I wrote a letter to a friend who expressed admiration for Candace Owens. He was surprised that I was not a fan. I want to clearly describe why here.
I felt like I had failed to communicate the reason I have such disdain for Ms. Owens. As we shared on Facebook, I felt myself drawing from raw emotion rather than reason. Our attempt to discuss the fine points surrounding a divisive figure such as Candace Owens could cause conflict and divided feelings in friends and brothers. The fact that this conflict of feelings is complex and apt to bring about cultural pain, I deemed it important to relegate to “off-line” discourse.
While reviewing Ms. Owens in action in several YouTube videos, I note that she is at once very intense and seemingly ever ready for debate. Yet among individuals either engaging or debating her, she seems to disagree with most of the African-American debaters including Roland Martin, Dr. Cornel West, and Dave Chappelle.
She continues to defend former President Trump while torching all other African-Americans. Her comments are frequently so incendiary that people publishing these videos are astounded by her lack of knowledge and the twisted rhetoric that she conjures upon demand.
Or perhaps I am in error, I ask, Is racism over? Has the Black median income eclipsed the median income of White households? Has the Black college graduation rate? Has Black household wealth equaled that of Whites?
What I am repulsed by more than anything else is the notion that I am said to be a “victim”. In the sense that for every act of intolerance and racism that I have personally experienced, in her opinion, I am considered a victim I strongly contend “no”. While I will be honest and concede that I have personally experienced racist talk and action, I do not consider myself a victim. If one was to consider the history of oppressed peoples across the world, African-Americans would seem to be more successful in this country than other colonialized and oppressed people across the world. No, we have not won.
In the words of writer Ellis Cose, Black men are the “Envy of the World”. I certainly don’t feel like a victim. I would be willing to straw poll friends and acquaintances for proof. I would be willing to wager that even fewer African-American females would consider themselves victims.
Ms. Owens declares that racism is over because she has never been a slave (sic).
Another astounding aspect of Ms. Owen’s profile is the scale of the platform she’s been given considering the fact that she has no degrees or credentials to speak of. She clearly has done some research by regurgitating the tired rhetoric espoused by the few conservatives willing to discuss race. She does take great pleasure in her independent thinking, contrary to the thoughts of most blacks and liberal wonks.
But the clincher for many African-Americans is the sense of cultural betrayal experienced as some “SPECIAL” people compromise commonly held viewpoints in order to reap monetary or other benefits. Roland Martin clearly explains his refusal to call anyone “Uncle Tom”, the titular character from Harriet Stowe’s legendary novel who sold out the other slaves to garner favor from their owner. Mr. Martin says he will defend anyone who has differing views but a line is driven for individuals that espouse views solely to grab this favor or financial resource.
There seems no choice but to assume that she has chosen this path including the benefits which have incredibly increased the value of her brand while she has abandoned the life she had previously and is married to a well-connected far-right conservative man from the UK. https://www.thesun.ie/news/5872365/candace-owens-husband-george-farmer-lord/