Academia, Politics, Supreme Court

Boston University Professor Denounces Barrett As “White Colonizer” For Adopting Two Haitian Children
WhiteHouse.gov (Twitter)

It appears that Judge Amy Coney Barrett has gone from a “cult member” for being a devout Catholic to a possible “white colonizer” for adopting two Haitian children.  Where most of us saw a loving interracial family at the White House ceremony on Saturday,  Ibram X. Kendi, the new director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, saw a possible case of effective baby snatching by “White colonizers.”

On Saturday, Kendi wrote “Some White colonizers ‘adopted’ Black children. They ‘civilized’ these ‘savage’ children in the ‘superior’ ways of White people, while using them as props in their lifelong pictures of denial, while cutting the biological parents of these children out of the picture of humanity.”  The obvious implication is that the Barrett’s may have used their adopted children as mere props as part of a possible effort to hide their racism. It was clearly designed to curtail the praise of the Barrett family by suggesting that the parents might be racists. Indeed, he puts “adopted” in quotation marks to suggest that some of these children are not really adopted but presumably acquired or snatched by “White people.”

After leveling that truly disgusting suggestion against this family, Kendi added “And whether this is Barrett or not is not the point. It is a belief too many White people have: if they have or adopt a child of color, then they can’t be racist.”

It is akin to saying that you are not sure “whether not” Barrett is a kidnapper while leaving that question dangling as you explain how the criminal scheme.  It is an example how any notion of decency can be dispensed with in the criticism of conservative figures or causes. Once again, the only thing more disturbing than this outrageous attack is the relative silence of the media or Kendi’s colleagues.

It appears that it only takes a Supreme Court nomination to take a clearly loving interracial family to raise the possibility that the parents are craved racist baby snatchers.  It is not clear if Kendi would have preferred that Barrett hide two of her children or not mention them to avoid any suggestion that they are mere props.  What is clear is that he wanted to interject the possible racism of the Barretts at a time when others were complementing the Barretts and their family. He then expressed a sense of his own injury when his words were taken as an accusation of any kind:

“And whether this is Barrett or not is not the point. It is a belief too many White people have: if they have or adopt a child of color, then they can’t be racist/ I’m challenging the idea that White parents of kids of color are inherently ‘not racist’ and the bots completely change what I’m saying to ‘White parents of kids of color are inherently racist.’ These live and fake bots are good at their propaganda. Let’s not argue with them.”

In fact, many of us are not saying that Kendi said that all white parents of kids of color are racist. We found his need to raise whether the Barretts might be racists using her black children as props to be sufficiently offensive.

Judge Barrett has never had a charge of racism leveled against her as a lawyer, a law professor or a judge. While many disagree with her judicial philosophy, there is absolutely no basis to suggest that she is a racist or akin to a “white colonizer.” It is a classic set up to “prove the negative.” Prove that your adoption of two children from Haiti was not an effort to acquire “props in [your] lifelong pictures of denial.” As is often the case in the last few years, many of us are left simply dumbfounded by these vicious and gratuitous attacks. This (and so many moments) is best captured by the words of Army counsel Joseph Welch at the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954: “Have you no shame, sir, at long last? Have you no shame?”

185 thoughts on “Boston University Professor Denounces Barrett As “White Colonizer” For Adopting Two Haitian Children”

  1. What is racist, adopting a child that would be provided a safe, loving and healthy family environment, or expect that child to remain in circumstances that deny that child a better life, all because of their skin color?

    My wife and I were fostering a 1.5 year old Hispanic boy who was found living in an abandoned home, abused and malnourished. His birth father had no interest in taking steps required to regain custody. His birth mother didn’t want another one of her children (she has 5) raised in that environment, and wanted us to adopt him. We adopted him and while his birth father is in prison, we still maintain contact with his birth mother.

  2. She could have left them to live in that golden utopian paradise Haiti. Or did the Clintons fundamentally transform Haiti?

