August 12, 2009

"The Unbearable Whiteness of Ken Burns"

Over on Taki's Magazine, my Wednesday column is up about the upcoming PBS documentary by Ken Burns, who created the superb The Civil War in 1990:

The publicity machine is now gearing up for documentarian Ken Burns’s twelve-hour extravaganza, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, which will run for six straight nights on PBS starting September 27.

This being a Ken Burns series, the predominant theme of The National Parks will be “diversity.” So, if you go camping in a national park this month, check out the diversity of your fellow visitors. You’ll likely notice tourists from all over the world, including busloads of punctual Germans and amenable Japanese.

But, foreign tourists aren’t the right kind of diversity for Burns.

Although Burns has spent his career explaining stuff, he’s never quite figured himself out. That’s why, judging from his documentary’s preview materials, The National Parks is shaping up, after six years of work, as Ken Burns’ Worst Idea.

Please read it there and comment about it here.

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer

125 comments:

Anonymous said...

I read the piece, and at some point saw this: 'distort history by overemphasizing minor figures of the proper skintone.'

Wow ! Quite by chance, they came up with the perfect definition for Black History Month !

Anonymous said...

Did I miss it, or have you not yet written a John Hughes retrospective?

dearieme said...

I thoroughly enjoyed his Jazz series, though it perhaps was a little mean on giving credit to some of the best white players, and a little generous with screen time for empty chatterboxes.

Henry Canaday said...

I saw “The Civil War” and found it respectable, but not much more. And I kept thinking, all those decades of PBS and all those billions of funding, and the best we can do is a documentary about the Civil War? Can you imagine if the BBC had a subject like our Civil War, how many great dramatic series would have been derived from it?

Burns once said that he wanted to do a documentary on the subject because he did not trust actors with the material. Given the limited skill of American actors at historical roles (grow a beard and pray), that was a wise decision. But it is not one our civilization should be much proud of.

testing99 said...

Ken Burns is perhaps the definition of SWPL.

However, I don't see him having a lasting legacy. PBS keeps dropping in viewership year, after year, after year, as it becomes ever more SWPL.

Culturally, I think we are at a tipping point where technology (the internet, cheap pc-based effects render farms) allow other players like New Zealand or Canada to form the dominant, mass popularity backbone of the Anglosphere culture. By bypassing the Hollywood Gentry, and aiming for mass viewing rather than gaining ads off a few SWPL yuppies with lots of money.

I don't see all this money sloshing around the globe, creating/propping up SWPL. Who's gonna watch this turkey?

[Good point about how all foundations become SWPL bastions, over time.]

Chief Seattle said...

I'm a long time reader, and I didn't know that about the recent history of the Sierra Club and David Gelbaum. Makes you wonder what David Gelbaum's motive in promoting immigration is.

Anonymous said...

I thought Buffalo Wings were America's best idea.

Brent Lane said...

BTW, the story floating the documentarian community about the time that The War was premiering was that Burns was absolutely livid that he was browbeaten by his major funders (especially GM) into including the Latino stuff. Which is kind of funny in light of what happened to GM since then. Guess he doesn't have to worry about them pulling their financial support on his future projects anymore.

Of course it should be mentioned that 90+ percent of professional documentary filmmakers in the US despise Burns, because since The Civil War he's soaked up the overwhelming majority of corporate funding available for historical films. Meaning most of them have to really struggle to get their projects greenlighted.

Anonymous said...

not just diversity but "diversity outreach", increasing the accessibility of the parks to a black and brown audience. cnn seems a far worse offender, filming a white hand resting on the knee of a blurred out person, over the electronically altered voice of an obvious black Chicago gangster explaining that while he himself will remain in the gang, he would discourage youngsters from getting started in it.

Anonymous said...

I've never been to Yosemite, but I'm a frequent and enthusiastic user of my state's parks, as well as a couple of nearby national parks. I see plenty of black and Hispanic visitors enjoying the trails, lakes, and picnic areas alongside white visitors. Then again, I live in a state whose population is 30% black. Maybe black people, as a group, do not feel like driving way the hell out to Yosemite for vacation. I think an analysis of visitors to national parks in areas near black population centers would show a more balanced picture.

jody said...

i go to state parks all the time, and when i get a chance, i visit national parks. i've even camped in denali in alaska. there are almost never black americans or mexicans in there. 90% of the "diversity" comes from east asian tourists.

i'll tell you what sucks about national parks. it's illegal to bring guns in there. which is absolutely stupid, as there are thousands of bears in all of them.

speaking of ken burns, has anybody seen this hilarious spoof about "the old negro space program"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6xJzAYYrX8

Anonymous said...

dearieme: I thoroughly enjoyed his Jazz series, though it perhaps was a little mean on giving credit to some of the best white players, and a little generous with screen time for empty chatterboxes.

I never would have thought that I could have despised Wynton Marsalis even more than I did already, but then I watched about 30 seconds of "Jazz" [before changing the channel].

l said...

Won't be watching. I hate the Burns template: Excrutiatingly slow pace; Boring professors giving us 'context'; Retarded voiceovers; Slow pans of photos; Anesthetic score. The Civil War was watchable. Once.

Burns is a PBS cliche -- like Daniel O'Donnell singing to blue-haired grannies.

Anonymous said...

Brian Lamb interviews Shelby Foote
Sunday, September 11, 1994
booknotes.onstreammedia.com

Brian Lamb interviews Shelby Foote
Sunday, September 2, 2001
c-spanarchives.org

Harry Baldwin said...

Steve write: "His general affect is reminiscent of the liberal social worker in the pilot episode of King of the Hill whom Hank dubs 'Twig Boy.'"

If Ken would shave off that dumb little beard he'd be a shoo-in for the "Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians" gallery.
http://menwholooklikeoldlesbians.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I hope he showcases the GLBT heroes of the National Park system.

Anonymous said...

Steve,
You're on a roll with the descriptive pictures! The greatest was Prof. Gates on the tricycle.
Lawrence Auster will be very proud.

Duffy said...

"Makes you wonder what David Gelbaum's motive in promoting immigration is."

I think that question kind of answers itself.

anony-mouse said...

I think the diversity part of the series will deal with the Indians (feather not dot)

Anonymous said...

Steve, you wrote that Ken Burns is obsessed with the black history angle of everything as if it was a peculiarity of his, a distinguishing characteristic. It's a characteristic of his milieu. Every unthinking person of SWPL background accepts his biases the way they accept gravity and other forces of nature.

If he were to read your review, I'm sure that he would sincerely deny that he's obsessed with blacks. Obsession is the wrong word for what he has there. He's going with the flow. This flow seems perverted and comical to us because we're not involved in it, but it's so huge and powerful that those who are swept up in it typically aren't even aware of its existence.

