Look, liberalism has a kind of Tourette's syndrome these days. It's just constantly saying the word "racism" and "racist."...
There is a kind of intellectual poverty now. Liberalism hasn't had a new idea since the 1960s except ObamaCare and the country doesn't like it. Foreign policy is a shambles from Russia to Iran to Syria to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And recovery is unprecedentedly bad. So what do you do? You say anyone who criticizes us is a racist. It's become a joke among young people. You go to a campus where this kind of political correctness reins [sic], and some young person will say looks like it's going to rain. The person listening says, you're a racist. I mean it's so inappropriate. The constant implication of this that it is, I think, becoming a national mirth.Based on hearing Will's tone of voice, it's clear — I think! — that Will meant it would work amongst today's college kids to say "You're a racist" as a punchline when somebody says something obviously race-neutral (such as "looks like it's going to rain"). "You're a racist" has been overused to the point where it's not just boring or unbelievable, but a laugh line — a national mirth.
Somehow, I find it hard to believe that George Will is out and about at the colleges getting a real feel for what the young folk find amusing. I sort of find it amusing myself to hear George Will purporting to punditize on the subject of current college humor trends, but it's actually not that amusing, because an old white guy declaring the subject of race to have crossed over from serious to some kind of joke — "a national mirth" — really isn't funny.
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 209 of 209The founding fathers of the Democratic Party are Jefferson, Jackson, Wilson, and FDR. So far as racial tolerance goes, there is nothing admirable about these men. And they were not more advanced than their contemporaries. Hamilton, Jefferson's nemesis, was an opponent of slavery. Robert Taft spoke out against FDR's internment of American citizens during WWII. Harding, while a Senator, tried to pass an anti lynching law over Wilson's opposition.
"Don't have much of a sense of humor, do you Tim. Most comedians are liberal."
I had begun to suspect that you were playing the liberal fool as an ironic joke. But no, I don't have much a sense of humor about being carelessly accused of racism.
He's right, though.
That's Racist!
Somebody commented:
"My kids and their friends are much less uptight about race, and that includes their friends of other races. They tease each other about things related to race that my generation would never have dared to do. They are much more sane about this stuff than their elders."
Well, my generation (roughly, born in 1957 or so, college by the mid- to late-70s) was "less uptight about race" and we teased our friends about race in ways that my parents' generation never would have dared to do... and they teased us back about ours. We were all much more sane about this stuff than our elders. The above commenter has kids that are, let's say, 15. So, she's anywhere from 33 to 40. Let's split the difference and say she's 37. So... Let's do the math-- she was born in 1977 or so... and went college in the early to mid-90s. Hmmm... what was going on in college back then?
Political correctness broke the chain. We were all doing our best to internalize the lessons that Lenny Bruce and Norman Lear (inadvertently) taught us when... "That's racist!"
Perhaps these things skip generation.
tim in vermont said...
I don't have much a sense of humor about being carelessly accused of racism.
No one accused you of racism.
as a young person, i think what will is observing is something that was much more in vogue 6-8 years ago. not saying this attitude still doesn't exist, but the pendulum has definitely swung in the other direction and attitudes towards race are definitely shifting more so in the way that althouse has described in the comments.
Watch Craig Ferguson. "You're a racist!" is a standing joke.
He didn't say that the subject of race has become a joke, he said gratuitous accusations of racism have become a joke. And they have. You don't need to hang around with college kids to be aware of it. Just google "that's racist".
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