John McWhorter

John McWhorter versus the progressive elect

In his timely new book Woke Racism, Columbia linguistics professor John McWhorter examines the force of an ascendant political religion that to his mind “has betrayed black America.” “White privilege becomes the original sin that requires perpetual atonement,” McWhorter observes. Woke rebukes white America for its passive, unpardonable complicity within a fundamentally racist system. One is cleansed only through self-mortification. According to McWhorter, a multi-racial Elect thinks of itself as a bearer of exclusive wisdom and empathy. Woke positions itself against the white race, men, Christianity, capitalism and private property, heterosexuality — in other words, against people, institutions, belief systems and worldly activities at the nation’s core.

mcwhorter

Parse the curse

We all know that there are some things we shouldn’t say. Words that are mean-spirited and injurious, potty-mouthed expressions when we stub our toes, hateful things that can drip off the tongue like acid. But no words are better equipped to capture the changing landscape of a culture than those that aren’t supposed to be uttered. At a moment where everyone from high school principles to New York Times journalists are struggling with the latest iteration of language rules, John McWhorter, an associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University is out with a thoughtful, deeply researched, and downright funny book about swears. Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter — Then, Now, and Forever wrestles with two thorny, topical questions: what can’t we say?

john mcwhorter words

Is this the sanest debate on race yet?

The race debate is rapidly descending into a one-note diatribe where white accountability has become the only game in town. White liberal voices now dominate an increasingly febrile narrative but alongside mainstream flagellations about systemic racism and white supremacy, a less hysterical, more nuanced discussion is taking place. Black centrist and conservative intellectuals have been quietly trying to unpick what's really been going on across western democracies. Their conclusions run counter to the mainstream story we are all being impelled to sign up to, namely that injustice runs deeper than mere skin color.

bret weinstein