If you were tasked by some publishing house to write a history of mathematics, short-wave radio, model railroads or British comedy, you'd probably have to include a black history angle there too.

And yes, of course he looks and sounds like the kind of white guy who, out of a hundred white guys picked at random, would have the least knowledge of and experience with black culture. Out of these hundred white guys he would probably be least similar to blacks emotionally, and therefore would seem to them the weirdest, creepiest one of the whole bunch.

The Anti-Gnostic said...

I think an analysis of visitors to national parks in areas near black population centers would show a more balanced picture.

I live in Atlanta, and no it wouldn't.

Anonymous said...

"I think an analysis of visitors to national parks in areas near black population centers would show a more balanced picture."

I don't go in for national parks, but there are a couple of botanic gardens around here that I've visited. I've seen very, very few blacks or Hispanics there. Both whites and Asians were overrepresented. I used to think that an enthusiasm for cherry blossoms was a Japanese peculiarity. Turned out I was wrong - the Chinese are really into them as well.

Anonymous said...

I have camped in National parks and forests and state parks from the Atlantic to the Mississippi and Canada to the Carolinas. I can count the number of blacks I've seen camping on both hands.
Admittedly, this is backpacking and tent camping.

Anonymous said...

If you were tasked by some publishing house to write a history of mathematics, short-wave radio, model railroads or British comedy, you'd probably have to include a black history angle there too.

Implicitly white activities in fact. Ive seen the example of preserved railroads used as well. Often involving steam locos. Almost all operated by volunteers, you get the feeling that sooner or later non-white involvement will be legally mandated.

Anonymous said...

Steve,

You're really on a roll with this one.

In WWII, Burns deliberately averted his eyes from Japanese atrocities, and in doing so managed to find some black guy who had been refused a haircut (oh, the injustice) on a ship in the South Pacific.

Who are we to criticize people who pour gasoline on prisoners and set them on fire, when we are doing virtually the same thing to our own people, I ASK YOU?

John Anello said...

Steve,

Are you ever going to post about the raging healthcare debate?

Bob said...

Belated congratulations on your gig on Taki's excellent site. It's scary to think where paleos intellectuals would be without his philanthropic and entrepreneurial energy.

I agree with the above poster that the Burns style is horribly slow and boring to the point of being unwatchable.

National Parks, Baseball, Jazz, and the Civil War are among the dullest topics imaginable. Perhaps the next 15-hour documentary will be called "Ken Burns' Farm Equipment."

Anonymous said...

Still chuckling at the title of the post.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps the next 15-hour documentary will be called "Ken Burns' Farm Equipment."

That's racist!

Darwin's Sh*tlist said...

I enjoyed the Civil War and Jazz, and, never having been a baseball fan, thought about tuning into that doc to learn more. But I figured it would just be a big hosanna to Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson so I skipped it. Why doesn't Burns just do a series on Muhammed Ali and get it over with?

I've made good use of the local and state parks and national forests near where I live. You pretty much just see NAMs in the areas that are near parking: picnic shelters and playgrounds. The men are very occassionally on the trails. The women - with their talon-length press-on nails and gravity-defying hairdos - never.

Anonymous said...

"I can count the number of blacks I've seen camping on both hands.
Admittedly, this is backpacking and tent camping."


Blacks don't like the woods.

jody said...

i have never been to a state park or national park in the south, so i think it's a fair point to check them out first to see if black americans are truly not very interested. i have no anecdotal experience there.

i have been to state parks in the north that are inside the city limits of cities with lots and lots of black americans though. they still don't appear in the parks at anywhere near their population levels in the city itself.

in parks in the southwest, i have seen more mexicans than black americans, but considering just how many mexicans there actually are in the border states and how few black americans, the mexican per capita appearance in parks might be even less than black americans. anybody can drive to the state parks and go drink beers, but it takes some time and money to check out the grand canyon the right way.

San Fran Man said...

"If Ken would shave off that dumb little beard he'd be a shoo-in for the "Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians" gallery.
http://menwholooklikeoldlesbians.blogspot.com/"

Yikes. It's pretty astounding how many middle aged to older men actually do look like lesbians and are feminized. Clearly this is somewhat related to a decrease in testosterone, but I can't help but think that the modern diet and exercise regimens that are promoted by the MSM and mainstream medical/health community might have a hand in this.

Vegetarian, or low meat, low fat diets with soy consumption reduce testosterone quite dramatically. And these are the types of diets that everyone "knows" is the best, and the ones celebrities like those on that site zealously adopt. And the chronic cardio everyone does can be feminizing as well.

Big Bill said...

Pretty soon we are going to do what the British have done: inform every public venue on the public teat that unless they get their minority numbers up their funds are going to be cut.

In Britain, whether it is funding for the Bellringers of St. Swithins, or the elderly ladies Teacup Museum of Outer Strupthorp the message is the same: you have to record the race, gender and ethnicity of all your visitors and prove the the Ministry that your clientele is racially balanced, or your money gets cut off.


I see Burn's documentary as a desperate but unspoken effort to create a NAM clientele to support National Parks.

Judging by the moronic multi-cultural signs and exhibits at so many national and state venues, it is clear that there is a creeping dread of extinction that is overtaking the white folks in charge of the outdoors business. They are truly grasping at pathetic straws to find some minority connection.

Mexicans and blacks buy f^ckall from Gander Mountain, REI and Northface and would never dream of camping for fun. But just try and get the national parks and outdoorsy companies to say that in public!

Richard Hoste said...

"f he were to read your review, I'm sure that he would sincerely deny that he's obsessed with blacks. Obsession is the wrong word for what he has there. He's going with the flow. This flow seems perverted and comical to us because we're not involved in it, but it's so huge and powerful that those who are swept up in it typically aren't even aware of its existence.

If you were tasked by some publishing house to write a history of mathematics, short-wave radio, model railroads or British comedy, you'd probably have to include a black history angle there too."

Yes! It's so obvious to us but they're clueless! It's what differentiates liberals from religious believers. The latter at least know that they're conditioned to see everything through a certain lens.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone noticed how Steve has become more pro-white over the past six months or so since he's started writing for Taki's internet magazine? I remember how Steve used to show off about the black celebrities he would play golf with out in the public courses in California. A globally minded Citizenist of the world.

Nowadays, his prose is tinged with a real "Us vs. Them" tone. He's now effectively recommending vacation spots for white people to go so as to avoid blacks. Highlighting black rapist criminals in some of his latest postings.

Que pas Steve?

Anonymous said...

