Althouse: "[In America], when prejudice is felt, it is open, obvious, blatant; the white man makes his position very clear..."

December 14, 2016

"[In America], when prejudice is felt, it is open, obvious, blatant; the white man makes his position very clear..."

"... and the black man fights those prejudices with equal openness and fervor, using every constitutional device available to him.... The rest of the world in general and Britain in particular are prone to point an angrily critical finger at American intolerance, forgetting that in its short history as a nation it has granted to its Negro citizens more opportunities for advancement and betterment, per capita, than any other nation in the world with an indigent Negro population."

Wrote E.R. Braithwaite in 1959. The book was "To Sir, With Love." The author has died at the age of 104.

23 comments:

eddie willers said...: Lulu running through my head.; 12/14/16, 9:54 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: I love the open, obvious, blatant prejudice that, when there it prejudice, it is by white men.; 12/14/16, 10:01 AM
YoungHegelian said...: I remember an interview with Braithwait by his fellow Guyanan, Kojo Nmande. They discussed Braithwait's time in the RAF during the war. Braithwait described how you would see a compatriot at breakfast, hale & hearty, & then you'd go on a mission, & your comrade wasn't there for dinner. Or, anywhere, ever again. It was like he had just vanished.

Even after a period of sixty or so years, Braithwait couldn't bring back those memories without tears. It was quite moving to listen to.; 12/14/16, 10:03 AM
Ken B said...: You have misspelled his name.; 12/14/16, 10:05 AM
YoungHegelian said...: Here's a link to the interview.; 12/14/16, 10:05 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Sorry about the typo. Fixed.; 12/14/16, 10:18 AM
Fernandinande said...: Thistlethwaite is the only name that's cooler than Braithwaite.; 12/14/16, 10:31 AM
mikee said...: Thistlewaite? Braithwaite?
Bumpershoot Camerasnap! I mean, Benedict Cumberbatch.; 12/14/16, 10:39 AM
mockturtle said...: He must not have spent much time in the US but, as with most Brits, he considers himself an expert on American culture.; 12/14/16, 10:49 AM
Gahrie said...: 1) Life in infinitely better for the average Black person in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world. That's why so many of them are willing to risk their lives to come here.

2) The only person it is legally permissible, often ever mandated, to discriminate against today is a heterosexual White man.; 12/14/16, 10:50 AM
JAORE said...: "...when there it prejudice, it is by white men."

Of course it is. The minorities in America are powerless.

Say, is that a quote by the sitting POTUS?; 12/14/16, 12:19 PM
William said...: The concept of white supremacy has drifted towards the field of prejudice. If there's one area of human endeavor that white peopple surpass all others it's in the area of discrimination and prejudice. Nobody else in the world even comes close.; 12/14/16, 1:53 PM
mockturtle said...: Says William: Nobody else in the world even comes close.

So you must not be too familiar with the Nation of Islam and other black supremacist groups and their 'white devil' doctrines. Japanese people have been, at least in the past, very protective of their 'racial purity'.; 12/14/16, 2:28 PM
gadfly said...: Lost in the Fifties ...; 12/14/16, 3:15 PM
Gahrie said...: If there's one area of human endeavor that white peopple surpass all others it's in the area of discrimination and prejudice. Nobody else in the world even comes close.

Demonstrably false. Do you actually know anything about other cultures?; 12/14/16, 4:35 PM
Bruce Gee said...: "If there's one area of human endeavor that white peopple surpass all others it's in the area of discrimination and prejudice. Nobody else in the world even comes close.”
Gahrie:
"Demonstrably false. Do you actually know anything about other cultures?"

I’m just going to go out on a limb here and guess that you missed the sarc on this one, Gahrie.; 12/14/16, 5:25 PM
William said...: Thank you, Bruce.....And also thank you Gahrie for the reassurance that my sarcasm isn't too heavy handed, I'm aiming for delicate, subtle irony that only sophisticated, worldly people like Bruce can truly appreciate.; 12/14/16, 6:41 PM
mockturtle said...: I'm aiming for delicate, subtle irony that only sophisticated, worldly people like Bruce can truly appreciate.

Well, I guess I'm not sufficiently sophisticated or worldly to grasp your 'delicate, subtle irony', William ;-D. But I admit that I found the statement to be quite out of character and thought it could be meant sarcastically.; 12/14/16, 7:04 PM
Gahrie said...: use /sarc please...I read Althouse early in the morning.......; 12/14/16, 7:53 PM
Gahrie said...: ....although I see I made that comment in the afternoon....my bad......; 12/14/16, 7:55 PM
LA_Bob said...: "....although I see I made that comment in the afternoon....my bad......"

You need the /irony tag for that one.; 12/14/16, 10:57 PM
LA_Bob said...: "....although I see I made that comment in the afternoon....my bad......"

You need the /irony tag for that one.; 12/14/16, 10:57 PM
Wilbur said...: "I'm aiming for delicate, subtle irony that only sophisticated, worldly people like Bruce can truly appreciate."

Delicate and subtle doesn't work in comment sections, Bucko. Your aim is not true.; 12/15/16, 5:53 AM