WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Word to the Wise: Review of "Am I Racist?"

Episode Date: October 11, 2024

 A mostly positive, jocular, and slightly cynical analysis of Matt Walsh's latest film.

Hey, everybody. You're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7. My name is Ariel McDowell. And I'm her brother Judah McDowell, and this is Word to the Wise. We're we critically and humorously scrutinize anything significant in pop culture today. I used to be a white woman, an unsuccessful one, for many decades, and it was a miserable experience. And really, the hatred of yourselves and each other is like the most, the not seeing your power, the being afraid. Like, What you just heard was the voice of Cyra Rao at her race to dinner event. Those were some comments she made. Little did she know that Matt Walsh was actually recording for his new movie, Am I Racist?

Which is what we are going to be talking about today. So about a week ago was Ariel's birthday. And me and her boyfriend thought it would be pretty fun to take her to see Am I Racist, which was a new movie that came out and we knew she. she wanted to see. So we all went and saw that and it was super funny and enjoyable. Highly would recommend to anyone and we're not going to spoil it all for you, but... It's been a long time since I've laughed that hard in a movie theater. Yeah, yeah. So you just wanted to talk about that a little bit. Talk about the insights it provides and also what it's missing. So essentially the premise of this

movie is that Matt Walsh, who's a very popular conservative commentator for the Daily Wire, he goes around and he pretends, like undercover, he pretends that he's this guy on this anti-racist journey. And he basically pays people dollar upon dollar, just tons of money to teach him how to not be racist. And they fully have no idea he's Matt Walsh. Like he's got a very convincing wig. He, well, actually, he doesn't have a very convincing disguise, but somehow they don't know he's Matt Walsh. And they really believe this is someone who is completely a sincere in his journey to be anti-racist. So for those of you who are living normal human lives,

in Gaysu didn't know, there's like this odd little subculture of high-faluting academics in our country who have basically invented a new religion surrounding racism, redefining what it is, and giving people intricate guidance, dealing with, like, the most subconscious parts of their psychology into how to not be racist. And I know you're thinking, well, that's just like ridiculous. And people sit around and have conversations. Well, it's not only that. There's apparently, and I didn't realize how much this was the case

until I watched the movie, an actual industry. And I knew that was true to some degree. But I didn't realize how many books, how many seminars, how much media, and how much money is actually being made off of these ideas. I kind of thought of it some vague, distant theoretical conversation that goes on in woke universities. But Matt Walsh's movie really shows that there's actually an industry of people whose entire job is to allegedly to teach people how not to be racist, but really it's just to tell them

how they are. And we're going to get into that how it's not really a solution, but simply an exasperation of the problem, which is really what Matt Walsh seeks to point out. Okay, so going back to that clip at the beginning, we just want to touch on what Cyrus said there. So the reason we chose that clip is when we were watching that movie, it was one of the ones that stood out to us the most there because it's just, there's so much packed

into what she's saying. The first thing you hear her say is, I used to be a white woman. What does that even mean? We have no idea what that means. So we're not even in touch on that. We just found it hilarious. We all just looked at each other in the theater. Like, what is she talking about? What does it mean that you used to be a white woman? But then she starts telling

these women who are on her program, these race to dinner, all these white women at her table, she just basically starts telling them how terrible white women are. And so she's like, oh, so much hatred, you know, so much you just, like, you just insult yourselves and the people around you and just fills it with guilt and telling them about how terrible they are as people. And, yeah.

And they're just eating it up because it's sort of, it ironically gives them like a prideful righteousness to feel guilty about this. Right. Like, it's like, I'm somehow better than like, you know, I may be a horror. horrible racist person just because I'm white, but I'm better than all the other white people. Yeah, I'm one of the ones. And really, that is the purpose of it. It's not true humility.

It's a setting oneself apart and being a part of a group that gets something that no one else seems to get. Like, that's the reason they're signed up for that program in the first place. So as Matt Walsh goes along this journey, what he repeatedly encounters when he talks to people kind of like Sira is this idea that the goal isn't really for someone like Matt, who's a white, person to be not racist. The goal is purely to see how racist you are and understand that you literally can't ever not be racist. You can try and minimize it, but you will be racist. You just are. That's part of whiteness. And for those of you who are just joining us, you're listening to Word to the Wise on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Ariel and I'm here with my brother Judah.