"If Ken would shave off that dumb little beard he'd be a shoo-in for the "Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians" gallery.
http://menwholooklikeoldlesbians.blogspot.com/"

Wait. Are you talking about Ken Burns, or Steve Sailer?

The Anti-Gnostic said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I’ve been visiting Yosemite annually since the early 70’s. In fact we’ve just returned from a 10-day camping trip both in the valley and backcountry. Latinos do indeed visit the valley with great regularity. They are primarily local Chicanos who drive to Yosemite Valley for the day to picnic at the river. But if you bother to hike more than an hour out of the valley you will see virtually no Hispanics or African Americans. As a Californian it’s actually really odd to hike the trails and see only American whites (of course there are tourists on the trails from around the world but the Americans are white).
I wonder what the SWPL hikers think? Do they want more American minorities on the trails? What would a bus load of inner city kids do for the SWPL nature-experience; or do they just block out these kinds of questions?

Ayuto Kamina said...

I can't seem to find the source, but Maxine Waters comes to mind. Seems said worthy made a comment to the effect that "the National parks were racist because they were placed so far away from the inner cities."
I always liked that idea. Just imaging a bunch of old white men looking at a map and figuring out where to "build" Yellowstone!

Dartangnan19 said...

Ken Burns... the Civil War left me with the impression he was the teacher's pet, a boot licking apple polisher...no controversy here!
Reading what he has to work with for clients, I have some compassion for the bltp!

Mr. Anon said...

"Henry Canaday said...

I saw “The Civil War” and found it respectable, but not much more. And I kept thinking, all those decades of PBS and all those billions of funding, and the best we can do is a documentary about the Civil War? Can you imagine if the BBC had a subject like our Civil War, how many great dramatic series would have been derived from it?"

The BBC can't make historical dramas anymore either, since they gave up received pronunciation. Even Dr. Who sounds like a chav.

I don't get this fascination some whites, like Burns, have with blacks - as if we (whites) are inauthentic, and only through our appreciation of all things black can we get in touch with "the real". What a load of crap.

Another SWPL I can't stand is Garrison Keillor. On his radio show, he extols the virtues of small town, upper mid-west white America. But his political philosophy and writings help undermine it.

Gravely® Tractor Club of America said...

National Parks, Baseball, Jazz, and the Civil War are among the dullest topics imaginable. Perhaps the next 15-hour documentary will be called "Ken Burns' Farm Equipment."

Dude - farm equipment ROCKS.

Especially antique farm equipment that still works [although busted-up rusty old irreparable junk farm equipment is pretty cool even if it doesn't work].

Making fun of farm equipment - them's fighting words.

sabril said...

I think it's not uncommon for blacks to go to parks for picnicing or bbqing.

But more serious activities like camping or hiking? Not so much.

Why should that surprise anyone? In every other area of life, blacks put a higher premium on short-term comfort, convenience, and gratification.

Anonymous said...

No way will I watch this, but "Lancelot Jones" is the best African-American name I've heard in a long time.

Anonymous said...

Due to the nature of Ken Burns' chosen profession, and the outsize success that he has had therein since the premier of "The Civil War" nearly two decades ago, he obviously could choose to live anywhere. He could choose, for instance, to live in his native Brooklyn-- or, across the East River, in Manhattan; perhaps up in Harlem. He could choose to live in Ann Arbor, where he graduated from high school-- or, up the road in Detroit. He could choose to live in Baltimore, where he also spent part of his peripatetic childhood (his father was a wandering academic-- a cultural anthropologist!), or down the road in D.C., where there is certainly even more of historical significance for his metier.

Where does Mr. Burns instead choose to make his home with his second wife? Walpole, New Hampshire! Per Wikipedia: "As of the census of 2000...[t]he racial makeup of the town was 98.30% White, 0.14% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.47% of the population."

Well, after all, there is no need for a man to take his vocational obsession to a personal extreme, now is there?

Chief Seattle said...

I know we come here to learn about HBD, but the propensity to go to camping is probably almost all cultural. It's something that's tough to pick up and feel comfortable with unless your father took you or possibly if you have big bucks to spend for all the latest gear at REI. Camping isn't expensive by any means, but it does have lots of details, from bug spray to flashlights to carrying water to preparing food with limited equipment that are tough for the city dweller to pick up - white or black. And unless you camp, the national parks, with their monopoly concessions operators, are fairly expensive to visit.

Anonymous said...

In the Great Smokey Mountains national park, one sees very few blacks or hispanics. One does see quite a few foreign tourists though.


Wading through mountain streams, and hiking mountain trails doesn't give one the instant gratification that outdoor pursuits like schoolyard basketball does.


Frankly, I think whites in particular seem moved more by beauty and are more infatuated by nature's more glorious areas. Whites may be found to be someday more visospacially sensitive or whatever. I know that most of the truly great painters were white guys.



BTW---Dennis Mangan has a mouth-dropping post up about how Westchester County in New York (where the Clintons used to live) is going to be FORCED to build some low cost housing because not enough blacks/hispanics live there. Little shocks me these days because Im as cyncial as a Thai street pimp, but that did.

Anonymous said...

Ken Burns went to Hampshire College - an extremely liberal and PC institution. It's no shocker that his works closely hew to PC nostrums.

Anonymous said...

Steve,

To be perhaps overly generous, it may not be lack of interest alone that motivates Blacks to stay away from Nat Parks. About 20 years ago i was driving east on Route 80 just before Xmas. In the area near Williamsport, PA, as the hiway goes over some ridges, the temp suddenly dropped below freezing and the wet surface turned as smooth as glass. After a couple vehicles went off the road, everyone stopped. Cars that were completely stopped actually started sliding sideways off the road! People got out of their cars and started helping each other and flagging down approaching vehicles. Into this mess drove a car with a black driver, all alone. I was surprised to notice that he was absolutely TERRIFIED of being stuck among a group of friendly white folks. He franticly pushed on through the stopped cars, spinning his tires wildly, and, miraculously, made it over the top of the hill and disappeared. He obviously believed his life was in danger. I doubt a guy like that would visit a Nat Park. (BTW, my wife is not white.)

Melykin said...

In my town in Canada there are very few blacks. However there are a lot of Chinese and people from south Asia--many of whom are students at the local University. I've noticed that in outdoor-oriented programs at the university (the Natural Resource Science program and the Adventure Guide Tourism program) the students are pretty much all white.

Animal Health Technology is another program that seems to attract almost entirely whites.

In the Bachelor of Business Administration programs, on the other hand, there are many students from China and various parts of south Asia or the middle east. Many of these students are international students -- that is, non-Canadian citizens who have come here just to study. Whites are a minority in the business program. The last business calculus class I taught had about 3 or 4 white students out of 40 students.

