This is a tale of two men - @DrIbram and @ConceptualJames.

This is also a tale of two Americas.

(1/14)

One man earns his Ph.D., navigates the institutions that we charge with adjudicating valid and reliable knowledge and earns tenure. He earns accolades from his peers, including the National Book Award - one of the most prestigious prizes in the world.

(2/14)

One of his bestsellers is a biographical journey of him moving from being racist in his own ideas to becoming anti-racist, in the process arguing that we all carry racist ideas but they can be changed.

(3/14)

Somewhere in this he raised a family, overcame colon cancer, and established a nonprofit that is meant to provide empirical data of racism in society. His social media presence and manners are to my eyes impeccable. To say he is a "nice man" is likely an understatement.

(4/14)

He is in the process of raising a family, overcoming colon cancer, and building an institute to deal with social ills in society. His social media presence and manners are to my eyes impeccable, with one notable interview given while his daughter is in his lap.

(5/14)

This man is Ibram Kendi.

One should see the comments he gets on Twitter. One wonders from whence this animosity comes.

I suspect that it is because he is black and is talking bravely about changing the status quo towards more equality between groups in society.
(6/14)

Another man also earns his Ph.D. He was incapable or unwilling to navigate the institutions we charge with adjudicating valid and reliable knowledge. In other words, he earned no tenure or much less has a job in academia.

(7/14)

He produces intellectual products *not* in his original field of study. While this is not entirely unusual, the experts in the fields he writes about *repeatedly* say he is incorrect in his interpretations.

(8/14)

In order to demonstrate problems in these fields, he and his friends fabricate data.

His social media presence is such that he videos himself waving swords and talks about white women going into gas chambers.

(9/14)

He has also been linked to Christian Nationalists and was a strong supporter of Donald Trump, and from what I can tell, also the January 6th insurrection.

Like Kendi, he gets his share of vitriol.

But one could legitimately argue that he courts it and it is justified.

(10/14)

This is a tale of two men.

One represents the best of America. No matter where you start, you can end up at the top of your field and carry yourself with dignity. The other represents the worst - peddling in mendacity and hyperbole, leveraging historical bigotry.

(11/14)

But it is also a tale of two Americas.

One America is a hate-filled America, desperately pining for a return to when things were great in their eyes.

It is filled with those who support Lindsay despite all evidence to the contrary.

(12/14)

They are reminiscent of the supporters of a Bull Connor, a Lee Atwater, a Donald Trump - condoning bad, bigoted, immoral behaviors because the person might be the agent who can maintain their privilege and way of life.

(13/14)

But there is a second America.

This is the one I live in.

We see ourselves as moving forward as a society, learning from our racist and sexist past.

In this America, we believe we can do better and we can do it together.

(14/14)