Let's talk about Patterson's comment on race....
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Interestingly, some people who “adore” the free market and capitalism start whining when they no longer have an “advantage” in that same market
Or when inflation kicks in.
Seeing Republican voters hate capitalism so much and not even realize it is both sad and fascinating.
Prices go up, that's Capitalism, nothing can be done. Labour demands and gets higher wages, why that's Socialism and can't be tolerated./.
@@willl7780 You think it is not?
@@willl7780 I'm predicting some pedantry coming up.
Privilege is when equality feels like oppression.
White privilege is largely a harmful myth. Not being dragged innocent from your vehicle and being murdered by the state with no recourse isn’t a privilege, it’s a basic human right. Not being denied home ownership, business loans, on and on because your skin color is the wrong color isn’t a privilege, it’s human right violations. In fact, it’s not special privileges that need to be taken away that’s the problem, it’s stopping the unfair disadvantages forced on them. When you tell some hick who can’t make ends meet he’s privileged, and we’re gonna take that away, it’s going to make zero headway. There might be a chance if you can convince them it’s not taking away, it’s stopping the oppression.
This 👆🏽
Nailed it tbh.
yes yes yes
Thats very well put... u know the anti-woke movement is all about people wanting to be able to treat others like krap...
A guy I work with, said he felt like he was no longer being represented by our government...
I asked him "Why? Because others are now getting represented?" He looked stunned, but he actually thought about it, and answered "Maybe?" So sometimes if you make them think, some actually can think...
Usually if you can get them to think, they will start to understand. The trouble is that they (and honestly, we as well) have been well-trained to stop thinking and start shouting as soon as anyone disagrees with them.
But good on you for finding the right words to get at least one person to start thinking!
Yes! If you pose just the right question to someone who has an open mind, you can get through to them and make a significant change for the better for them.
Not everyone is getting represented. I don't see Hispanics or Latinos getting represented.
@@idab8378 maybe you aren't paying attention? There are Latinos at all levels of our government.
@@amberandrews6842 The amount of Latinos in government does not represent its population.
I worked for a Books-A-Million in college. We used to joke that James Patterson was the McDonalds of literature due to the fact he basically franchises his name to other authors who write his books. Most shelves were split up by subject or genre categories, but Patterson had an entire section dedicated just to him. One author. This dude ain’t oppressed.
So Hollywood not knocking on his door for movie deals anymore?
He's old and pigeonholed...it isn't his race, it's his age and the fact he has nothing outside being prolific in a genre he no longer is evolving with due to his age and lack of actual evolution in tactics and training. He wrote himself out of being worth anything else.
Or talented. I'm sure Stephen King holds the record for most books made into movies. Ian Fleming is a distant 2nd.
I've read a couple of his "shared authorship" books. I found them bland and boring. My sense (and I could be wrong) is that he's out of ideas and just plain lazy and lets others use their creative juices and writing talent, collects a co-author paycheck, boosts sales with his name and most likely contributes nothing else. I have no interest in these boring books.
@@sarahdee374 : My thoughts, too. Nothingburger books. Patterson and many "best seller" authors, have dumbed down the art of the novel. Michael Connelly and Lee Child are my go-to authors, though Lee Child is starting to run his formula into the ground. I was always a Stephen King fan, though he needs more editing/condensing in every book. "The Stand" is still my favorite all-time King book.
"When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression." This quote seems pertinent here.
Getting flashbacks to Mel Gibson blaming the Jews in Hollywood for his dying career
I would point out that Patterson's name may be on a lot of books, but he isn't necessarily that prolific personally. He employs a lot of writers to create "his" work. And if he wants more old white guys to get hired in writing, he can just expand his ghostwriter staff.
Yep.
It's not exactly ghostwriting. Patterson writes super detailed outlines and hands them to other writers to do the actual writing. Then, he edits the books.
Contrast that with Tom Clancy, who's still cranking out books decades after his death.
🤣
Never read him. Now I never will. What a tiresome old white man.
😂😅
Speaking as someone who's orbited the publishing world for 15 years, there's something Patterson is leaving out. These days, 99% of EVERYONE who gets published isn't invited back after their contract is up. Publishers are squeezing their "midlist" writers--the ones who sell reliably but don't do, ahem, James Patterson numbers--in the hope of turning their ENTIRE list into James Pattersons. Usually, an author who gets accepted for publication these days is given a contract for 1 to 3 books and virtually nothing in the way of marketing budget or publishing support. They're expected to do practically all their own promotion, unless they're already so prominent that they don't need any promotion. That means extra hours per week on social media, unpaid, desperately trying to get eyeballs on the thing you've sweated blood over for years. And if you don't sell as many books as the publisher wants (these limits are set fairly high, especially for debut novelists), you're out the door as soon as your contract is up. As a bonus, if you're non-straight or POC, your "failure" can be used to argue against contracting anyone in your group who comes along after you. It's a grueling process, the product of an industry that is so far out of touch with reality that it expects midlisters to sell like Stephen King even though, mathematically, SOMEONE has to end up in the middle of the sales pack.
This system isn't conducive to long careers in mainstream publishing. It pulls in younger writers--who, yes, are less likely to be white, both because of diversity efforts and because American millennials and Gen Z are both more diverse cohorts than Patterson's generation--and then spits them out for not being James Patterson. OF COURSE he's not meeting a bunch of old white guys. They all got fired 10 to 20 years ago, either for bring midlisters or for being bad at running their own social media campaigns. Or sometimes just for not being photogenic (yes, really, that's a THING, especially for women).
But anybody worth half a billion dollars is unlikely to see this as a problem created and maintained by capitalism.
Doesn't seem very conducive to creating actual art. Everything feels like a product these days. Not much for the soul to latch onto.
