The Unhingeing Of Progressivism: Playing The "Racism" Card: Weijia Jiang Edition

It goes without saying that there are still reasonable people generally on the left--mostly, I think, in what increasingly seems like the rearguard remnants of liberalism and whatever semi-centrists can convince themselves that there's space for them somewhere on the contemporary left. But it also goes without saying--or should, by now--that the left as it represents itself prominently and publicly has become unhinged. And nowhere more so than with respect to racism. "That's racist!" is their first argument, their last argument, and often their only argument...what?...approximately half the time? Relying on such pseudo-arguments even 5% of the time would be madness. Everything (done by whites--or at least non-progressive whites) is racist by hypothesis and, according to some, by definition. Often: merely by declaration, as in the case of 'Wuhan virus' and 'China virus.' It's basically impressionistic, so when they say something it's fine...and when they, for inarticulable reasons, decide that the very same words are now badword wrongnoise hatespeech...well, that's that. There being no rules other than Do as we say, not as we did...there's no appeal beyond their impressionistic judgments.

   At any rate, here's their latest--though this one isn't primarily about badspeak, but about...well...God knows. It seems to be another instance of their newest nutty rule of thumb: If you say anything bad about China (i.e.: the Chinese government, the CCP), it's racist. (After all, it's Rooskiestan that's the root of all evil...) Though it's a new variation we've only seen a couple of times, roughly: If you say anything bad about the Chinese government in the presence of a person of Chinese descent, that's racist. Don't try to make sense of this, obviously...none of this can be justified--only explained.

   Here we go:

At a Rose Garden press briefing, CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang asked the president why he so frequently claims that the United States is doing “far better than any other country” at testing for coronavirus. “Why does that matter?” she asked. “Why is this a global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives?”
Trump started by deflecting — “they’re losing their lives everywhere in the world” — before pivoting suddenly: “They’re losing their lives everywhere in the world, and maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me, ask China that question, okay?”
Jiang, an American journalist of Chinese descent, seemed taken aback and asked, “Why are you saying that to me, specifically?” He replied that he would give the same answer to “anybody that asks a nasty question.” Seconds later, he abruptly ended the news conference and walked off.

Wow. What a load of stupid crazy.

   First, let's get this part out of the way: the left--which firmly, unequivocally, undeniably includes the media--has been harping on comparative numbers for, what, two months now? When we had given fewer tests than other countries, they ran around in circles shrieking about that. When we accumulated the most deaths, they went absolutely ballistic. (And, as I've noted: they switch focus from absolute numbers to per capita numbers and back again depending on which helps fan the flames of hysteria and of anti-Trumpism most successfully.) There's no denying that the progressive/media complex has obsessed about comparative numbers. But when those numbers turn in Trump's direction, and he is so impertinent to his betters as to point that out...suddenly we get this stupid ass question. Suddenly they not only can't figure out why anyone would care about such numbers, they're outraged that anyone--well, anyone named 'Trump', anyway--would care. Suddenly to reference such numbers is to turn things into some sort of grisly competition... Because progressives make up the rules and change them as they go along.

   Also noticed the gratuitous addition of "when Americans are still losing their lives"...as if a some sort of death toll competition would be just fine if Americans (Americans) weren't currently (currently) dying. But really: this is just another way of saying Orange Man Bad...and they want to say it every chance they get. 

   And notice the gratuitous personalization of this pile of dishonest rhetorical crap: "why is this a global competition to you..." These are the terms established by the press...but, well: We are altering the rules...pray we don't alter them any further... Now that Trump is succeeding on their terms, it's time to move the goalposts...but not before they call him racist for even trying to get there...

   This is just repulsive. What kind of person would say something like this? And to a president, no less? This is disgusting from stem to stern. (Trump himself says disgusting things all the time that no president should say...but he didn't do that here. That's a different problem for a different time.)

   Who knows how to respond to such a loathsome, dishonest, unfair, irrational, gratuitously-personalized, disrespectful thing said straight to your face and on national television? I'm pretty good at picking such things apart, and I'm not sure what I'd say if I had to think on my feet.

   Trump responded reasonably...though note how the Post frames it, adding another layer of dishonesty:

Trump started by deflecting — “they’re losing their lives everywhere in the world” — before pivoting suddenly: “They’re losing their lives everywhere in the world, and maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me, ask China that question, okay?”

   Note that saying the exact same thing twice is somehow "deflecting" in one case and "pivoting" in the other...no idea how that's supposed to work.. But Trump wasn't "deflecting." He was fumbling to respond to perhaps the shittiest, most irrational and unfair question I've ever heard a reporter ask. What he said was true and relevant: people are dying all over the world. The point: stop trying to pretend that this is a uniquely American problem somehow caused by Trump. He also didn't "pivot suddenly"--note how that's designed to make it sound like he just picked something--a racist something!--out of the blue.  "Maybe that's a question you should ask China"...i.e.: don't forget: China did this. They had it in their control at several points, and they made it worse each time. This death is on them. We didn't do this. We, like the rest of the world, are responding the best we can. Not entirely the most relevant possible response...but reasonably relevant, especially given the progressive media's repeated and on-going attempts to protect China and attack the U.S. and Trump. And, of course: a theme Trump repeats often. Which turns out to be important.

   And now...the identity politics trump card (as it were)!:

Jiang, an American journalist of Chinese descent, seemed taken aback and asked, “Why are you saying that to me, specifically?” He replied that he would give the same answer to “anybody that asks a nasty question.” Seconds later, he abruptly ended the news conference and walked off.

