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Jan. 14, 2021 - Epoch Times
14:26
Larry Elder SHUTS DOWN Racism Narrative | Larry Elder
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Have you ever noticed some people search for racism even when the alleged victim of racism doesn't believe he or she is a victim of racism?
I'll come to that in a second.
But some people view the world through race-tinted glasses.
And see, the problem is racism has never been a less significant factor in American life.
And therefore, since the demand for instances of racism has exceeded the supply, you have to figure out new sources.
Into terms like microaggression.
Into terms like underrepresented.
I mean, even after Joe Biden was declared the victory of this race, assuming he won the race, out came the race card.
And Beto O'Rourke gave us a new term, foundational.
You know, I called this out in no uncertain terms on August 3rd and every day since then, and I was talking about it long before then as well.
Racism in America is endemic.
It is foundational.
Now, the woke are always talking about racism, racism, racism.
But when you specifically ask somebody what to do about it, abada, abada, abada.
You know Martin O'Malley?
Martin O'Malley was a former mayor of Baltimore, former governor of Maryland.
He ran for president in 2016.
And when Dylann Roof killed those churchgoers in South Carolina, that morning, O'Malley was on the Morning Joe show on MSNB, Hee Haw.
And he was asked, after he talked about the problem of racism in America, what do we do about it?
The president also talked about it in terms of the history of race and racial violence towards blacks.
To what extent do you think that this was also something that gets at the core of some racial history that we still have?
From the reports I read, and let's To be honest with one another, the facts are still evolving here.
It would appear that the racial motivation was certainly a big part of what happened here.
How do we address things like that?
We do it by acknowledging the racial legacy that we share as Americans.
And I don't know exactly how we address this, Walter.
I mean, look, we, as Americans, all share a very painful racial legacy.
And we need to acknowledge it and we need to take actions to heal it.
But I don't think anybody's figured out the magic solution to that.
Now, an NBC poll found that, yes, 64% of Americans thought that racism was a problem in America.
But then it also found that almost nobody talks about it with friends or even family.
One finding in the poll that's worth noting is how rarely some Americans discuss race issues.
Nearly half of the respondents, 47%, said race relations never or rarely come up in conversations with family and friends.
This means while the majority of Americans think race relations are worsening, far fewer are discussing it with the people closest to them.
End of quote.
And I don't know exactly how we address this, Walter.
Now think about this.
Majority of Americans believe racism is a major problem, yet they almost never discuss it with friends or family.
How do you have something as a major problem and you never discuss it?
And the answer is, it's not a major problem, and if it's not a major problem, what the hell are you supposed to say about it?
In 1997, 23 years ago, Time Magazine, CNN did a poll of black teens and white teens to ask them about their perceptions of race relations.
And the majority of both black teens and white teens felt race relations were a major problem in America.
But then, 89% of blacks, when asked whether racism was a major problem, a small problem, or no problem in your own daily life, they said no.
Now, I tried to explain this to TMZ's Harvey Levin and his co-host, Charles.
1997, Time Magazine, CNN, asked black teens and white teens about racism.
Is racism a major problem?
Just 23 years ago, is racism a major problem in America?
They said yes.
But then the black teens were asked this.
Is racism a big problem, a small problem, or no problem in your own daily life?
89% said no problem or a small problem in my own daily life.
In fact, more black teens than white teens said But Larry, what did you say that study was?
Hold on, Larry.
You said that study was in 1997?
Yeah, before Barack Obama got elected and re-elected.
So I would think that whatever race...
1997, we're in 2020.
You want to talk about...
You want to bring up a study that was done 23 years ago?
The relevance of it is, wouldn't you think that America was more racist in 1997 than now?
Even then, black kids...
No, actually, I think it's more racist now than it was in 97.
Well, now that I have a little more time to elaborate, this study also found this.
More black teens than white teens said failure to take advantage of available opportunities is a bigger problem than racism.
Again, more black teens than white teens said failure to take advantage of available opportunities is a bigger problem than racism.
That was 23 years ago, before the election and re-election of the first black president.
Now, as I mentioned, some people see racism even when the alleged victim of racism doesn't see it.
The Dodgers recently won the World Series.
It turns out the only black player in the World Series is a Dodger named Mookie Betts.
He didn't know it, and I didn't know it.
Well, Mook, you know, when you get to the World Series, everything's magnified.
And one of the things everybody's talking about across the country, you're the only African-American player in the World Series.
So when did you learn that?
And what are your thoughts when you think about that?
Learned it just now.
I mean, the man said he just now learned it.
But, but, but I thought everybody was talking about it.
One of the things everybody's talking about.
So now let's finish Mookie Betts' answer.
It's tough to say.
I mean, you know, obviously there's got to be more of us here.
But, you know, it starts in the inner cities that we have to give back and whatnot.
And I'm doing my part, you know, putting some programs together to get us into baseball.
But I hope everybody's out here watching because, you know, I'm 5'9", 170 pounds, just like the majority of us.
And so anything's possible.
What's he supposed to say?
This ain't 1947.
Nobody's stopping anybody black from playing.
