If they can tell you that a boy is a girl.
If they can tell you that math is “racist”.
If they can tell you that it was a deadly insurrection.
If they can tell you that there is no objective reality.
then….
There is no actual truth, no ultimate standard, no cosmic process to fact check intentionally incorrect information.
What is Real
The Debate
I claim that the police are not “systematically racist” and that there is very little risk of being killed by a police officer. My position is (and has been) that unless you threaten, attack, resist arrest, or point a gun at a police officer there is virtually zero statistical chance that you will be killed by police for no reason.
On the other side of the debate Lebron James claimed that he is “terrified” of being killed by a police officer for no reason. James also commented about police officers, “For black people right now, we think you’re hunting us.”
So, it appears though Lebron and I are at an impasse. Who is technically right? Certainly this information is available somewhere. The number of people killed by police officers has to be documented, these records must exist, and if so – this debate could be settled with a quick Google search, right? And the loser will admit defeat and promise to utilize a more evidence-based approach to future opinions on controversial topics. I mean, isn’t this how adults behave?
The Facts
So, 13 divided by 20,000,000 = 0.00000065
You get the point. Unless, of course, you believe that math is racist.
Winner Winner
There is no social credit awarded for being factually correct. It is given to those who express certain accepted beliefs – even if those beliefs are objectively and provably false.
Realistic Opponents
So, in February 2021 Skeptic Research Center conducted a poll to answer the question, “How Informed are Americans about Race and Policing”?
The question asked was, “How many unarmed Black men were killed by police in 2019?”
The choices were:
- About 10
- About 100
- About 1000
- About 10,000
- More than 10,000
They asked participants to label themselves as: very liberal, liberal, moderate, conservative, or very conservative.
The results of the study found that people in general were not well informed. But, in particular, those that reported being “liberal” or “very liberal” had the greatest discrepancy between their estimations and reality.
For example, over half (53.5%) of those reporting as “very liberal” estimated that 1,000 or more unarmed Black men were killed by police in 2019.
On the other hand, approximately 46% of those who reported being “conservative” or “very conservative” estimated that “about ten” was the correct answer.
Again, the actual number was 13.
Why it Matters
We must ask – what other opinions do they hold that are anchored down by ignorance and objectively bad ideas?
And, if we are not examining our own opinions under this same critical lens – it is hypocritical to point out the obvious logistical fallacies of our ideological opponents.
Ask Questions and Fight
The more questions you ask and the more you challenge obviously ridiculous claims – the more you will be called racist, sexist, transphobic, etc…. The fight to exist in reality should not be this hard.
There is social incentive to hold the belief that “men can be women” and when Lia Thomas defeats Riley Gaines in an NCAA Women’s swimming Championship – we are expected and required to remain silent. When instead, there should be an incentive to ask reasonable questions like, “What the fuck is wrong with the NCAA?!?”
Seattle math teacher Shraddha Shirude believes that the subject of math “is used to oppress people.”
The idea that “math is racist” is a core principle embedded within the curriculum of Critical Race Theory (CRT) being taught in public schools in Portland and Seattle. So, I generally advise normal people to “ask questions”. But, in these types of cases, only aggressive ideological opposition is appropriate.
We are beyond questions. This is “silly season” and winter is coming.
Final Thoughts
This has nothing to do with race or respect. This has to do with objective reality. Some opinions are better than others because they are objectively true.
Insane ideas that are extracted from the culture wars directly infect politics and politicians create laws and enact policies. If we stand back and stand by until “defund the police” is a choice on the ballot – we have already lost.
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