First, I'd likely walk off, too. The left is a bottomless font of false accusations of racism. This insane, cultish obsession is groteseque, as is the fact that they somehow get away with it over and over and over again without paying any price. This faux outrage, the dramatic doffing of the mask...Behold! I am Chinese! Ha ha! And then the most repulsively dishonest part..."WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT TO ME, SPECIFICALLY?"??????????????

  Answer, obviously: I'm saying that to you because you are the one who asked that dumbass question.

  Though an almost equally good answer is: he's kinda not saying it to you specifically. Are you not even paying attention at all? He says it to everybody.

  So. We start with a ridiculous, dishonest, goalpost-moving gotcha question. We get a reasonably relevant response--especially by the denigrated standards of the American media--repeating a theme that (a) is true and (b) Trump repeats all the time. Then we, of course, get the playing of the "racism" card--which is, again: contemporary progressivism's first, last, and often only argument.

   Disgusting.

   And: how much time has the leftist press wasted on senseless screeching about pseudo-racism during this pandemic? Which pandemic they hysterically deem a crisis of such limitless horribleness that it warrants destruction of the economy. It's as if Trump were giving a speech laying out the facts about Chinese mishandling of the situation and someone were to leap up in the middle of the room and yell "Why are you saying these things to me in particular? I AM CHINESE!!!" 

   I was never all that taken with the "history is written by the victors" line...but journalism is like the history of the moment, and witnessing their lies and distortions in nearly-real time...it's sobering. Not it's not enough that they lie and distort what actually happens...rather, they have begun to determine what actually happens by setting this sort of thing up. And when I say that it's sobering, I mean it's repulsive and horrifying. These are the people who tell the most influential story about what's happening in our country at the moment. And they are all now pious members of an irrationalist, antiliberal cult that has discarded the very notions of truth and objectivity, and is dedicated to telling the story for effect. Specifically, in a way designed to mold the country in their image by representing anyone who disagrees with them as evil. 

   Question: how long will they be able to get away with this? False accusations (and irresponsible, unjustified ones) are lies, at least by implication. They are invalid ad hominems. They are intended to poison the well. They are bad and wrong. Traditionally, people paid a high price for making false accusations. But somehow the left has managed to engineer a system in which (a) racism is absolutely the worst thing there is, (b) if there is any way, even via the most irrational spin and misconstrual, to represent something as racist, it's racist; (c) if you are so much as accused of racism, no matter how unjustifiably, you are racist, (d) defending yourself against accusation of racism proves you're even more racist, and (e) false and irresponsible accusers--even repeat--even habitual--offenders--pay no price for making false and/or dishonest accusations. Perhaps (e) follows from (c), since (c) entails that there are no false accusations... This is an extremely powerful weapon for the cult: it keeps almost everyone in line. It's the modern analog of accusations of witchcraft. Even the most implausible accusation gets people ostracized from polite society. It can end your career and even, in some sense, your life. Most right-thinking people cower in fear at the thought of being on the business end of such an accusation. And so Inquisition rumbles along, unopposed. You may not like Trump, and I'm not wild about argumentum ad memeum (memum?)...but there's significant truth in this meme: I mean, actually they're coming after him, too...because they hate him with the passion of a thousand rabid racoons...but they are, indeed, coming after us. And he is, indeed, in the way. And it takes somebody like Trump to oppose them; because he doesn't give a shit what they think about him. He's protected by his f*ck you attitude--and by the fact that he has f*ck you money, too. So if you're not out there opposing the cult, you can thank yourself for Trump, at least to some extent. You won't do it. And neither will any of your blue team candidates. So we elected him to. And I think I'm serious about that point. (And of course: that doesn't apply the few of you out there who are opposing the cult.)

   (Incidentally: you're also probably protected by the fact that you probably haven't crossed the cultists yet. So they haven't noticed you. But what they're doing to Trump is what they absolutely will do to you if you ever have the temerity to step out of the lines that they redraw impressionistically every day...which lines are getting narrower and more irrational and erratic day by day.)

   Finally, I occasionally check in at some of the representative leftist cesspits like /r/politics...which has completely and totally lost its mind. It's guzzled the Kool-Aid until it's red in the face. And that echo chamber has convinced itself that Jiang's false, despicable, dishonest, unconscionable accusation was the greatest debating win since...I dunno...the cross-examination scene in Inherit The Wind or something. Like the sad, pathetic remnants of the Washington post, they think it was Yet another conclusive proof of Trumpian racism...though...since they think there have been about fifty conclusive proofs, it's not clear why they need more of them... Instead of having the good sense to be chagrined and to recognize this as a wakeup call showing how far the generally blue team has slipped into unreason, they think this was a win. It's rather like the Covington Kids case--the facts were clear. But where there was white, progressives saw black, and where there was black, they saw white. Anyone who tried to reason with them was--well, you know what they were... Even as the facts became undeniable, they continued to spin and spin and spin. And places like CNN and the Post were like their collective mouthpieces. Progressives maintained their increasingly irrational view far past the point that any reasonable person could maintain it. And as cognitive dissonance began to plague even them, they simply left the incident behind and moved on to the next case they were completely wrong about. When the Covington Kids case finally went to court, where you can't merely say words with no consequences, Nick Sandman became rich. 

   But here we are, yet again: black is white, night is day, war is peace...and you're a big fact racist, racist.