Let's just get this out of the way from the start. I realize this topic and what I am about to say will trigger and upset some people. I certainly am not maliciously intending to piss off folks. But, if you are waiting for me to apologize (even a cursory half-hearted apology), in the words of Jay-Z "forever is a mighty long time".
So, if this is the point where you stop reading, so be it. However, I would implore you instead of being triggered give thought to what I am saying. If you still disagree with me, as I suspect many will, offer counterarguments to what I will say. If you feel I am factually incorrect or my narratives are off base, call me out. I will certainly listen to what you have to say. But, if you choose not to even read my point of view, I sure as hell am not going to beg you to continue reading.
So, anyway...
To those of you who might be wondering, "What is he talking about? What is wrong with riding a train? Did Amtrak do something offensive or wrong", allow me to explain. Train riders is my euphemism for what more polite society calls "uncle toms", "sellouts". Some people more crassly call it "cooning", which is construed as racist because the original usage of the word "coon" was/is meant to be a racial slur. But, many black folks utilize the word to drill the point home. Like the n-word it has become a colloquialism in the black community. It is not unusual at all to hear someone say, "They are on the coon train." So, I say train riders as my way of a happy medium while not watering down what the action truly is.
Basically, I believe train riders are any poc (people of color) who willingly disparage, demean, belittle and stereotype other poc for the purpose of currying favor with right-wing ideologues who are bigoted, if not crypto-racist. They are people who parrot white nationalist talking points regarding black and brown people. They are usually (but not always) people who have been fortunate enough to achieve a certain socioeconomic status which they want to maintain. In some cases they are people who have "sold-out" so they can achieve a certain socioeconomic status and don't even believe the things they are saying but are willing to say them for the payoff.
Back in slavery and Jim Crow days "uncle toms" would often snitch on other slaves. They would talk derogatively about other blacks to whites in an attempt to distinguish themselves from the "others". They believed by doing this the slave masters or whites in general would look out for them and give them special favors. If they made themselves appear more couth or "civil" then maybe white people would accept them. Of course, it didn't work out that way.
In current times, you still have people who buy into this philosophy. They literally believe if they regurgitate the talking points: racism doesn't exist (except for a minute few extreme examples) and black people play the victim card, it will endear them to whites who either feel those things are true or simply push that narrative knowing it is false.
The majority of blacks who propagate these narratives are Republicans or self-described Conservatives. The more prominent ones love to go on television or appear in YouTube videos for channels such as Prager U or write articles in right-wing publications pushing these ideals.
I already hear the pushback. "Just because you are a black Republican it doesn't mean you are a sellout." That is absolutely correct. I totally agree. Those two things are not mutually exclusive to one another.
That is why I always make the distinction between black Conservatives and black right-wingers because they are different. Black Conservatives such as Sen. Tim Scott, political pundit Tara Setmeyer and Condeleeza Rice are individuals who I have disagreements with politically but I know are principled people. Their convictions are based upon actual Conservative ideals.
Also, when they see instances of racism and unfair treatment they call it out. They certainly don't pretend racism doesn't exist nor is it some rare happening like a coherent moment from Charlie Sheen. And, they don't make a habit of perpetuating black stereotypes nor putting down other black folks.
On the other hand, black right-wingers such as Niger Innis, Trump campaign surrogate Katrina Pierson or Pastor Mark Burns perpetually go on television and spew white nationalist talking points. They act as if racism is a myth of black folks' minds. They say in essence the real racists are those calling these good white racists racist. They propagate racist stereotypes such as blacks are lazy, stupid (except for their ilk, of course), criminal minded and victim hustlers.
They criticize almost all black civics leader and civil rights advocates without offering any nuanced critiques or substantive policy prescriptions. They, themselves, do nothing positive for marginalized communities. Their answer for everything is, "Quit blaming the white man, stop relying on affirmative action and pull yourself up by your bootstraps like I have." Now, they are correct to say quit blaming everything on white people. However, their railing against affirmative action is disingenuous because often it has aided them in being able to achieve what they have. And, in some cases the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps is bullshit because they are people who were born into wealth or advantageous situations.
What is really infuriating to me though are the people who grew up in the hood or the innercity. They experienced firsthand the struggle, the unfairness and the racism. But, now that they made it they want to go on television and front like none of it happened and everyone else who hasn't been fortunate enough to make it is just lazy and lacks personal responsibility. It is such cursory bullshit.
