On this week's episode I welcome anti-racist activist and scholar Mr. Ernest Crim III to discuss Black history, economic (in)justice, and the DOJ double standard
Qasim, in addition to being a fine journalist with integrity, an important ingredient that you bring to your work is that you respond to comments, allowing peple to feel heard and respected and also to feel they can ask questions, get a subject covered. A problem I have even with the excellent journalists on MSNBC is the impossibility of talking with them, to be able to share a real concern, to ask them to cover an important topic.
Qasim, I want to address a few things from this podcast. First, you mentioned that the richest Americans don't need as much as they have. You're certainly right about that -- you could take 95% of their income, and they'd never miss it -- but the further fact is that they don't even want it. They make "charitable" donations to reduce their tax exposure, and they have to donate more than the tax they're trying to avoid paying.
Second, you and Mr Crim addressed the same subject, but from opposite ways. You said you would only want to learn about racism from a victim of it. Mr Crim said, and I agree, that not only are there non-victims of racism who can teach about it, but those people can have more effect, because they're not just victims who can be written off as whining. If an important value of teaching about racism, for example, is to enlighten students about the existence and bad consequences of it, delivering that message is more effective if the person can be identified with by the students. Many victims of racism talk about the value of "people like [them]." The same is true of people who confront racism. Recipients of that message are potentially more receptive to people who "look like [them]."
Qasim, in addition to being a fine journalist with integrity, an important ingredient that you bring to your work is that you respond to comments, allowing peple to feel heard and respected and also to feel they can ask questions, get a subject covered. A problem I have even with the excellent journalists on MSNBC is the impossibility of talking with them, to be able to share a real concern, to ask them to cover an important topic.
Qasim, I want to address a few things from this podcast. First, you mentioned that the richest Americans don't need as much as they have. You're certainly right about that -- you could take 95% of their income, and they'd never miss it -- but the further fact is that they don't even want it. They make "charitable" donations to reduce their tax exposure, and they have to donate more than the tax they're trying to avoid paying.
Second, you and Mr Crim addressed the same subject, but from opposite ways. You said you would only want to learn about racism from a victim of it. Mr Crim said, and I agree, that not only are there non-victims of racism who can teach about it, but those people can have more effect, because they're not just victims who can be written off as whining. If an important value of teaching about racism, for example, is to enlighten students about the existence and bad consequences of it, delivering that message is more effective if the person can be identified with by the students. Many victims of racism talk about the value of "people like [them]." The same is true of people who confront racism. Recipients of that message are potentially more receptive to people who "look like [them]."
Thank you as always for listening and sharing your insights, Fred.