Most intellectuals get so wrapped up in their justifications for their positions, that it’s hard for a layman to parse out why they propose to believe the things they say.
But as a 54 year old, I was taught in the 60s and 70s that slavery was bad, the native Americans got screwed, and that whitey ain’t all that. And at that conservative bastion of intolerance in the 1980s, the University of Rhode Island, all my English and History Profs (I double majored so I could be twice as unemployable) we’re proud lefties. My point is that for at least 40 years, alternative to Old Whitey history has been mainstream-if not predominant. And the reason we recoil from some of the radical interpretations is that we’ve learned that a lot of it is bunk- supported not by rigorous research but by political correctness. There’s been a lot of gods-view (in an atheist)-just - bad work done, and told that it’s good.
Don’t criticize it! You must be a racist! You ARE WHITE, after all.
So I love these talks, though I’m so glad I didn’t go into academia.
Best to all,
Doug S
Aylett, VA
ps, I’ve lived in rural VA and never met a clansman. I make it a habit now to ask people if they have, and no one answers in the affirmative. When I was enlisted in the Army, we all got along. Still do. “The US is virulently racist,” theory doesn’t pass the sniff test.
