Trump & Crabs in the Bucket

They have shown zero deference to identity politics in their hiring practices. Nor do they feel the pressure to do so.

Hi all,

Since the election, there has been a concerted effort by black leftists to keep identity politics alive. They see the incoming Trump administration as a clear threat for one reason: they have shown zero deference to identity politics in their hiring practices. Nor do they feel the pressure to do so.

I haven’t agree with all the hiring choices, but this absolute disregard for color is remarkable when one considers the last 60 years. Even as recently as last summer nobody pointed out how ridiculous it was that Los Angeles Mayor’s office put out a press release touting Mayor Karen Bass as the first black woman mayor to receive the Olympic flag at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. What’s next? The first black woman mayor to solve the homeless problem? Well, that would actually be an achievement of sorts but it wouldn’t be because she’s black or a woman!

We have become so accustomed to putting the identity of immutable characteristics before character and it has often blinded us to the human being. That is why this lack of deference to identity politics by the incoming Trump administration has been a breath of fresh air. Like him or not, he’s a disruptor and his disruption in the hiring practice has forced even the pundits on the Left to debate the job candidate’s qualifications and positions on issues.

Yet, the black leftists have been circling the wagons lately. Race is their bread and butter. You’ve likely heard the old tale of blacks being like crabs in the bucket. It’s always the ones on the bottom pulling down those trying to get out.

While there have been many examples, I’ll give two.

In the first example, the internationally known and beyond well-compensated antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi, chastises fellow Democrats for questioning identity politics in the below post.

Here is the link to the Politico article if you wish to read it.

I responded to him and took perhaps a harsher tone than I should have.

My response:

You are not black, Ibram Kendi, in the true sense.

In fact, it was you and your peers that have marginalized the true culturally-based black identity that was grounded in the proud heritage of surviving and overcoming the worst of racial evils. You erased the legacy of men from Louis Armstrong, Jackie Robinson, Duke Ellington to Miles Davis and countless blacks who have advanced America in their own ways.

You betrayed this proud, human spirit for a highly politicized black identity grounded in perpetual victimization. To be this kind of black means you must subscribe to government programs, to government preferences, and to stifling ideologies like DEI and antiracism. Those who did not conform were ostracized and smeared as Uncle Toms. You profited from this and, in doing so, you erased the humanity of those who made your world possible today.

That is why more and more of us today are rejecting your dehumanizing version of blackness for the true one. We are also rejecting your desperate attempts to coral the rest of the Americans into dehumanizing race boxes to serve your hustle.

The second example was from Nicole Hannah Jones who heads the 1619 Project. She posted:

My response on X:

Yes, exactly, a decade before you were born. You’re the product of progress, an interracial marriage, like I am. But you’re the one who took a black history class, decided to crawl back into the past, and put the shackles on yourself. The jig is up. We are moving on.

My response went viral, attaining nearly 200,000 views in under two hours before she deleted her post.

On top of this, I just learned that Al Sharpton received $500,000 from the Kamala Harris campaign to do an interview. This is a man who calls himself a civil rights leader and professes to care about blacks and yet he charges the presidential candidate this outrageous fee?

My grandparents were founding members of CORE -- Congress of Racial Equality. From 1942 to 1968, they marched weekly, built their own integrated church, led the nation's first boycott north of the Mason-Dixon line of a segregated school, and on. How much did they make for all their sacrifice? $0.

So forgive me if I don’t have patience for these race hustlers anymore. They have done far too much damage to our nation while enriching themselves and it is time to stop giving power to them.

My best,

Eli