@@MusicMissionary and that is the best summary of colonization I have read today... it's all about extraction of resources, and if something/someone isn't easily extractable, pardon me, easily commercialized for a profit, then it's disposable.
Oh wait, that's also a description of global warming.
🤔
@@MusicMissionary The comment made me wonder if brilliant authors, like F Scott Fitzgerald and H.P Lovecraft, who died unknown and poor
were somehow exploited after death, because the publishers could keep a higher percentage of a dead authors profits?
@@paulleverton9569 Sometimes its simply because people that came later expanded on the stuff that person was doing and made it more popular, and then the older writer got more attention than they had done in life. And sometimes its just a general change in attitude towards that writer's particular style and content. Lovecraft was known during his time, he wasn't obscure. But he was mostly writing short stories for magazines, not the next "great novel". If you look at other people writing for those magazines at the time, you might notice quite a few that didn't get tons of recognition. Its not that they weren't good writers, but the genres and format they were writing for weren't considered very special at the time. They were the dime store novelists of the early 20th century. And they were given about the same amount of respect as a dime story novelist did in the 1800s. Which is to say, only a little.
@on bear feet, thank you clarifying. I had no idea.
Beau...I'm a white guy that grew up in SoCal. I grew around a lot of minorities. I even speak a lot of Spanish. Now that I live in rural Nebraska I feel very uncomfortable being around so many whites. I need to go to Omaha just to feel 'normal.' I get sick of hearing people here whine about how we should build a Goddamn wall!
So you're an American citizen but you don't mind other people coming over and taking American jobs? Why don't we just let the whole world in why stop with the Hispanics they're not special just another reason why real Americans will vote for Donald Trump.
As a white man whose first book is nearing completion, I am happy that the market is competitive. I refuse to be bitter about diversity in the industry, because now I know that if I succeed, it is not because of my skin color, but because of my talent as an author. If I make it in this industry, it is because I deserve it, not because it was handed to me, and that feels pretty spectacular.
Good luck with your book!!!
Good luck! It was common to hear, when I was young, you have to be 2x a good to get half as much. I remember seeing many people of color working doubly hard only to end up reporting to, getting paid less or working with educated fools (because they were not challenged to work hard to be successful). The worse part is being in a situation where they could gain all the accolades from your hard work.
Today, I love working with brilliant people regardless of their race. It is amazing to be in an environment where everyone is contributing and you know they work just as hard and sometimes harder and we all can learn from one another. All my colleagues are amazing so it makes me so happy to read a comment like your's because as you said not only does it validate your talent but you are challenged to continue learning but you will be respected in your field.
@@magsbayou Thank you for the warm wishes. Reading your comment is wonderful, and the work you are doing sounds fantastic. The world needs more people in it willing to foster that kind of talent and commitment in young writers.
Hopefully, new writers will have a better chance when the whales in the industry don't automatically get the publishing houses to bow down. The market is far more competitive. Good luck.
NightHawk429
Great way of putting things into perspective. I'm a white make as well, and I would prefer to win or lose anything based on my own talents, skills, experience and overall character and integrity, and not because I have that little white card giving me a free pass so to speak. Whatever happened to being accountable for one's own actions and abilities. Although I know it has been going on for decades, if not generations, but it truly sickens me how Trump and his syncophantic ilk has made playing the victim, and blaming others for their failures as somehow being acceptable. They have only showed just how far what makes for the current Republican party has abandoned their party platform of small government less spending, and being accountable for one's own actions both positive and negative. They are a pathetic disgrace to the founders of their party, their office and the country as a whole. Thus the reason I switched to the democratic party years ago. To be fair, the democratic party has many problems and issues of their own, but sadly for our country, they are the only main party of the two having true legislative power at the federal level who actually cares about preserving our democracy as we have known it for all these years. These Trumpublican failures have shown they are ready to tare our country apart and are creating legislation at the state level to turn us into an autocratic third world fascist state of zero standing on the world stage.
"When you are accustomed to privilege, equality can feel like oppression."
~Stephanie Herrera
"Martha, get Sally in here NOW!"
~Thomas Jefferson
That’s the correct quote. And thanks for the citation.
@@katec7862 there are several similar quotes to this one by other people as well. Quote Investigator is helpful with these things.
If you're afraid of being treated like a minority in your own country,... what does that say about how minorities are treated?
👏👏👏👏👏
True Dat !!!
That's exactly what I was thinking. He just admitted that he HAD white privilege, but now he's panicking because he has to share with other Americans. What a pathetic crybaby.
So true!
If I had a dollar for every time someone told me some variation of "That systemic problem you're talking about doesn't exist, but if it does, I'm the real victim", I'd probably be worth nearly as much as Mr. Patterson.
"You have lost a little bit of privilege, and you're mistaking that for oppression." My goodness, how many different things could this sentiment be applied to?
I love how Beau takes the counter argument by the hand and patiently walks them through the back door of their own criticism and before you know it they are faced with the truth and can choose to either accept it, or abhor it and cleave to their preferred worldview which exposes them for who they actually are. They don’t want fairness they want to win.
I expect to be screamed at, to lose a few minutes, and maybe pay some minor extortion, but I've never feared losing my life on the spot over a minor traffic infraction
Isn't that the truth? That is a horrific aspect of law enforcement that has to change. I am not a de-funder, I am a "better training" and more "careful hiring" person.
It's a shame when old, white, men with all the money and power realize they're loosing a privilege they've always taken for granted.
