Roy Exum
I am constantly remined that every time I point out “how the strong man stumbled, or how the ‘doer of deeds’ might have done them better,’” three of the fingers on the hand I use to point are, in fact, pointed right back at me. One week ago we allowed a disease worse than cancer take root in our community and not one person among our leaders cried out. Not one said “white privilege” is wrong. Not one said racism in any form, or wearing whatever trendy disguise, will be tolerated in our city, and will be never allowed again.
At a mandatory meeting attended by a captive audience of our teachers last week, a lecturer who quickly proved himself to be a quack was paid with what I assume was taxpayer dollars to take a public microphone and draw attention to a slide presentation that contained a litany of lies.
One line read, “Even when minorities express or practice prejudice against whites they are not racists."
Other slides had the title "White Privilege' and listed things, all easy to read as the nation’s media descended like vultures. How about these, listed by the magazine Newsweek’s web site:
* -- White privilege is both a legacy and cause of racism
* -- White privilege exists because of historic, enduring racism and biases
It goes on to show a slide to teachers that say those who fall under the "white privilege' moniker:
* -- Are less likely to be followed, interrogated or searched by law enforcement
* -- Skin tone will not affect their credit or financial responsibility
* --- When accused of crime, they are portrayed as a good person
* -- They don't lose opportunities when mistakes are made
* * *
The Hamilton County Department of Education – totally at fault yet with not a one among them with the character or the backbone to apologize to the majority of its white students, its black students, its Hispanic students, or the teachers upon whom it foisted the most unwelcome prejudices of its totally inept leadership upon, scoffed and said the whole thing was "taken out of context” and misrepresented.
The Department of Education further explained, “The slides are being misrepresented as a presentation on white privilege. For the slides in question, the speaker was reviewing terms that can impact perception and definitions attached to the terms when the slides were used. White Privilege was one of several terms on slides during the short part of the presentation," was the official statement.
For the record, “the short part of the presentation” is bouncing faster than the ball in a pinball machine across the country. Chattanooga and its people, regardless of skin color, are being painted in the shades of rubes, rednecks, and a place “where they richly deserve what they get.”
For example, here’s a blurb from Louisiana: “….There are school districts that won't punish black students for fighting or disrupting classes because they're trying to correct the stats that show black kids are more likely to get disciplined/suspended than other students. So, while these kids get to do what they want, the rest of the school suffers. Hmmm....that almost sounds like … privilege.”
* * *
CNN LEGAL ANALYST GETS DESTROYED OVER ‘WHITE PRIVILEGE’
You know CNN’s ratings have dropped so badly that “More households keep chickens and other poultry birds as pets (1,020,000) than tune in to CNN’s primetime shows, according to a survey from the American Veterinary Medical Association.”
But in one of the best crash-and-burns in modern-day television, CNN Legal Analyst Areva Martin, fabled as one of the ever-interrupting and loud-talking types, was a guest on Fox News contributor David Webb’s show about ‘white privilege,’ and she got “owned,” if that isn’t not yet a racial word too.
To see the tape of Arveva, which she reportedly will not yet discuss, please CLICK HERE.
In the event you don’t have time to watch, here’s the way it was described in the Washington Post and it is priceless.
“CNN legal analyst Areva Martin thought she was talking to a white man Tuesday while appearing as a guest on David Webb’s SiriusXM radio show.
“When Webb, a Fox Nation host and frequent Fox News contributor, said he considered his qualifications more important than his skin color when applying to media jobs, Martin accused him of exercising white privilege.
“But there was a problem with that, as Webb quickly pointed out: ‘Areva, I hate to break it to you, but you should’ve been better prepped,” he responded. “I’m black.”
* * *
THE QUESTION OF THE DAY: Do you think the Hamilton County Commission might have found a way to make a five percent raise for our schoolteachers work if the county’s Department of Education had owned up and apologized for its racist blunder? If not, you must be unaware that three members of the commission want schools superintendent Bryan Johnson to be held answerable.
* * *
THE COST OF ALLEGED ‘FAKE NEWS’ AND BIASED REPORTING
It was just announced that CNN lost 26 percent of its audience, down 237,000 viewers since April 2018, and down nearly 40 percent from its 2016 peak. To put those numbers in their proper perspective:
-According to Wikipedia, the population of prostitutes in the U.S. (approximately one million) is larger than the population of CNN viewers.
-Across all cable networks, CNN now ranks 15th, behind Home and Garden TV (4th), the Hallmark Channel (9th) and the Food Network (14th).
-The 237,000 viewers CNN has shed over just the last year is more than the populations of Richmond, Virginia (227,032), Baton Rouge, Louisiana (225,374) or Des Moines, Iowa (217,521).
-Their remaining 767,000 viewers could all comfortably fit in Jefferson County, Kentucky (current population 771,158).
-Their current ratings are lower than those for failed TV shows such as TBS’s Wrecked (846,000), cancelled after three seasons. The bottom-rated show on broadcast TV this week, CW’s The 100, had 901,000 viewers, which was 134,000 more than CNN.
-More people tuned in for the 2018 Little League Baseball World Series (an average of 1.02 million per game; more than 3 million for the championship) than watch CNN these days.
-There are more real-estate agents in the United States (1.3 million) than there are CNN viewers. And many more people work at Walmart (1.5 million) than watch CNN.
-One survey suggests there could be twice as many witches and pagans in the United States (1 to 1.5 million) than there are CNN viewers.
-Americans are more likely to ride a bicycle to work than to watch CNN. According to a new report from the Census Bureau, 836,569 Americans over the age of 16 say they ride a bike to work.
* * *
It is believed CNN still has more credibility than ‘white privilege’.
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royexum@aol.com