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Fireside Chat Ep. 149 — Why "Color-Blind" Is Actually "Anti-Racist" | Fireside Chat — Transcript

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0:00hi everybody i'm dennis prager and
0:02welcome to the fireside chat
0:04otto's doing well as you can see oh
0:07you're doing well
0:09did he lift his eye even i keep linked
0:15it's a special dog you know why otto
0:18actually makes us relaxed he he is a
0:22giver of peace we should rename him
0:26or give him a like a middle name
0:34giver of peace wouldn't that be nice
0:40okay anyway welcome to the fireside chat
0:42i offer some thoughts
0:44and then i take your questions
0:49it's very spontaneous which has great
0:52advantages
0:53risks obviously but great advantages
0:56because it's very real i love
0:58real that's real to me is
1:02is a turn on i just i love real okay
1:06anyway so much for that i want to talk
1:09to you
1:09about a word that a lot of people
1:13misuse a lot of people even now
1:15amazingly attack
1:18and even those who believe in it
1:22don't often know how to define it and
1:24that is colorblind
1:26so i grew up with the ideal of being
1:30colorblind that was
1:32that was the racial ideal to be
1:34colorblind
1:36that the thing you notice about a person
1:38obviously you notice and i'm going to
1:39explain this of course you notice the
1:41color you notice a lot of things about a
1:42person
1:43when you see them but the idea
1:46is that it doesn't matter that's what
1:48colorblind means
1:50it doesn't matter
1:53now we're told that it should matter
1:56which is exactly what i was taught my
1:59whole life
2:00and i grew up a liberal was racist
2:04to the extent that color matters is the
2:06extent that you're a racist
2:08which is i i 100 still subscribe to
2:12if color matters to you you're a racist
2:15i don't care if you're black i don't
2:16care if you're white
2:17if color matters you
2:21are the racist i will not
2:24redefine myself and not not even me i
2:27will not
2:28redefine what is good
2:31to assimilate into the current thinking
2:34which is bad this is a true example of
2:38the biblical phrase in in hosea
2:41of those who call woe unto those who
2:43call good evil and evil good
2:45that we are living in that age
2:47colorblind is good thinking color is
2:50important is bad
2:52and now we're told think colorblind is
2:55bad
2:56and taking color as important as if it
2:59defines
2:59anything about you so i'll give you a
3:03couple of examples
3:05uh so you will understand truly
3:07understand what color blind
3:09should mean and really has always meant
3:13so people who who attack us
3:18for saying colorblind is good say
3:22you're you're fooling yourself no
3:23there's no such thing as colorblind you
3:25don't see a person's color
3:28but that's not what colorblind
3:29colorblind doesn't mean you don't see a
3:31person's color
3:32the only person who doesn't see a
3:33person's color is a blind person
3:36but if you have eyes you see a person's
3:38color
3:39but all right to the extent that it's
3:42not an issue look at me
3:43what do you see see glasses okay
3:47are you are you glasses blind no you're
3:49not glasses blind you see my glasses
3:52see white hair are you white hair blind
3:56no you see my white hair but it doesn't
3:58mean anything
4:00that's the whole point that's the ideal
4:03of colorblind
4:04that the color of your skin is
4:07i see it i'm not blind literally
4:11to the color of your skin but it doesn't
4:14matter
4:15that's the issue my color hair doesn't
4:17matter to you
4:18my wearing glasses doesn't matter to you
4:22my color skin shouldn't matter to you
4:24that's the whole point
4:26but the left which whose moral compass
4:29is always broken
4:31north is always south and south is
4:32always north
4:35is teaching us that oh that's really
4:37important
4:38but why why is skin color more important
4:41than hair color
4:43i i never got an answer to that it's
4:46just
4:47it's just something you're born with
4:49it's a physical property so what
4:53that's what colorblind means yes we see
4:56it but we see
4:56many things the question is whether we
4:59believe it's intrinsically important
5:01what do i know about you if you're black
5:03let's think about that what do i know
5:06i meet a black person in a restaurant
5:08what do i know about that person
5:10knowing that the person's black the
5:12answer is nothing
5:15the person may have moved here from
5:17africa
5:1920 years ago 10 years ago five years ago
5:22have zero relationship to slavery in
5:24america
5:25has has nothing in common in that regard
5:28with an american black
5:30who came here whose ancestors came here
5:32on slave ships correct
5:34so i know i know nothing unless i ask
5:36you what is your ancestry
5:39what if it's a a black tourist from the
5:41caribbean
5:42visiting on vacation what
5:46what do i know about you i know nothing