I think it’s great. They need to realize their advantages and feel GRATEFUL
When I was at Texas Christian University I had a sociology course where the professor (an Asian American male) defined "White Privilege" as not having more advantages in life, rather having fewer disadvantages/discriminations in life (so opposite of what it sounds like). Essentially, in our country's history, Caucasians (with few exceptions) have not faced the multiple generations oppression that most People Of Color (particularly African Americans) have faced, resulting in fewer disadvantages for them today. Sure, if you're a wealthy Caucasian, you are better off than all average/poor people in the U.S., but if you're a middle class Caucasian, you still have better chances to succeed in life because you don't have the systemic disadvantages that African, Asian, Hispanic, & Native Americans at a similar social class level have. Finally, when a non Caucasian does become successful in the U.S., it isn't because of "Reverse Discrimination" as some Caucasians argue, rather it's because they have managed to overcome the disadvantages that they faced that many of their Caucasian counterparts didn't have to face.
How many times are you going to post the same comment?
Reverse Discrimination? You misspelled CRT 😐
@@alexandersupertramp7353 As many times as it takes for you to reply so they can find you on Google Maps 😐
@@YukonBloamie thats not CRT
@@alexandersupertramp7353 because it's true
My favorite quote here is “you have lost just a little bit of privilege, and you are mistaking it for racism.” Brilliant!
"Hey, guys. Is it just me or is it much harder to climb when we can't step on other people as much?"
I say it all the time: equality feels like oppression for the privileged.
That is true, the problem is it is responded to with derision instead of compassion and teaching. White males have less opportunity (privilege) than they used to. That can be frustrating, and is due to the color of their skin and racism (a reduction in racism). So they feel disadvantaged and it is related to race. Their feelings are valid, even if their reasoning is flawed.
As far as old white guys, they always feel like victims despite being the most privileged group alive. I mostly feel for younger white men, because they have less opportunity handed to them than earlier generations, and yet their entire families, and most other people, treat them as if they receive just as much privelege as their parents did. The shitty treatment at family barbeques is way worse than the actual challenges they face finding work.
…and that is what white privilege sounds like.
To be a writer he should have known he chose the wrong word. Racism is not why they have trouble finding work. Ageism is the reason and it isn't just older white writers, it's all older people regardless of race or profession.
And white ignorance, too.
In it's simplest terms, white privilege is the privilege of not being Black.
@@Leonaza7 I don't think it's ageism in this case. Certainly in many professions it is, but for writers age brings greater name recognition, often bigger fan bases, established industry ties, etc.
If his attitudes are reflected in his writing (I don't know, never read him) then perhaps he has simply written himself out of the future by producing prejudiced crap no one wants to buy.
Beau - I think you may be one of the very few people who could "re-educate" white men and get away with it. Beautiful job, Beau - just beautiful!!!
Agreed
@@janettemasiello5560
No….listen again and pay attention instead of trying to come up with some nonsensical rebuttal.
@@janettemasiello5560 If I'm understanding Becky correctly, she didn't mean ALL white men. Rather, she meant white men who think like Patterson - who think white men are being discriminated against because of the color of their skin.
@@janettemasiello5560 why so sensitive? Many white males need to relearn. Did you want them to say they are re-educating people of color about it? And yes, many white women
also need some re-education.
You really don’t need to pull out the old, tired “not all white people…”. We already know that and trying to call someone out on it is rather disingenuous.
@@janettemasiello5560 So white people provided the blueprint while enslaving, stealing the land, murdering and raping the natives, segregation and a bunch of other policies that gave white people the edge and yet when something comes and tries to even it out it's others having victim mentality?
“When you have only ever experienced privilege, equality feels like oppression.” ~ Adam Rutherford
"Any loss of privilege, will feel like oppression" - Someone much smarter than me.
My husband is a 52 year old male, and he thinks James Patterson should go fornicate with himself. And...he wouldn't want to meet you James
He pumps out about a book a month. Adult, Young Adult, children’s, non fiction, and graphic novels. It’s ridiculous and I’m tired of shelving his tepid stories that are usually written by someone else.
I stopped reading him years ago since it seemed he could not finish a book.
I prefer Richard North Patterson.
HE doesn't actually do much of the writing anymore. He basically drafts an outline and hands it off to his staff of ghostwriters.
@@hgoodin1013 Sounds a lot like Clive Cussler...
He has a ghost writer mill, and makes a ton of money off his name. He hasn’t written anything of note for years.
It's harder for EVERYBODY when you're older. We older folks want to be paid for our experience. Employees want the new guys because they're "cheaper" and have less benefits. Welcome to the real world.
The younger guys don't have to "embrace new technology". They grew up with it. Many older people resist it. Guess who gets the job or the promotion?
Right? If he worked in a different industry and was being underpaid at a crappy job,
But was too afraid to quit because no one else would hire him when he's only 8 years to retirement, he's be living a while different life!
I have always been told employers don't want to hire anyone over 50 (or 55, or 60, pick a age) because they will have to train them and then they won't stay long because they will be retiring soon. Of course then the employers don't give (decent) raises and the only way for someone to get more money is to change employers. So employers chase force employees to not put in many years of service, but then won't hire older employees because they are just going to retire. And to top off those two sentiments I'm starting to come to the conclusion that employers continually add new job requirements/tasks onto existing employee to chase away the employees that have been with the company for a while because benefits and vacation accrualls start to make senior employees more costly than new employees.
@@mo-rfd You're talking _ancient,_ not older. 😄 Most workers under 55 are _completely comfortable_ w/tech for their entire career. It's mostly *costs; let's just be honest.*
I'm so old I graduated HS with Dirt, but I've worked in tech and can adapt sufficiently for 90% of jobs. And I don't spend 40-60 minutes a day lk updating my status, location, or gaming.😉
I'll also work extra hours since I don't have a PS 4/5, and I won't quit every 2 years which is hell on HR costs.
Except politics.