In the Respiratory Therapy program there are a substantial number of students of south Asian (Indian) decent, a peppering of Chinese, and the rest white. I'd say there are almost as many of the south Asians as there are whites.


There is no affirmative action in Canada. It wouldn't make sense because people of some ethnicities are rarely interested in certain programs. Surely in America they don't have AA for things such as Forestry or Natural Resource Science or wildlife biology.

By the way, in Vancouver there are companies that hire almost exclusively Chinese, or Vietnamese. My daughter-in-law is the only white person working at a company that does machine embroidery. Some of the work (the digitizing, which is done on computer and doesn't involve actual thread and fabric, is done by people in China and the digital patterns are emailed to Vancouver. The actual sewing is done in Vancouver, but by people from China. My daughter-in-law figures they hired her as a sort of front person to interact with the customers and make it seem more like a Canadian company. If she didn't stand up for her self the people who run the company would not give her statutory holidays or vacations.

Sorry I've strayed off topic.

Antioco Dascalon said...

I agree with Chief Seattle. If you control for a) income and b) presence of a father I think that AA rates of camping would be comparable. It's just that only a fraction of African-Americans have a father living in their household with enough disposable income to camp. And even if both those factors are present, the father would have probably had to have done childhood camping.
It's like hunting or fishing. If you don't do it as a kid, it's hard to pick up.

OneSTDV said...

Speaking of whites obsessed with blacks. Two years ago, Vh1 had a program called "The White Rapper SHow". One of the contestants was a blissfully unaware white, sociology, UCLA graduate student.

His lyrics were right from a book by Cornel West or Skip Gates. So, he and the rest of the cast get invited onto Hot 97 (which is NYC's rap station).

He starts going into his "We are the world, whitey is racist" rap, then at the end throws up a closed fist.

Much to my delight, the hosts couldn't contain their laughter.

Kevin Michael Grace said...

No, Canada does not have "affirmative action," but, yes, we do have "employment equity." Google Rosalie Abella to find out why. We had no "visible minorities" to speak of until the 1970s (so no "systemic discrimination") but every black, brown or yellow face that steps off the boat (or airliner) immediately gets more rights and privileges than native-born whites. And our quisling "Conservative" government thinks that is just wonderful. Canada was so jealous of your 1960s race riots that we actually made it government policy to import and impose the conditions that caused Watts, Newark, etc., to go up in flames. Vancouver made me, but that city is gone forever. And, yes, I'm bitter.

Simon said...

Wow Steve, I don't have any thoughts on Burns but you're definitely on fire right now with all these Taki articles; inspired me to send $25 your way via amazon e-payments. Much easier than Paypal! :)

Anonymous said...

"National Parks, Baseball, Jazz, and the Civil War are among the dullest topics imaginable. Perhaps the next 15-hour documentary will be called "Ken Burns' Farm Equipment."

Dude - farm equipment ROCKS.

Especially antique farm equipment that still works [although busted-up rusty old irreparable junk farm equipment is pretty cool even if it doesn't work]."


Ever been to the Smithsonian Arts & Industries Bulding (http://www.si.edu/ai/ ) before they purged it of the awesome SWPL machinery from the 1876 Centenial? Now that was a cool museum! But it had to go, of course.

Also, a fine PBS product on the national parklands is "The Greatest Good".

Simon said...

You don't see many blacks in the London parks, either (Greater London is ca 12-14% black). You sometimes see tent-clad Muslimas chasing the deer in Richmond Deer Park, for some reason, and howling like banshees. Otherwise going to the parks is a nice break from Diversity. I especially like the Royal Horticultural Society gardens (members only or pay admission) - 100% white, albeit mostly elderly gardeners, some of whom don't think children should be allowed in.

stari_momak said...

Great link Harry Baldwin. Don't know what it is, but that sight literally had me rolling with laughter.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what the SWPL hikers think? Do they want more American minorities on the trails? [...] or do they just block out these kinds of questions?

That is a pretty interesting question. I mean, on one hand, I can easily imagine them being satisfied with platitudes and placards. On the other, I can easily imagine the real busybodies (the ones who are so liberal they aren't satisfied with one-upping non-liberals with their moral superiority, but have to go after the big game) wanting more.

Dude - farm equipment ROCKS.

I was thinking the same thing. I'd pay good money for a series of videos that really comprehensively teach small/medium scale farming.

In every other area of life, blacks put a higher premium on short-term comfort, convenience, and gratification.

That's one way of seeing it. Another is that whites have and value a pioneering attitude, and blacks don't.

~Svigor

Anonymous said...

I guess the term I'm looking for is what psychometricians call "openness"?

If I'm right, whites should score higher than blacks. In my experience, they do.

This has good and bad consequences. Being open to new experiences can mean you try camping, or heroin.

~Svigor

can't believe my eyes said...

Maybe some of you haven't watched it in years, but the Civil War series was very powerful. I remember being in tears over it. Probably the best show were the last two. After so many hours of blood and carnage and mayhem, the surviving troops going home and realizing how everything had changed forever, as if "before" and "after" they were living in a different world. The old bearded soldier in the 1915 Gettysburg veterans convention.
You could see what he looked like as a young, idealistic, brave soldier (and I'm not even sure he was Union). The reminisences of the battles as if they were a dream from which they awoke and embraced. It hit me in the solar plexus.
Ken Burns' brother, Rick, did a documentary on the Donner Party. It was blessedly only one hour, but it had the same haunting quality of an experience so horrible that it forced a kind of transcendance, and made you wonder what it was about Americans that brought it to pass.
The thing about both the Donner doc and the Civil War doc, is that they were about white Americans primarily. In the case of the Donner, exclusively so except for a couple unfortunate Indians.
Although Burns devoted a few episodes to the black experience during the Civil War, their contribution to the armed struggle was kept in perspective. Depsite slavery being a major talking point for the conflict, it was not the real reason. The Civil War was a white man's war, whites slaughtering whites, but not only for the sake of blacks. More for the sake of their idea of what America was meant to be.
I see this country dividing into politically sovereign regions. There'll remain a kind of confederation. The transformation won't be in a war form, it'll be through gradual legal channels, and State's rights will be the catalyst.

Harry Baldwin said...

As far as Hispanics and the outdoor experience, I think most of them got their fill of hiking and camping on their way into the U.S.

The Anti-Gnostic said...

Steve-o, here's what occurred to me reading your column. Like somebody else said, you've got a knack for picking photo's that encapsulate things.

Bodo said...

Back when "Baseball" came out they did some kind of promotional event for it at the White House, and set up a baseball diamond out on the lawns. Burns picked up a bat and someone threw a pitch to him, and he was so weak it took every bit of strength he had just to get the head through the strike zone. It was really funny.

read it said...

