An easy distraction from the lies.
When he posted a video claiming that Ben Shapiro said, “It’s not that you look black, it’s that you act black…” and then made some flippant comments about how that affects the wealth gap, I replied that he never said that.
Show me where Ben Shapiro says, “The problem is not that you look black, the problem is that you act black?”
Just in case you thought that this Content Creator had done his research and found that statement in the full clip, here’s the full clip:
You can see clearly that he never uses the terms “look black” or “act black”. This by itself proves that this Content Creator is willing to lie to his viewers. Literally, he makes this claim and cannot support it.
But this is not about whether or not a Content Creator is lying when he paraphrases someone incorrectly, the question is more about the content of Shapiro’s argument.
When the announcer asks the question
Given this disparity, how can you argue that race is not a driving factor in income inequality?
Announcer, https://youtu.be/OiRZp-mhqW0?t=2376
It is clear to see that as soon as the first panelist starts flailing about in dismay because Shapiro said, “Because it has nothing to do with race, and everything to do with culture.” Suddenly Shapiro changes gears. It’s obvious.
No longer is he trying to prove that it is culture, but he is taking the opposition’s position that it’s all about race and asking about these other factors.
He foolishly assumed that anyone watching this video could see clearly that when he says, “Oh yeah, then explain to me…” he is asserting that if race is the only issue, then explain this to me. Are they true for the entire race? Or are they true for a subculture within the black community? Are all black people failing high school? No. Are all black people poor? No. Are all black people equally responsible for half of the murders in the country every year? No. So if the answer to every one of these issues is “No, not all black people are affected by these factors” then it can’t be about race.
You know what [if it’s all about race], explain to me why black kids aren’t graduating high school.
He’s sitting there speaking with a panel of people who have graduated high school and gone on to graduate from college. Does the Content Creator honestly believe that Shapiro is unaware that not all black kids are failing to graduate high school? Of course, not all black kids are failing to graduate. But if it’s about race, then presumably all black kids would be failing high school. It’s not about race, but he continues with the questions.
Keep in mind, he is asking, “Okay, if it’s all about race then…”
Explain to me why black kids are shooting each other at rates significantly higher than white kids are.
https://youtu.be/OiRZp-mhqW0?t=2396
So he continues right along the lines of the worst stereotypes of black people to ask, “If it is about race, do all black people share these characteristics?” If you say, “yes”, then the stereotype is valid. He knows it is not the case. It’s not all back people. It’s not the entire race that is like this.
If it’s not about race and yet there are some black people who are ultra-violent, some who are poor, some who are rich by illegal means, some who are apathetic, some who are trapped. These are all different cultures within the black community. It is patently foolish to assume that there exists a single black culture in the United States. Foolish and insulting, in my opinion.
But this is the argument that people like this Content Creator are supporting. He is literally trying to say that all black people participate in a single black culture. The Content Creator even goes so far as to say that all black people have a look, or act the same–something that Shapiro never says.
So as the video continues, we can see more about Ben Shapiro’s views. Needless to say, the Content Creator is afraid to show you the entire clip.
The announcer asks the question to the panelists:
There might be…there will be a disparate impact on different groups of people that doesn’t necessarily mean, I think what you’re saying…it doesn’t necessarily mean something racist is going on even though there’s a racial impact so the question was about where do you draw the line between something that might have a racial impact but is not inherently racist?
When the announcer is citing “the question”, he’s citing the question about the wealth gap. How do you determine that it’s racist? What is the deciding factor? This is the most important question. If you are going to make the claim, what informs you that it is true?
To which Ben Shapiro delivers his entire point in this video.
It’s called evidence of racism. When there is no evidence of racism it’s probably not racism.When there is actual evidence of racism it’s probably racism.
Bem Shapiro https://youtu.be/OiRZp-mhqW0?t=3200
The fact that everybody jumps from there’s inequality to there’s inequity; just because there is inequality doesn’t mean there has to be inequity.
Ben Shapiro https://youtu.be/OiRZp-mhqW0?t=3206
When one panelist claims that there is bound to be racism, Ben Shaprio states:
I agree that it exists, but the problem that I am seeing, and the problem with the general conversation is that there is no solution in simply saying “There’s racism out there” How does that solve anything? And when you talk about institutional racism, what does that mean?
Ben Shaprio: https://youtu.be/OiRZp-mhqW0?t=3173
He then asks for any literal example of racism in the law in the justice system, etc. and he will agree that it is racism. He even cites a case where a cop shot an unarmed black man in the back in South Carolina and stated clearly that it was racism and needs to be dealt with.
He continues:
The idea that you can graft a narrative onto something when there is no evidence of racism but rather that there must just be racism somewhere out there in the ether. That doesn’t solve problems for anybody. It creates more problems for people because now they grow up in a milieu, in an environment where they are told that every obstacle they face is from some shadowy, nameless, faceless group that is out to get them simply because of the color of their skin. They will never succeed in that environment.
Ben Shapiro,
Perhaps the most damaging part of the panel discussion was when Ben Shapiro, after listening to the first panelist go on about how inappropriate it is for a school where the majority of students are black to have a white administration. She wanted to say that a black person should be the principal for example. This is a common sentiment. But this is the key element here. Ben Shapiro shuts down the race issue right here:
The question I was going to ask is, ‘It’s not any person of color?” I assume. I mean if they were going to staff the school with Laura Connely, and Thomas Sewell, and Condaleza Rice, and Clarence Thomas, you’d be standing up against that and say, ‘these are not real black people’ I assume.
Bem Shapiro https://youtu.be/OiRZp-mhqW0?t=4243
This shows clearly that not all black people are the same. Not all black people share the same experience. These famous black people would be more than competent at running the school, but the panelist didn’t mean ANY black person. Why not? If all black people are the same, any black person should be sufficient. They aren’t. She meant black people from the culture that the school was in. This culture is not shared by all black people.
It’s also important to note the second panelist admits that he grew up wealthy and has no perspective about poverty. He lived the first half of his life in Zimbabwe after he was born in America. He never really thought about racism or was affected by it until lately. But even then, he just thinks about it with respect to the police. This is the point that I am making.
Ben Shapiro wraps it up quite honestly when asked if he ever thought about what it would be like if he had been born black. Admittedly, he comes close to messing up when he states that he came from a stable family with two parents in a safe neighborhood…nearly implying that he couldn’t have the experience as a black person, but then he states:
I understand why people would be more wary of police officers given the fact that many police officers are going to react to disproportionate crime statistics with stereotypes. I understand that.
Bem Shapiro https://youtu.be/OiRZp-mhqW0?t=4869
I think the reason that David is asking the question is that…because there is this idea out there that every person who is born white is born privileged. And I don’t think that that is accurate. Just like I don’t think that every person that is born black is born into a horrible situation. I think that we are all born as individuals and if we can start seeing each other that way, we’ll all be a lot better off.
Ben Shapiro https://youtu.be/OiRZp-mhqW0?t=4913
What a racist!