This shouldn’t surprise anyone who is familiar with the ‘stars’ of the American media ecosystem. Tucker Carlson is well known for his support of white supremacists, his anti-immigrant and anti-minority rhetoric and his love for conspiracy theories. He is also known for his great sense of grievance in spite of being a white male (and hence a part of the most privileged demographic on earth). So when he featured Amy Wax on his show – a professor known for her own racist views – it was not unusual.
So this professor from Penn University airs her resentment against various ethnic groups and nationalities. We can see Carlson nodding in agreement and giggling together with Wax on how outrageous it is that all these inferior non-white people are coming into America (and then also somehow becoming superior?)
At some point the rant turns towards caste – which is fair. But then it becomes about India being a ‘shithole country”. According to Carlson and Wax, all these interlopers who have generously been allowed in must eternally be grateful.
It is a strangely self-contradicting rant where there appears to be deep resentment towards people who have come into America and become successful. This tweet breaks it down into simple terms.
White colonisers enslaved people, invaded and plundered entire continents on which they base their ‘successful civilizations.’ This appears to be a minor fact that Carlson and Wax and their ilk find it difficult to remember.
This is a self-serving rant where two people of similarly exclusionary and supremacist views are feeding off each other’s bigotry to bolster and justify their own. People like these actually believe that some races are inferior and that they deserve to be lower down in the scheme of things.
The achievements that are spoken about here are literally the ones built on the backs of slaves and colonized people. They are based on the brazen plunder of knowledge and resources wrested by violence.
Saying that some groups are better than others and more deserving of their success is textbook bigotry. The conversation between Tucker Carlson and Amy Wax went viral precisely because of the breathtaking and completely unashamed racism expressed – as any Klu Klux Klan member would.
The University of Pennsylvania reacted to Wax's diatribe on Carlson's show on Fox News and announced that action has been initiated.
Bigotry is not just a personal belief that should be protected under a person's right to free speech. It actually can impact how a professor views their students, grades them and creates opportunities for their advancement. In the case of Carlson, his tremendous power as a hugely influential TV host on Fox can drive public opinion and also create social divisions.
People like Tucker Carlson and Amy Wax – racist, bigoted supremacists usually conform to a prototype. They believe certain hierarchies are natural and desirable – usually, they are misogynists, Islamophobes and conspiracy theorists as well. Carlson is majoritarian and believes that it is the majority that is under attack; and that decision-makers in power are somehow the victims… now why does all of this sound familiar? The daily outrages against some of the most disenfranchised segments of society sound like…
Yes! He is the American version of our very own Arnab Goswami! Both started out as reasonably normal, liberal-minded men who at some point realised how their lunatic rantings were gaining fame and adulation. They discovered their own unique ability to whip people into a frothing frenzy. It is always us-versus-them. It is a template – lamentably it seems to work.
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