Perhaps the next 15-hour documentary will be called "Ken Burns' Farm Equipment."

.........

Fell off my chair laughing.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what the SWPL hikers think? Do they want more American minorities on the trails? What would a bus load of inner city kids do for the SWPL nature-experience; or do they just block out these kinds of questions?

Oh I'm sure they do notice and from time to time they tell each other and non-outdoors SWPL types how terrible it is.

mdmnm said...

In my experience, national parks and, particularly, state parks are the realm of working and middle-middle class folks, rather than upper middle class. Camping is a pretty inexpensive exercise. Here in the Southwest camping is at least as popular with Hispanics as it is with whites, as is hunting.

As to "distort[ing] history by overemphasizing minor figures of the proper skintone." I recall the history of the early American Revolution, and particularly the Boston Tea Party, being reduced largely to the participation of Crispus Attucks in my school history text way back in the 70's. That sort of thing is unfortunately common and denigrates the real contributions by major figures of any skintone.

Mr. F. le Mur said...

African-American Boycott of L.L. Bean Enters 80th Year

Anonymous said...

It's kinda funny but not many blacks go to Nationals Park (that really is the name of DC's baseball stadium) either

Dan in Dc

Anonymous said...

I have worked in the park system and was a special deputy for the Department of Interior. We almost never saw Blacks unless they were with a group of Whites. Lots of Indians, we are near several large reservations and some of the tribes came to do their traditional gathering in the park.

We did see lots of Hispanics and Guatemalan Mam speaking natives. They were stealing vegetation from the park. The stuff is used in floral displays. They need a permit to gather that clearly lists where they are supposed to go and all the side roads are marked in English and now Spanish to show them where it is legal and illegal and of course the parks are marked but I have never once found them picking where they are supposed to.

The penalties range from a slap on the wrist to a stern warning. For them. You try doing it on an industrial scale week after week and see what happens.

Anonymous said...

Jake, Walpole NH is also the home of LA Burdick Chocolates, one of the best chocolatiers in the country, so maybe Burns misunderstood it as being a Naginesque "Chocolate City"!

Brutus

Anonymous said...

"Where does Mr. Burns instead choose to make his home with his second wife? Walpole, New Hampshire! Per Wikipedia: "As of the census of 2000...[t]he racial makeup of the town was 98.30% White, 0.14% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.47% of the population."


Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
(taking a breath)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha....

Anonymous said...

Lot's of politically correct anti White BS on PBS.

PBS should officially changes it's name to "Pure BS

:-)

Ken Burn's Civil War was decent, after that all of his documentaries are the same:

endless, never ending, boring politically correct preaching about how evil racist White America has oppressed, not appreciated the great, talented, moral Black African Americans like Black boxer Jack Johnson.

But. now that all the boxing champions are White Europeans, Ken Burns and PBS don't want to mention the sport of boxing, it's as if the sport doesn't even exist any more.

Yes, PBS - Pure BS and we can all wish that Ken Burns will some day be removed from his non "diverse" New Hampshire community and experience the real joys of living in "diverse communities".

Anonymous said...

" I know that most of the truly great painters were white guys."

In fairness, Chinese nature painting has always been great too. I've always been intrigued by the fact that historically they were much, much better at nature scenes than at portraying human personality and emotion. Easiest explanation - a low level of individualism leads to formulaic, little-differentiated portrayals of humans.

Truth said...

"I see Burn's documentary as a desperate but unspoken effort to create a NAM clientele to support National Parks."


Yes, an unspoken attempt to create a NAM clientele...broadcast on PBS which of course has such a huge NAM viewership.

dubeaux said...

I liked Burns' CIVIL WAR, BASEBALL & JAZZ. I filtered out the parts that were typical liberal pandering to minorities or to the PC gods in general. Perhaps it's premature to say anything about his national park doc, but it sounds like "Who you gonna believe: Ken Burns or your lyin' eyes?"

I've been backpacking national parks and federal wilderness areas all over the United States since 1971, and - out of several thousand encounters with other hikers - have seen exactly one black hiker (with a group of white college students) on a backcountry park trail far away from the trailhead. I've seen maybe a score on easy "car tourist friendly" trails near the road, and a few more hanging around the park gift shops or restaurants. I've never seen a black park or forest ranger, and never any blacks in a wilderness area.

But I guess Ken Burns is going to correct these mistaken impressions of mine.

Another anonymous said...

Anonymous: stealing vegetation from National Parks is not the worst thing done by Hispanics by far. They commit massive environmental damage to both state and national parks in California by planting huge dope farms on them. Dope is actually the largest cash crop produced in California, and 90 percent of it is controlled by the Mexican mafia. They divert streams, pour pesticides all over the ground, kill off the wildlife (which likes to eat the dope plants), etc. The Sierra Club says "nada" about it though, as you would expect.

albertosaurus said...

There are a number of comments in this thread that try to "explain" or forgive blacks for not using the national parks. Ugh!

Black park useage - or lack thereof - is a real phenomenon. As real as IQ scores and sprint times.

I live in Oakland California - a city that has more blacks than whites. Oakland has a very large municipal park system. My house abuts on those parks. If I drop something off one of my decks it falls into Redwood Regional Park. I walk my dog in that park system everyday. Today I think I will take him to nearby Lake Anza where dogs can swim.

I can't remember ever seeing blacks or hispanics on the hiking trails. Black families do picnic or play on the big lawns that are well served by parking lots. But NAMs simply do not go into the woods.

Anonymous said...

A black man named Shelton? I followed the link and noted the BA in English literature, Peace Corps work, and MA in Creative Writing. This mirrors the life experiences of a friend of mine, except she happens to be a WASP. A more genuine WASP pedigree you will not find, her great great grandfather or some such was a German military officer and fer family are Episcopalians. I dare say Mr. Johnson is even a black man at all, he is whiter than most of the readers here.

outlaw josey wales said...

Why should the government care which people (i.e. races) go to national parks as long as there is no law or actions by people that unfairly prevent them from doing so?

It just doesn't make any sense.

acy said...

Just got back from a state park.

Some upper class middle class white folks. Lots of middle/working class/pickup-driving white people.
Some heavily tattooed white people. Lots of heavy white people. A young (40s) white grandmother with 6 young grandchildren, one of whom was half black, apparently the offspring of one of her two tattooed white sons. A few black people.

My nomination for most diverse - four white kids who had to be Amish doing their rumspringa - the Germanic sentence inversions, the touching gallantry of the boys toward the girl, the startling retro wholesomeness of the lot, in spite of the girl's smallish bikini - isn't that diversity?