Now, there is one type of train rider that sends my blood pressure through the roof more than any other. This is the grifter. The negroes that unquestionably know they're spreading bullshit but don't care because they are getting paid, getting influence or harnessing power and prestige.
They are truly sellouts because they are literally selling out other people of color, their morals, and their dignity for a payday. They are not the pathetic Uncle Ruckuses like Larry Elder. These are craven jackals who are willfully and knowingly fetishizing themselves for the perverted pleasure of bigots and racists.
The most obvious example of this is Candace Owens. Ray Lewis is not far behind. Something is fundamentally immoral to me about a person who will willingly appear on Fox News and YouTube propagating white nationalist false narratives about black people that they don't believe just to make a buck. This is what Candace Owens does.
I understand there is a lucrative niche for black folks who talk shit about other black folks. I don't have a doubt in my mind if I, as an African-American man, were to make videos spouting right-wing and white nationalist talking points about black and brown people my YouTube channel would have well over 5,000 views and 100 subscribers instead of the 160 views and four subscribers it currently has. It is true. I know it. You know it. However, I have a conscious and this silly hang-up about not saying things I do not mean and I know for a fact to be untrue.
Candace Owens is not the only grifter who does this. YouTube and Fox News are filled with them. And, I already know some Candace marks will disagree. That is fine. All I will say is two years ago she was conducting mock investigations into Donald Trump's penis size and now she is the Republicans Africa-American pinup centerfold. Also, she can't even articulate Conservative positions. She just regurgitates talking points which she does at a cursory level.
Candace does this because she is lazy not because she is stupid. She is not stupid at all. She just doesn't think she has to possess any policy depth because her combination of blackness and right-wing ideology is more than enough for those people who have fetishes for that toxic mixture. So far she is right in her calculation.
Candace Owens, like most right-wingers of color, is lying, Y'all. It is a grift!
The problem for the black community is how do we deal with this and train riders of all varieties? Sure, we can rescind their invitation to the barbecue. We can excoriate
and ostracize them. But, what does that really accomplish?
What is so mind-numbing to me is some of what these uncle toms and aunt tomasinas say is true on a cursory level. One of Candace Owens staples is to say the Democratic Party is a plantation. Speaking in a macro sense that statement is just idiotic. But, it would be intellectually dishonest for me to not to acknowledge the Democratic Party has failed the black community in many ways. However, the Republican Party has done nothing for the black community and doesn't show much initiative to do anything despite the what Candace Owens and others babble.
The truly infuriating and sad thing is I highly suspect what fuels many of these train riders is self-hate and being ashamed of what they are. (I am sure that will trigger somebody.) How else could one explain people who are so willing to bash and disparage their own. In many cases people who do this do everything they can to distance themselves from anything black. I am talking from their appearance to their musical tastes to the way they talk. If that isn't self-hate, tell me what it is?
Of course, that doesn't include the grifters like Candace Owens. I really don't know what to do with people like that other than call them out and expose every chance I can. It is one thing to hate what and who you are. While that type of mindset and feeling should be confronted and worked through it is decidedly different from simply doing whatever to make a buck.
As I stated, I find it immoral to say hurtful, untruthful and damaging things about any group of people but especially your own just to add a few zeroes to your bank account. Regardless it is usually unhealthy behavior to fetishize yourself for anyone's pleasure. No amount of money, prestige or platform makes it better.
See, my real issue with people like Candace Owens is not so much what she's doing to herself but the young people she is able to convince to join her movement. They are likely going to be coming from a place of sincerity whereas Candace is just milking the system. And, once the grift is up and/or they find a younger, prettier, more eloquent propagandist she'll be on her way and her followers will be left high and dry.
Allow me to also make clear I have predominantly been speaking about black people but this happens across the board in all communities of color. I have seen it firsthand with Hispanics and Native Americans. A train rider is a train rider.
And, I am sure I will hear the rebuttal of "So, anyone who criticizes people of color is a train rider?" *Sigh*. No. That is not what I am saying.
What I am saying is there is a difference between critique and demeaning. If I can close my eyes when your talking and think I'm listening to Richard Spencer, there is a problem. It is perfectly fine to offer legitimate criticisms but it is something else entirely to propagate stereotypes and stigmas you know to be factually incorrect. It is unconscionable to be a propagandist against marginalized communities for no other reasons than a financial windfall or garnering "respect" by fetishizing yourself for people who don't give a shit about you.
If people want to ride that train, ride it. But, actions and words have consequences.