I once spent an afternoon in a small airport, stranded, sitting next to James Patterson, listening to his entitled complaints.Not a good memory.
Patterson wrote a good book about 25 years ago and then has been putting a new cover on it every six months ever since.
Well stated. The loss of privilege is scary for the right, especially as America is turning brown. I’m aware of my white privilege, even as an educator in minority communities. A half a billionaire middle aged white guy needs to take off his blinders.
It should be something of concern, because eventually what happens is we simply flip the table and the privilege class becomes underprivileged. This isn't a solution to any problems we face. Taking power away from white people just to give it to someone else who will inevitably use it to advantage themselves is no better than the status quo.
To the privileged equality feels like oppression.
@@janettemasiello5560 Who is saying he doesn't?
@@IBelieve.............. that’s not what he was saying at all my god
As a white guy who grew up impoverished around people of several different races and cultures, I'd prefer to see a world with more equality. When people have their needs met and have stability economically, there is less crime, less drug use, and better overall health. It seems too many white people want to live in their bubbles and cling to their guns and hide behind the violence of the state
I can not believe as successful as that man has been over the last what...25 or 30yrs, that he has the nerve to suddenly blame race for his success or lack of it. That's pure arrogance and entitlement.
...sounds like he's becoming a bit delusional in his dotage
Just tell him he can exchange his life for a 20 year old black guy who is in a traffic stop by the cops or a high school asian guy who is applying to a top tier college. Bet he won't do that...
@Mike Dalby nobody would. Asians are probably the least respected demographic in the country.
If he is old enough I'll take that bet!
I'll take the "racism" he describes any way it comes. It means things are getting better for everyone, not just people who look like me.
Not to mention that when you manage to “slip through the bricks” you tend to run like hell to make sure you don’t wind up back on the wrong side of the wall 😅
Not only are there more of us competing in the field, but some of us feel like we’re the current baton carrier in a generational relay race where none of the other runners on your team have ever been allowed to run on an even track.
Maybe you’re the first on your team with shoes and you can’t let yourself get tripped up because that means the ones that ran barefoot just to get you here did it for nothing.
You feel like you owe it to all of them to achieve things that are usually white guy territory. So you can tell all those people who came before you that another one of you made it. That they didn’t survive getting stolen and separated and brutalized for nothing.
This is golden.
I agree with you 💯
“When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression."
As a women of a certain age I’m so glad you did this video. I learned these life lessons in childhood when I was told what I could and couldn’t do….you didn’t mention women but then again neither did the constitution.
Neither did James Patterson, the subject of this video.
oh no...he actually has to compete now... how horible for him..he cant take advantage of a rigged system.
Another way to explain this goes along with how I explain my position to folks on the right. I tell them that I'm pro-meritocracy (rats that finish the farthest in the race get the most rewards accordingly). However, I'm against a rigged meritocracy (some rats start before the start line), because a rigged meritocracy is no longer meritocratic.
For a man who came out of advertising, Mr. Patterson seems to misunderstand the mood of much of the country.
First of all, Patterson is a hack. Most of his books are written by other people, and he puts his name on them.
Secondly, getting published by a traditional publisher is hard, full stop.
Third, he invokes Woody Allen in his article, which ...
No. Just ... no.
Woody Allen?
{new tab} {search box} "Woody Allen Scandal" {enter}
*THAT* Woody Allen?!?
Jesus.
@@Sableagle- Unless there's another Woody Allen in the news, they're talking about this talented guy who torpedoed himself.
The same goes for Sexism. I've met tad too many people saying that Marvel is discriminating males by introducing MORE - closer to half - female heroes.
They're badly written, that's why
@@helgahaa That is true but they have been there for a long time.
I would imagine it would be difficult for a 40 year old white guy from the 60s to think like a woman.
@@helgahaa And there aren't a lot of badly written male superheroes? Can't say I know too much about the genre, but that seems... unlikely.
@@shawnr771 Maybe they should have contacted Terry Moore, author of _Strangers in Paradise,_ for some advice on how to make the audience cry and amile at the same time with an emotional scene, rather than contacting someone at _Playboy_ for advice about swimsuit designs.
The conversation isn't about sexism, please stop with the childish deflection.
And this is how it should be, with growing proportionality.
I am a 58 year old white guy, who has heard these kinds of statements for decades. So, I'm going to take this opportunity to thank you Beau, for saying (in nicer terms) what I have seen as *slow* growth for a few decades, at this point. ✌
Hugs to you from a 65 year old Black woman. You and I have experienced, witnessed a LOT, my friend. I am grateful to Beau for his clear, direct, 360 degree observations of some of the emerging issues we are all grappling with right now. Be well!
@@threetreasures7698 💖
As a middle aged white woman, I get it. We've been through (still going through) the same adjustments with misogyny. The complaints from men like my father when women were allowed to compete for jobs the men thought they were entitled to! And then the predictions that businesses that hired women would (deservedly in his opinion) go under because obviously the women were going to do an inferior job.
This guy sounds like he's complaining about both women and people of colour daring to be competent humans capable of out competing him if the playing field is level.
I've never heard of him. Maybe his name will stick sufficiently now for me to remember not to bother picking up his books. If those are the attitudes in them, I have more than enough to read without wasting time on his.
“When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression." Author unknown
Job interviews may be the most personal way to observe societal norms in general, but certainly can often shine a light on systemic racism in the workplace, and how these norms are changing to favor inclusion. I am 58, and I have recognized my white privilege used to my advantage during my teenage years, and throughout adulthood so many times. I have seen it work against me scarcely a handful of times, and that was only in the past 20 years. I realize this is purely anecdotal, but it is just a thought. Thank you, Beau.
Y'all have a nice night.