  4. ”
    Jonathan Turley @JonathanTurley
    Replying to @JonathanTurley

    Many of us are left simply dumbfounded by these vicious and gratuitous attacks. This (and so many moments in recent years) is best captured by the words of Army counsel Joseph Welch at the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954: “Have you no shame, sir, at long last? Have you no shame?” ”

    The use by Prof Turley of this old quote is out of context.

    But regards to Army counsel Joseph Welch comment: “Have you no shame, sir, at long last? Have you no shame?” The correct response at the time should have been: Sir would you have us do nothing as a nation, stand aside & allow every Damn Commie infiltrate the US, FBI, DOJ, Banking, Medical Industry, Media, Academia, etc., until some point in the future like in 2020 the US is in the middle another Bolshevik style revolution?

    Whispering to an aid: Get me General Jack D Ripper & Major TG “King” Kong on the phone, it’s apparent we have have another out of control infiltration of more American hating GD Commies that needs corrected.

    Now is that not the truth of the situation this morning 9/28/2020?

  5. JT said, ” This (and so many moments) is best captured by the words of Army counsel Joseph Welch at the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954: “Have you no shame, sir, at long last? Have you no shame?”

    I will answer that! Hell No!!! Democrats do not have a bit of shame and haven’t for decades. They could care less about the truth of anything they say. To them, words are weapons to be used in the pursuit of power. Remember Senator Harry Reid lying about Mitt Romney’s taxes??? What did Old Harry say when he was busted out???
    ————-
    “So the word is out that he has not paid any taxes for ten years,” Reid said on the Senate floor in August 2012. “Let him prove that he has paid taxes, because he hasn’t.”

    Under criticism and repeated denials by Romney, Reid later put out a statement backed by an “extremely credible source,” which turned out to be billionaire Jon Huntsman, Sr, the father of the former Utah governor and Romney rival, according to Double Down by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. PolitiFact rated Reid’s allegation “Pants on Fire.”

    When asked about his comments in a new interview by CNN’s Dana Bash, Reid, who recently announced he would retire in 2017 after his term is up, rebuffed those who said his attacks were “McCarthyite.”

    “Well, they can call it whatever they want,” Reid said. “Romney didn’t win, did he?”

    https://time.com/3765158/harry-reid-mitt-romney-no-taxes/
    ————

    Sooo, no Democrats do not have any shame. After all, they are on the side of the angels! So anything goes as long as they win.

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

  7. Put the so called “university” on the itShay list. Advise your relatives and other people not to go to school there. Where is the Kendi guy from?

  8. Love that this is what actually sends you into “have you no shame?” territory, Turley. And also am entertained by your conflating a couple, clearly separate, issues here…

    A good friend of mine was career State Dept. and adopted two kids while posted in various outposts in Africa. A whole lot of issues involved with what it took to make it happen. And it takes a special kind of commitment to undertake the entire process. I’m sure Barrett possesses everything it takes to make her personal family situation thrive. As I’m sure her Catholicism adds to her positives in that regard…

    But it has almost nothing to do with her being willing to take part in the grandest SCOTUS charade in modern history. Or her religious beliefs clouding her public policy on women’s right to choose. Or how her political beliefs would affect 20 million people getting kicked off their insurance. Or the fact Trump would immediately call in a favor if the election is anywhere near close in November.

    On a different note, the Times coming in with the details on trump’s financial charlatan ism was pretty awesome yesterday, ay? And the story about the border “wall” that 60 Minutes did last night was just as awesome. Look, I built stone walls for a living for a good chunk of time. Everything from high end all the way down over the years. Just one look at what Bannon’s build the wall operation did and it shows that every basic foundational ‘wall’ building foundational mistake you could possibly make with building a wall (in this case more of a fence) the contractor made those mistakes….

    A truly stunning level of incompetence and hack factor ten construction principle.

