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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

If George Washington crossing the Delaware matters, so must his ruthless pursuit of the runagate Oney Judge.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Country Cross Delaware Judge Judging Matter Pursuit Runagate Ruthless
Humans also tend to find community to be pleasurable, and within the boundaries of community relationships, words.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Boundary Community Human Ironic Pleasurable Relationship Self Word
The progressive approach to policy which directly addresses the effects of white supremacy is simple.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Addresses Class Directly Effect Policy Progressive Approach Simple Supremacy White
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.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Democratizer Fact Great History Image Reconciling Self Yelling
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
I am not asking you as a white person to see yourself as an enslaver.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Ask Country Enslaver Past Person White Yourself
[Donald Trump] went on to, you know, otherize Muslims, otherize Latinos, otherize women, that he built out from that. And it can be true that a unique, you know, individual like Barack Obama can succeed in spite of that and still be the case that that force is quite, quite strong.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Built Country Know Muslim Out Person President Strong Succeed Unique
And I think, like, there’s a crucial difference between being, you know, Joe Schmo in the neighborhood and being the head, you know, of the government that, you know, in many ways is largely responsible for those conditions in the first place.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Always Between Condition Difference First Government Head Many Neighbourhood Place Responsible Schmo Way
I’m asking you as an American to see all of the freedoms that you enjoy and see how they are rooted in things that the country you belong to condoned or actively participated in the past.
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Actively Ask Belong Country Freedom Long Participate Rooted
I think the sad fact is, there’s a long history in this country at looking at African-American as subhuman.
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Country History Long Look Said Thinking
What sets black people apart is not some deficit in personal responsibility. It’s the weight on our shoulders. That is what’s actually different. We have the weight and burden of history.
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Apart Black Deficit People Personal Responsibility Some
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
An America that looks away is ignoring not just the sins of the past but the sins of the present and the certain sins of the future.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Certain Future Ignore Just Look Past Present Sin
I did not know then that this is what life is – just when you master the geometry of one world, it slips away, and suddenly again, you’re swarmed by strange shapes and impossible angles.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Geometry Impossible Life Master One Shape Strange Suddenly World
It was made that way. And what you have is a system in which people are there to be exploited.
TA-NEHISI COATES

Exploiter Made People Some
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.

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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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