I love to hear rich old white guys cry about how hard their lives are. This is the updated, remastered, and re-released version of “reverse discrimination,” my favorite 20th Century comedies.
Patterson is so out of touch. A person who has never acknowledged or recognized how privileged and protected he is. And a whiny baby as well.
I was an avid fan. So much for that! 😖😒🤦🏽♀️
I won’t be buying any more of his books.
His whining really took him down a few pegs for me.
He’s published 300 books, some of them co-written. Hopefully he bothers to listen to the pushback he’s been getting.
lol. He does come off as a whiny baby. It's the sort of comment that is wrong-headed and obnoxious, but since he's 75 and yes, out of touch, I'm totally willing to just let it go.
To the privileged equality feels like oppression.
his name is on the cover of a whole lot of books, he did not write them all. It's pretty well known that he uses a lot of ghostwriters, mainly women and people of color, ironically enough, if reports are to be believed.
Exactly
Why yes, yes he does use ghostwriters.😄👍
Thanks, I was going to mention that
@Tommie oh, interesting. I would like to know more about his sub-writers.
What a shocker xD
It's another example of the people with 99 cookies, trying to convince the people with 1 cookie, that the people with no cookies, are coming to take their 1 single cookie.
I know what it's like to be a diversity hire. it's never the caricature that these people paint it as. you still have to be qualified, and you're given a symbolic seat at the table but you lose your spot the minute you wanna dismantle any unjust norms or systems. if you point at something that causes a lack of success in your community, your blacklisted, because you weren't hired so we could fix the problem,you were hired so the people on top could pretend that there isn't a problem. also, anyone who claims diversity hires aren't qualified is proving themselves a bigot. Theyre assuming that no qualified minorities exist, because theyre bigots. as if a for-profit institution would hire someone unqualified.
@Mike Dalby there are externalities. if someone is qualified then they'll get the job done. if a CEO has a reputation as a racist, and they have the choice between a black recruit that scored a 97 or a white recruit that scored a 99, they'll go with the black recruit, because it will make the CEO look good while still getting the job done. then again, who says that the most qualified candidate in a particular field ISNT a minority? Your comment is based on the idea that at least a relevant amount of the time, the best in a field isn't a minority, why do you think that?
Whenever I hear somebody in public lament "how bad things are getting", I ask them what's one thing they would do to make things better.
Love that comment.
$1 gas.
@@shawnr771 that would make things worse in th e longer run
Probably but it would help our pocket books at the moment suppliers could not whine about the fuel prices etc.
In my opinion we need a program to push forward some of the emerging technologies.
We are at the beginning of the end for fossil fuel use.
The next couple of decades are going to be a rough transition
People are going to have to adapt to a new paradigm.
Enforce price-gouging laws.
You are not wrong about the mild easing of systemic racism Beau, but it is a little more complex than that-there is also sexism and ageism.
Numerous examples, but I will give you one for now. A woman called Liz [not her real name]. An experienced and competent bank officer, but close to retirement. She is efficient, and also she tends to mentor younger people coming up. Her boss is younger than her, and so are most of her colleagues. She really deserves promotion, but has not got as much of it as she deserves.
Why? Because she is a fixer. The young kids have high sales output, selling loans, insurance, etc. But they make mistakes, lots of them. She backstops them. Corrects the errors, some of them which could have resulting in a firing, or even criminal prosecution. This "goalkeeper" work takes up as much as 35% to 40% of her days. Yet she still has to make her quota, and her quota is the same as the others on the team.
So, her young boss calls her into the office, and says: "Your sales are 15-20% down compared to the team". "Yes, replies Liz, but I have to support and train the younger staff". "No excuses", says the younger boss, "shape up".
Had Liz not corrected these problems, the bank would have been exposed to legal problems. So actually her careful work had saved the firm from expensive fines and compensation payouts.
But it didn't matter. So ageism and sexism. So is going to retire soon, because she has had a "gutful". I know many stories like that.
Fair shake does not mean stupid, incompetent people suddenly disappear.
And when she is gone, the company will find out the hard way just what she was doing for them. They may not recognize it for what it is but they will feel it.
I always feel for the people who try their best to keep a business, or society, on truck. Often they don't get recognized and even mistreated.
@@paolagrando5079 Yup. I wasn't trying to marginalise what people of colour suffer at the hands of bigots, but there are many types of bigotry.
@@roberthunter6927 sure. As I don't think that Beau was talking about only one kind of discrimination, he only used one example. 😊
That is why the GOP is focusing on education so they can limit who has the qualifications to get certain jobs.
They also want to control the "indoctrination." Got to keep the undereducated voting rich and living poor!
@@trialgoddess ruclips.net/video/K_LvRPX0rGY/видео.html
I’m pretty sure that someone has stated the obvious. “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
For James Patterson to be a writer, he is certainly closed minded.
He hasn't written anything for years
His books are a lot like his mind: almost never open.
Privilege is an aging multi-million dollar writer who pumps out a book every month complaining because he's having to compete with better writers, and his mediocrity doesn't sell like it used to.
Exactly...he has one concept that he keeps re-working. I stopped reading him over a decade ago.
What? My bookcase is full of books by white male authors. Also, that’s who most of the required reading books are written by.
🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯
Exactly
I work in an industry with mostly women and people of color, and I am a white man. I haven’t had an issue getting a job, you just have to apply to 10-12 and be persistent but not annoying about interviews. People who complain about how unfair it is for white men that other people get jobs are really out of touch and just plain sad.
I’m a white guy trying to be a writer, and I’m having a really rough time of it, but I’m well-informed enough to know that struggle comes from capitalism.
I can’t carve time, resources, and energy out of the day to pursue workshops or training. I’m too proud to concede in a market that values profitability over artistic merit. I’m too alienated from people my age to practice other kinds of storytelling privately and too exhausted to read as much anymore.