  9. Kendi wrote “Some White colonizers ‘adopted’ Black children. They ‘civilized’ these ‘savage’ children in the ‘superior’ ways of White people, ”
    1st I see nothing to suggest that Kendi is making Any effort to separate himself from the civilized superior ways of “White people” that provide him with the means to live in comfort among them. Hypocrite. How many children of Any discription have you rescued from poverty ? There are many”Black nations” that would love t have a man of your education and experience on their college staff. What keeps you here ? Clearly you have chosen to stay here and serve the “White man an his institutions” . This judge and her husband put their money and lives beside their faith. You who are in No position to criticize them. They should be celebrated. You and other Black Liers Matter to the uninformed masses but there is a growing number of US that see behind your mask. You are wolves in sheep clothing an we are your prey.

    1. You’re asking an American “What keeps you here?”
      Black people helped build the U.S.
      What keeps you here?

      1. After seeing Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago, and Memphis, etc, – I want my money back from blacks. Because it look to me like the idiots tore stuff up in America as opposed to helping build it.

        Squeeky Fromm
        Girl Reporter

      3. Read his words carefully.
        They ‘civilized’ these ‘savage’ children in the ‘superior’ ways of White people, ” what he meant was clear white people took these two untrained, uñtaught Barbarians and remade them in the white man’s image, superior to what and where they were before adoption. Kendi’s attack was not just on this couple but on this nation and Our way of life. It affected me deeply. If his distain for OUR nation is so great then as I said his education ànd experience would make him welcome in any Black ruled country on earth. Again I ask, as one Black man whose forfathers came here as slaves, Why is he still here?

        1. You clearly didn’t understand his meaning and why he put those words in quotation marks.

          1. Maybe you are unable to read what was said. It seems you never met a racist on the left you didn’t like.

  10. Kendi attended unremarkable schools, cadged a research degree in a nonsense subject, and has completed a dissertation and published a couple of articles in scholarly journals (one an ordinary mid-card journal, one in the nonsense subject self-enclosure). Yet, here he is hired-to-tenure at Boston University and graced with his own pesudo-think-tank. He’s an example of the essential unseriousness of academe, of the degree to which it’s a collecting pool of patronage programs for privileged political interests. And if we stop subsidizing this nonsense and pass consumer protection laws which require them to quit padding their program with frills, the faculty will put the motor of such down to ‘anti-intellectualism’.

    I knew a race obsessive employed as a psychology professor. He attended a satisfactory college and then a ‘public ivy’ and published in psychology journals. He got denied tenure, and was sufficiently crest-fallen that he took on yet more debt and went to law school. He’s now an associate with a New York firm which evidently told him to get rid of the dreadlocks. He was, however, not miscast as an academic, even if his institution thought he hadn’t published enough in the right venues. I can’ imagine he’s looking at Kendi’s career and wondering why he couldn’t have hitched a ride on that gravy train.

      2. No, I didn’t. He’s jumbling popular, professional, and academic titles in his discussion of where he’s published, and jumbling opinion pieces. book reviews, and research. His scholarly articles can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

      1. Anonymous, Listening to you and your brethren on this blog makes it difficult to believe that Scott isn’t correct.

    1. Olaf Palme fancied he was the world’s moral tutor, an asinine pose that seemed to go down well in Sweden.

      1. I’m Danish.

        Get your facts straight before you insult me with your nationalistic comment.

        USA USA USA!

        (actually I have been a naturalized US citizen for years. It required a lot of effort!)

          2. Immigrants make the U.S. a better country.

            No, they merely make it a different company. If you fancy their company so much, emigrate.

        2. I’m Danish.

          IOW, you’re just as supercilious as Olaf Palme and you add to that by being unable to balance your books.

    2. I agree that the optics suggest the same virtue signaling as the “my dogs are rescues” bumper stickers. But for Kendi perhaps it hits a little too close to home. His career is a “rescue” as well. He doesn’t teach anything of value (accounting, engineering, science, etc.) and he occupies a patronage position made possible by an overly endowed white institution. His position is as much virtue signaling by Boston U. as is the adoption of poor lil’ black babies by white do gooders.

