The Racism of the Anti-Racists: Dr. Jill Biden, Wanda Blanchett, and Dr. Bob Harris

[Updated 11/3/23]

A Wall street Journal op-ed  by Joseph Epstein, later defended by WSJ editorial page editor Paul Gigot, argued that Joe Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, should drop the term “Dr.” from her title. 

I have not read the whole article, since it’s behind a paywall. And I am neither endorsing nor rejecting Epstein’s viewpoint. But in a New Jersey Star-Ledger op-ed, Wanda J. Blanchett strenuously rebuked Epstein. That’s OK, except that Blanchett used the op-ed as a springboard to introduce bigotry into the conversation. She lectures us that Epstein is an example of  “white male privilege” and that Gigot and The Wall Street Journal allowed this op-ed because the WSJ staff lacks “diversity”--meaning diversity of skin color and gender. While acknowledging that she is not the only one to criticize Epstein, Blanchett admits that “what strikes me most about it is that the unapologetic white male privilege that Mr. Epstein exercised has largely been ignored.” 

Well, maybe so-called “white male privilege” is being ignored because the “marginalization, misogyny and oppression” of women in general and women if color in particular she sees reflected in the WSJ op-ed is her own biased imagination. There’s no question that human history, including American history, is rife with genuine marginalization, misogyny and oppression of women and blacks. But accusing someone of being guilty of these injustices without evidence is just as wrong as what the real victims of history endured.

Being a life-long weather buff,  I remember the saga of TV/radio weatherman Bob Harris. In 1969, Harris landed a job as the weather forecaster with WCBS-TV in New York by faking a Ph-D on his application. Harris took a few college courses, but he never actually graduated or got a college degree. Harris was essentially a self-taught meteorologist. Nevertheless, Harris spent the next decade introducing himself to his audiences as Dr. Bob Harris. When the truth came to light in 1979, Harris was fired by CBS, as well as The New York Times which also employed his services. Harris left in disgrace and, for a time, his personal life and professional career went into a tailspin. Are we to assume that “black female privilege” was to blame for Harris’s ordeal? Was Harris’s firing proof of marginalization, misandry, and oppression by men in general and men of color in particular? If not, why not? Ridiculous? Sure. But by Blanchett’s loose proof-free standards, anything goes.

I’m not going to get mired into the debate over what criteria qualifies the label “Doctor.” But a disagreement over the criteria shouldn’t justify Blanchett’s accusation. Neither should Epstein’s choice of words. He may be arrogant. He may be disrespectful. But those are not proof of racism or misogyny. 

On the other hand, seeing bigotry based on skin color and gender where no evidence exists, as Blanchett does, is exactly what racism and misandry look like. Racism is the idea that characterological content and moral standing are inherent in a person’s biological chemistry, as in “white” privilege. (“White” is enclosed in quotes because no one actually has white skin. “White” people simply have less melanin, the ingredient that all people have which determines the shading of a person’s skin. All people, “whites” included, are actually “people of color.” It’s just that “whites” have less melanin than other segments of the human race.) If Blanchett actually believes that “privilege” is carried in Epstein’s “white” skin, she is racist. Genuine anti-racism means eliminating skin color, or any other biological connection to character or moral standing, such as blood line or DNA, as a factor in judging a person’s moral standing or character.

Put another way, genuine anti-racism means embracing individualism. I have argued that the Democratic Party, and the American Left generally, is deeply racist. The racist corruption goes so deep, in fact, that Leftist don’t even know that they are racist. Collectivism, the primacy of groups, is automatized in their subconscious, and thus they only see the world through a lens of group, especially racial, identity. This corrupting collectivist mindset leads to “seeing” bigotry everywhere.

I do not know if Epstein or Gigot harbor gender of racial biases. But I do know that Blanchett’s knee-jerk assumption that they are simply simply on their genders and skin color, is wrong—and further proof of the Left’s inherent racism.

Related Reading:

The Racism of the ‘Anti-Racists’: San Diego’s ‘Educators’

The Racism of the ‘Anti-Racists’

The Racism of the 'Anti-Racists': 'This New America' - Apartheid?

The Racism of the ‘Anti-Racists’: The NJ State Budget

The Racism of the ‘Anti-Racists’: NJ Governor Murphy’s Strange and Discriminatory ‘Baby Bonds’ Scheme

An Anti-Racist Education for Middle Schoolers by ROBBY SOAVE for Reason