Conversations about race breaks down, and the core social problem is lost in accusations about “broad brushes” and generalizations.
Our conversation about race is suffering from a terrible abuse of the English language. As a result, we are not addressing racial mob violence. Here is an analogy to illustrate how the conversation about race goes awry: Everybody knows that not every American likes football. So when we hear someone say, “Americans like football,” we understand that they mean that the people who like football are generally American. That same common-sense observation about grammar applies to controversial racial topics. Take the following statement: Black teens have been attacking non-blacks in flash mobs.
Everybody knows that not all black teens attack in flash mobs. There is no one in a position of prominence in society who would say or mean that. When someone says “Black teens have been attacking in flash mobs,” we should know what they mean – that the people who attack in flash mobs have been black.
Nonetheless, in articles and radio interviews, I’ve pointed out the simple fact that black teens have been attacking in flash mobs. A common response to my factual observation is that “Not all blacks are that way,” or “You can’t generalize.” But I’ve never stated or implied that all blacks are that way, or made any generalizations. Our conversation about race is stuck in this bizarre cycle where someone makes an observation about group behavior, and the only response from many people is a cliché like “Don’t judge entire groups.” It’s as if the plain meaning of words becomes clouded when we pass into the forbidden topic of race. Many are playing word games to evade the stark facts about racial mob violence.
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