      2. I agree that the optics suggest the same virtue signaling as the “my dogs are rescues” bumper stickers.

        She put her time and her money where her mouth is, creep.

  13. Has he no shame? Of course not. He’s made a handsome profit off of a book and landed a nice gig at a university by trashing people he doesn’t know. Shame? I suspect he’s positively giddy.

  14. Turley, drop your bias and stop shilling for Trump and Foxnews. Read this article that appeared in the BBC.

    ‘Stories of transracial adoption most often feature white families adopting black and Asian children. When the opposite happens, and black and Asian parents adopt white children, officials and members of the public can become very suspicious.
    Seven-year-old Johnny was about to lose it. He’d woken up in a sulk and it was only escalating as the day progressed. Now, at a diner in Charlotte, North Carolina, Peter could see Johnny arguing with another child in the play area. He had to act fast to get his foster son out of the restaurant before a loud tantrum would erupt. Taking the boy in his arms, Peter quickly paid the bill.
    As he carried Johnny to their car, the child wriggled moodily in his embrace, and was still agitated as Peter put him down to open the car door.
    A woman approached them, frowning.
    “Where is this boy’s mother?” she asked.
    “I’m his father,” Peter replied.
    The woman took a step back and stood in front of Peter’s car. She looked down at his number plate and took out her phone.
    “Hello, police please,” she said calmly down the phone. “Hey, there’s a black man. I think he’s kidnapping a little white kid.”
    Johnny suddenly became still, and looked up at Peter. Peter put his arm around his foster son.
    “It’s OK,” he said to the boy.’

    The article goes on and can be reviewed on the BBC news page.

    1. That article has absolutely nothing to do with the gist of JT’s article, Isaac.

      I realize that you are incapable. But there are times when you would serve yourself by learning how to just STFU.

  15. Like too many other social justice warriors, anti-Trump deranged people and anti-white racists, it appears that Boston University Professor Ibram X. Kendi has completely lost his mind and fallen over the edge of reality.

    1. Steve, unrelated, I hope you saw my response to your question on Friday: https://jonathanturley.org/2020/09/25/democrats-introduce-unconstitutional-act-to-limit-the-tenure-of-supreme-court-justices/comment-page-1/#comment-2005186
      (You’d asked “Impeachable conduct is spelled out in the Constitution and it is literally limited to Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. What are the things that Trump has done that fall into these limitations?”)

      1. CommitToHonestDiscussion,
        Stop stalking me into other blog threads and posting off-topic replies that’s actually intentional trolling. Just like you, we choose what to reply to so don’t get butt-hurt when someone doesn’t reply to you.

        This is the last time I’ll reply to this type of comment from you.

        FYI: I turned off all notifications of new comments from Turley’s blog about a week ago (I still get notifications of new blog posts) because my email inbox was literally filled up with hundreds of email notifications from Turley’s site, I have a life and I’m not going to wade through this kind of stuff. Sometimes I’ll choose share my opinion and walk away and others I’ll choose to come back and see if anyone has replied but from now on just don’t expect any replies from me. I don’t have the time to engage in active conversations all over the internet so I’ve chosen where I’ll engage and where I’ll simply share my opinion and walk away. If you want to engage in active on-topic online conversations with me, try Ethics Alarms, Blaska Policy Werkes (a local blogger), or my own blog.

        Catcha later.

        1. Steve,

          I’m not going to look you up on another blog. You asked me a question on *this* site, and I took time to answer your question, and I simply wanted to know whether you’d seen my response. Asking whether you saw my reply is not trolling, so don’t pretend that it is. Apparently you’re not interested in learning what high crimes Trump committed. That’s too bad.

          Since you’re not interested in having a discussion here, it’s doubtful that I’ll reply to you again.

