>1. At the most basic level, it always feel a little odd to be confidently
>arguing, whether pros or cons, about something called black nationalism
>when none of the participants in discussion is a self-identified black
>nationalist and only a very few of those present are black. Is it only me
>who feels that this unfortunate demographics produces only a lot of hot air
>and _nearly zero influence_ on whatever direction political winds might
>blow in black communities?
Well yes and no. We also discuss, here and elsewhere, Tibetan nationalism, Japanese financial policy, and Christian fundamentalism without having the Dalai Lama or his emissaires, a Japanese financial bureaucrat, or a Biblical literalist around, and with little hope of influencing politics. But given the long, embarrassing history of white people telling black people what to do, and enumerating their shortcomings, I understand your discomfort. On the third hand, it's impossible to discuss U.S. politics without talking about "race," and it's hard to talk about "race" without talking about black nationalism. And it'd be hard to talk about black nationalism without talking about its relation to other aspects of U.S. political culture, and it'd be hard to talk about U.S. political culture without talking about black nationalism, and.... It's a problem, isn't it?
Doug