Crispy said...

Does anyone else here not see the irony of a bunch of HBD nerds, who seem to talk about blacks every chance they can get, making fun of Ken Burns in this thread for being obsessed with blacks?

anony-mouse said...

There's the answer to (almost) all the problems ever mentioned at ISteve!

All Whites in America have to do is to go into businesses/trades/professions involving the great outdoors. Since non-Whites seem to avoid such areas like the plague, no AA or undoc people will compete or demand quotas.

And the housing prices out there are reasonable.

Anonymous said...

About 20 years ago i was driving east on Route 80 just before Xmas. In the area near Williamsport, PA, as the hiway goes over some ridges, the temp suddenly dropped below freezing and the wet surface turned as smooth as glass. After a couple vehicles went off the road, everyone stopped. Cars that were completely stopped actually started sliding sideways off the road! People got out of their cars and started helping each other and flagging down approaching vehicles. Into this mess drove a car with a black driver, all alone. I was surprised to notice that he was absolutely TERRIFIED of being stuck among a group of friendly white folks. He franticly pushed on through the stopped cars, spinning his tires wildly, and, miraculously, made it over the top of the hill and disappeared.

That could be the basis of a movie, trapped drivers band together to survive the night, find an old barn to sleep in, search for missing child etc etc.

Of course they would have to change one or two things. The black man who drove off would have to become the leader of the group, taking change while the white dofuses (doofi?) bicker and argue as the temperature drops. Though more likely he would be the dependable 2nd in command while a 25 yr old white girl (in a Heinleinesque competent man role) unhesitatingly gives the orders to the doofi.

I can see it now, get my agent on the phone!

Anonymous said...

-I was thinking the same thing. I'd pay good money for a series of videos that really comprehensively teach small/medium scale farming.-


If you want to get into small farming, try raised beds. I've got so much stuff I can't eat it all. Started giving it away and my neighbors can't eat it all. I think you said you live in the South, right? You'll have a longer growing season. If you go that route, better make sure you like vegetables. You might want to grow tobacco too. Buy the rustica seeds if you do.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what the SWPL hikers think? Do they want more American minorities on the trails? What would a bus load of inner city kids do for the SWPL nature-experience; or do they just block out these kinds of questions?

I don't think this happens other places, but in WA you see a lot of single white women dragging black kids around to experience nature. Never white men, never black adults of either sex.

Truth said...

"Does anyone else here not see the irony of a bunch of HBD nerds, who seem to talk about blacks every chance they can get, making fun of Ken Burns in this thread for being obsessed with blacks?"

You nailed it Crispy. Shut down the thread, I can die now.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone else here not see the irony of a bunch of HBD nerds, who seem to talk about blacks every chance they can get



Do you ever actually read this comment section? People talk about whatever Steve is talking about, which frequently does not involve blacks.

Anonymous said...

Why should the government care which people (i.e. races) go to national parks as long as there is no law or actions by people that unfairly prevent them from doing so?


It just doesn't make any sense.





As opposed to all those other things the government does which make perfect sense?

Caine said...

"My nomination for most diverse - four white kids who had to be Amish doing their rumspringa - the Germanic sentence inversions, the touching gallantry of the boys toward the girl, the startling retro wholesomeness of the lot, in spite of the girl's smallish bikini - isn't that diversity?"

Of course it is. That's genuine diversity.

By now, I'm pretty much convinced that the whole diversity thing is just a variation of the old divide and conquer strategy. For the longest time I had the naive view that diversity was actually about sincere heterogeneous representation, heterogeneous cultures, cultural preservation, etc. It's clear by now that it's about homogenization, as much as possible, and as globally as possible.

This isn't to say that it's not anti-white or anti-white culture - of course it is. They're impediments to the ideology that stand in the way of global homogenization, so they're ferociously attacked.

The diversity meme goes hand in hand with globalization, modern day internationalism, and the pursuit and amassing of power. It's effective and successful because it deceives groups into thinking that they're not really buying into the system and being homogenized, that they're somehow preserving their ethnic/cultural identity. It's just the first step in the gradual erasure of all independent group identities, in order to develop a homogeneous servile mass to be ruled over.

One of the things that led me to this was reading about non-white ethnic identity groups and the materials they put out, their politics, etc. What struck me was how hollow their "culturalism" actually was - like a white guy celebrating his Irish heritage once a year by getting drunk on St. Paddy's day. The core of them seemed to be that they were trying prove how much they would and could buy into the system. Nothing would irk them more than some depiction in the media of their ethny/culture that would actually depict that unique feature which made them a distinct ethny/culture. They had to be like everyone else.

That said, it's hard to tell what the final denouement of this will be. I suspect there's a strong possibility that "diversity" and all of its ideological trappings will eventually just devour itself.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone noticed how Steve has become more pro-white over the past six months or so since he's started writing for Taki's internet magazine?


pls wake up. what got Steve to turn in this direction is the US getting a black prez, who is a playa to boot. before Steve could afford to ignore white interests, but NAM's have been pushing the envelope, so this is the result.

Simon said...

The thing about American white HBD nerds is that most of them are from the same social class as American white SWPL people. And they share many of the same obsessions, such as a rather exaggerated sense of black physical/athletic superiority and an obsession with American blacks generally.

The oddest result is that America now has a white SWPL President who happens to have a brown skin tone. No wonder they see him as a fantasy come true.

Simon said...

"No wonder they see him as a fantasy come true."

By 'they' I meant Obama's fellow SWPLers, not HBD nerds, of course.

Anonymous said...

"Yes, PBS - Pure BS and we can all wish that Ken Burns will some day be removed from his non "diverse" New Hampshire community and experience the real joys of living in "diverse communities".

Or, alternatively, and more likely, the joys of diversity will be coming soon to him.

"Yes, an unspoken attempt to create a NAM clientele...broadcast on PBS which of course has such a huge NAM viewership."
Yes, and we can't even enjoy any delicious irony because Ken Burns, in typical SWPL fashion, likely does not REALIZE that NAMs don't watch PBS.

dubeaux said...

"I don't think this happens in other places, but in WA you see a lot of single white women dragging black kids around to experience nature..."

The Sierra Club does a of that, at least in Texas. The program is called Inner City Outings and is invariably led by single white women, usually old maids. It's sad, really. They always need more adults to chaperone the kids but have a hard time getting repeat volunteers, because one outing with black kids is enough for even hard core do-gooders.

Anonymous said...

You nailed it Crispy. Shut down the thread, I can die now.

As opposed to a black dude obsessed with haranguing white nerds obsessed with blacks...