People of color in today's world still have to fight stigmas and stereotypes. It would be really fucking awesome if we didn't have to also rebut those same stigmas and stereotypes from our own who know better and know the truth.
So, if this is the point where you stop reading, so be it. However, I would implore you instead of being triggered give thought to what I am saying. If you still disagree with me, as I suspect many will, offer counterarguments to what I will say. If you feel I am factually incorrect or my narratives are off base, call me out. I will certainly listen to what you have to say. But, if you choose not to even read my point of view, I sure as hell am not going to beg you to continue reading.
So, anyway...
To those of you who might be wondering, "What is he talking about? What is wrong with riding a train? Did Amtrak do something offensive or wrong", allow me to explain. Train riders is my euphemism for what more polite society calls "uncle toms", "sellouts". Some people more crassly call it "cooning", which is construed as racist because the original usage of the word "coon" was/is meant to be a racial slur. But, many black folks utilize the word to drill the point home. Like the n-word it has become a colloquialism in the black community. It is not unusual at all to hear someone say, "They are on the coon train." So, I say train riders as my way of a happy medium while not watering down what the action truly is.
Basically, I believe train riders are any poc (people of color) who willingly disparage, demean, belittle and stereotype other poc for the purpose of currying favor with right-wing ideologues who are bigoted, if not crypto-racist. They are people who parrot white nationalist talking points regarding black and brown people. They are usually (but not always) people who have been fortunate enough to achieve a certain socioeconomic status which they want to maintain. In some cases they are people who have "sold-out" so they can achieve a certain socioeconomic status and don't even believe the things they are saying but are willing to say them for the payoff.
Back in slavery and Jim Crow days "uncle toms" would often snitch on other slaves. They would talk derogatively about other blacks to whites in an attempt to distinguish themselves from the "others". They believed by doing this the slave masters or whites in general would look out for them and give them special favors. If they made themselves appear more couth or "civil" then maybe white people would accept them. Of course, it didn't work out that way.
In current times, you still have people who buy into this philosophy. They literally believe if they regurgitate the talking points: racism doesn't exist (except for a minute few extreme examples) and black people play the victim card, it will endear them to whites who either feel those things are true or simply push that narrative knowing it is false.
The majority of blacks who propagate these narratives are Republicans or self-described Conservatives. The more prominent ones love to go on television or appear in YouTube videos for channels such as Prager U or write articles in right-wing publications pushing these ideals.
I already hear the pushback. "Just because you are a black Republican it doesn't mean you are a sellout." That is absolutely correct. I totally agree. Those two things are not mutually exclusive to one another.
That is why I always make the distinction between black Conservatives and black right-wingers because they are different. Black Conservatives such as Sen. Tim Scott, political pundit Tara Setmeyer and Condeleeza Rice are individuals who I have disagreements with politically but I know are principled people. Their convictions are based upon actual Conservative ideals.
Also, when they see instances of racism and unfair treatment they call it out. They certainly don't pretend racism doesn't exist nor is it some rare happening like a coherent moment from Charlie Sheen. And, they don't make a habit of perpetuating black stereotypes nor putting down other black folks.
On the other hand, black right-wingers such as Niger Innis, Trump campaign surrogate Katrina Pierson or Pastor Mark Burns perpetually go on television and spew white nationalist talking points. They act as if racism is a myth of black folks' minds. They say in essence the real racists are those calling these good white racists racist. They propagate racist stereotypes such as blacks are lazy, stupid (except for their ilk, of course), criminal minded and victim hustlers.
They criticize almost all black civics leader and civil rights advocates without offering any nuanced critiques or substantive policy prescriptions. They, themselves, do nothing positive for marginalized communities. Their answer for everything is, "Quit blaming the white man, stop relying on affirmative action and pull yourself up by your bootstraps like I have." Now, they are correct to say quit blaming everything on white people. However, their railing against affirmative action is disingenuous because often it has aided them in being able to achieve what they have. And, in some cases the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps is bullshit because they are people who were born into wealth or advantageous situations.
What is really infuriating to me though are the people who grew up in the hood or the innercity. They experienced firsthand the struggle, the unfairness and the racism. But, now that they made it they want to go on television and front like none of it happened and everyone else who hasn't been fortunate enough to make it is just lazy and lacks personal responsibility. It is such cursory bullshit.
Now, there is one type of train rider that sends my blood pressure through the roof more than any other. This is the grifter. The negroes that unquestionably know they're spreading bullshit but don't care because they are getting paid, getting influence or harnessing power and prestige.
