Sam Smith – With the passing of Sidney Poitier, my wife and I pulled up one of his films, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, which co-starred Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy (who would die 17 days after his part was recorded). The 1967 film about interethnic marriage was not only a comedic delight, it illustrated … Continue reading A Poitier film worth watching
Ethnic
The strangest thing about our ethnic relations
Sam Smith – The strangest thing about ethnic relations in this country is the lack of organizations and movements pushing not only anti-racism, but also helping our different cultures actually like and get along with each other. Imagine if the major standard for marriage was just opposition to anti-feminism, righteous as that is. Or if … Continue reading The strangest thing about our ethnic relations
Positive ethnic theory
Sam Smith - Lately I've been struggling with the obsession of the media and academia over the evils of past ethnic relations, not because they didn't exist but because they are given such priority over present solutions that it actually makes me feel depressed about the future. A lot of this comes from the culture … Continue reading Positive ethnic theory
The diversity of diversity
Sam Smith - One aspect of diversity that doesn't get enough attention is its diversity. With considerable help from the mediaand the voices it cites, we learn that we are black, white or Hispanic, gay or straight, religious or atheist. . . and so forth. A number of aspects of my life have caused me … Continue reading The diversity of diversity
The numbers they don’t talk about
Sam Smith - Obsessed with race as a topic, even progressive Americans fail to deal with numbers that could bring fair minded ethnic groups far closer together, namely the number of those in poverty. Interestingly, 14.2 million of these folks are white as opposed to 8.1. black and 9.5 latino yet one seldom hears discussion … Continue reading The numbers they don’t talk about
Multiculturalism means living with folks who aren’t as smart about you as you are
Sam Smith - As the virtuous drive towards more multiculturalism grows increasingly powerful,a predictable but largely ignored problem raises its head, namely the more contact we have with those of other cultures the greater chance that we, or they, will say or do something found dumb or offensive. The cancel culture is one example of … Continue reading Multiculturalism means living with folks who aren’t as smart about you as you are
Positive ethnic theory
Sam Smith - The big problem with critical race theory is that it's big on analysis and low on action. Under CRT, kids would be taught the evils of past systems with far less attention to those who changed it and how they did it. Change is driven far more by inspiration than by facts. … Continue reading Positive ethnic theory
Getting along with others without critical theories
Sam Smith The current infatuation with Tulsa, slavery and critical racial theory has left me feeling a bit out of it all. I thought you were meant to discover how to get along with others and not merely recite the sins of the past by some. Sure, you learn from history, but one of our … Continue reading Getting along with others without critical theories
Why reparations aren’t the answer
Sam Smith - The 100th anniversary of the Tulsa massacre has revived talk of reparations - reimbursements for the descendants of those who suffered a historic disaster at the evil hands of others. And it accompanies a striking revival of criticism of past wrongs such as slavery, but sadly unaccompanied by a sufficiently broad reaction … Continue reading Why reparations aren’t the answer
Moving from anti-racism to pro-multiculturalism
Sam Smith - Although we have to keep fighting against racism, an aspect of this issue that gets lost is how to create a well functioning multi-cultural society in which our relationships are considered assets and not just major problems to be solved. With considerable assistance from the media we have come to view ethnic … Continue reading Moving from anti-racism to pro-multiculturalism
Moving from anti-racism to pro-multiculturalism
Sam Smith - Although we have to keep fighting against racism, an aspect of this issue that gets lost is how to create a well functioning multi-cultural society in which our relationships are considered assets and not just major problems to be solved. With considerable assistance from the media we have come to view ethnic … Continue reading Moving from anti-racism to pro-multiculturalism
Making multiculturalism an asset and not just a problem
Sam Smith – Drastically missing from our talk about ethnic relationships is discussion about positive ethnic relations. We treat the matter as a huge problem to be solved by things like changes in law, improved policing, social guilt and pressure. In fact, good relations exist because they work for all those involved. You can’t define … Continue reading Making multiculturalism an asset and not just a problem
The ethnicity that the media ignores
Sam Smith - According to most of the media, Barack Obama and Kamala Harris are black and Naomi Osaka is Asian. Which is, in fact, only half true. Harris' mother came from India, Barack's white mother was born in Kansas, and Naomi Osaka's father is Haitian.These are just three examples of how a growing biethnic … Continue reading The ethnicity that the media ignores
The ethnic thing we don’t talk about
Sam Smith – Perhaps the most undiscussed aspect of multiculturalism is its positive effects on everyone. I’m as guilty as others in this regard, letting it slip thanks to the effort required to deal with the discriminatory ways in which it presently functions in our society. But if we are to create a truly positive … Continue reading The ethnic thing we don’t talk about
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Sam Smith's Essays 