Jonathan Kieperman (Lomez)

And we can't even get to the point where we're having the policy debate. And what that creates then is this environment in which people who want to have this debate have to – Figure out a way to talk about it and get through these filters.

And we can't even get to the point where we're having the policy debate. And what that creates then is this environment in which people who want to have this debate have to – Figure out a way to talk about it and get through these filters.

And I think the kind of abrasive meme making that you're identifying when it comes to racial questions is a function of the manner in which this part of the discursive landscape has been previously closed off. And if we open it back up and allow for sober conversation, then it'll lose the power to sort of carry these memes. They just won't be as interesting or funny because they're not as taboo.

And I think the kind of abrasive meme making that you're identifying when it comes to racial questions is a function of the manner in which this part of the discursive landscape has been previously closed off. And if we open it back up and allow for sober conversation, then it'll lose the power to sort of carry these memes. They just won't be as interesting or funny because they're not as taboo.

Okay, but yeah, I would just ask, what exactly are you worried about? So let me start with this. First of all, lies are brittle. Ultimately, they fall apart. Truth is durable, okay? And to build anything that's lasting, it has to rest on top of truth. And so we have to start there. That's my view. Okay.

Okay, but yeah, I would just ask, what exactly are you worried about? So let me start with this. First of all, lies are brittle. Ultimately, they fall apart. Truth is durable, okay? And to build anything that's lasting, it has to rest on top of truth. And so we have to start there. That's my view. Okay.

And in order to discover truth, we need to be willing to test our assumptions about everything and continuously test those assumptions. And if we don't continuously test those assumptions, we not just forget what we believe, we forget why we believe those things. Okay.

And in order to discover truth, we need to be willing to test our assumptions about everything and continuously test those assumptions. And if we don't continuously test those assumptions, we not just forget what we believe, we forget why we believe those things. Okay.

And I think this is actually something the left has fallen in the trap of the left has kind of forgotten how to make the argument for their own beliefs because they've denied anybody who objects to their underlying assumptions about the world. I think it would be a mistake for us.

And I think this is actually something the left has fallen in the trap of the left has kind of forgotten how to make the argument for their own beliefs because they've denied anybody who objects to their underlying assumptions about the world. I think it would be a mistake for us.

to erect a kind of discursive force field around certain categories of questions in an effort to preclude the kind of discomfort. And again, this concern that you're articulating to me is very vague. I don't actually know what you're worried about. I mean, people have been questioning these narratives for a long time. You know, David Irving has been challenging the Holocaust for a long time.

to erect a kind of discursive force field around certain categories of questions in an effort to preclude the kind of discomfort. And again, this concern that you're articulating to me is very vague. I don't actually know what you're worried about. I mean, people have been questioning these narratives for a long time. You know, David Irving has been challenging the Holocaust for a long time.

Is like it better to not have those conversations? I don't think it is. I think we should just let it out. It can exist in the world.

Is like it better to not have those conversations? I don't think it is. I think we should just let it out. It can exist in the world.

So I mean, I understand where the concern is coming from, I guess. I think it's I think it's unfounded. I don't think it actually will materialize into something real and something we'll have to worry about. And I think actually the alternative presents a much worse possibility.

So I mean, I understand where the concern is coming from, I guess. I think it's I think it's unfounded. I don't think it actually will materialize into something real and something we'll have to worry about. And I think actually the alternative presents a much worse possibility.

And I think we saw some of that with the great awokening or, you know, this sort of post George Floyd's 2020 sort of impulse to not just blame white people for this kind of subordinate position of people of color per se, but then make actual policy choices or institutional choices to try to, you know, level that by harming white people. And so.

And I think we saw some of that with the great awokening or, you know, this sort of post George Floyd's 2020 sort of impulse to not just blame white people for this kind of subordinate position of people of color per se, but then make actual policy choices or institutional choices to try to, you know, level that by harming white people. And so.

What I'd say here is the reason that was bad was not because it pointed to racial discrepancies, but because it was wrong. It didn't pass the test of evidence. The question is not just is the discrepancy exists. The question is why. And if we. don't allow ourselves to have an honest conversation about that, what fills the vacuum is the most incendiary and most harmful explanations.

What I'd say here is the reason that was bad was not because it pointed to racial discrepancies, but because it was wrong. It didn't pass the test of evidence. The question is not just is the discrepancy exists. The question is why. And if we. don't allow ourselves to have an honest conversation about that, what fills the vacuum is the most incendiary and most harmful explanations.