Ben Carson, and the failure of black conservatives

[ExodusNirvana]

Ben Carson, and the failure of black conservatives

I was a 17-year-old teenager growing up on the west side of Detroit when I first read Ben Carson's biography Gifted Hands.

The first thing that caught my attention were the similarities in our childhoods: He grew up poor; so did I. Carson's mother couldn't read; my grandmother, who was my legal guardian until she died soon after I finished high school, could only read and write her name. Young Carson got in trouble as a teen and nearly stabbed a friend; when I was 12 years old, I had an almost fatal run-in with my uncle while he was high on drugs. Carson earned his bachelor's from Yale University and finished medical school at the University of Michigan. Though I would eventually receive both my undergrad and graduate degrees elsewhere, I, like many kids from Detroit, often dreamed of being a Wolverine.

And though I had no idea what I wanted to be in life, I knew I wanted to do something great. Maybe I wouldn't become a neurosurgeon famous for separating conjoined twins, but perhaps I could become something equally spectacular.

I knew nothing of Carson's politics back then. I was 17 and didn't care. He was a black man from the hood who "made it." His was an inspiring story, full of adversity overcome, of hard-work and perseverance. That's all that mattered to me. What I didn’t realize as a teenager, however, was what that same story would one day mean to white, conservative America.

Ben Carson is now not only running for president as a Republican, but he's arguably leading the GOP field. And in an era where the biggest cheers of the Republican debates go to takedowns of "political correctness" and the media, Ben Carson is taking advantage, warping his personal story into misbegotten political and racial analysis.

In August, when a Fox News moderator asked Carson during a GOP debate how he would address strained race relations in America, he saidthat the "purveyors of hatred take every single incident between two different races and try to make a race war out of it and drive wedges into people." He said nothing about the structural issues causing the racial divide between black and white Americans; he just blamed the media.


In September during his tour of Ferguson, Missouri, where 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by former police officer Darren Wilson, Carson said, "We need to de-emphasize race and emphasize respect for each other." He added that he was raised to respect police and "never had any problem."

This is Carson's M.O.

When Carson speaks to the mostly white audiences who support him, he positions himself as a black person who doesn’t "complain" about racism. He argues that we need to move beyond having difficult discussions about race.

And his messaging during his campaign has been crystal clear: I am who I am because I worked hard, and that is the best way to overcome racism. If you are black and cannot succeed like me, he tells his mostly white audiences, then only you are to blame for your problems — not police brutality, an unfair criminal justice system, or racist hiring practices.

It's a classic case of black conservatism, the belief that individual resolve should be enough to fend off structural racism. But Carson's auto-biography pokes holes in his own story. When you read about his life, you see someone who was not only exceptionally hard-working, but like all successful people, at times exceptionally lucky.

Had Carson actually succeeded in stabbing the friend he claims to have attacked as a teenager, Carson likely would have served time and jail and struggled to find work as a convicted felon; his right to vote probably would have been revoked, too. Carson likes to discuss how his short temper led to him go after people with rocks, bricks, baseball bats, and hammers. Hundreds of thousands of black people who made similar mistakes are caught in the racially-predatory cycle of the criminal justice system that refuses to grant them second chances. Yet, he abhors the Black Lives Matter movement for daring to challenge the racist policies that could have very well prevented him from rehabilitating had he been been jailed for his wayward behavior.

Here's another telling anecdote: In his 1999 book The Big Picture, Carson wrote about an incident involving his mother being arrested in a suburb of Detroit because she, according to the arresting officer, fit the description of a woman who abducted an elderly couple; the charges were later dismissed with the help of a prominent lawyer friend who was also a fellow Yale alum.

Only a black person who reached the highest summit of social and professional achievement could have called his Ivy League buddy to get his mother out; the residents of Ferguson who were daily targets of rampant racial profiling, according to a Department of Justice report, did not enjoy such social pull.

