Update on Ibram X. Kendi Episode
Added 2021-02-26 02:30:37 +0000 UTCSo we've recorded this and the edit has begun but it's a long one. Currently 3hrs 24 mins, so it'll take some time to edit. I'm hoping to get it done by the end of the weekend but might be early next week depending on work and kids. At latest we will have it out by Friday next week.
I (Chris) think it's a good one! We definitely do get into the weeds on a lot of the topics Kendi covers and we also make time to discuss the ongoing feud with another controversial black academic you may have heard of: Liam Bright!
We thought it best to condense all of our criticisms of black academics into a single episode!
I don't think we will get cancelled for this one but will be interesting to see the feedback.
So sorry that we won't get the episode out today but hopefully it is worth the wait.
-Chris
Comments
Yes, I think that’s true - it’s very hard to disentangle ‘cultural differences’ from the socioeconomic disparities that are driven by historical things (inc unfair policies) from the ‘active’ discrimination that occurs once the signifiers are perceived, eg by the justice system. Chris might have a different take, but I guess all of the above might be said to apply to Northern Ireland and the USA, even though all the details, and the relative importance of the factors, might well be completely different.
Christopher Kavanagh
2021-03-13 00:27:57 +0000 UTCOh, and I guess I didn’t say this explicitly— the “vice theory” model I described above, with a bad habit becoming a bad identity, would mean that there ARE people who justifiably have the identity of “racist.” Those would be people with a habit of committing racist acts. But they could, under this same model, cease to have that identity by cultivating an identity of antiracist, by practicing acts of anti racism until it becomes a habit.
Gretchen Koch
2021-03-06 19:23:38 +0000 UTCAlso when the conversation turned to cultural differences I recoiled a little bit, because it’s a very different thing to talk about the behavior of Irish Catholics vs. the behavior of black people, even black people in America specifically. This is where the term “systemic racism” or, even better, “institutional racism” can be handy. If you acknowledge that racial disparities exist in terms of the disproportionate number of black Americans in prison, for example, you really have two choices: institutional racism, or something about black people in America, whether cultural or genetic. And while there is such a thing as black culture, you sure can’t blame it for something like this because the criminal justice system doesn’t act on cultures, but people. And you have no way of telling to what extent a black person participates in “black culture” simply by being black, obviously. The racial identity preceded the culture. Whereas you can definitely know some things about the cultural identity “Irish Catholic.” Which is...well, shoot, I totally lost my train of thought because I’m at the hospital with my dad, and the doctor came in. I’ll just end here because I can’t even scroll up to see what I was saying. (Screw Patreon’s commenting system, seriously).
Gretchen Koch
2021-03-06 19:16:39 +0000 UTCI was thinking of virtue theory while listening to Kendi’s description of racism as action. Aristotle described virtue as being a kind of habit, saying that you can cultivate virtuous habits by repeatedly committing virtuous acts. And in stuff I’ve read elsewhere about how habits work, eventually they become an identity. Like, if you develop a robust habit of going for runs, you acquire the identity of “runner.” It also works in the opposite direction, which you might call vice theory— if you develop a habit of driving recklessly, you acquire the identity “reckless driver.” I like this comparison to Kendi’s thinking about racism because it’s also about behavior. But it doesn’t exclude ideology— you might have some particular thinking behind being a runner, and likewise you might have a particular thinking behind being a reckless driver. But that’s not required for the term “running” or “reckless driving” to be accurate terms to describe your behavior. Also a reckless driver could easily decide *not* to drive recklessly, just as a person who says racist stuff could make statements opposing racism. The “thing you said” vs. “who you are” distinction regarding racist behavior is something I originally heard from Jay Smooth in a really good, concise (funny) video he has on YouTube called “How to tell someone they sound racist.” You might check it out.
Gretchen Koch
2021-03-06 18:31:47 +0000 UTCYes it should be. US time though 😉.
Christopher Kavanagh
2021-03-06 00:10:57 +0000 UTCLooking forward to this episode.
Grammaticus Gore
2021-03-05 23:13:23 +0000 UTCIs it out today?
Grammaticus Gore
2021-03-05 23:12:48 +0000 UTCI think so! But just in case it’s the interview with ‘The One you Feed’ podcast! Just 30 mins long!
Christopher Kavanagh
2021-02-26 15:35:21 +0000 UTCWas the source material ever shared?
David Love
2021-02-26 13:28:16 +0000 UTCIt exists in a quantum state of indeterminacy until you listen and then it collapses randomly into one of those two... but hopefully not so much the racist side.
Christopher Kavanagh
2021-02-26 02:34:32 +0000 UTCJust one question - will this podcast be racist or anti-racist?
Mark McElman
2021-02-26 02:32:59 +0000 UTC
