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[E]mpathy – not squishy self-serving conflict avoidance – is the hand-maiden, not the enemy, of reason and intellectual inquiry.

Ta-Nehisi Coates

These were the days when I powerfully believed Breyers and Entenmann’s to be pioneers in the field of antidepressants.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Belive Day Field Pioneer Powerfully
[E]mpathy – not squishy self-serving conflict avoidance – is the hand-maiden, not the enemy, of reason and intellectual inquiry.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Avoidance Conflict Empathy Hand Intellectual Maiden Self Serve
What I’m talking about is more than recompense for past injustices-more than a handout, a payoff, hush money, or a reluctant bribe.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Bribe Dog Handout Injustice Mean Money Payoff Recompense Spiritual Talk
It was a week after Donald Trump had won. And initially he was still optimistic. He felt that things would be OK ultimately. And I have to tell you, this is the area where, you know, I see, you know, some degree of contradiction.
TA-NEHISI COATES

After Believe Country Optimistic People Person President Running Won
I don’t know how you bridge that contradiction, but I felt that Barack Obama was sincere. It didn’t feel like a line to me.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Bridge Contradiction Country Felt Optimism People Peron Sincere
The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from hosts and myths.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Brutality Confrontation Constant Country Fred Greatest Host Interrogation Myth Reward
This feeling African-Americans have, this skepticism towards the police and the skepticism that the police show towards African-Americans is actually quite old. And it may be one of the most durable aspects of the relationship between black people and their country really in our history.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Country Feel Many People Person Police Skepticism Towards
Never forget that for 250 years black people were born into chains-whole generations followed by more generations who knew nothing but chains.
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Black Chain Follow Forget Free Generation Knew Nothing Year
I think the sad fact is, there’s a long history in this country at looking at African-American as subhuman.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Country History Long Look Said Thinking
You know, the thing I always think about, you get up early in the morning to go to work and there’s some dude outside drinking and you come home and the same dude is outside drinking hanging on the corner. And then this engenders a level of anger I think and a level of shame.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Always Anger Corner Dute Early Engender Level Morning Ousdidem Drink Outside Shame Thing
Better you knuckle up and go for yours than have to bow your head and tuck your chain.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Better Bow Chaim Go Head Knuckle Tuck
My mom used to tell me, I can’t use this phrase on the radio – but basically don’t be one of those dudes hanging on the corner.
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Basically Corner Dude Hang Me Mom Phrase Phrases Radio Use
Reparations would mean the end of yelling “patriotism” while waving a Confederate flag. Reparations would mean a revolution of the American consciousness, a reconciling of our self-image as the great democratizer with the facts of our history.
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Democratizer Fact Great History Image Reconciling Self Yelling
I would flip this the other way and say over 90 percent of African-Americans voted against Donald Trump.
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Against Ay Country Ninty Other Over Percent Person President Way
Lot of folks like to mock dumb history, and pretend it’s just a few idiots. Isn’t. It’s the country.
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Country Dumb Folk History Idiot Lot Mock Pretend
I think there’s a sort of, you know, very thin way of reading this that says, well, Barack Obama is biracial thus that gives him some understanding of both white America and black America, but that’s not really it.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Biracial Country Know People Person Reading Say Some Sort Thinking Under White

[E]mpathy – not squishy self-serving conflict avoidance – is the hand-maiden, not the enemy, of reason and intellectual inquiry.

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[E]mpathy – not squishy self-serving conflict avoidance – is the hand-maiden, not the enemy, of reason and intellectual inquiry.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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