Remember when racism was bad? I do, and I still think that way. When someone like Steve King says something racist and stupid, there is near universal condemnation. When someone like Joe Biden says something racist and stupid, there is…much less condemnation.
See, even though the former Vice President has been making comments that would make David Duke tell you to cut it out, Joe Biden has a Get Out of Cancel Culture Free card: he’s evolved from his previous racism and reformed his views. How much he has evolved is in question, but the Left says the fact he’s changed is enough to excuse past behavior.
And as you’re about to see, this concept is as bogus as Joe Biden writing his own Tweets.
evolved
What the Left thinks it means – when someone renounced his or her past beliefs in favor of more progressive ideas
What it really means – when a Leftist says something bad and the Left wants to make people believe it’s no longer what the Leftist thinks, even when it is
First, a little peak behind the curtain. The inspiration for this week’s Lexicon entry came from a discussion I had with some Leftist friends of mine on Facebook. Another poster listed several times from Biden’s past where he was a racist, but the Leftists discarded the criticism by invoking the “he’s evolved” card. That might have explained some of his comments from the 1970s, where bad choices were as commonplace as they are today, but not his more recent statements about blacks. Remember his “you ain’t black” comment? Or how about his clumsy attempt to praise the Hispanic community’s diversity by suggesting the black community isn’t?
Yeah, he’s about as evolved as a can of Campbell’s Cream of Primordial Soup, but I’m sure he’s going to “evolve” again by the time he says something else racist. In other words, any second now.
The concept of Joe Biden “evolving” on race isn’t borne out by what he continues to do. The Left, however, can’t drop him from the 2020 Presidential ticket just yet because they think he’s the one who can beat President Donald Trump in November. Right now, they’re trying to use him as a jeweler’s cloth to expose the President’s faults, especially on race because they think Trump is weak on race relations and can be brought down by accusations of racism.
Of course, the Left never gives anyone outside of their ideological village the opportunity to “evolve.” Once you say something or do something or have a situation spun to make it look racist, you’re a racist for life. Doesn’t matter what you’ve done to atone for your past, no matter what you’ve said to denounce racism, if you’re on the Right, you’re a racist by default and can never evolve. Unless, of course, you become a complete sell-out like David “I’m a Paranoid Coke Fiend and All I Got Was This Lousy Website” Brock and start attacking the Right. Then, you are allowed to evolve and your past sins are washed away. I would say this is an example of the Leftist White Jesus Complex, but there’s nothing complex about it. It’s a simplistic way to try to memory-hole a Leftist’s racist, sexist, whatever-ist past the Left thinks people have to atone for, even when they act the same way later on down the line.
Make no mistake, I believe people can and do change, but the fact the Left allows only their allies to evolve on issues makes no sense. If they believe as I do, why tack on an ideological requirement to get the benefit of the doubt? It’s simple, really. The Left believes they are the most moral people on the planet, so in order for anyone to be forgiven for the past, he or she has to get the Left’s blessing.
Can you say “cult,” boys and girls? I knew you could.
The odd thing about the Left’s concept of “evolution” in this case is it doesn’t focus much on actions, which can be tracked and verified, so much as it focuses on ideas and assumptions, which can be faulty or dishonest. You can look back at what Joe Biden has said and supported during his time on Capitol Hill (although he would rather you not because it would be a “distraction”) to get a fix on what he truly believes. Ideas are harder to nail down because there isn’t always concrete evidence that supports them. People change their minds for all sorts of reasons, some of which defy reason. In order to show a change of heart, though, there has to be more to it than just ether.
And I have a great example of this: the late Senator from South Carolina, Strom Thurmond. He was a racist in his early years (which, I believe, were somewhere in the Stone Age) and even ran for President on a segregationist platform in 1948. The Left still invoke his name as proof of the Republicans’ racism, in spite of the fact he was a Democrat for a good chunk of his time. Also, he switched parties in the 1960s, which the Left use as proof of a party switch in the 1960s, but that’s a Leftist Lexicon post for another time.
Now, here’s the M. Night Shyamalan twist ending few people know about. It turns out Thurmond wasn’t as much of a racist as the Left wants you to believe. Whether it was seeking justice for criminals who lynched a man, advocating for black membership at Augusta National, or sleeping with black women (okay, so that last one may not be as admirable, but work with me here), Thurmond’s actions prove he has more of a claim to be considered evolved than Joe Biden has. Thurmond may not have fully renounced his past, but he didn’t shy away from it, nor did he seek forgiveness. He was who he was, warts and all.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden is getting forgiveness for his past, and present I might add, in spite of not doing anything but be a Democrat. This shows the ultimate absurdity of the Left’s concept of evolution: ideas and words mean more than deeds, even when the ideas and words don’t show any substantive change.
If that’s what they’re going with, the Left may be writing their own unhappy ending in November.