5:48i would have to ask you questions
5:49what do you know about me seeing my
5:51color white nothing
5:53do you know i'm jewish you don't know
5:55i'm jewish
5:56so i have a very different background
5:59than
6:00a white episcopalian uh in in north
6:02dakota
6:03correct so so it's an absurdity all
6:06whites have nothing in common
6:08and all blacks have nothing in common
6:10unless they have something in common
6:13that is in addition to
6:16their color so
6:19why is it important if i know you're
6:22white or black do i know you're kind
6:25do i know you're mean do i know you're
6:27honest do i know you're a crook
6:30do i know you treat your family nicely
6:31do i know you have a family
6:33i know nothing i know nothing about you
6:36so why is it significant
6:37if i know nothing about you how
6:39significant can it be
6:42i know as much about you if i know your
6:44skin color as i know about you
6:46by knowing whether you wear glasses or
6:49not in fact i know more about you if you
6:51wear glasses
6:52i know you need glasses
6:55so at least i know that one fact
7:00this is such common sense and decency
7:03wrapped in one
7:04the leftist view the back black lives
7:07matter
7:08organization's view is racist and and
7:11vile
7:12and stupid because we know nothing about
7:15you
7:17what does a black conservative and a
7:19black leftist have in common
7:21nothing what do a white conservative and
7:24a white leftist have in common
7:26nothing what does a black conservative
7:29and a white conservative have in common
7:31everything what does a white christian
7:34and a black christian have in common
7:36everything when i speak at churches and
7:38i see black
7:39i speak off of the pastors groups there
7:41are black pastors and white pastors they
7:43have so much more in common
7:44than they do with people who have no
7:46affiliation with their religion
7:48outside of their race or inside their
7:50race i should say
7:54this is what i mean this is when i say
7:56college makes you stupid
7:58i don't mean that as a put down it is a
8:01put down but i don't mean it as a put
8:02down i mean it is a fact
8:04it teaches you that this is important so
8:06tell me
8:07one thing you know when you know a
8:09person's color
8:11what do you know about them of any
8:13significance
8:14or even insignificance nothing
8:18so how important could it be it isn't
8:23now do you know what colorblind means
8:26okay
8:27time for uh for our video question
8:31and other questions from you around the
8:33world all right here we go
8:34take it away hi dennis prager my name is
8:37ethan lewis
8:38and i'm from new zealand my question is
8:41how far left
8:43is the right willing to go we're seeing
8:46the right support things such as
8:47corporate welfare
8:48social security so how far left are we
8:52really willing to go
8:54you my friend are a thinker
8:58that ethan congratulations to you that
9:01that's a very thoughtful question
9:03trying to get to the opening questions
9:05here here we go okay
9:07that is a how far left is the right
9:09willing to go is a
9:10very very serious question
9:15so the answer is that a conservative
9:19wishes by definition to conserve
9:21obviously conserve the best
9:24an american conservative wants to
9:26conserve
9:27the one of the unique literally unique
9:31principles of the american founding
9:33america is the only country founded on
9:35the principle of limited government
9:39that's the essence or an essence maybe
9:42the essence
9:44may be an essence of conservatism
9:47limited government
9:48as i put it many years ago the bigger
9:50the government the smaller the citizen
9:53that's the way it works the american
9:56founding was you i
10:00every one of us as an individual is of
10:04of infinite significance but we become
10:07less significant the more the government
10:10controls our lives i mean that that's
10:13definitional
10:16and when you get to the ultimate
10:17totalitarian state like north korea
10:20or communist china under mao in
10:22particular
10:23the the individual was nothing they
10:26would
10:26they were to dress the same they didn't
10:28they were all comrade they were in mr or
10:31mrs
10:32or ms or anything like that it was a
10:35blending of everyone this is what the
10:36left has always wanted to do
10:38it hates individuality they say it we
10:40hate individualism they think it is a
10:42corrupt
10:43idea of of the american system it is
10:46it is the most elevating idea you
10:50the individual you are infinitely
10:51precious
10:54you are the are the
10:57pilot of your life you fly your
11:01airplane you you're the captain of your
11:04ship
11:06and if you if you steer your ship
11:10onto rocks then
11:13your ship will sink hopefully you will
11:16survive and
11:17you'll perhaps build another ship and
11:19one day
11:21command another ship having learned how
11:22to avoid those rocks
11:24that's the way it works but if you want
11:27a life where
11:28you can't sink your ship
11:31then you're on the left that's one of
11:34the appeals of the left i can't sink
11:37people are afraid of sinking i'm using a
11:40metaphor i don't mean drowning i mean
11:42just sinking
11:45people fear what being the captain of
11:48their own
11:48own ship is like it's a lot of
11:50responsibility to be the captain of your
11:52own ship
11:53and it's a lot more fun or a lot seems
11:56to be a lot more fun to be taken care of
11:59and not be have
12:00have someone else be the captain of my
12:02ship
12:04so the right in america has
12:08given up in many many ways the whole
12:12idea
12:13ideal of the limited government
12:16because the forces of the left have been
12:18so powerful especially since franklin
12:20roosevelt
12:22the government will take care of you the
12:23government will take care of you will
12:25spend more on you take care of you take
12:27care of you take care of you
12:30because most people don't want to be the
12:32captains of their ship
12:35that's that's a tragedy that's by the
12:37way it's a much
12:38much richer life my ship has been
12:41grounded
12:42in my lifetime and i and i got off the
12:45ship
12:45built a new ship or repaired that ship
12:49and then uh went sailing again
12:52this is this is the metaphor of life
12:56it's like when people tell me oh uh
12:59i don't uh i uh my parents were divorced
13:02i don't want to get married
13:03or i was divorced i don't want to
13:05remarry
13:06so i always ask them if your parents had
13:08a car crash would you drive a car
13:12why isn't a divorce regarded like a car
13:14crash
13:16once most people after a car crash drive
13:19again
13:20if your marriage crashed why wouldn't
13:22you marry again if
13:24especially and if your parents marriage
13:25crashed
13:27it's the people say that because they
13:29expect life to have no crashes
13:32but a crash-free life is i i is a
13:36terrible life
13:38everything okay otto
13:41you know what i think when he heard
13:43parents divorce he got a little scared
13:47it's very sensitive mommy and i are
13:50doing fine
13:51okadoke
13:55that's that is what the right has
13:58forgotten and so they
14:02give in more to the left until we have
14:05you know more and more government
14:07control and taking care of people's
14:09lives
14:11you know the the people on the left say
14:13we'll uh we'll pay your student loan
14:15so people who have paid their student
14:17loans at great
14:18at great difficulty and sacrifice say
14:21wait a minute why am i being penalized
14:23i paid the loan and now the ones who
14:26never paid the loan
14:27but it doesn't matter we'll just give
14:31you more and more so that we get more
14:32and more of your votes
14:34the buying of votes is a moral problem
14:36anyway your question
14:38is apropos let me give a generalized
14:41answer
14:42the conservatives should conserve the
14:44ideal
14:46that the bigger the government the
14:47smaller the citizen
14:49all right emily 13 years old michigan
14:53why does the left only focus on the bad
14:54things america didn't ignore all the
14:56good things i can't understand it
14:57because they're ingrates
15:00every leftist is an ingrate by
15:01definition because if you're grateful
15:04uh you you can't you can be a liberal
15:05you could be a conservative but you
15:07can't be a leftist
15:09not only that it is it is truly uh
15:12intellectually
15:13impoverished to to preoccupy oneself
15:17with america's racial flaws
15:20uh like slavery
15:24every nation in the history of the world
15:26had slavery
15:27every in africa uh in
15:31uh in the americas among the native
15:33peoples
15:35uh in in of course in europe
15:38massive slavery in the arab slash
15:41muslim worlds everyone
15:45so the only intelligent question is who
15:48got rid of slavery
15:49not who had it
15:53and the answer is britain and america
15:57and it was christians this is a jew
15:58telling you that
16:00it's not i don't have no acts to grind
16:01here
16:03not that a christian would have an axe
16:04to grind necessarily they're just
16:06telling you the truth
16:08a lot of christians supported slavery
16:10and it's a shame they did
16:11but they didn't make them any different
16:13from anybody else but what made
16:15them different was that they abolished
16:17it
16:20america has made the freest country for
16:21the most people in the in the history of
16:23the world
16:26you're very lucky if you're an american
16:28of any color
16:32carlos 27 buenos aires argentina hi
16:34dennis i hope you are doing well
16:37i am my country isn't that's my standard
16:39answer to how are you
16:41i'm fine my country isn't i would love
16:43to hear your thoughts on a difficult
16:45issue
16:45i have lived in my home country
16:48argentina my whole life
16:50i love my country which is a good thing
16:52people should love their country
16:54but it is becoming harder and harder to
16:56live here due to the economic crisis
16:57that has lasted for many years
16:59many people i know have left to find
17:01better lives and opportunities in north
17:03america and europe i believe it
17:04argentinians are very successful around
17:06the world
17:08i've been to argentina a number of times
17:09i lectured there
17:11and i know many argentinians abroad
17:16problem in argentina like much of latin
17:18america's corruption
17:20not natural abilities
17:24and not natural resources
17:28very rich in both but i don't feel like
17:32i have any future here
17:33i want to stay here part of me wants to
17:35stay here and help my country but i
17:36don't feel like i have any future here
17:37what is your advice for me
17:39and other people in similar countries in
17:42similar situations
17:44muchas gracias well
17:47in advance danada so
17:51this is a very tough question
17:56see if if your country
18:00were suffering economically because
18:04of some external
18:07tragedy a meteor hit buenos aires and
18:11crushed the economy of the capital city
18:13just using the most
18:14external example i could think of
18:18that's one thing but if your country
18:22has a tremendous amount of corruption
18:24which is eating away at a country that
18:26could be quite wealthy
18:28and free
18:31well you could say look i'll i will stay
18:33here the rest of my life and fight for
18:35my country and against the corruption
18:38on the other hand you say you know i
18:39have one life to live
18:41as much as i love my country i want to
18:44live where i have opportunity
18:47both arguments are very powerful
18:51my heart goes out to you i think a lot
18:53of americans are going to start if
18:56if the left takes over the congress and
18:58presidency of the united states
19:00a lot of americans are going to have to
19:02start thinking that way too
19:03they love america but they're watching
19:06it
19:07grinded down into something
19:10unrecognizable
19:13is it these are uh
19:17these are very terrible issues and there
19:19is no there is no
19:21perfect answer so
19:24i'm only only making your question
19:26harder
19:28i have done absolutely nothing to help
19:30you except that i honor whichever
19:32whichever decision you make i honor
19:37maybe you leave and uh and if things get
19:39better in argentina maybe
19:41maybe the the brain drain in argentina
19:44will awaken people
19:46back home to policies that are hurting
19:49the country
19:50i just don't know but it's a very valid
19:54question
19:56tyler 27 boston massachusetts in a
19:59society that does not value the truth
20:02how do you win any debates
20:05when i have a debated people on the
20:07radio on my radio show
20:10or in public debates there are a few
20:13public debates that i have actually on
20:15on youtube i
20:19realize number one i'm not there
20:22to convince the person that i'm arguing
20:26with
20:26or debating with i never have in my mind
20:30will i change their mind it almost never
20:33happens
20:34the reason i debate is for the
20:36audience's sake
20:39i can change minds of the listeners of
20:42some listeners
20:44and i can give the answers to arguments
20:47for those who already agree with me
20:49which is just as important
20:54helping those who agree with you
20:56formulate the ideas properly and clearly
20:59is as important as trying to
21:03bring people over to your side
21:06so you have to debate but you have to
21:08know how to do it well
21:10calmly is always good just and my other
21:14and my motto that i adopted in the
21:15beginning of my radio career
21:17i prefer clarity to agreement
21:20so instead of trying to have the person
21:24agree with me
21:25all i try to do is say let me make clear
21:29where we differ well what do you say
21:32otto
21:34a rare to he is spunky today
21:38this is a rare treat for you folks
21:40normally he just lies there
21:43he's looking for a more comfortable spot
21:45than his bed this is a
21:46famous auto position all right anyway
21:49you all know that otto is
21:51uh is doing well thank god so
21:54you need to clarify where you differ
21:57that helps
21:58the two of you and it helps anybody
22:01listening
22:02so don't give up there are many people
22:05who don't value truth
22:06they value emotion and feeling
22:11if they value truth they would tell the
22:13true meaning of the word colorblind
22:15which is what i began
22:16the uh the fireside chat with what's our
22:18timing there megan
22:22well good we got time for more great lee
22:2652 earhard minnesota dear dennis you've
22:29probably been asked about this before
22:31but i still run into apologists who are
22:33democrats
22:34they say they are democrats not
22:36republican
22:37because years ago the two parties
22:39switched philosophy
22:41and now republicans are now the racist
22:43party
22:44we know it's hokum can you give a quick
22:47answer to them
22:48and and so on thank you
22:52this this notion that people are
22:54republicans in order to be racist
22:58is is a tactic of the left it has it's
23:01it's not an issue of truth
23:04i truly loathe racism i think i am
23:06convinced i loathe it much more than
23:07people on the left
23:09that's why race doesn't matter to me
23:12among other
23:14factors the vast majority of people who
23:18are republican are republican because
23:20they believe in limited government
23:22not because of racism
23:26i'll tell you an interesting thing when
23:28i am at
23:29uh events where the audience is
23:32republican
23:34and uh they're they're black members of
23:37the audience
23:38you know and they come to the the
23:41pre-speech
23:43meet and greet and they'll have hors
23:45d'oeuvres with uh with other
23:47people who have paid to go to the meet
23:48and greet if you
23:50are a black and you want to be loved
23:54go to a republican meeting
23:59they will you will get more love there
24:02than anywhere outside of your family and
24:04in fact if you went to a republican
24:05meeting you probably don't get much love
24:06from your family
24:09but i mean it quite sincerely i
24:13try it out go as a black to a republican
24:16a meeting
24:17and see how people react and you know
24:20this notion that republicans are racist
24:23is a lie it's just a lie
24:25are there racists to republicans it
24:28means nothing
24:29they're anti-semite to republicans but
24:31i'm a jew feels perfectly comfortable i
24:33don't believe people
24:34are republican to be anti-semitic but
24:36there are anti-semites they're
24:37anti-semite they're more anti-semites on
24:39the left
24:41than there are on the right so would i
24:44uh
24:45would i uh say that every one of you is
24:47a democrat
24:48is is there because you're an
24:49anti-semite of course not
24:54gary 51 rancho palos verdes california
24:57today i learned a new term
24:58white silence the belief that white
25:00people who don't post their support of
25:02black lives matter
25:03on social media are not worthy of
25:05anyone's attention what are your
25:06thoughts on this dennis i hadn't heard
25:08about that
25:09this is pure totalitarianism you if you
25:12don't support us you're evil
25:14that's really something uh but go to the
25:18black lives matter page where it shows
25:20its beliefs
25:21tell me you could support it one of the
25:24founders said she was marxist
25:25she was trained as a marxist how could i
25:27support an organization
25:29that that is in essence totalitarian all
25:32marxist organizations are totalitarian
25:34black white non-non non-race-based
25:38this is that whole idea you must say you
25:42support me
25:44you know it's fascinating i'm a jew if
25:47if you i am not demanding that every
25:50non-jew
25:51announce i support jews
25:55i mean the idea is preposterous
25:58as a jew all i demand i'm using being a
26:01jew because i'm in a minority
26:03so all i with a very strong history of
26:06persecution
26:08so all all i'm asking is don't hurt me
26:11i'm not asking you to love me
26:14this is a very interesting subject unto
26:16itself
26:17uh minorities or majorities should not
26:20demand that others love them
26:23you know i i love individuals i don't
26:25love groups
26:26okay i don't love any group i love
26:29good people the only group i care of is
26:32the decent and the indecent
26:35that was viktor frankl a jew who went
26:36through the holocaust his wife was
26:38murdered
26:39relatives were murdered it's amazing he
26:42survived the major psychoanalyst
26:44he wrote the book man search for meaning
26:46the book after the bible that most
26:48influenced me
26:50he was asked after the war after all all
26:53the
26:54beyond belief horrors he had witnessed
26:57so uh dr frankly who was a psychoanalyst
27:01dr frankel it's in his book it's it
27:03changed my life
27:05said do you do you hate the german race
27:08and his answer was there's only one
27:10there are only two races
27:12the race of the decent and the race of
27:15the indecent
27:17that's the way i divide the world that
27:20is the way
27:21everyone decent should divide the world
27:26so it's a good idea to end on that's
27:29what matters that's all
27:32that matters not color
27:35i do not support a group based on color
27:39i group i support or or religion or
27:43anything else
27:45or nationality i support all good people
27:50of any color i don't know why that's not
27:52the best answer for everybody
27:55okay i'm dennis prager thanks for being
27:57with me
27:59thank you for watching if you'd like to
28:00keep these fireside chats free
28:03please do by donating to prageru

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Fireside Chat Ep. 149 — Why "Color-Blind" Is Actually "Anti-Racist" | Fireside Chat by PragerU, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 4,035 words across 706 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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