We're talking about Matt Walsh's new movie, Am I Racist? So so far all we've said is stuff that every other conservative has said at least once. Wow, look at all these crazy woke people and how extreme they are. Oh my gosh, it's so stupid and so racist of them to blame white people. Okay, well, that's low-hanging fruit. Everyone's heard that a billion times, especially if they are conservative or are in the conservative community. But trust me, our takes are going to get hotter. So one thing I want to throw out there is at the root of this is not just,

just, wow, what's wrong with those people? They're so crazy. I think it's a lot deeper. I think some really, very smart people have bought into this, and I want to understand why. And the reason behind that is there's truth woven into it, a lot of it, especially even what Cyrus says, even though it's so outrageous, right? She says, I used to be a white woman. What does that mean? She says, you know, they're so horrible in such mean, awful ways. You're just like, why would you talk like that? Well, then she goes on. We didn't play this part of the clip, but to describe a culture of like, oh my gosh, you know, like, I'm so fat and you look so good in this like false self-deprecation culture with a false humility, false love, sort of praising other people, always putting yourself down

and then like fighting and gossiping. Okay. Yeah, that culture is totally a thing in wealthy middle class America. 100%. And that demographic is very heavily white. Like, that is just a thing. Right. And so this thing that she's really hitting on here is that people are often jerks. And that includes all types of people in all types of different ways. And, like, between cultures, it plays out different ways. Like, that's specifically middle class white woman sin.

In America, yeah. And that's, and I mean, I'm not saying it doesn't happen anywhere else, but we definitely see that here today. And so she's not, like, completely wrong. And that's what makes this so tricky is she's definitely seeing. something that's there and turning it into something it's not. And you could do that with anything. Yeah. So what we as humans like to do is we like to look down the street at the Joneses household and be like, man, those Joneses are weird. Like what's wrong with them? And what's wrong with them is the same thing that's wrong with you. It's that you're both sinful. But what's easier for us as humans

to do is to attribute it to the way that group that happens to also be sinful is culturally different and the way that their sin manifests in that culture. Right. Specifically attributed to something that wouldn't also apply back to us. Right. Something that doesn't apply to us. Oh, that's public school culture for you. Yeah, those are those homeschoolers.

Oh, my goodness. That's a white people issue. You know, something like that. Like what's wrong with those young kids? Right. We attribute it to anything but the fact that they're actually just humans who need redemption. Right, exactly. We'd love to attribute it to the surroundings.

I was never like that. I was never, I didn't go to that kind of school. I didn't do all the things that other people do. So another important figure throughout this movie is Robin DiAngelo. Robin DiAngelo is a white woman who wrote the book, White Fragility, which is a book that basically talks about how apologetic white people need to be for our past, how we deal with that. And she's just a perfect example of what we're talking about here,

which is just this, this pride that looks like humility. Yeah, because like, basically what she did is she said, here's the sin that I noticed you all have in your hearts. When you oversimile at a black person, I know you're secretly patronizing them. I understand that you all, I'm the first person to really notice how sinful you guys, including me, how sinful we are.

And not only that, but I'm the person who figured out the solution. you all should come by my book. Like, that's not self-deprecating. If she truly realized that she had some pretty big issues in her heart in the way she thought of Black Americans, then what she would do was love the people in her life better. But to say, oh, here's what everyone else is doing and here's the solution that only I could truly research and come up with. That's totally pride.

Right. And I just wanted to, like, put in here that, like, realistically, these things are, like, matters at the heart. So not everyone Some people do the same thing with different heart intentions Or different things with the same intentions And so, you know, something like racism Like if she really has all these feelings in her heart

And she needs to get rid of them That's definitely a problem But you can't look at other people's actions And tell them what their heart is saying to other people You can't tell what someone's doing in that sense And so one example DeAngelo uses is She says like, oh some people over smile at like a black person in the workplace to over compensate and it's patronizing

and that's racist. But then sometimes they also undersmile. Like you don't really greet them enough because you're ignoring them because you're also racist. And I'm like, it's so easy to just look at those ideas and like, oh, that's ridiculous. It makes no sense. And, but the thing is, it really is like possible. Like, it is possible to act very patronizing to a group of people that you want to seem kind to. Rather than actually just being kind to people, you try to make yourself seem like this higher person. And one example of a way you could do that is maybe over smiling, like DeAngelo says.

