Epoch Times - Larry Elder SHUTS DOWN Racism Narrative | Larry Elder
Aired: 2021-01-14
Duration: 14:26


=== Racism's Persistent Shadow (14:15) ===

[00:00:03]  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?
[00:00:11]  I'll come to that in a second.
[00:00:12]  But some people view the world through race-tinted glasses.
[00:00:17]  And see, the problem is racism has never been a less significant factor in American life.
[00:00:23]  And therefore, since the demand for instances of racism has exceeded the supply, you have to figure out new sources.
[00:00:31]  Into terms like microaggression.
[00:00:34]  Into terms like underrepresented.
[00:00:37]  I mean, even after Joe Biden was declared the victory of this race, assuming he won the race, out came the race card.
[00:00:45]  And Beto O'Rourke gave us a new term, foundational.
[00:00:50]  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.
[00:00:59]  Racism in America is endemic.
[00:01:01]  It is foundational.
[00:01:03]  Now, the woke are always talking about racism, racism, racism.
[00:01:06]  But when you specifically ask somebody what to do about it, abada, abada, abada.
[00:01:12]  You know Martin O'Malley?
[00:01:14]  Martin O'Malley was a former mayor of Baltimore, former governor of Maryland.
[00:01:18]  He ran for president in 2016.
[00:01:20]  And when Dylann Roof killed those churchgoers in South Carolina, that morning, O'Malley was on the Morning Joe show on MSNB, Hee Haw.
[00:01:30]  And he was asked, after he talked about the problem of racism in America, what do we do about it?
[00:01:36]  The president also talked about it in terms of the history of race and racial violence towards blacks.
[00:01:42]  To what extent do you think that this was also something that gets at the core of some racial history that we still have?
[00:01:51]  From the reports I read, and let's To be honest with one another, the facts are still evolving here.
[00:01:56]  It would appear that the racial motivation was certainly a big part of what happened here.
[00:02:02]  How do we address things like that?
[00:02:04]  We do it by acknowledging the racial legacy that we share as Americans.
[00:02:14]  And I don't know exactly how we address this, Walter.
[00:02:18]  I mean, look, we, as Americans, all share a very painful racial legacy.
[00:02:24]  And we need to acknowledge it and we need to take actions to heal it.
[00:02:29]  But I don't think anybody's figured out the magic solution to that.
[00:02:35]  Now, an NBC poll found that, yes, 64% of Americans thought that racism was a problem in America.
[00:02:43]  But then it also found that almost nobody talks about it with friends or even family.
[00:02:49]  One finding in the poll that's worth noting is how rarely some Americans discuss race issues.
[00:02:57]  Nearly half of the respondents, 47%, said race relations never or rarely come up in conversations with family and friends.
[00:03:06]  This means while the majority of Americans think race relations are worsening, far fewer are discussing it with the people closest to them.
[00:03:16]  End of quote.
[00:03:17]  And I don't know exactly how we address this, Walter.
[00:03:23]  Now think about this.
[00:03:24]  Majority of Americans believe racism is a major problem, yet they almost never discuss it with friends or family.
[00:03:30]  How do you have something as a major problem and you never discuss it?
[00:03:35]  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?
[00:03:42]  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.
[00:03:50]  And the majority of both black teens and white teens felt race relations were a major problem in America.
[00:03:56]  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.
[00:04:05]  Now, I tried to explain this to TMZ's Harvey Levin and his co-host, Charles.
[00:04:11]  1997, Time Magazine, CNN, asked black teens and white teens about racism.
[00:04:16]  Is racism a major problem?
[00:04:18]  Just 23 years ago, is racism a major problem in America?
[00:04:21]  They said yes.
[00:04:21]  But then the black teens were asked this.
[00:04:23]  Is racism a big problem, a small problem, or no problem in your own daily life?
[00:04:28]  89% said no problem or a small problem in my own daily life.
[00:04:32]  In fact, more black teens than white teens said But Larry, what did you say that study was?
[00:04:38]  Hold on, Larry.
[00:04:39]  You said that study was in 1997?
[00:04:41]  Yeah, before Barack Obama got elected and re-elected.
[00:04:44]  So I would think that whatever race...
[00:04:45]  1997, we're in 2020.
[00:04:47]  You want to talk about...
[00:04:48]  You want to bring up a study that was done 23 years ago?
[00:04:51]  The relevance of it is, wouldn't you think that America was more racist in 1997 than now?