So Mookie didn't know what to say.
So he just went, eh?
Do you think Mookie Betts faced obstacles like Frank Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Bob Gibson, the late Bob Gibson, who recently died?
It's insulting to suggest that Mookie went through what these guys went through.
Well, anger came from racism.
Of course it did.
But racism was a way of life.
That it was stuff that I had to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
I didn't every once in a while go somewhere and all of a sudden there it was.
No, it was there and it followed me all the way through my childhood and not just through the childhood, through the first part of my major league career.
It was there.
And Mr.
Betts just signed a 12-year deal with the Dodgers worth $365 million.
So yeah, his pathway was a little easier than say that of Bob Gibson.
Now, do you guys know who Phil Ivey is?
The Tiger Woods of poker?
You can just feel the tension in the room.
Hi, Cole.
He says, cool!
This is a monster, and it is the hand that Phil Ivey has been waiting for.
$807,000 pot.
Incredible.
Absolutely unbelievable.
Absolutely unbelievable.
In a 60-minute profile of this young black superstar, he was asked...
Has race been a factor at all?
Has race been a factor?
No.
Not in poker.
In poker, they only see one color, that's green.
No racism there.
And then there's rapper Lil Wayne.
Where are we in the United States of America in race relations and what you see from day to day in your life?
Skip, they wouldn't want to ask me that.
They wouldn't want my answer to represent it because God knows I have been nothing but blessed.
My whole path, these 33 years have been nothing but a blessing.
I have never, and never is a strong word, never dealt with racism.
And I'm glad I didn't have to.
And I don't know if it's because of my blessings.
I don't know if it's, but it is my reality.
So I have a, I would have to say, not only did I thought it was over, I still believe it's over, but obviously it isn't.
So you've never experienced any offensive behavior from any other color?
No, sir.
Wow.
Again, when the demand for racism exceeds the supply, you've got to come up with new sources.
Has race been a factor?
No.
So you've never experienced any offensive behavior from any other color?
No, sir.
Now, you remember when Tiger Woods first hit the scene and they wanted to make sure that we all knew that he was woke?
Do you ever feel under any kind of pressure or any kind of prejudice?
Golf's quite often seen as an upper-class white game.
Do you ever feel that at all?
Every time I go to a major country club, I always feel it.
I can always sense it.
People are always staring at you.
What are you doing here?
You shouldn't be here.
When I go to Texas or Florida, you always feel it because they're saying, why are you here?
You're not supposed to be here.
And that's probably because that's where all the slavery was.
Has anybody benefited more from Gulf than Tiger Woods?
But no.
They tried to turn him into Malcolm X. I shot in the 60s when I was 12.
I won the U.S. Junior Aventure when I was 15.
I played in the Nissan Open when I was 16.
I won the U.S. Amateur when I was 18.
I won the U.S. Amateur when I was 19.
I'm the only man who can decide to make the U.S. Amateur titles.
There are steel corsets in the U.S.
I'm not allowed to play because of the color of my skin.
I'm not ready for it.
I'm ready for it.
There are steel corsets that I can't play because I'm black.
Really?
James Glassman, columnist, Washington Post.
The only problem is that, in the case of Woods, it's based on a lie.
I called Nike to get a list of the courses he's not allowed to play.
Finally, the company's public relations director called me back.
You're absolutely right.
Tiger Woods can play on any golf course he wants.
In other words, the ad campaign's entire premise is wrong?
Well, not exactly.
The goal of the ad, he said, was to raise awareness that golf is not an inclusive sport.
But Glassman writes, in this country, merit trumps race.
That fact is one of the glories of our market republic.
If you're good enough, people will buy what you're selling, no matter who you are." Now remember the scandals this married man got involved in?
Notice all of the alleged mistresses, and notice his wife.
None of them quote people of color.
They all appear to be white.
Now, has any reporter, any reporter said to Tiger Woods, yo, Tiger, what's up with all the white women?
Can you imagine what would happen if any such reporter said such a thing?
You're fired.
And on any given Sunday, if Tiger Woods is in contention, the ratings go through the roof.
Many doubted we'd ever see it.
But here it is.
The return to glory.
Now, to quote John O'Sullivan, then editor of the National Review, white racism does exist, but its social power is weak.
And the social power arrayed against it?
As my friend and mentor Thomas Sowell puts it, racism is not dead, but it is on life support, kept alive by politicians, race hustlers, and people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others As racist.
So can we knock it off?
Racism, once again, has never been a less significant factor in American life.
Now, finally, as of right now, the election is still being contested.
What I don't get is why Democrats don't have a vested interest in making sure that the American people, including those who did not vote for Biden, feel that they lost fair and square.
Yeah, how many of those guys in office owe everything to me?
I made them.
Yeah, I made them just like a tailor makes a suit of clothes.
I'm taking nobody, see?
Teach him what to say.
Get his name in the papers.
Yeah, paper his campaign expenses.
Fish out a lot of groceries and coal.
Get my boys to bring the voters out.
And then count the votes over and over again until they had it upright and he was elected.
I'm Larry Elder, and we've got a country to save.
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