Right. So it's like, I don't think she's just like pulling this out of a hat, even though it's that outrageous. Like she's trying to get at, like, if someone clearly has a kind of lower opinion of you, and I think we've all had this happen where someone like a maybe a new employer kind of sees you as like, okay, well, you don't really know what you're doing and like smiling. And it feels like horrible. Well, if there's a history of racism in our country, could people probably be interacting with African Americans in such a way where some belief system in them is wrong?

And it's manifesting behaviorally in a way that's really hard to directly say, hey, she did this to me and pinned down. That's what they're describing as microaggressions. They're not just like pulling it out of nowhere for no reason, they're noticing the way people actually behave. They're just coming up with a demonic, horrible controlling solution that isn't actually the solution to sin. Right, because there's no society in which control how someone smiles at someone else. Right, it's total control freak, total pride, total, well, if you follow these rules and I realize that I smiled too much, and so I'm anti-racist because I make sure I smile the correct

amount and it doesn't actually fix the problem. It's like this controlling legalistic solution to human sin. And for those of you just joining us, you're listening to Words the Wise on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. My name is Judah McDowell. I'm right here with my sister Ariel McDowell, and right now we're talking about Mount Walsh's new movie, Am I Racist? So the only reason we bring those things up of like what could be legitimate about what they're saying is to divide their beliefs into two parts, which is basis for concern and solution. And I personally think that the problem, unlike what most conservatives say, does not lie in the degree of their concern. I think the main problem is in what their solution is. It's divisive. It's fruitless. And most of all, it's absurd. And so what Matt Walsh successfully does in Am I Racist is prove that. He very, very, very, very effectively shows how pointless their solutions are, how little it actually accomplishes. And then just on a moral scale, how like kind of disgusting and divisive it is to the way people

actually interact with each other. So one of the craziest parts of the movie, and spoiler alert for any of you who are planning on going to see it, is at the end when Matt Walsh is talking to DeAngelo, basically he offers the solution. He brings out one of his producers who's actually, you know, African-Americans. and he's like, hey, we should just give him money. And he pulls cash out of his wallet and gives it to him as an apology for all that white people have done. He's kind of like trying to make an example.

And he's like, maybe you should do the same thing. And DeAngelo's kind of confused at first. And, you know, she does end up giving him money, which all of that is super weird and crazy, obviously. But I think one of the most interesting things is her reaction to it. Because as little senses it makes for us to all just start pulling out our wallets and giving people money out of our guilt, it almost makes a hundred times. more sense than what all these other people have been offering the entire movie.

Yeah, because if you take her claims to their logical conclusion, then yes, obviously, just in normal people world, this solution is super duper awkward. But in DeAngela world, it actually makes a little bit of sense. Like, personally, I think just regardless of race, it does make sense to be generous to the people in your life. Obviously, it would look nothing like this. And then if you add into that spirit of generosity, which is normal and health, her perspectives on race, then like actually just giving someone money is almost a thousand

times more logical than anything she actually offers. Because look at all of the seminars that Matt Welsh has been to. Look at all the advice he's gotten. And none of it is practical. Like none of it is here's what you can actually do to be a loving and kind person on a daily basis. Literally no one has given a solution like that that's actually practical. It's all about seminars and highfalutant.

psychological manipulation, like, no one has given a real answer. So for DeAngelo to look at Matt Walsh saying, well, I've taken your advice, I'm just going to give this person in my life some cash. It almost, it should be logical to her. It should be reasonable. Right, but the reason, like, it's funny because, like, this disguised Matt Walsh, like, he's basically like, well, this is something I can do right now. Like, this is a solution I can offer.

This is something I can actually do. I don't know about seminars and all. all this or changing the system. But in her mind, she's probably like, but this isn't making me any money. No one's going to buy my book if this is all we have to do or something. I don't know. Right, right.

Like, I won't sell any books if people find actual solutions. Yeah. Like, that can't happen. Which, by the way, what we're not saying here, please do not misinterpret us, is that there is anything normal or rational about Matt Walsh giving his producer money because he's black. Okay, we're not saying that.

