Columnist Fired For Article On What White Parents Should Tell Kids About Blacks

April 9th, 2012 - By Brande Victorian

Theblaze.com

Another shock-jock columnist has bitten the dust for his attempt at being cleverly controversial with just a hint of racial prejudice.

Over the weekend, the National Review fired John Derbyshire for his online article, “The Talk: Nonblack Version,” which was written for right-wing publication, Taki’s Magazine, as a response to the conversations black people are having with their children as a result of Trayvon Martin’s killing. The columnist wrote a list of things white parents should be telling their kids about black people, and as you can probably guess, it’s quite off the cuff.

The article has been taken down in it’s entirety since this morning, but a few gems from the authors list of talking points lives on in other reports, including:

  • You will observe that the means — the averages — of many traits are very different for black and white Americans, as has been confirmed by methodical inquiries in the human sciences.
  • While black-on-black behavior is more antisocial in the average than is white-on-white behavior, average black-on-white behavior is a degree more antisocial yet.
  •  Avoid concentrations of blacks not all known to you personally.
  •  Stay out of heavily black neighborhoods.
  • If planning a trip to a beach or amusement park at some date, find out whether it is likely to be swamped with blacks on that date (neglect of that one got me the closest I have ever gotten to death by gunshot).
  • Do not attend events likely to draw a lot of blacks.
  • If you are at some public event at which the number of blacks suddenly swells, leave as quickly as possible.
  • Do not settle in a district or municipality run by black politicians.
  • Before voting for a black politician, scrutinize his/her character.
  • Do not act the Good Samaritan to blacks in apparent distress, e.g., on the highway.
  • If accosted by a strange black in the street, smile and say something polite but keep moving.
  • The mean intelligence of blacks is much lower than for whites.

One could argue that black parents are telling their children the exact same thing about white people, and that both sides even have a point, but the thing is we’re not spouting this “advice” off as fact in national online publications or  making these claims to distract focus on the real matter at hand. When a black man kills a white guy for simply looking suspicious in his neighborhood and doesn’t go to jail for it (on top of hundreds of years of racial oppression), then white people can start having these sorts of “talks.” Oh wait, that will never happen.

Mike Lowry, the editor of National Review, explained John’s firing in response to the article, saying:

“We never would have published it, but the main reason that people noticed it is that it is by a National Review writer. Derb is effectively using our name to get more oxygen for views with which we’d never associate ourselves otherwise. So there has to be a parting of the ways. Derb has long danced around the line on these issues, but this column is so outlandish it constitutes a kind of letter of resignation.”

Unfortunately someone else will probably give him a job in no time.

What do you think about John Derbyshire’s column?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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  • Business406

    I hate white people. Simple.

  • FromUR2UB

    Nothing shocking there.  We already knew whites were teaching this to their kids.  It’s like the sourdough bread in SF: a bit of the dough is saved to create more.  Each new loaf of bread is started from the same old dough that has been around since the 1800s.  New bread, old formula.  That’s how it continues.

  • emily

    wow.  just read comments on youtube, tmz, huffingtonpost.  It will make you SCARED.  So, no this does not shock me.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Natalie-Robinson/100001590019251 Natalie Robinson

    I really just wanna kick this dude’s a** right now!!!!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JAI4SRENU2A5WKRTELXXYJPDSI Kayla

    Alot of what he said is really outlandish. But let’s keep it real,, who wouldn’t want to stay away from black ghettos, as much as possible. Let’s not pretend they’re the friendliest towns in america. 

    • Dreama41

      Don’t be fooled some of the most violent and horrific crimes in this country occur in white dominated suburbs. Crime and violence is not relegated to any particular race, socioeconomic status or locale. Let’s be clear about that.  

      • http://www.facebook.com/RosarioRed Rosario Stefania Scarsci

         Remember, when white kids get high off of ex and kill their parents it’s all in good fun. Pfft. Kayla please.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JAI4SRENU2A5WKRTELXXYJPDSI Kayla

        still doesn’t take away from the violent ghetto neighborhoods. 

        • Dreama41

           Everyone is well aware of the “violent ghetto neighborhoods” that’s all we ever hear about. It’s actually quite redundant . However few people seem to realize that suburbs and gated communities can be just as hostile. Trayvon wasn’t shot and killed in south central he was in a predominantly white affluent gated community. So people need to be mindful wherever they go.  

    • Jessevandell

      Agreed, to deny violence in black ghettos is just dumb. I’m black and I would tell my kids to stay away from those neighborhoods as well.

  • autumn_breeze

    I’m going to be real….I don’t care what no one says, many of them still hate us! They hate the fact that a black man is in office, they hate the fact that more and more of us are getting a GREAT education and becoming very successful in life. The majority of them still talk about us and non-whites like we are dogs. I have overheard NUMEROUS conversations of white people talking about us and hispanics, talking about us as if we were lower than garbage. I even had someone compare the color of my skin to poop. I’ve had someone spit in my face and call me n*gger. I’ve had a male coworker who works in the medical field be investigated because an older white lady said that he raped her. When I lived in NY (that’s where I was born and raised), I faced some racism, but when I moved to NC, that is all that I have experienced from the majority of the white people down here. And yes, I’m leaving NC next month. Unfortunately, I’m at the point of where I want to say the heck with them, BUT being the Christian that I am, I can not do that because I know that is not what God wants. But, yes, all of the experiences I’ve listed, which is not even half, has truly left a bitter taste in my mouth when it comes to white people…I’m just sayin’

  • Jtascam

     I am who Gods says I am. No ones else opinion matter to me.