But Carson, the presidential candidate, doesn't tell his white supporters about the pitfalls he narrowly avoided; he only talks about the heroic leaps he took in avoiding them. When I read Gifted Hands nearly 18 years ago as a young teenager, I never envisioned Carson becoming a 21st century Nat Turner — but neither could I foresee him dismissing racial injustice entirely. The culmination of Carson's success, as I now know, was not designed to accommodate any sense of responsibility for those in the black community who didn't "make it."

Instead, it is only tailored to assure white voters that they don't have to bear any of the racial baggage that comes with being black in America.

 

[hashmander]

in a previous ben carson thread where he said something c00nish i said off to the firepit my copy of his book goes and i was serious. i put that shyt in the firepit on the patio one night and just chilled while gifted hands burned. the guy is the biggest disappointment to me. if he was a colin powell style black republican i wouldn't have any problems with him on a racial level (still wouldn't vote for him), but he's a straight up c00n.

 

[Jhoon]

At what point do we move past the racial aspect and just openly ridicule conservatives issues? So what hes a c00n? When do we bypass all that other stuff and just point the absurdities of their philosophy?

 

[ExodusNirvana]

At what point do we move past the racial aspect and just openly ridicule conservatives issues? So what hes a c00n? When do we bypass all that other stuff and just point the absurdities of their philosophy?

Never.

A black man who openly supports the ideals of an organization that refuses to hide its disdain for people of African descent is a threat to all people, ESPECIALLY his own kind.

 

[Jhoon]

Honestly, it just comes across as a distraction. Maybe its just me that can differentiate between shytty people and shytty culture.

Never.

A black man who openly supports the ideals of an organization that refuses to hide its disdain for people of African descent is a threat to all people, ESPECIALLY his own kind.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

At what point do we move past the racial aspect and just openly ridicule conservatives issues? So what hes a c00n? When do we bypass all that other stuff and just point the absurdities of their philosophy?

It's important to point out how they use folks like him and Tommy Sotomayor for racial validation.

U dont have to look very hard to find the absurdity though.

 

[MajorVitaman]

At what point do we move past the racial aspect and just openly ridicule conservatives issues? So what hes a c00n? When do we bypass all that other stuff and just point the absurdities of their philosophy?

c00ns are the most dangerous weapons of white supremacy. Modern day trojan horse

 

[kingjones29]

ben carson 2016

 

[Nigerianwonder]

I dont get the carson hate. Same folks claiming the president doesnt have any real power in order to justify obama not doing enough are complaining over carson. If its just symbolic then only a c00n would vote for hillary over carson. He would actually be the first real black president since he is not mixed like obama.

Time for a real gut check if carson get the republican nomination. I make money under dems and repubs. They are all controlled by the same people anyway. If you really think hillary is going to do anything for you different than what past presidents have done you are a fool.

 

[Micky Mikey]

I rather have Carson than Hilary and that's all I'll say

 

[Serious]

It's important to point out how they use folks like him and Tommy Sotomayor for racial validation.

U dont have to look very hard to find the absurdity though.

And it's a slap in the face to any reasonably educated or self aware "minority"

 

[AJaRuleStan]

Regarding the Apartment of Justice Investigation, I must say, It's funny how the author only cites the parts that support his narrative and ignores the rest.

He gladly accepts the assumptions that were made about the Ferguson police department being motivated by discriminatory attitudes, even though those assumptions are based mainly on disparity statistics. But when it comes to the Micheal Brown report, which supports Wilson's account more-so than the ones made about Brown...he's oblivious. And I point this out because the Author used Carson response to the Brown incident as evidence of Carson ignoring X.

Honestly, the writer should have just claimed Ben was a Uncle Tom from the start. It would have saved time, and gotten to the point much quicker.

 

[Insensitive]

Even if there is discrepancies in his article it doesn't matter. Ben Carson pretty handily paints himself with that huge scarlet"C".

This article is only telling someone who is completely out of touch something new.

 

[JahFocus CS]

"black conservatives"

 

[Eflex tha Vybe Scientist]

the term "conservative" should be replaced with the more accurate description of "white supremacist"