  16. With all the more important things going on, as are reported, here, here, here, and here; why does Turley persist on ferreting out whackos sequestered in remote areas of academia and putting them forward a la Foxnews as representatives of the majority of Americans that include, progressives, liberals, moderates. Read the paper(s) from time to time. What about Trump’s tax evasion(s) and his hiding of the truth, rejecting of facts, unrelenting lies, etc? C’mon Turley, don’t be such a shill.

    1. I suppose you would just be happier to have racists like Kendi not talked about at all. How dare JT use free speech to bring these jerks to light.

      1. I’d be happy if Turley posted one for five the travesties on the right proportionate to travesties on the left. Turley shills for the right by seeking out the extreme nut cases on the left. There are at the very least an equal number of extreme idiots on the right. How about venturing to the center and talking about the real stuff: Trump’s taxes, etc.? Foxnews says it’s fake news so Turley gives it a pass. What a shill.

    2. I agree Issac. Well said. I can’t recall the last time Turley took issue with Faux News. It seems that Turley wants to offset his inescapable critique of Trump by trying to find any liberals to criticize in a bid not to take sides. Will Turkey indicate for whom he will vote? I doubt it because he does not wish to burn his bridges and be written off as a partisan. He wants to be regarded as a fair-minded and impartial judge. Good luck with that. In this cold civil war, one has to take a side ultimately.

      1. Jeffrey I disagree with Isaac but You talked about taking a stand, so I will.
        Surly you do not believe that a man that doesn’t even know what office he is running for is fit to be president ? Even if he were elected, do you really want a dementia patient in office? It’s on video. Look it up for yourself. Feb 25, 2020. South Carolina “My name’s Joe Biden. I’m a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate “Look me over. If you like what you see, help out. If not, vote for the other Biden. Give me a look though, OK?”
        Jeffrey, Isaac, the question is not WHY I will vote for Trump ; but rather HOW you can vote for Biden ? P.S. Kendo is proof that you can be all 4 at the same time, educated, a fool, a racist and Black

        1. OK, Biden gets tired and distracted and lets his mouth slip. Compare this to Trump’s lies, blaming, blithering idiocies and then pick your poison. The difference is that Biden might miss a word or juxtapose some out of the same confusion that has dogged absolutely every politician since the beginning. Trump does this in a much more regular manner, so often that listeners-especially his supporters-have acclimated to it. Even the most staunch opponents of Trump don’t even notice anymore when he improperly uses words, destroys the English language, or momentarily thinks out loud. What Trump illustrates as to his mental acuity, that far exceeds any warning about Biden, is that he noticeably thinks about some of his most blithering idiocies, and then goes on to release them. More often than not, Trump will return to a blithering idiocy and stand by it. There is no comparison between the danger represented by Biden’s gaffs and the dangers represented by this abomination and blithering idiot that is Trump. How can you vote for someone who argued for some time to have his bimbo daughter be VP, someone who flat out stated that Covid-19 was not a problem for six weeks while it took root and slaughtered tens of thousands, someone who laughed at those who wore masks and then called it patriotic, someone who defied consistently the greatest scientific and medical minds to expound his personal opinions, someone who suggested that the scientific community should ‘look into’ injecting bleach into humans as a precaution or treatment, etc.

          You don’t think about this because you have acclimated to this idiot. That’s the spooky part; not Biden slipping up or juxtaposing a few words. ‘Let’s hear it for those young folks and their immune system. They are immune to Covid-19.’ This is your champion. Pathetic.

  18. You ask, “Have you no shame, sir, at long last? Have you no shame?” I would say that Judge Barrett has no shame to accept the nomination from a chronic and habitual liar, charity fraudster, tax evader, con man, and sexual predator. Devout Catholic woman, don’t you know.

    1. Jeffrey, you realize much of what you attribute to Trump could also be attributed to Clinton, who nominated RBG, right? Oh I forgot, we’re not supposed to look at history any more.

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