FROM Racism, Guilt, Self Hatred, And Self Deceit by Gedaliah Braun, PhD (2007):

I am an American who from 1976 to 1988 taught philosophy at universities in Nigeria, Kenya and Papua New Guinea, since which time I have lived in South Africa … With very few exceptions, blacks in Africa regard it as an obvious, commonplace fact, needing no argument, and provoking no ‘offense’ whatsoever, that the white man is superior to the black man. ‘Blaming’ this inferiority on whites or colonialism (‘externalism’), therefore, is obviously a nonstarter.

This claim about black attitudes is based on conversations with hundreds of blacks in Africa and Papua New Guinea. That indigenous blacks so matter-of-factly believe this does not make it true; but it does establish that for them, the question of racial differences is not a ‘sensitive’ issue. Where does this idea come from – that racial difference is a despicable idea, so disgraceful that the mere suggestion of it can end careers? I believe it comes from whites rather than blacks, which is why, in black Africa, where there are few whites and remarkably little Western ideological influence, the idea that all races are the same and that it is morally bad to say otherwise is almost unknown.

The situation in America is different and yet not so different. References by blacks to the fact that most blacks believe that whites are ‘better’ are common. Though such observations will always be coupled with the reassurance that these beliefs are ‘myths’ created by racism etc., that does not change the fact that most American blacks do indeed believe that as a group they are inferior. I myself have had numerous conversations with black Americans who unproblematically acknowledge such racial differences.

Unlike the situation in Africa, however, many Western blacks have learned that whites are uptight about race, feel guilty about black failure, and hence blame it on themselves – which is what creates the very idea of externalism. (‘Whites themselves say they are to blame! So who are we to argue?’) They quickly learn that they can benefit from being ‘angry’; hence the phenomenon of ‘black rage’, a perfect vehicle for psychological blackmail (‘no justice no peace’) – all of which I believe is a gigantic con game.

After all, if one accepts my claim that blacks themselves believe they are deficient in ability and character, it follows that they do not think their failure is due (at least not entirely) to such things as racism. And can anyone doubt that they must also realize that these deficiencies themselves almost certainly have a role in explaining black failure? To the extent that that is true, it follows that they are ‘internalists’ and that ‘black rage’ is a scam.

In general, if one concedes ‘internalism’ – that the explanation for black failure lies ‘within’ – the possibility that at least part of the cause lies in such differences in ability and character must inevitably be confronted, precisely what ‘internalists’, like most everyone else, have so far been unwilling to do. Once again, this is due to their unthinking acceptance of the dogma that such differences are morally abhorrent, an assumption for which arguments are never presented.

While I do not claim to have an immediate solution to the racial problems in the West, I do know what is a sine qua non for any progress. First and foremost, there must be an end to this assumption that it is wicked and evil to talk about racial differences.

Please follow and like us: