Friday the
BBC enlisted me to defend my support of Donald Trump for president.
Though the ensuing television broadcast was in English, I found it
incomprehensible. I was speaking in my native tongue to two apparently
intelligent English-speaking women, yet their responses to my clear if
amused rejoinders amounted to gibberish.
They sought to understand Donald Trump’s
victory in the election, but did not have the most elementary
understanding of American democratic process or any grasp of rational
thought. I detected no whiff of alcohol on their breath or any other
sign of inebriation. They showed no sign of drunkenness or of drug abuse
so I left the studio perplexed.
Ultimately, I wrote my friend of 35 years, Andrew Roberts, the distinguished historian, and asked what gives with the BBC.
First I asked Andrew if he had ever
heard of the so-called novelist whom the BBC had brought forth to engage
me. I had never heard of her, and for decades I have kept an eye on the
intellectual vistas as editor in chief of The American Spectator.
She was a Nigerian lady of supposedly
great gifts named Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, though it soon became
apparent that she was in an impenetrable fog about the recent election.
She gave a highly emotional rendering of the election, saying something
about how it left her feeling very much “alone,” and I guess bereft.
Why on earth she was appearing before a
British audience to discuss an American election I have no idea. If the
BBC wanted to explore creative writing I suppose she was their gal, but
then what was I doing there?
The interview got off to a bad start and
became worse. The moderator commenced with: “The first ever black
president will be followed by a president who was endorsed by the KKK.”
Then I was asked, “Where does that leave you?”
My response was what any normal American
would say: “I can’t imagine anybody [sic] more marginal to American
elections than the KKK.” I went on to say, “every four years the KKK
comes up because people like Hillary want to bring the KKK up.” I began
to add that the Klan was composed of a few hundred stoneheads living
marginal lives in the American outback until they could be dredged up to
serve the Democrats’ malign purpose, but the moderator interrupted me.
“So it doesn’t shock you?” I responded, why not talk about the influence
of the Knights of Columbus?
My interlocutors apparently had no idea
what the largest Catholic men’s organization in America might be. The
host inquired, was it “another extremist group?” It was at that point
that I was reminded that fruitful conversation is utterly impossible
with the woefully ignorant.
My thought was reinforced by the
ever-helpful Chimamanda who observed, “There seems to be a refusal to
accept reality. So [the moderator] asked you a question about the KKK,
and it hasn’t been engaged with, and instead we’re being told that
there’s this other group called the Knights of Cint — whoever .” My
reply was “Balderdash, utter balderdash,” which “engaged” both of these
ladies.
The conversation continued its downward
spiral. Memorable moments came when Chimamanda notified me that “If
you’re a white man; you don’t get to define what racism is. You really
don’t.” I responded, “Do you know what the false consciousness [is],
which is the theory you’re [employing]?
As I pointed out it “is a Marxist
concept.” The lady had not a clue as to what false consciousness meant,
but you might think about its consequences for intelligent debate the
next time you hear it employed by a lazy mind.
Then Chimamanda came up with more
evidence of the president-elect’s alleged racism. When he says a judge
“is unable to judge him fairly because he is Mexican, that is racist.” I
supplied her with the judge’s name. It was Judge Gonzalo Curiel who I
suggested was as white as me. We are both white men. Race was not at
issue between us. My correction had no impact on her. She continued in
her invincible ignorance.
The next day, Andrew Roberts got back to
me. He had never heard of her, either. And he added that “The idea that
white males have nothing to say on race is itself racist (and sexist)!”
Thus, my brush with these two ladies has been put in historic
perspective by a historian, but I feel there will be more inscrutable
moments with the left before its members quiet down. Medication might
help.
R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. is
editor-in-chief of The American Spectator. He is author of “The Death of
Liberalism,” published by Thomas Nelson Inc. This article was first
published on Washington Times.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
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