  • Tribal Diva

    I think many blacks would love not to be segregated, we would love to give them a chance and feel that their smiles are genuine but then stuff like this happens. We dont want to go backwards and stay away but we have to do it for our safety and for our self esteem. I hate to admit it but the majority of all other races hate us, sad but true, their think we are only good in a manual or working sense i.e. whether classified as entertainment by sport or music or movies or by the regular labour. I want to have genuine friends from all races, I want to have that sisterhood of the travelling pants relationship (guess what none are black) so do i ignore that smile Mr. Derbyshire  told them to give us blacks, no I see it, although I am educated and well on my way to  great success they think that their trailor trash is better than my gold self. Stop making light of this article it is dangerous to let it slide by, for all those who are black and were told this, we were slaughtered and treated horribly for decades so our parents are scared we were never the aggressors they were and that’s why we are still scared. They took our power now we have to claim something black starting with pride and unity between ourselves.  Then maybe we can try mixing in comfortably but the thing is their mindsets would have to change on a grand scale as well. See blacks as human and equal to yourselves and life will be glorious.

    • http://www.facebook.com/RosarioRed Rosario Stefania Scarsci

       In all honesty, I’d much rather live in places that were 1. Safe. 2. Beautiful 3. Mostly blacks. Why? Because I’d prefer to be surrounded by people who look like me and at least have some understanding of what it’s like to be African in America. Idk why anyone sane black person would choose to live in a mostly white neighborhood. I only did that for a while when I moved in with my ex (who was also black). Great neighborhood, weary of the people.

  • http://www.facebook.com/ChristinaIaintgotnomoney4uhoneyCampbell ChristinaItsruff Beingadiamond

    I live where a bridge divides my predominantly black community whereas across the bridge it’s mostly whites and I will tell you what I met some ppl in a mall 45min and they say they heard of where I live and all they know is Blacks better not cross that bridge at night or they won’t make it back! I fear for not only myself but my son who is grown to walk from work over there so if I have to drop him off and pick him up that’s what I will do but he won’t be caught over there alone! No no no he most certainly won’t!
     

    • autumn_breeze

      So sad…unfortunately, I’ve heard of many areas like that, especially in West Virginia.

      • prettybrowneyes_0386

        I totally understand. But it doesn’t have to be that way anywhere. I’m black, a woman and WV born and bred. I work in a place predominately white. Though I’m not the most comfortable all the time, I still feel generally at home where I live. It is a different kind of racism. I have never been afraid to look a white man in the eye and tell him what I wanted him to hear. There are places that I wouldn’t go b/c I wouldn’t feel that I would be welcome, but never have I been anywhere here that i felt I wouldn’t make it out alive. I’ve been to places like that in the deep south, but not here. My parents taught me that i was just as good as anybody else.  Honestly, i can believe that here. It is a proven truth that most of the time a hardworking person can be king of his kingdom b/c nothing comes easy here for any race.That is saying a lot for the ppl who live here, black and white. It is possible to hold your head up high as black person. You just have to be intelligent, hardworking and cautious.Know your rights and use common sense. You’ll never totally escape racism, though. I’d be teaching that to my children before I would allow others to scare them into a corner.

      • http://www.facebook.com/ChristinaIaintgotnomoney4uhoneyCampbell ChristinaItsruff Beingadiamond

        I live in a small town in MI where the cities are called the twin cities where almost everything is separate and nothing is equal! I pray for a Resolution and or Revolution in my area because it’s just sad the envy, ignorance and jealously that flows from both sides of the bridge!

    • FromUR2UB

      Unfortunately, in some parts of the country, this reality has never changed.  This was the way my father and grandfathers lived; they had to constantly be on guard and thinking about racism as a matter of life or death.  My father left the south in his early 20s and moved west, so his children were insulated from the brazen KKK kind of racism he knew as a kid.  But we encountered institutional racism, for the most part.  Our kids were even more insulated from it simply because they grew up in a different time and place, so they were in danger of thinking it was just something of the past.  But, because all of us knew it lives below the surface and rears its head at times, we talked to our kids about it as they were growing up, so that WHEN they encountered it, they would recognize it for what it was.  Many whites are so angry now about having a black president, and the possibility that he could be reelected, that they are lashing out any way they can.  Sadly, once again. we have to remind our children to be cognizant of racism to literally save their lives.

