Category Archives: America

UPDATED (8/5/020): The Smithsonian Shows Errant Whites How To Go Native

America, Capitalism, Culture, Multiculturalism, Racism, The West

1 Reply

The Smithsonian has some section called the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, as Steve Sailer points out. Thereon is a depiction of Whiteness. It’s meant to insult. Instead, it describes the values that have built a civilization, chief of which is delayed gratification or time preference.

Time preference rates, a term used by Austrian economists, is the degree to which different people discount the future in favor of immediate gratification.

To paraphrase Max Weber, it was the ascetic “Protestant Ethic” that gave rise to the “Spirit of Capitalism,” and to prosperity. Image Via Sailer:

My gut reaction to the Whiteness page was: Is the Smithsonian promoting Whiteness? Can’t be! Some exaggerated emphasis on the Protestant Ethic and obedience, since the most impressive rebels have been … pale patriarchs. In all, a flattering assessment of a creed to aspire to.”

Missing in the Smithsonian’s malign description of white mannerisms—namely the affect—is that a silent majority whose “culture” is being crowded out finds such WASPY mannerisms comforting and familiar; a sign of professionalism, dignity, decorum and rationality. Profoundly alien and disturbing are the wretched excesses we see on the street, of late, often from white youths, whose parents have gone native,* as the Smithsonian seems to advise.

Incidentally, the Smithsonian certainly doesn’t use the “oppressive” “King’s English.”

The world’s “largest museum, education, and research complex” describes itself as “a community of learning and the opener of doors.” Is the Smithsonian a doorman? The stupefying of the English language continues apace in the Anglo-sphere, under institutional auspices. Ugly English.

The Smithsonian certainly doesn’t use white, “oppressive” language to describe what it does.

* “Go native”: “become less refined under the influence of a less cultured, more primitive, or simpler social environment.”

UPDATED (8/5/020):

De-whiting:

UPDATED (10/26/021): So Many Dumb People Are Breaking America, AND Then There is MATTHEW WHITAKER

America, Art, Human Accomplishment, Music

Leave a reply

There are so many incredibly dumb and destructive people controlling and breaking America that it’s useful to remember the select few—not that many—extraordinarily bright and beautifully gifted people who light our country up:

MATTHEW WHITAKER.

My own preference runs to Dvorak’s Piano Quintet, not jazz, but whatever he plays—and he can do Dvorak justice—MATTHEW WHITAKER amazes and inspires. What a story!

“Meet the blind piano player who’s so good, scientists are studying him“:

Matthew Whitaker has been rocking crowds with his improvisational piano playing for most of his short life. He may be blind, but a neuroscientist has found Whitaker’s visual cortex goes into overdrive when he plays.
… Every so often, someone so young does something so amazing you can’t help but wonder – how do they do that? That’s what happened the first time we heard Matthew Whitaker play piano. Matthew is a jazz pianist who is blind, and since the age of 11, he’s been performing around the world. He’s been called a prodigy and, as we noted when we first aired this story in February, his talent is so extraordinary. He’s also caught the attention of scientists who are now studying his brain and trying to understand his vision of music.
Whitaker doesn’t just play music, he plays with it. Twisting melodies, crafting complex harmonies and improvising at lightning speed. It’s acoustic acrobatics performed over 88 keys and it is not for the faint of heart. …

MORE.

UPDATE (10/26/021): Adele:

UPDATED (8/8): Some Movies That Weather The Storms Of Time

Aesthetics, America, Art, Film, Technology

1 Reply

Movies this viewer can watch again and again every few years: “The Perfect Storm”: I keep hoping George Clooney will scale the Wave, as well as the film about the 50 Year Wave: “Point Break.” Jaws (1 & 2): great. Special effects were better then than today’s digital, computer-generated crap.

As to my kind of feelgood movies: Let us ready the great “Death Wish” series, featuring Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey the avenger. That crime-riddled reality is upon us again, in the USA.

Image

Image  Image

 

A true American movie classic, where values are solid, is “October Sky,” which “tells the story of four [striving] boys in a poverty-stricken corner of Appalachia.” Mining has always been the saddest story of male heroism.

Tell me about your favorites in the Comments Section below. We all agree that “Gone With the Wind” stands unbeaten—it also serves up better history than offered by court historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

UPDATED (7/31): “The Perfect Storm Swallows Sailors”

UPDATED (8/8):

UPDATED (7/12/020): Have Republicans Dismissed Older Voters As Non-Essential Livers?

America, Conservatism, COVID-19, Culture, Donald Trump, Elections, Republicans

A mild-mannered, conservative man and his wife were interviewed by CNN at the National Mall on July 4.

It looked like they could be closeted Trump voters. The telltale signs: Much to the irritation of the CNN reporter, the couple refused to say anything bad about the president and kept the discussion classy and neutral. In other words, white, typically nice; a middle-class, older American couple: the Trump cohort.

To the question, “Do you like the idea of big crowds here?”, the man apologetically replied: “I’m old and diabetic. I don’t want to die. Protect me with your actions.” He was not over 55, so not in the least “old.” Yet he had certainly been conditioned to think of himself as redundant.

In the youth-horsewhipping, silly society that is America, the man had reason to be afraid: Older people have been cast as nonessential livers. Remember the asinine Republican pol who proclaimed, “There are more important things than living”? Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) was directing his life-cherishing message to the older Trump voter. “Come on. Be a sport. Give it up for the greater good.”

Indeed, conservatives keep being dismissive about COVID. And when the older, at-risk age-group is mentioned, Republicans routinely imply they should self-isolate—and should certainly not expect anyone to wear a mask for them.

Hunker in-place if you’re over the hill.

Is anyone aware of the average age group of those doing cutting-edge COVID research?

Prognosticating about America’s 2020 election, The Economist notes the reason that “Donald Trump’s facing a much bigger task than he did in 2016″:

Mr Trump is being dragged down by the dramatic movement of older voters, horrified by the now-exploding spread of covid-19, away from him. Overall, Mr Biden’s vote margin has increased by about five points over Mrs Clinton’s final performance in 2016 among people who voted last time round, according to an analysis of YouGov’s data. Voters over 65 have led the charge; their vote margin for Mr Biden is six points better than Mrs Clinton’s was, whereas that of voters under 30 has not budged at all. White voters have also fled Mr Trump’s ranks in much larger numbers than voters of colour. Mr Biden is seven points ahead of Mrs Clinton’s position among whites, while Hispanics have moved six points towards Mr Trump (though they still overwhelmingly oppose him).

UPDATED (7/12/020): LinkedIn for some, but not others?
“LinkedIn is replete with political commentary and political commentators. Yet, here is an individual attempting to banish a perfectly proper inquiry (all inquiries are proper), echoed in an august news magazine. Other than his offense of censorship and cancel culture—why does said individual just not hang-out around motivational speakers like himself? Why silence others?