In other words, where does a boil on a dog's ass get off criticizing the dog?

~Svigor

David Axelrod said...

albertosaurus: I live in Oakland California - a city that has more blacks than whites. Oakland has a very large municipal park system. My house abuts on those parks. If I drop something off one of my decks it falls into Redwood Regional Park.

Rahm -

Have Dellums's people cross-reference their property tax records with Napolitano's folks in re: visa & immigration history from Alberta, Canada.

If necessary, get Holder to lend you some people from the San Francisco Division.

I want this kulak's identity on my desk by 5:00PM.

- D.A.

Anonymous said...

It's worth noting how ugly Ken Burns is. He also has a total lack of fashion sense (the bowl haircut being the most obvious example).

Abel said...

Cain: ...it's hard to tell what the final denouement of this will be. I suspect there's a strong possibility that "diversity" and all of its ideological trappings will eventually just devour itself.

Indeed.

The only interesting question is whether it will devour us, as well.

Jenna Jameson's Baby Daddy said...

The thing about American white HBD nerds is that most of them are from the same social class as American white SWPL people.

In the very next thread, just posted early this morning, Steve comes out of the closet and confesses that his very own aunt and uncle were committed high-altitude hikers well into their twilight years.

The oddest result is that America now has a white SWPL President who happens to have a brown skin tone. No wonder they see him as a fantasy come true.

In combination with the allusion to men who shave their beards and look like aging lesbians, the author of Half-Blood Prince is going down for the count.

Tanstaafl said...

a rather exaggerated sense of black physical/athletic superiority and an obsession with American blacks generally

This is more specifically a jewish fetish, not a general HBD or SWPL thing.

Marc B said...

"Oh I'm sure they do notice and from time to time they tell each other and non-outdoors SWPL types how terrible it is."

You are correct, sir. I've been an active climber/ sometime climbing guide for 24 years and report that they do. I've spent lots of time in Nationl parks all over North America. The MWPL's (whom usually reside in recently gentrified, yet diverse neighborhoods) seem to drone on about this injustice more than the SWPL's. They say how horrible it is that the great outdoors are no different than a country club in terms of demographics. There have been multiple posts on www.rockclimbing.com bemoaning the lack of diversity in the climbing world, and threads dedicated to brainstorm solutions to rectify this.

A few black climbers mentioned feeling like a novelty. Black climbers bluntly state the main reason for the low numbers is mainly because blacks don't want to participate in a "white" sport.

Hispanics are represented in proportions similiar to the population of native born citizens and legal residents of Hispanic origin. A significant number trailblazing US climbers were of Spanish descent/ Mexican Americans, but none were Mestizo.

nicotine stain said...

This is an excellent piece of TV criticism.

I'm surprised the commenters haven't noted that funding for the segments that exaggerate minority involvement in the national parks was provided by a foundation created by and led by wealthy Jews. Another instance of the Jewish-American obsession with WASPs' marginalization and mistreatment of NAMs.

Anonymous said...

"I suspect there's a strong possibility that 'diversity' and all of its ideological trappings will eventually just devour itself."

A certain group holds itself out from diversity, and frets about outmarriage. I refer to he Spaniards, of course!

Anonymous said...

Loopy Louis, shootin up again.

Truth said...

"As opposed to a black dude obsessed with haranguing white nerds obsessed with blacks..."

You're close Svig, let me help you:

As opposed to a black dude obsessed with haranguing white nerds obsessed with blacks who do not know that they are obsessed with blacks...

During the election, quasi-Hispanic Bill Richardson was running as an also-ran in the presidential election and Steve once asked the question "why are people so obsessed with blacks and ignore Hispanics"

Well, a Steve and Svig, a look at the blog's own thread-o-meter should tell you all you need to know; it reads:

Antonio Villaraigosa (mayor of America's second most powerful city and Steve's hometown) 0

Reverend Wright (Obscure black preacher) 52.

As a point of reference Dick Cheney (Two term vice president of the US) 1

This is the entire point that so many of you miss. You call for separation of the races, for repatriation or whatever, and guess what; without blacks YOU WOULDN'T HAVE ANY REASON TO LIVE!

Reading this blog explains to even the most uninitiated, the high suicide rate in countries with few blacks. The entire blog (and from what I can extrapolate, your entire life)is spent criticizing, ridiculing, analyzing, pondering, mulling over, coming up with solutions for, idolizing, minimizing, characterizing, browbeating, misunderstanding, hating, giving begrudging credit to, lying about, feeling superior (or inferior to) blacks.

That is what you spend your lives doing. That and oh, you take a brief respite to hate women or occasionally argue over who spells better in Latin or whether the Romans where Nordic; of course by the end of the thread someone turns those brief sidelights back to the true purpose of your lives anyway.

So I think what Crispy is saying is that for you gents, Ken Burns is somewhat like Plato's allegory of the cave:

You think that you are watching someone obsessed with blacks, but in actuality, you are watching a mere reflection on a cave wall, and all you have to do is look inside, if, in fact black obsession is what you seek to find.

Peel said...

"Reading this blog explains to even the most uninitiated, the high suicide rate in countries with few blacks."

I'll take a high suicide rate any day. After all, it's still much lower than the inevitable, astronomically high homicide rate you get otherwise. And at least it involves individuals having a say in the matter.

erickson said...

Truth,

"Reading this blog explains to even the most uninitiated, the high suicide rate in countries with few blacks."

I see, now I get it! I guess China wants to reduce their suicide rate. That must be why China let them into Guangzhou.

monster said...

"So I think what Crispy is saying is that for you gents, Ken Burns is somewhat like Plato's allegory of the cave:

You think that you are watching someone obsessed with blacks, but in actuality, you are watching a mere reflection on a cave wall, and all you have to do is look inside, if, in fact black obsession is what you seek to find."

This must be in the edition of The Republic published by Def Jam or something. Because it's all sorts of wrong.

The allegory of the cave doesn't involve reflections of the viewers themselves on the cave wall, and looking inside to discover what one seeks.

In fact, it's precisely the opposite. The Forms that are sought after are far from our direct inner experience. They are inaccessible through sensory experience.

Anonymous said...

Truth

I am not obsessed with blacks. I would be perfectly happy to ignore them if I didn't have to hear about them and from them so damned often. Just tell the mainstream media to give the subject a rest and I will follow suit.

I don't think the Jews really cared about them either. They were just a convenient club to beat the white man over the head with. This sorry spectacle--complete with masochistic SWPLs who enjoy the beatings--has been going on for fifty years now, and I am getting damned sick of it.

I have nothing against blacks. They are human beings like everyone else. They have a right to live undisturbed lives, to achieve anything they are capable of, and to do anything they want to with their lives. Just stop telling me that they are MY problem, and that society has to be radically restructured to accommodate them.