We're just saying in the world of DeAngelo, isn't it funny how when you take, take her beliefs to their logical conclusion, and it requires actual just like, well, here's something sort of kind I can do for someone right in front of me. That's not what she's actually looking for. She's actually just looking for the psychological guilt, the standing on a platform and talking. She just loves, like, the intellectual sophistication she gets talking about these ideas. Yeah, and this problem she presents really doesn't leave room for a solution. Like, and the closest you could get to a solution is actually absurd. Like, it makes no sense. It's kind of like an

analogy I want to use is like, like, kind of like the gospel, but not really. Like when, as a Christian, like when we come to people, we might say we believe that we're all sinners and there's nothing we can do about that on our own. We are super sinful. And that's kind of what this is. You're telling people, oh, you're racist, except we have the gospel. Jesus Christ died to save us for sins. They don't have that. So you're racist. That's it. It's just hopeless. There's, yeah, it's, There's just nothing else there. It's empty. So that's what Matt Walsh succeeds in doing in this movie.

He does it really well. He shows how fruitless and pointless the problem they sell you is, and then they don't sell you a solution. All they're selling you is the problem. And they're like, hey, want this seminar that gives you more of the problem? And you're like, sure. And you're doling out hundreds of dollars. He really does a great job of showing how pointless it is.

And he has this whole soliloquy at the end. That's its whole conclusion is what would we even do with this information? Wouldn't it be better if we just loved each other? And of course, the answer is yes. So he does great at that in this movie. The only critique we have, and it's not even really a critique, because it's something that the movie lacks, but it's probably something that the movie meant to lack

and that it wasn't trying to accomplish. Right. It's just the movie wasn't this. It wasn't supposed to be this. But it is worth mentioning. It's just how we should actually see racism. Right, because we've spent a lot of time talking about all these anti-racist experts,

how their cure is bad and how it doesn't work. So I guess the next question is, well, what works better? How should we look at racism? And I think it's easy to take this movie and walk away saying, yeah, racism doesn't matter. And that is not the message we want to give to you. And that's the closest we would have to a critique is if it's like, the problem with these anti-racist intellectuals is that they are too concerned about racism.

I think if that's the message, I'm going to disagree with that. I think it's a common misconception among conservatives that all this woke nonsense is the result of caring too much about racism, of being too concerned about it, of being making a bigger deal than it is. And of course, you know, there's an extent to which they're not living in reality. Like, for instance, the average person isn't as racist as maybe they're saying there are. And there is some truth to that that maybe it is blown up a bit. But I also think in terms of the sin existing just in people because they're sinners, I'm kind of on board with that. Like I totally think, especially with how dark the racist history of our country is,

that is totally worth discussing, like how bad it was and how bad racism actually is. So I think it's wrong to say the issue with wokeism is caring about racism too much. I think the issue is purely looking at racism the wrong way and proposing a false and divisive, unloving solution like these anti-racist intellectuals do. Yeah, and maybe you guys already know what we're going to say the solution might be. Now, we can't give you some book with a perfect system like DeAngelo can, and I don't know how much you guys want to trust that system she gave, but we can't really do that. But what we can tell you is that we believe that scripture has the answers to these things.

and following Jesus and living a life full of love and joy that Jesus tells us to live will solve these problems. And even for those of you maybe who don't believe in Jesus and aren't Christians, I think that's the solution. Selflessness. Yeah, selflessness, not guilt, not thinking about yourself and how bad you are all on your insides, you're your whiteness. How about think about other people?

Other people. How can you be loving? How can you treat others respectfully and as equals? Right. And if you're so hung up on, did I smile too much? then you're already thinking about yourself too much. Right, exactly. It's all about you, not about the other person.

Think about the other person in genuine selfless love, and I promise you're not going to be worried about how much you're smiling badly at them because you're thinking badly of them. So in conclusion, Matt Walsh's movie, Am I Racist, is a brilliant expose on the idiocies of the intellectual anti-racist world. Doesn't do a great job of really approaching the actual issue of racism, but it's not really trying to. Don't go to the theater expecting to gain new insights,

but expect to go to the theater and learn which insights to absolutely reject. Absolutely. Well, we totally love this movie. It would be a super fun time for anyone to go see it with their family and friends. Just make sure that if you do, you're going ready to laugh at the crazy things people say. Yeah, I know we for sure did. All right. Well, thank you so much for listening, you guys.

We had so much fun making this episode. You've been listening to Word to the Wise on Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.7. FM. My name is Ariel McDowell. I've been here with my brother Judah McDowell, and we hope you'll join us next time.