These complaints are always directed at the wrong source. It’s commodification of labor, never the emancipation of the vulnerable.
Fortunately, e-publishing exists.
Write a manuscript, hire a freelance editor, clean it up, and self publish
@@dragonchr15- There's also e-publishing, which has the advantage of unlimited shelf space. It gives new writers time to work while allowing new readers to find them. (Add in a website or blog, Facebook page, and other social media to help that along.)
Just reread Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. Hard to feel any empathy for James Patterson.
He is experiencing life. It happens to everyone when you get older.
When I was a chijd, I heard a horrible story about a guy who tied two tomcats together by their tails and tossed them over a clothesline,then laughed as they ripped each other apart. He bragged about it. i am amoung the poorest of the poor, and what I've seen with increasing clarity over the past decades is greedy men who can never have enough,who wring the life from us
'bottom feeders".for a few more gold coins to add to their pile. Someone else always gets the blame-- it's the Irish, it's the Chinese, it's the Veit Namese, It's Latinos-- It's the Blacks, etc, etc, etc.Name your time period in our history; there is always a "them"to blame, I refuse to be one of those tomcats. How does it help to attack others who just want what I want and IKNOW there's plenty for all if it were just a little more equally devided.
Well said. And kudos to your attitude, keep your heels dug in, don't budge!
This is Capitalism, sister. Read Karl Marx. He explained it all long ago. They divide people in order to control them. Have a good day! By the way... I'm Russian - you can hate me, your "democratic" media NEVER lies!))
@@riccampbell This is the right kind of optimism. The owners of the money are happy with you! Die at work! And one day you'll be lucky! Just like in American movies.
Bruh the privilege lol. Im mixed and have been undercut by racists my whole life and now i have to listen to them whine about not being given a fair shake lol. Truly a moment in time
Well said! They’re experiencing the lack of racism. This made me smile
"You just have to get better." That is what free enterprise is suppose to create when it is applied to all who compete.
Patterson isn't a writer I ever read, he is a method, use other writers, type of author. He uses a formula and the skill of usually young writers to come up with story lines. Who is he to say "older WHITE males" find it hard to get a break? I read tons of books from SF to Westerns, written by innovative authors, not once have I looked up the authors race or age.
Same. The only time I can tell that the authors of books I read is of a specific heritage is if their name is obviously from a certain culture, like Liu Cixin or Nnedi Okorafor. Even then, the name facilitates little more than locating a copy of the book or recognition of another novel they may have written.
Dude, where did you come from?!?!?! Can't stop watching you and your takes are so on point. You need to teach on a bigger or larger stage. People need to hear what you are syaing, not because it is right, because it is understandable and makes sense. Keep up the good work!!!!!!!!
He's actually from Florida, if you can believe it.
@@bg6b7bft right. Heard him call himself "A spec of blue in a sea of red" before.
@@nickybeingnicky I’ve never heard him overtly say he was “blue” before. I took him to be way more progressive than the Dems are
...teach. only if you really believe that people like this author don't understand or are onboard for racism.
It could never have been this successful if everyone was ignorant.
@@john.premose He is. He is FAR more progressive than most Democrats.
Or maybe it's because Patterson is a lazy, tired hack who, for years, hasn't actually written any of the books he hires ghost writers to execute and then just puts his name on them.
'They are lucky that what Black people are looking for is equality and not revenge.' Kimberly Jones
*Thank you, Beau. Your wisdom is always greatly appreciated and I hope more people hear this.*
James Patterson is interesting because it's fascinating to me when *mediocre people who get ahead because of their skin color suddenly realize they ARE mediocre and have gotten ahead mostly because of their skin color.* WE (Black people, specifically) have always had to be At Minimum twice as good to get half as far. We have never been able to rest on our laurels. And *we have never asked for preferential treatment. We asked for equity. We asked for equality. We asked for a CHANCE.* And, in some areas (very few!), we are finally getting that CHANCE.
And now, the very people who said *"you 'Blacks' need to stop whining about racism holding you back!"* are the SAME people now whining like melted snowflakes because they may have to actually work hard and EARN an advantage for the first time in their mediocre, racist lives. That's a shame.
See this is why we need Beau, with my level of eloquence this would have been " wtf you think been happening to us?" lol
We (White) Americans have a pervasive sense of entitlement because for a while, things weren't that hard. We didn't have as much competition in certain areas. Only a handful of people had to fight for a place in the top schools because a bunch were legacies...their father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc had attended, and they are rich, so boom, they are in.
There used to be plenty of decent paying jobs. You'd apply for a handful and land at least one of them. I'm in my 50's and my generation noticed that the decent jobs were not as plentiful. Entry level jobs were few to none, and everyone wanted experience...not that you could get it because no one would hire you if you didn't have it. Then being able to land a decent yet affordable apartment or house in a good area became challenging. We end up in debt because we're taught that it's good...ish. Authors like Patterson or Stephen King were the sort that could just say, "I have an idea for a book," and get an advance in the seven-digits because they'd make that back, no matter how craptastic it was.
Except now, there are a LOT of writers, traditionally and independently published (I am one,) and publishing houses can't publish everything sent to them. They barely do their own marketing, expecting the authors to do their own now. Advances? Only the likes of Patterson or King might still get them now. It isn't because he's an old White dude. It's because he needs to churn out quality AND quantity, and if his sales are slipping, they may not pick him up one day. It's capitalism, baby. There is no loyalty to anything but profits.
Yes. And employers wanted experience in new hires for decades. My mother faced that same problem in the 1950s.