[00:04:57]  Even then, black kids...
[00:04:58]  No, actually, I think it's more racist now than it was in 97.
[00:05:03]  Well, now that I have a little more time to elaborate, this study also found this.
[00:05:08]  More black teens than white teens said failure to take advantage of available opportunities is a bigger problem than racism.
[00:05:18]  Again, more black teens than white teens said failure to take advantage of available opportunities is a bigger problem than racism.
[00:05:27]  That was 23 years ago, before the election and re-election of the first black president.
[00:05:33]  Now, as I mentioned, some people see racism even when the alleged victim of racism doesn't see it.
[00:05:39]  The Dodgers recently won the World Series.
[00:05:42]  It turns out the only black player in the World Series is a Dodger named Mookie Betts.
[00:05:47]  He didn't know it, and I didn't know it.
[00:05:50]  Well, Mook, you know, when you get to the World Series, everything's magnified.
[00:05:53]  And one of the things everybody's talking about across the country, you're the only African-American player in the World Series.
[00:06:00]  So when did you learn that?
[00:06:02]  And what are your thoughts when you think about that?
[00:06:04]  Learned it just now.
[00:06:05]  I mean, the man said he just now learned it.
[00:06:07]  But, but, but I thought everybody was talking about it.
[00:06:12]  One of the things everybody's talking about.
[00:06:13]  So now let's finish Mookie Betts' answer.
[00:06:18]  It's tough to say.
[00:06:19]  I mean, you know, obviously there's got to be more of us here.
[00:06:22]  But, you know, it starts in the inner cities that we have to give back and whatnot.
[00:06:27]  And I'm doing my part, you know, putting some programs together to get us into baseball.
[00:06:32]  But I hope everybody's out here watching because, you know, I'm 5'9", 170 pounds, just like the majority of us.
[00:06:38]  And so anything's possible.
[00:06:40]  What's he supposed to say?
[00:06:41]  This ain't 1947.
[00:06:43]  Nobody's stopping anybody black from playing.
[00:06:45]  So Mookie didn't know what to say.
[00:06:47]  So he just went, eh?
[00:06:50]  Do you think Mookie Betts faced obstacles like Frank Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Bob Gibson, the late Bob Gibson, who recently died?
[00:06:58]  It's insulting to suggest that Mookie went through what these guys went through.
[00:07:06]  Well, anger came from racism.
[00:07:09]  Of course it did.
[00:07:11]  But racism was a way of life.
[00:07:14]  That it was stuff that I had to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
[00:07:18]  I didn't every once in a while go somewhere and all of a sudden there it was.
[00:07:22]  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.
[00:07:31]  It was there.
[00:07:32]  And Mr.
[00:07:33]  Betts just signed a 12-year deal with the Dodgers worth $365 million.
[00:07:38]  So yeah, his pathway was a little easier than say that of Bob Gibson.
[00:07:44]  Now, do you guys know who Phil Ivey is?
[00:07:47]  The Tiger Woods of poker?
[00:07:49]  You can just feel the tension in the room.
[00:07:53]  Hi, Cole.
[00:07:55]  He says, cool!
[00:07:58]  This is a monster, and it is the hand that Phil Ivey has been waiting for.
[00:08:02]  $807,000 pot.
[00:08:04]  Incredible.
[00:08:05]  Absolutely unbelievable.
[00:08:07]  Absolutely unbelievable.
[00:08:08]  In a 60-minute profile of this young black superstar, he was asked...
[00:08:13]  Has race been a factor at all?
[00:08:16]  Has race been a factor?
[00:08:18]  No.
[00:08:21]  Not in poker.
[00:08:23]  In poker, they only see one color, that's green.
[00:08:26]  No racism there.
[00:08:28]  And then there's rapper Lil Wayne.
[00:08:30]  Where are we in the United States of America in race relations and what you see from day to day in your life?
[00:08:42]  Skip, they wouldn't want to ask me that.
[00:08:44]  They wouldn't want my answer to represent it because God knows I have been nothing but blessed.
[00:08:52]  My whole path, these 33 years have been nothing but a blessing.
[00:08:57]  I have never, and never is a strong word, never dealt with racism.
[00:09:04]  And I'm glad I didn't have to.
[00:09:06]  And I don't know if it's because of my blessings.
[00:09:08]  I don't know if it's, but it is my reality.
[00:09:11]  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.
[00:09:20]  So you've never experienced any offensive behavior from any other color?
[00:09:26]  No, sir.