Anonymous said...

HBDers are obsessed with PC HBD denialism (duh), not any given race per se. If PC was non-existent, none of this would be discussed, and Steve would do something else for a living. Some thinkers just go where the action is.

Anonymous said...

I like black people better than Mexicans, that's for sure. Nobody's every going to get obsessed with Mexicans.

Truth said...

"This must be in the edition of The Republic published by Def Jam or something. Because it's all sorts of wrong."


I said "somewhat." The point is that you are commenting upon something that you feel is real life, but it actually a 5th generation copy. Try to stay with me, please?

Truth said...

"Just tell the mainstream media to give the subject a rest and I will follow suit...."

You...really...don't...get it...Do you?

What do you think when you speak about "the mainstream media;" there's some secret coalition of 9 Jews in a fortified synagogue deep under the streets of Manhattan that decides what you are going to watch, read and listen to?

The 6 words contained in the next paragraph may be the most important you will ever read, so brace yourself:

YOU ARE THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA SON!!!

Where exactly do you think those people who come up with those "far out ideas" about race come from? Let me give you a hint; they come from middle and upper middle class white families and well respected universities. Remind you of anyone? Did you think that they were composed in a lab?

There are over 1,000 public TV stations in America, African-Americans own exactly 8 of them. "We" own exactly 45 American radio stations. Even the rap stations are owned and operated by "YOU!"

You spend you life on a website that is dedicated to blacks, authored by a writer who makes his living writing about blacks.

And you're talking about "mainstream media" like they are from a different species than you.

"Just stop telling me that they are MY problem, and that society has to be radically restructured to accommodate them." You have restructured your own society to think, speak about, ridicule, and comment upon blacks practically every day of your life...Are you fucking kidding me?

Anonymous said...

This is the entire point that so many of you miss. You call for separation of the races, for repatriation or whatever, and guess what; without blacks YOU WOULDN'T HAVE ANY REASON TO LIVE!

Truth, you have to speculate as to what "we" "call" for, because you never bother to ask.

Doesn't that make you feel like an ass? At least a little bit?

~Svigor

Anonymous said...

This is the entire point that so many of you miss. You call for separation of the races, for repatriation or whatever, and guess what; without blacks YOU WOULDN'T HAVE ANY REASON TO LIVE!

That you think this absurdity reason to "shout" for emphasis only serves to emphasize how juvenile it is.

Your big point is...wait for it...an ad hominem argument. Wow, you blew my doors off, boss.

Not only that, but also an ad hom that works against you, as much as any other regular here (which brings to mind the fact that at least you have a handle, so, credit where it's due).

But, wait, there's more! It doesn't even work as an ad hom (If a regular disagrees, he can say so and I'll go into pedantic mode).

That is what you spend your lives doing.

On second thought, the ad hom is more applicable to you; the hierarchy you've created places you at a lower position, not an equivalent one. What's worse is, this is your hierarchy, so you buy into it - you can't say the same for anyone else here.

Great, now I'm starting to feel like I've been beating up on a cripple.

~Svigor

Anonymous said...

No, Truth. The media are not run by people like me--although I will concede that they are not run by people like you either. Nor are they run by 8 Jews in a bomb shelter. They are run by a huge coalition of "right thinking" white people who are pushing a particular social and political agenda. The Jewish influence in assembling this coalition is unmistakable, but they are by no means the only participants. I am opposed to the liberal social agenda because it is not grounded in reality but in PC myths and Utopian visions about what "America can and must become."

I do not think that I am obsessed by race. I wish I could think about it much less than I do. It is the relentless propagandizing of the liberal media that keeps the issue front and center in everyone's consciousness.

Gilbert Ratchet said...

Speaking of SWPL, did you see the latest entry on that blog? It's about camping!

Anonymous said...

You have restructured your own society to think, speak about, ridicule, and comment upon blacks practically every day of your life...Are you fucking kidding me?

The way I structure my personal life--the way I choose my friends and what I choose to discuss with them--is my own business. The kind of social engineering that liberals are so fond of is another thing entirely.

kudzu bob said...

>I said "somewhat."<

Hilarious. Truth actually thinks that he has found the verbal equivalent of a West African juju that will render his ignorance undetectable.

Truth said...

Let me answer for you:

Practically nothing, other than the fact that they are not totally obsessed with race! They are obsessed with achieving, making money, and moving to bigger markets. A man can only have so many obsessions in life.

You talk about "them" being politically correct, let me ask you a question;

How comfortable are you saying the "N-word?"

Let me ask you another one: Are you a racist?

I ask these questions because in my opinion in 2.5 years on this site, I must say, that the posters here ARE SOME OF THE MOST PC WIMPS I'VE EVER READ!

That is the god's honest truth.

"I do not think that I am obsessed by race. I wish I could think about it much less than I do."

Quick English lesson here, Sport:
"Obsession" is thinking about something more than is comfortable.

"The way I structure my personal life--the way I choose my friends and what I choose to discuss with them--is my own business. The kind of social engineering that liberals are so fond of is another thing entirely."

No, not really, "media" comes from "medium" which means roughly; instrument of communication.

You are "the media." Just on a smaller scale.

Mr. Anon said...

"Anonymous said...

The way I structure my personal life--the way I choose my friends and what I choose to discuss with them--is my own business. The kind of social engineering that liberals are so fond of is another thing entirely."

To anonymous: There's really no point in responding to 'Truth'. He routinely claims that we're obsessed with blacks. He seems to think that none of us have any life offline - as if we're chained to a computer.

Fact is, most white people would be happy to never hear about blacks. And far from being interesting, black people are mostly boring nowadays. Social dysfunction is tawdry and predictable. Forty years ago at least, blacks made some worthwhile contribution to culture. Now, black "culture" has completely become a ghetto, and a pretty awful one at that.

The best way to respond to "Truth" is not to respond to him - not to even read his posts, as he never has anything worthwhile to say. Without stimulus, he'll eventually just go away.

Truth said...

"The best way to respond to "Truth" is not to respond to him - not to even read his posts..."

Apparently Sparky, you have.

Anonymous said...

. And far from being interesting, black people are mostly boring nowadays

NOT AS BORING AS MEXICANS

Anonymous said...

Ulysses S. Grant created the first National Park and Ken Burns hatred of the President who prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan is evident. Ken Burn's Civil War series was a series that promoted Southern Generals and the Lost Cause. The National Park Series hardly shows any of the parks, but terrible black and white photos of park history and then delves off into insigifigant events at National Parks. Burn's fumbled. The National Park's is a national disgrace.