@@altyrrell3088 Though for your mom, that might have also been sexism at play, too. Demand experience for POC or women, but being more lenient for the White guy. Then they can totally play it off that they're not being racist or sexist. Because it's hard to prove unless the hiring place slips up and exposes themselves. Like interviewers texting the applicant instead of coworkers about their opinions on the applicant.
@@Tiewaz Definitely. She didn't talk much about the sexism she faced, but she did tell me about the experience issue. Both are real.
Getting back burned by the system that created him how ironic. And watching him cry about it just makes it that much sweeter
And sexism has played a big role in holding America back for four decades if not more. These old white men have wanted to stay in power to keep everybody under their thumb that's the only way they feel like a man
"52 year old white males." That's a weirdly specific age he picked, given Patterson is 75 and squarely on old boomer territory. Also...off his rocker. Maybe he's attending some conventions or something and the changing landscape of authors started to freak him out. I find it hard to imagine he's overly worried there isn't enough competition for his niche, which I think caters mostly middle aged men (okay, I've never picked up one of his books in my life, so I have no real idea). (EDIT: you know, maybe he'd know more 52 year old white male writers if our society didn't spend most of its energy trying to convince men, in general, that intellectual pursuits such as reading and writing don't fit in to their masculine imagery.)
The publishing industry also fires most debut fiction writers after their first book contract if it isn't a giant hit in order to roll the dice again on someone else. They're trying to eliminate the "midlist", or authors that sell moderately but not spectacularly. So men who start publishing books in their 20s or 30s, statistically speaking, aren't still in mainstream publishing in their 50s. Neither is anyone else. This has been going on for at least 20 years that I know of. I guess Patterson only just noticed?
If he's 75 and worth $800 million, why is he complaining? He can't take it with him and if he lives another 20 years, he'll still be richer than most people in the western world. Has entitlement become his American dream?
If I could like this a thousand times... my goodness, someone gets it! This society forced some of its population to be twice as good and work 10x as hard just to get what others got for being mediocre. Now that some of those systems are falling apart and people are being judged on their merits, the kid who coasted through life expecting the opportunities is competing against the kid who always knew he had to fight for those same chances. So yeah... it's gonna feel like losing when just showing up is no longer enough.
Had a similar conversation with a 'friend' the other day. He'd received a DUI (he'd only had two beers and one of them must have roofied!) and he missed his court date because the court didn't call and remind him (because in his mind that's the court's job, duh). He had a warrant out for his arrest and was pulled over which led to his license being suspended. Then he was pulled over for driving on a suspended license.
He was complaining that the system is rigged against him, that once they get your in their grasp the system doesn't let go.
This gu is a an ardent Republican. During this same conversation he said all Democrats should be shot on sight. I'm surprised he wasnt at the 06JAN01 coup attempt.
I looked him straight in the eyes and said, "And now you know what millions of black people experience every day." That shut him up.
We should ask Patterson where the jobs are going to come from for old white guys when Republicans end Social Security.
Why would he know or care? The rich guys regardless of race will be ok. The poor of all races will be staffing (at less than a living wage) the retirement slums. That will make it so the next generation gets zero inheritance leg up and remain solely to serve those in power. What makes you think today (in this case) it's really much different than the past for them. From their point of view: No more slaves darn. Let's try indentured servants. Darn, OK let's make company stores. etc. The whole idea (again from that perspective) is to have enough people to do want they want as close to slavery level as possible and get away with it. I wonder how many Americans know they don't have freedom of speech when they walk into the workplace, or that being fired for insubordination doesn't make it obvious enough that YOU ARE subordinate. Watch Bloombergs comments to the press after the second debate when he ran - it clarifies how capitalism isn't about money for those who have, it's about social subordination.
@@mmowins1140 I know that. That's why we should ask. The attempted not likely straight answer but response will be interesting to see. I care when I don't have to. I'm a baby boomer that's got mine and won't be around to see this. I'm well aware of where this is going.
@@lewellyncrunkmeyer1512 cool. i find that interesting. i guess you are more aware (so to speak) than i am, as i wouldn't have guessed that. thanks very much for letting me know. hope you "live long and prosper" kinda thing.
@@mmowins1140 There is much to blame on baby boomers but we are 2 generations of voters from that. Both of those have failed themselves by not being more active, knowledgeable and demanding of their representatives. Their apathy looks to be very costly to their future right now.
@@lewellyncrunkmeyer1512 Aye
I think the bigger, infinitely more important shift James Patterson is pointing out is self obsolescence.. old ideas, paradigms, ways of thinking, all of them are being reconsidered, re-approached, and found not of value for a world moving forward at a much faster pace.. it's basically "get over yourself, find your happiness, get ready for the future"
@@janettemasiello5560 admittedly I haven't, though I've watched various adaptations for movie and tv, however his literary career isn't what I'm talking about ... He's openly opining a false "poor me" narrative because he doesn't feel connected to things the same way, and that obviously seems connected to his own feeling of relevance.. he's worth $500m (as Beau mentions), so wtf does he have to complain about? He doesn't see it at his own fault or failure, but society at large for leaving him behind
“My political ideal is democracy. Let every man be respected as an individual and no man be idolized.” -Dr. Albert Einstein, 1930
I am an amateur fiction writer. I used to complain about how hard it was for me to get recognized. It was only when I noticed that many of those,who were, didn't look like me, that I realized that this may be for the best. Not everyone can be a winner.
Why do I feel Patterson is whining? And for what? Seems like he's got a tin ear when it comes to reality.
Beau, many thanks for your thoughts
Yeah, it would suck to be a minority, wouldn’t it?!
This one really struck home.
I'm 79 and struggle with lots of new ideas.
Unlike Patterson, I don't see them as negative and I do support anything that promotes 100% equality.
But it ain't always easy...