[00:09:27]  Wow.
[00:09:27]  Again, when the demand for racism exceeds the supply, you've got to come up with new sources.
[00:09:35]  Has race been a factor?
[00:09:36]  No.
[00:09:37]  So you've never experienced any offensive behavior from any other color?
[00:09:43]  No, sir.
[00:09:44]  Now, you remember when Tiger Woods first hit the scene and they wanted to make sure that we all knew that he was woke?
[00:09:50]  Do you ever feel under any kind of pressure or any kind of prejudice?
[00:09:55]  Golf's quite often seen as an upper-class white game.
[00:09:59]  Do you ever feel that at all?
[00:10:01]  Every time I go to a major country club, I always feel it.
[00:10:05]  I can always sense it.
[00:10:07]  People are always staring at you.
[00:10:09]  What are you doing here?
[00:10:10]  You shouldn't be here.
[00:10:12]  When I go to Texas or Florida, you always feel it because they're saying, why are you here?
[00:10:18]  You're not supposed to be here.
[00:10:20]  And that's probably because that's where all the slavery was.
[00:10:24]  Has anybody benefited more from Gulf than Tiger Woods?
[00:10:28]  But no.
[00:10:28]  They tried to turn him into Malcolm X. I shot in the 60s when I was 12.
[00:10:37]  I won the U.S. Junior Aventure when I was 15.
[00:10:42]  I played in the Nissan Open when I was 16.
[00:10:48]  I won the U.S. Amateur when I was 18.
[00:10:51]  I won the U.S. Amateur when I was 19.
[00:10:54]  I'm the only man who can decide to make the U.S. Amateur titles.
[00:10:59]  There are steel corsets in the U.S.
[00:11:01]  I'm not allowed to play because of the color of my skin.
[00:11:04]  I'm not ready for it.
[00:11:11]  I'm ready for it.
[00:11:14]  There are steel corsets that I can't play because I'm black.
[00:11:20]  Really?
[00:11:21]  James Glassman, columnist, Washington Post.
[00:11:25]  The only problem is that, in the case of Woods, it's based on a lie.
[00:11:30]  I called Nike to get a list of the courses he's not allowed to play.
[00:11:34]  Finally, the company's public relations director called me back.
[00:11:37]  You're absolutely right.
[00:11:39]  Tiger Woods can play on any golf course he wants.
[00:11:41]  In other words, the ad campaign's entire premise is wrong?
[00:11:45]  Well, not exactly.
[00:11:46]  The goal of the ad, he said, was to raise awareness that golf is not an inclusive sport.
[00:11:52]  But Glassman writes, in this country, merit trumps race.
[00:11:56]  That fact is one of the glories of our market republic.
[00:11:59]  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?
[00:12:08]  Notice all of the alleged mistresses, and notice his wife.
[00:12:24]  None of them quote people of color.
[00:12:27]  They all appear to be white.
[00:12:29]  Now, has any reporter, any reporter said to Tiger Woods, yo, Tiger, what's up with all the white women?
[00:12:36]  Can you imagine what would happen if any such reporter said such a thing?
[00:12:41]  You're fired.
[00:12:42]  And on any given Sunday, if Tiger Woods is in contention, the ratings go through the roof.
[00:12:49]  Many doubted we'd ever see it.
[00:12:53]  But here it is.
[00:12:55]  The return to glory.
[00:12:58]  Now, to quote John O'Sullivan, then editor of the National Review, white racism does exist, but its social power is weak.
[00:13:13]  And the social power arrayed against it?
[00:13:17]  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.
[00:13:33]  So can we knock it off?
[00:13:35]  Racism, once again, has never been a less significant factor in American life.
[00:13:41]  Now, finally, as of right now, the election is still being contested.
[00:13:46]  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.
[00:13:58]  Yeah, how many of those guys in office owe everything to me?
[00:14:03]  I made them.

=== Count The Votes Again (00:22) ===

[00:14:04]  Yeah, I made them just like a tailor makes a suit of clothes.
[00:14:08]  I'm taking nobody, see?
[00:14:09]  Teach him what to say.
[00:14:10]  Get his name in the papers.
[00:14:12]  Yeah, paper his campaign expenses.
[00:14:14]  Fish out a lot of groceries and coal.
[00:14:17]  Get my boys to bring the voters out.
[00:14:20]  And then count the votes over and over again until they had it upright and he was elected.
[00:14:23]  I'm Larry Elder, and we've got a country to save.