Brian Smith
@drsmith-mathed.bsky.social
Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Go Deacs. Go Blue. He/him.
So the things that make your explanation insufficient aren’t relevant? You’re the one who keeps pointing at Trump’s narcissism.
January 9, 2026 at 4:00 PM
So the things that make your explanation insufficient aren’t relevant? You’re the one who keeps pointing at Trump’s narcissism.
Now we’re getting somewhere! What do you notice about your hypotheses? Genetics = born that way, psychology = individual experiences and variables.
Who knows? Maybe the sociologist you’ve been arguing with all morning @victorerikray.bsky.social
Who knows? Maybe the sociologist you’ve been arguing with all morning @victorerikray.bsky.social
January 9, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Now we’re getting somewhere! What do you notice about your hypotheses? Genetics = born that way, psychology = individual experiences and variables.
Who knows? Maybe the sociologist you’ve been arguing with all morning @victorerikray.bsky.social
Who knows? Maybe the sociologist you’ve been arguing with all morning @victorerikray.bsky.social
Asking why someone can‘t see and responding with that they are blind is exactly what you did. It’s a synonym, not an explanation. I’ll try again:
What makes Trump a narcissist?
What makes Trump a narcissist?
January 9, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Asking why someone can‘t see and responding with that they are blind is exactly what you did. It’s a synonym, not an explanation. I’ll try again:
What makes Trump a narcissist?
What makes Trump a narcissist?
Do you see that you responded with an individual trait? I think that’s the point that everyone on here is trying to get you to understand.
January 9, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Do you see that you responded with an individual trait? I think that’s the point that everyone on here is trying to get you to understand.
I think your argument implies an individualized notion of power and racism that very much misses the way that power and racism work. What do you think gives Trump his “Trump First” mindset?
January 9, 2026 at 2:18 PM
I think your argument implies an individualized notion of power and racism that very much misses the way that power and racism work. What do you think gives Trump his “Trump First” mindset?
Also, stay still in it while people
intentionally try to make you move
intentionally try to make you move
December 21, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Also, stay still in it while people
intentionally try to make you move
intentionally try to make you move
Any kind of lineman stance
December 21, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Any kind of lineman stance
I think you’re just actually mad Notre Dame isn’t in a conference. Regular seasons, conference championships need to mean something. There were blowouts when it was a four team playoff
December 21, 2025 at 2:09 AM
I think you’re just actually mad Notre Dame isn’t in a conference. Regular seasons, conference championships need to mean something. There were blowouts when it was a four team playoff
Conferences need to re-realign to the point that conference championships mean something and you get 5-6 power conference champions with 3-4 power conference at-large and 1-2 ”group of” conference champions. If you’re chasing the basketball model do the basketball model
December 21, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Conferences need to re-realign to the point that conference championships mean something and you get 5-6 power conference champions with 3-4 power conference at-large and 1-2 ”group of” conference champions. If you’re chasing the basketball model do the basketball model
Do you complain about 3 v 14 seed blowouts in the basketball tournaments?
December 21, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Do you complain about 3 v 14 seed blowouts in the basketball tournaments?
In doing so, you get more complex explanations to help you and others push past the White explanation in the future.
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
In doing so, you get more complex explanations to help you and others push past the White explanation in the future.