I am quite a bit younger than you and Beau has helped me wrap my mind around how everything is interconnected.
@@shawnr771 He's damn talented at that...
I don't remember the exact quote but, I heard once "for people who have lived a life full of privilege, equality seems like oppression to them".
Just like the saying goes, "When you're accustomed to privilege equality feels like oppression." I was told by a person in the same leadership position as I and said that I got it because I was black. He only has a high school diploma and has been with the company 2 years then promoted. I have 2 degrees and has been with the company 7 years before being promoted. He still claims he don't believe in racism.
I work in a library, and Patterson has been my mortal foe for nearly a decade now. I knew he was a shitbag, but I did not know the extent that that was true.
Also, Patterson almost assuredly does not write his own books. He slaps his brand on other people's stories and makes bank on it.
Frankly, the publishing industry is very market oriented. If it will sell, they will buy it. Right now the books written by 50+ yo white men for their peers just aren’t selling as much. I’m seeing more books by women of color, LGBT authors, indigenous authors, and other non-traditional writers. You’ve had a good ride and the books with your name on them (frequently paired with a co-author) still get published and sell. (And, in the mystery genre, men are now taking women’s names as nom de plume.)
Yes, I agree, what the market wants. My book club is all older women, and we have read enough of old traditional white guy authors, so now we almost always choose other voices and other sources.
But what about what they wrote was geared EXCLUSIVELY for white men??? Their stories were universal.
Most of these new stories by BIPOC writers focus on a victim narrative.
It's hard to get anything published as a writer in the first place. How does this man feels that he has the right to say that from his privileged position. If the reason is inclusion, I think that's a wonderful sign of progress that any writer should embrace.
If fewer white male artists are meriting prestige, doesn't that make you prouder to be a white male artist that merits prestige? Why not welcome the challenge to become undeniable in your craft? In another context, Patterson's attitude would be silly. Imagine your grampa bragging: "In my day, we didn't have to walk uphill both ways, through the snow, to get to school!"
Mr. Patterson has proven the even an elderly experienced writer, successful beyond what most could ever hope for, can open his mouth and say something beyond stupid. Put him on your "People to Ignore" list.
This made me think about how monopolies in industry and tech stifle innovation... Diversity encourages creativity!
And, in the fiction and poetry world, it did; in the form of many journals and small publishing houses for writers of color, LGBTQ writers, feminist writers, and other writers of marginalized ethnicities. Some of these have survived half a century and become very prestigious in their own right, and left a significant mark upon the larger culture. Old white guys cannot go and establish their own such preserves, even as the "mainstream " publishing interests embrace more diversity by tapping into these other cultural strains. The uproar would be horrific if they did. So they get less space in the mainstream and also cannot establish an alternative that other groups already have. So they're in a "no-win" situation.
Let me point out quickly that a lot of those books Patterson has never actually written. They're ghostwritten, meaning he more or less slapped his name on them
When you ghostwrite something someone else slaps their name on it. You probably mean his books were ghostwritten by someone else and he slapped his name on them.
@@stellashepherd3229 thank u I was just confused there thinking what? He wrote even more than I have seen with his name on it? Now that comment sounds more like a man who would slap his name on something that wasn’t of his making.
One of my classmates wrote a novel for James. How that works...James is the author, he plots the book, he hires a good up and comer to write it. The writer gets their name on the book, a percentage of royalties, plus a flat salary. The woman in my class that got the gig got 50 k for 4 months work. She worked closely with James, and completely the novel. The class was over so I'm not sure which of his novels it was but that's the gist of how it works.
The worst book I ever read was ghostwritten by Patterson. It was so bad, it was almost laughable.
And, he got the credit. “Working smarter instead of harder,” etc.
Beau, you stated that argument beautifully. You are absolutely correct.
And I am an old white guy.
Equality always feels like oppression to those who see themselves as the dominant class.
As a young white man, i do believe that the culture is shifting and looking at young men, especially southern white young men, like we are dangerous or less desirable. Maybe its the same racism that opress blacks shifting over, but I dont think so. Young men are responsible for like 60% of mass shotting and something like 19% of all homicide. When you look domestic extremism, its mostly young men, and it was mostly white men who stormed the capital. So maybe, you know, theres a reason...
As an ex-convict I have read about every Alex cross, women's murder club, and another something or other series. I stopped reading his books after reading an opinion he wrote somewhere, when and where I can't remember. That was a decade ago and I am glad I did.
"Equality feels like bigotry to the privileged"...
Ageism is definitely a thing folks. That’s not made up. I hit an inflection point in my career a few years ago where I had to start downplaying my experience so as not to appear “too experienced”. It feels insane.
It's definitely a thing, but not the thing that's causing his problems.
For authors with a long list of titles published, age means they have name recognition, fans, established industry ties, etc. If that is fading out, he's probably either regurgitating the same stories with the names changed, or writing stuff with dated attitudes no one wants to read any more.
@@fionaanderson5796 Yeah, young'ins can be fickle. The founders had a good reason why you have to be at least 35 to be Pres. (too bad it's not actual as opposed to chronological - HA)
Now contrast that with how Lizzo reacted when it was brought to her attention that she used an ableist slur. She issued a statement that she screwed up and CHANGED THE WORDS. That's it. And she's not canceled. In fact the disabled community is grateful to have been seen and she will probably have a lot more disabled fans because she showed such grace.
I've known about this for some time, but I'm an academic. Beau's genius is putting such things into language that everyone, except the willfully deaf, dumb and blind can understand. Good job, Beau, keep up the good work!
If you're an old white man you've got at least 3 unearned laurels.
If you don't want things getting harder for you, either make sure you're not resting on them, work across demographic lines to make sure things are getting easier for everyone, or both.