Thomas Sowell

Earlier, I may have directed you to Ruben Navarrette, a Mexican-American who speaks eloquently for his community. Now, I commend you to Thomas Sowell who encapsulates his black heritage in brilliant syndicated columns, especially that portion of the one which is quoted here.

". . . The biggest losers from the current Duke 'rape' case include not only the three students accused but also the black community, which has once more followed a demagogue who knew how to exploit their emotions for his own benefit.

"Some of these demagogues are white like [District Attorney Michael] Nifong but there are also homegrown black demagogues like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson who have prospered greatly, and basked in the limelight, by leading other blacks into a blind alley of futile resentments and counterproductive self-dramatization.

"The biggest losers from getting sucked into these frauds are blacks, especially young blacks who go off on an emotional tangent that leads nowhere, at a time when there are so many opportunities in other directions, if they direct their time and efforts through education and other serious interests.

". . . [Young blacks are] hearing a steady diet of propaganda blaming all their problems on others and depicting 'society' as determined to keep them down, regardless of anything they might do to lift themselves up.

". . . The current self-destructive misdirection of energies in black ghettoes cannot be explained by a 'legacy of slavery' or 'racism.' For one thing, this level of self-destruction in black communities did not exist half a century ago, when racism was worse and the black population was generations closer to the era of slavery."