4 ms·
Is there any more toxic label you can attach to a person in contemporary America than "racist?" Is there any accusation -- outside of actual crimes -- more lik
by haberman 6y ago
Is there any more toxic label you can attach to a person in contemporary America than "racist?"
Is there any accusation -- outside of actual crimes -- more likely to cause a person to lose opportunities, social connections, or standing in their community?
I can't speak to this reporter's motivations, but if a reporter wanted to metaphorically put someone's head on a pike, I can't think of any more effective way to do it than to insinuate that they are a racist, and somehow get it to stick.
- ardy42 6y ago> Is there any more toxic label you can attach to a person in contemporary America than "racist?" The actual article did not in fact label him as racist, and I don't think you could read it that way without being sloppy.
- pochamago 6y agoIt certainly tried to imply it with things like mentioning that he's cited Charles Murray, and then mentioning Murray's completely unrelated writing on race.
- haberman 6y agoIf you read my comment carefully, I didn't actually say that the article labeled him, I merely asked some questions and posed a hypothetical. And yet you drew an inference about my meaning beyond what my literal words were. You could call this sloppy reading, but I think the truth is that a writer can clearly communicate their intended conclusion without stating it directly. Which is just what Metz did.