They are truly sellouts because they are literally selling out other people of color, their morals, and their dignity for a payday. They are not the pathetic Uncle Ruckuses like Larry Elder. These are craven jackals who are willfully and knowingly fetishizing themselves for the perverted pleasure of bigots and racists.
The most obvious example of this is Candace Owens. Ray Lewis is not far behind. Something is fundamentally immoral to me about a person who will willingly appear on Fox News and YouTube propagating white nationalist false narratives about black people that they don't believe just to make a buck. This is what Candace Owens does.
I understand there is a lucrative niche for black folks who talk shit about other black folks. I don't have a doubt in my mind if I, as an African-American man, were to make videos spouting right-wing and white nationalist talking points about black and brown people my YouTube channel would have well over 5,000 views and 100 subscribers instead of the 160 views and four subscribers it currently has. It is true. I know it. You know it. However, I have a conscious and this silly hang-up about not saying things I do not mean and I know for a fact to be untrue.
Candace Owens is not the only grifter who does this. YouTube and Fox News are filled with them. And, I already know some Candace marks will disagree. That is fine. All I will say is two years ago she was conducting mock investigations into Donald Trump's penis size and now she is the Republicans Africa-American pinup centerfold. Also, she can't even articulate Conservative positions. She just regurgitates talking points which she does at a cursory level.
Candace does this because she is lazy not because she is stupid. She is not stupid at all. She just doesn't think she has to possess any policy depth because her combination of blackness and right-wing ideology is more than enough for those people who have fetishes for that toxic mixture. So far she is right in her calculation.
Candace Owens, like most right-wingers of color, is lying, Y'all. It is a grift!
The problem for the black community is how do we deal with this and train riders of all varieties? Sure, we can rescind their invitation to the barbecue. We can excoriate
and ostracize them. But, what does that really accomplish?
What is so mind-numbing to me is some of what these uncle toms and aunt tomasinas say is true on a cursory level. One of Candace Owens staples is to say the Democratic Party is a plantation. Speaking in a macro sense that statement is just idiotic. But, it would be intellectually dishonest for me to not to acknowledge the Democratic Party has failed the black community in many ways. However, the Republican Party has done nothing for the black community and doesn't show much initiative to do anything despite the what Candace Owens and others babble.
The truly infuriating and sad thing is I highly suspect what fuels many of these train riders is self-hate and being ashamed of what they are. (I am sure that will trigger somebody.) How else could one explain people who are so willing to bash and disparage their own. In many cases people who do this do everything they can to distance themselves from anything black. I am talking from their appearance to their musical tastes to the way they talk. If that isn't self-hate, tell me what it is?
Of course, that doesn't include the grifters like Candace Owens. I really don't know what to do with people like that other than call them out and expose every chance I can. It is one thing to hate what and who you are. While that type of mindset and feeling should be confronted and worked through it is decidedly different from simply doing whatever to make a buck.
As I stated, I find it immoral to say hurtful, untruthful and damaging things about any group of people but especially your own just to add a few zeroes to your bank account. Regardless it is usually unhealthy behavior to fetishize yourself for anyone's pleasure. No amount of money, prestige or platform makes it better.
See, my real issue with people like Candace Owens is not so much what she's doing to herself but the young people she is able to convince to join her movement. They are likely going to be coming from a place of sincerity whereas Candace is just milking the system. And, once the grift is up and/or they find a younger, prettier, more eloquent propagandist she'll be on her way and her followers will be left high and dry.
Allow me to also make clear I have predominantly been speaking about black people but this happens across the board in all communities of color. I have seen it firsthand with Hispanics and Native Americans. A train rider is a train rider.
And, I am sure I will hear the rebuttal of "So, anyone who criticizes people of color is a train rider?" *Sigh*. No. That is not what I am saying.
What I am saying is there is a difference between critique and demeaning. If I can close my eyes when your talking and think I'm listening to Richard Spencer, there is a problem. It is perfectly fine to offer legitimate criticisms but it is something else entirely to propagate stereotypes and stigmas you know to be factually incorrect. It is unconscionable to be a propagandist against marginalized communities for no other reasons than a financial windfall or garnering "respect" by fetishizing yourself for people who don't give a shit about you.
If people want to ride that train, ride it. But, actions and words have consequences.
People of color in today's world still have to fight stigmas and stereotypes. It would be really fucking awesome if we didn't have to also rebut those same stigmas and stereotypes from our own who know better and know the truth.
