My Thoughts on the Olympics & Trump's Latest Racist Rant Claims Kamala Harris Isn't Black Enough
My Thoughts on the Olympics & Trump's Latest Racist Rant Claims Kamala Harris Isn't Black Enough
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: The greatest existential threat to America is the irrational mob, whether in the streets or at their computers.
A Reflection on the Paris Olympics: The drama of the Olympics isn’t just about winning but also about who we will celebrate as winners.
Donald Trump falsely questions Kamala Harris’ race as he appears at gathering of Black journalists: I wish I was shocked that after this kind of racism, the GOP hasn’t replaced Trump as their leader instead of defending him. But then again, he’s a convicted criminal and a rapist and they haven’t flinched.
Trump Under Fire For Agreeing As Host Says Doug Emhoff Is A ‘Crappy Jew’: The Trump strategy is to divide and conquer, not unify. Unless you’re a White Christian.
Elon Musk accused of spreading ‘lies’ over doctored Kamala Harris video: When the owner of one of the world’s most popular communication sites spreads disinformation, we need to be vigilant.
Russia is relying on unwitting Americans to spread election disinformation, US officials say: Americans have become the unpaid interns to our foreign enemies attacking U.S. elections.
Kareem’s Video Break: It’s not as easy as you may think to follow someone on the street.
USA’s Emma Navarro goes off on Chinese tennis star she lost to at Paris Olympics: ‘I didn’t respect her’: We all make mistakes in the heat of competition, but there should be an apology forthcoming.
What I’m Watching—Movies: Deadpool & Wolverine is the exciting movie we’ve been waiting for Hollywood to give us all year.
The Nelons Sing “Hear the Voice of My Beloved”: Three of the four Nelons were recently killed in a plane crash. This song reminds us why they were so popular as a gospel group.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
A mob is usually a creature of very mysterious existence, particularly in a large city. Where it comes from or whither it goes, few men can tell. Assembling and dispersing with equal suddenness, it is as difficult to follow to its various sources as the sea itself; nor does the parallel stop here, for the ocean is not more fickle and uncertain, more terrible when roused, more unreasonable, or more cruel.
Charles Dickens 1812-1870, English novelist
Mobs are multiplied ignorance.
Sir William Jones (1746-1794), British language scholar
Two quotes today because for me mobs are the greatest threat to civilization in existence. That’s not an exaggeration. They embody the terrifying characteristics of the most frightening creatures from our horror films: They are irrational, cruel, and single-mindedly selfish. They can’t be reasoned with. No amount of pleading or explaining will alter their terrible actions. They represent humanity at its worst.
When I was growing up, my idea of a mob was more literal. I thought of the lynch mobs in the South, like the White men who had killed 14-year-old Emmett Till, were acquitted by a White jury, then bragged about killing him in Look magazine. As I grew older, I realized that mobs don’t always take to the streets to spread injustice, they also take to the ballot box and their computers. Worse, they often do nothing when they see others commit injustice.
I came to realize mob behavior is all around us because the desperation of people to belong to a group overrides their moral compass. How is a cult any different from a mob or a mob any different than slasher villains like Michael Myers (Halloween) or Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th)? They all are on a crusade for self-aggrandizement often under the shoddy disguise of righteousness. The difference is that the slasher villain serves their own visceral desires, while mob and cult members have convinced themselves they serve a higher purpose. Reason would prove otherwise but they have abandoned reason because it feels better to belong to a group.
Mobs can be political parties, religions, sports fans, cops, fraternities, or pretty much any group that worships the group identity over individual responsibility. Appeals to patriotism are often an excuse to do the opposite of what the country stands for. What scares me is how quickly mobs form to do damage to others and how much damage they cause before more rational people act to stop them—if they ever do.
For example, Moms for Liberty is a mob of irrational people who have been responsible for getting hundreds of books banned in schools. Their policies lack logic and proof, yet they seem to be thriving in gaining power over our children’s lives and education.
Mobs are lazy thinkers, willing to unburden themselves from the responsibility for forming their own opinions by adopting others’ pre-fab opinions, then hide their shame by shouting those stolen opinions loudly and bullying those who don’t agree. The Godfather movies’ portrayal of actual mobsters is a great metaphor for the mob mindset: They swear a blood allegiance to each other, go out and murder people in the name of their gang, then attend church to feel good about themselves. And just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in.