In Merry Ole England there was a phrase that summed up Anglo-Saxon contempt for Italian ideas infecting England: “the Italianate Englishman is the devil incarnate.” 

This concept was born around 1535 with the translation of Machiavelli’s The Prince into English.  Before this political tome on the realities of governing, the English harbored a belief in idealism that dated from the legends of King Arthur, Robin Hood, and Sir Thomas More’s 1516 book Utopia.  The self-inflated English considered Machiavelli and his conniving Italian princes bad influences.  But, anyone familiar with English history would laugh at that.  Sir Thomas, himself, found his ultimate “utopia” compliments of Henry the Eighth’s axman.  Fortunately, America’s founding Anglo-Saxons relied on Machiavelli’s sound Italian observations in structuring our republic.

In today’s Black America the devil incarnate is any non-woke White or any African American with a conservative philosophy.  Neither of these types are invited to participate in the so-called “national conversation” on race.  It is near insanity for most open-minded Euro-Americans to enter that rabbit hole subject of “systemic racism.”  Most often, we find ourselves questioning the vile premise with fellow Euro-Americans rather than with the alleged Black victims themselves. 

White folks like Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility – that bible of “White guilt” – provide more fuel to (dare we say it?) anti-White racism.  Euro-Americans in newspapers, network news, cable news, Hollywood, and academia have subjected us to an alternate history of the United States, wherein racial progress never happened.  Ironically, these power centers are dominated by Euro-Americans, who are themselves practitioners of institutional racism.  Why should we be lectured to by other White people of this ilk?  I label them “utopians” rather than liberals or progressives. And, I’m not convinced that these power brokers are altruistic, rather, some of them are outright deluded.  If I want to get the lowdown on racism, I’d rather listen to Candace Owens than Robin DiAngelo.

Chances are, unless you tune into FOX News, you have no idea who Candace Owens is, or Larry Elder, Leo Terrell, Jason McWhorter, Shelby Steele, Jason Hill, or Horace Cooper.  These are Black conservatives, the shunned advocates of Black introspection.  They are in tune with prominent Americans like Dr. Ben Carson, Justice Clarence Thomas, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) who succeeded in rising within the “racist” system. Among Black anti-defamation professionals like Al Sharpton, these conservatives are, no doubt, Uncle Toms or just FOX shills.  There is no love lost between Black conservatives and Black activists.  The former see internal Black problems (like missing daddies), the latter only blame White racism.  How can we have a national conversation without Black conservatives given air time on corporate media?

Just this past week, the nation has witnessed the complex relationship between the police and African Americans.  White Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd.  The verdict pleased Black activists, but only so far – in their minds, systemic racism cannot be cured with one conviction.  So, when in the same week, a 16-year Black girl was taken down by a Columbus, OH cop as she was about to plunge a knife into another Black girl, “systemic racism” was back on the table.  Lester Holt of NBC Nightly News spun the story by omitting part of the 911 call that brought the White cop to the scene – the part where a Black family feared being stabbed by the assailant.  Holt also cropped the video showing the assailant, knife in hand, about to strike.  Instead of an innocent Black girl being saved from the knife, the story was: Why did the cop use deathly force on the assailant?  Lester Holt, only a short time before this doctored broadcast, stated that “fairness is overrated.” It is his belief that there are not always two sides to a story, that the journalist is the true arbiter of truth.  (Ironically, editin’ Lester replaced lyin’ Brian Williams on Nightly News when he was caught fibbing.)

 Only three days before, in Cincinnati, OH, a 13-year old Black girl was knifed to death by another 13-year old Black girl.  The White cop in Columbus knew of that knife murder, apparently Holt did not.  Shockingly, many woke Black prominenti consider “knife fights” to be a rite of passage in their community – including MSNBC’s Joy Reid, who said so on air.  How much of this tripe can we swallow in pursuit of Black “equity”?

The Black conservative must be heard!  Give the “devil” his due. -JLM