Mr. McWhorter is a very curious man. He is highly educated, a serious thinker, a gifted writer, and today he finds himself fascinated if not a bit troubled by our current cultural upheaval. You and I are possibly like him in that regard.
From the rhetoric of those who preach the various racial theories du jour, much appears to encourage one to take up the position of ‘victim.’ The spiritual leaders of Woke understand its allure. Because your life is hard, or your expectations have not been met, then being told your predicament is the fault of others, even those dead for hundreds of years, possibly justifies your unhappiness. And if you ask those learned in human behavior, the researchers in human psychology, if there is any benefit to being a victim, the answer may surprise you. I think it did Mr. McWhorter.
The elders of Woke, the Elect, many of whom are white, don't much care for Mr. McWhorter. He thinks independently. He understands the allure of victimization, but more importantly, he sees it as blatant manipulation nearly in pathological terms. As a black man, he has concluded that the black community must resist falling victim to the condescension and manipulation of the Elect and “…get past the idea that for the descendants of African slaves and only us, studied defeatism is a strategy for success and contentment.”
Mr. McWhorter is a formidable thinker. I read what he writes, and I hope you will as well. Read his latest essay here.