Tea at Trianon: Race-Based Idolatry

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Race-Based Idolatry

From The American Mind:

Race, you see, is our central piety. And by race, of course, I don’t mean Hispanic—sorry, Latinx—Asian, Native American, or Pacific Islander. And I most definitely don’t mean white people. By race, of course, I mean black people. For it is our fellow black citizens who now sit atop America’s semi-official racial hierarchy. I’m sure all of you have heard of the new preferred nomenclature, to quote our favorite Jewish bowler. We no longer speak of “people of color” in America, but now say BIPOC—black, indigenous, and people of color— to give blacks pride of first place. In America, all people of color are created equal, but some are more equal than others.

America is not a “blackocracy.” We are not, strictly speaking, ruled by black people. But America is most definitely what I would call a “blackolatry”: black people are collectively viewed as sacred.

As a sacred people, black people may not be criticized, no matter how true the criticism. The logic seems to be that if we say the slightest negative thing about our fellow black citizens, if we ascribe any share of blame whatsoever to them for their lot in life, however good our intentions, then surely the next step will be the repeal of the 13th Amendment. Leo Strauss might have called this the ‘Reductio ad Calhounum.’

As a sacred people, only black people are permitted to utter the one forbidden word in the English language: the dreaded, the ineffable n-word.

Most importantly of all, as a sacred people, their presence is necessary to lend moral legitimacy to any gathering or institution. Any company, college, or conference without enough black people is presumed racist, even though it does not discriminate.

In sum, justice, as it is now understood by the ruling class, means black representation, regardless of accomplishment, competence, or talent. And so, my dear friend Arthur Milikh has asked me to enter into this inner sanctum of the regime and smash some idols. So which of the countless lies about race should I address? I want to look at four different types of lies. I won’t waste a lot of time refuting them since I’m more interested in why people believe them and the role they play in our regime.

First, there are the small lies. Do you remember when Joe Biden claimed that a black man had invented the light bulb? No one but the most ignorant of woke millennials believes this nonsense, but who wants to be called a racist for saying otherwise? And so we keep quiet—or worse, agree—during the mandatory diversity equity inclusion seminar. (Read more.)