White explanations. In order to do this, you can’t assume Black explanations to be inherently true, because you don’t have the lived experiences to back that up. Instead, put yourself in the shoes of the aggrieved White person, because I guarantee you’ve been there done that in a different context
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
White explanations. In order to do this, you can’t assume Black explanations to be inherently true, because you don’t have the lived experiences to back that up. Instead, put yourself in the shoes of the aggrieved White person, because I guarantee you’ve been there done that in a different context
Which brings me back to my original point, which is that White people need to dig deeper for explanations beyond “I saw a POC call bullshit.” If you‘re a White person that‘s serious about justice, you’ve got to engage other White people in difficult conversations that push them to think beyond…
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Which brings me back to my original point, which is that White people need to dig deeper for explanations beyond “I saw a POC call bullshit.” If you‘re a White person that‘s serious about justice, you’ve got to engage other White people in difficult conversations that push them to think beyond…
You might have had White people getting explained to them that their work was unoriginal, their qualifications mediocre at best, or that they were just straight up not good enough for the job. Because these programs were designed with [White] financial interests in mind, you get White explanations
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
You might have had White people getting explained to them that their work was unoriginal, their qualifications mediocre at best, or that they were just straight up not good enough for the job. Because these programs were designed with [White] financial interests in mind, you get White explanations
While true, this is true for all the wrong reasons, and why you have numerous (probably) true stories about people being told they weren‘t being hired because they were White. Had programs been rolled out for reasons unrelated to the immediate bottom line (or even for actual long-term success)…
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
While true, this is true for all the wrong reasons, and why you have numerous (probably) true stories about people being told they weren‘t being hired because they were White. Had programs been rolled out for reasons unrelated to the immediate bottom line (or even for actual long-term success)…
Which brings me to the root cause of this, which is interest convergence. When DEI programs were rolled out (and then swiftly recalled), it was because companies thought it was in their financial interest to do so. They viewed this problem quantitatively: increase money, decrease %White men
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Which brings me to the root cause of this, which is interest convergence. When DEI programs were rolled out (and then swiftly recalled), it was because companies thought it was in their financial interest to do so. They viewed this problem quantitatively: increase money, decrease %White men
When the hypothetical dean/lead writer/HR person becomes a POC, then the explanations get more interesting. First, Whiteness does not exist or perpetuate itself through solely White people. Anyone can be a White Supremacist! This is still a little too rooted in individuals though…
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
When the hypothetical dean/lead writer/HR person becomes a POC, then the explanations get more interesting. First, Whiteness does not exist or perpetuate itself through solely White people. Anyone can be a White Supremacist! This is still a little too rooted in individuals though…
The problem with stopping at the racial grievance explanation is that it still feels individual in a way that a White person could convince themself that “not all White people.” But what if the person that told them this wasn’t White, WHICH IS ALSO ENTIRELY PLAUSIBLE.
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
The problem with stopping at the racial grievance explanation is that it still feels individual in a way that a White person could convince themself that “not all White people.” But what if the person that told them this wasn’t White, WHICH IS ALSO ENTIRELY PLAUSIBLE.
The first answer to this question is the OP’s point, which is White people telling other White people to feel aggrieved. This is unsurprising, but important for White people to understand. It’s White people making each other more comfortable. It’s part of the culture (Okun).
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
The first answer to this question is the OP’s point, which is White people telling other White people to feel aggrieved. This is unsurprising, but important for White people to understand. It’s White people making each other more comfortable. It’s part of the culture (Okun).
By simply denying the plausibility of these stories, a White person is more likely than not passing off the labor of engaging meaningfully with race on POC. As the OP did, you find more critical answers when you ask what led these people to believe what they’re saying is true?
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
By simply denying the plausibility of these stories, a White person is more likely than not passing off the labor of engaging meaningfully with race on POC. As the OP did, you find more critical answers when you ask what led these people to believe what they’re saying is true?
If you’re White and nodding along to Black and Brown folks calling bullshit on this, that’s great, believe those folks. BUT it doesn’t help you engage with your own Whiteness and help you understand the structural nature of the issue.
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
If you’re White and nodding along to Black and Brown folks calling bullshit on this, that’s great, believe those folks. BUT it doesn’t help you engage with your own Whiteness and help you understand the structural nature of the issue.
First, it doesn’t do anyone any good for White people to deny these claims made by other White people. It’s more helpful to engage with people’s perceptions of their own lived experiences. The identity of the interpreter matters here, as it does for the story teller.
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
First, it doesn’t do anyone any good for White people to deny these claims made by other White people. It’s more helpful to engage with people’s perceptions of their own lived experiences. The identity of the interpreter matters here, as it does for the story teller.