  • Nina Dashotta

    I’m not even gonna lie. Here in south Florida (which is HEAVILY populated by Hispanics and whites) I tell my child the exact opposite of what this guy said for white parents and you black parents need to wake up and smell the Folgers! STOP TRYING TO SHADE OUR CHILDREN FROM RACISM! Please black fam! Let’s be honest, majority of white and Hispanic teachers don’t wanna teach our children but get stuck in school districts because of overcrowding. Most of the teachers in dade and broward county stay waaay out west. Nice homes and cars but have to come waaaay east to teacher our children from the hoods, middle class homes and sometimes upper middle class (the ones who live near the beach). I tell my children get your education because their little Spanish and white friends will make sure theirs get it. Lol they don’t even want black kids on their level. My son has a Spanish friend who wants to tutor him and help him get in the honor roll, know what Jose’s mother said when I asked “mi no speaky ingles” so unbeknownst to her, I speak Spanish and asked her in Spanish, she asked was he negro. Thinking the woman had seen my son before I said yes he is….this trick tells me no her son can’t tutor mine and I need to get help from someone more his type. So as I parent of black children I WILL open their eyes to racism. I WILL tell them where to stay away from if there aren’t enough “his types” around

    • autumn_breeze

      Wow! She actually asked you if he was negro and then told you NO??? Really??? I mean come on now…this is so sad. It’s so sad that we are living in 2012 and we are still dealing with racial hate. It’s sad that we have to teach our black boys (and girls) that they will be hated because of the color of their skin…It’s heartbreaking what our kids have to go through….I’ll be praying for your son and all the other black youth in this so called great and wonderful country of ours.

  • Dhsqu

    Zimmerman was half Hispanic…how does that play in the race game? Idiots like Derbyshire are the ones who perpetuate the race game…come on people…grow up!

    • Kijafajacobs

      And I half white but because I took my mother’s skin color I am considered black. And because of that if I killed a white child I would be under the jail. The fact that my father is white would mean less than zero…. Just lime Zimmermen being half Hispanic does.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8633338 Jessica Pharm

    I think the majority of blacks/non-whites are so over what whites think of us. We have attempted to prove we are none of those things and if whites still want to believe it then let them. Life is too short to live your life by white people’s standards. 

  • Fit Chicks

    Why do I feel like we’ve stepped back into the days of segregation? What in the hell is going on in this country? Why are people still this damn ignorant in 2012? 

  • http://www.facebook.com/KingsQueenOfHeart Ciara LahLah NKing Mitchell

    Wow:(

  • http://kirinjirafa.wordpress.com/ Guiseppi Giraffe

    SIGH.  This is sad. The article is a sad reaction to a sad situation, and the response he has gendered is sad. People just feeling hostile toward each other.

  • Prissy

    Many whites feel this way and so do many Blacks about them. Why is it that everything someone says now has to get someone fired because we happen to not agree with them? That is what makes this sorrid, ratchet place called America “great”. We can say what we want “freedom of speech”. There are plenty of other things going on to be focused on than what some country bumpkin has to say about my race. And as the ladies under me have stated, don’t live by them. Do not move into their cities, do not patron their businesses , stop giving them our money or even our time. Pay them no kinda mind.

  • Davan Ward

    I am so over what white people think at this point in the game. 

  • TEE

    I would advise blacks to leave any area that is suddenly populated by mostly white people, I also advise blacks to stay away from small towns that are predominantly white, as they will may soon be hanging from a tree. also black people please don’t attempt to move in predominantly white neighborhoods or you risk the possibility of having the N-word written in graffiti on your garage, or you risk being flat out denied the opportunity to move in because you’re black. and also blacks please tell your kids that they will have to work twice as hard to get the same low paying job as the whites. I would also let blacks know that you will always be judged twice as hard for everything you do, even though the whites do the same thing, you will be judged harsher, no matter what. Oh and remember black children, whites will make everything they do seem Right, and everything you do seem Wrong. Have a good day blacks and smile, because whites say that all blacks are angry. :)  

  • Sofia

    My black parents mentioned many of these things to us, their black kids, when we were kids. We didn’t go to the fair because there were too many blacks and they would drive around to “hood” areas and advise us to stay away at all costs. 

  • maggie

    Many,many white people think like this even though disillusioned black people will say the above article represents only a small minority of white people.  Presentation of this mentality will vary in degrees and many black people are fooled when white people are nice to them in their face.  This is why I don’t buy the interracial love crap (90% of the time).  Sex is not the barometer of race relations! 

    • Signer222

      I have to agree with you on some parts Maggie there are white people who are cordial to black people in public but when alone they sing another tune. But as a black woman who is married to a white man I believe in interracial love and I have had my husband and HIS relatives stop other white people from saying inappropriate things about blacks in their presents and i am not around. My father in law has walked off of jobs because of things that have been said. But maybe I just got one of the good ones.

    • http://www.facebook.com/RosarioRed Rosario Stefania Scarsci

       I agree 100. I would never condone blacks and whites to fall into this interracial love crap. As a black woman, it’s insulting. Also, whites are the race I’d be least likely to trust. They do this and act this way because as blacks sometimes we can be too nice but at the end of the day we are smart people. Forget them.

      • Smacks_hoes

        Lol you can’t be serious? Jesus wept…smh

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