Lawrence Auster of View From the Right often points out how mainstream "conservatives" often adopt leftist arguments and positions on the subject of race. These conservatives have swallowed the progressive Kool-Aid, and rush to display themselves as greatly enlightened anti-racists. They pose and posture just like liberals do, acting out a script that says "Look at me, I am so tolerant and enlightened!"
Conservative Networks appears to represent such types. No one is allowed to discuss aspects of black people because such topics are strictly verboten. Conservative Networks has published a bunch of links to Ron Paul's old newsletters, describing them as "Racist Newsletter Links." I clicked on several of them and didn't find anything that I considered especially offensive. Indeed, a lot of the links don't discuss race at all. One link merely described how militant gays invaded a Catholic church to disrupt services and insult Catholicism. I have copied and pasted their links below; feel free to peruse them.
So far, the only "offensive" remarks that have been attributed to Ron Paul are these:
1. Only about 5% of blacks vote sensibly in any election. Yes, that's about the percentage who vote Republican, so it appears Paul's statement is true.
2. Statistics infer that about 95% of black men in the Washington, DC area are either criminal or partially criminal. I agree that this statement is stupid. It is too vague and unsupported to be credible and appears highly exaggerated. However, statistics do show that almost 40% of young black men are, or have been, in the justice system. The truth is outrageous enough without exaggerating it.
3. The "swiftness" of young black men: Paul stated that young black purse snatchers are unlikely to be caught because of their swiftness of foot. However, Paul is right, black men do run faster than men of other races. This is a biological fact. It is the reason why blacks make up a disproportionate number of men in professional sports like basketball or football. It is the reason why the top track stars are generally black. The statement that "white men can't jump" is a true comparison of white basketball players vs black ones. So why is the truth offensive? What am I missing here?
4. Blacks commit crime in a higher proportion to their numbers in society. Again, a true statement. As I pointed out in my last post, making this observation without offering possible solutions is unwise from a political point of view. Some have pointed out that Paul's comment seems designed to pander to prejudice against blacks. Maybe so. But that prejudice is fed by black behavior more than any other factor. Paul's statement was tactless, but how can the truth be "racist"?
Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am not a supporter of Ron Paul. Paul is a paleolibertarian, and as such, holds foreign policy views that seem similar to those on the far left. For that reason, I cannot support him as a candidate. However, truth is truth and fair is fair. Ron Paul's views on race are often tactless and unhelpful, but not necessarily wrong.
Links to Ron Paul's old Newsletters, copied and pasted from Conservative Networks:
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