sambos, who were all too eager to help Simon Legree keep people in slavery and misery, and on the other hand, all those condescending white masters who insist that blacks must remain on the plantation for their own good, that they could never make it on their own without the salvation offered by the white man. Even guys like Thurgood Marshall bought into this, arguing in Brown that desegregation was required, not because the government should be blind to color, but because black kids could not learn unless they were surrounded by white kids.; 10/25/12, 12:40 PM
wyo sis said...: Should Romney win, not only will we be subjected to years of media spinning everything as racism, we'll once again start hearing about casualties in Afghanistan, the homeless and other issues that saw little coverage under Obama.

Hard to imagine worse race baiting than the past four years under the great lowerer of sea levels and racial uniter, but I agree with the
rest of it.; 10/25/12, 12:53 PM
ken in tx said...: NAZ, slight correction, George Washington Carver did not invent what we call peanut butter today. He invented a margarine made from hydrogenated peanut oil. Some reporters called it peanut butter. Modern peanut butter was developed by one of the Kellogg brothers in Battle Creek, Michigan.; 10/25/12, 1:17 PM
Crimso said...: "If you'd never imparted anything else useful to me through this blog, that little insight would be quite enough."

I've taken to calling it Althouse's Law. I hope she's okay with that.; 10/25/12, 1:21 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I love that quote.

I would say the same in reference to women.; 10/25/12, 2:09 PM
bagoh20 said...: "I would say the same in reference to women."

Oh no. I won't be leaving them alone. I intend to continue to touch. fiddle, massage, stroke, poke, prod, and manhandle as many as will let me. The poor things need it.; 10/25/12, 3:36 PM
Dante said...: The current approach doesn't seem to be working. Maybe we should continue them or another 50 years.; 10/25/12, 5:18 PM
Roux said...: Wife: What are you going to do today?
Husband: Nothing

Next Day-

Wife: What are you going to do today?
Husband: Nothing
Wife: You did nothing yesterday.
Husband: I know but I didn't finish.; 10/26/12, 6:33 AM