I Don’t Care About What You Are, I Care About What You Did

Posted on August 2, 2008
Filed Under misc |


Jay Smooth lays it all out when he explains how to tell people that they sound racist. It works on individuals, politicians or anyone. I like the focus on the two conversations and how the “what you are” conversation is not effective. Says Jay:

We don’t need to see inside their soul to know they shouldn’t have said all that about the watermelon.

and

When a dude picks my pocket, I’m not going to chase him down so I can figure out if he feels like a thief, I’m chasing him down to get my wallet back.

Via Edge of the American West.

Popularity: 32% [?]

Tags: ,
Related Posts:
  • Goodbye Celebrities
  • Let It Be Known
  • iTunes Podcasting Screws Up Yet Another Simple Thing
  • Lafayette Vs USC
  • No Title

    • Comments

    View this post on FriendFeed
    • August 2, 2008 at 6:43 pm Derek Coward
      I loved this video. Way more than the Like that FF has. I think this should be mandatory viewing for everyone.
    • August 3, 2008 at 10:36 am Gregory Lent
      a fully human person doesn't see it as a problem, it was nicely filmed, edited, delivered, sort of like a high school orientation class. cool. but i graduated a long time ago. too bad about america though, as caught up in the surface as ever...
    • August 3, 2008 at 3:06 pm Dave Slusher
      Gregory, you have an interesting strategy there, proving your superior morality and humanity by being a dick to strangers.
    • August 3, 2008 at 3:10 pm Dave Slusher
      Also, I don't care whether or not you are a dick, just that the comment you made was dickish.
    • August 3, 2008 at 3:12 pm Robert Scoble
      This is a great video! Dave, I just block people who are jerks. It's made my life so much nicer. There are plenty of people for jerks to get heard, I just don't need it to be on my screen.
    • August 3, 2008 at 3:30 pm Ken Kennedy
      I agree; I watched this a couple of weeks ago, and thought it was dead on.
    • August 3, 2008 at 4:03 pm Dave Slusher
      Robert, I actually hit the block button then undid it. I don't want to do it for first offenses, but I won't hesitate for the second. I actually kind of enjoy the irony of someone watching a video against the ad hominem, feeling above it and responding with an ad hominem towards 300 million people.
    • August 3, 2008 at 4:05 pm Dave Slusher
      Ken, I'm pretty sure I've heard the name of Jay Smooth before but this is the first time I remember coming across his work. As a radical pragmatist, people with a dogged focus on doing what works always appeal to me.
    • August 3, 2008 at 4:26 pm Ken Kennedy
      I'd never heard of him before either...it was a random view in the past week or two for me (I can't even figure out where I got it from), but I'm definitely glad I did. I agree with Derek...way more than just "like". The more people watch stuff like this and think about it a bit, the better off we'll be.
    • August 4, 2008 at 7:21 pm Gregory Lent
      “how many more generations until no one in this country, or in the presidential contest, would even mention race? not commentators, newspapers, tv, bloggers, ordinary people ..... it could start with you, you know .
    • August 4, 2008 at 7:32 pm Gregory Lent
      one level is respecting races, a higher level is seeing only humans ... if you don't see that, please do use the block button
    • August 6, 2008 at 3:51 pm Dave Slusher
      Gregory, your passive aggressive superiority has convinced me.

    Leave a Reply