Jared Taylor, American Renaissance, July 1992

American Renaissance is sometimes criticized by its readers for what seems to be be an unending stream of bad news. Such criticism is largely valid; there is not usually very much good news to report about racial matters in this country, and AR can only report events as they occur.

However, there is a very small category of events that do not merely occur; AR makes them happen. We do not like to boast about this, partly because our successes are small and partly because boasting is unpleasant. We do not make a point of always telling our readers about radio appearances, articles from AR that have been reprinted elsewhere, or references to AR in other publications.

Perhaps we should. Readers might be glad to know of the effect, however small, that AR seems to be having on what is said and thought about the most important questions that face our country. In the midst of so much gruesome news, it may be encouraging to know that there is a large audience of Americans who are ready, even eager to hear the message that AR brings.

Therefore, as the editor of American Renaissance, I would like to report to you on one of my recent radio appearances, and to explain why it is that despite the bad news that seems to fill these pages, I think that we can look forward to improvement.

On Being Openly ‘Racist’

In these pages and on the airwaves, I have publicly taken positions that are ordinarily called “racist.” Although many people think that this is a dangerous thing to do, there are real advantages to saying in public what others say only in private.

The most obvious is that I am free to write and say exactly what I think. After years of trying to fit important ideas between the lines, this is an enormous relief. A less obvious advantage is that anyone who takes a public stance on these questions becomes a lightning rod for others who feel the same way but are afraid to say so. There are people from all walks of life, some in surprisingly prominent positions, who agree with AR’s point of view. They feel they cannot afford to agree publicly, but it is encouraging to find support in so many quarters.

There are many, many people in this country who have managed to resist the media onslaught against common sense. I suspect that more people than ever before realize that what is said in the press about race, genetics, and immigration is neither true nor representative of what Americans think. Also, I believe that such people are slowly becoming more willing to speak openly about what they think.

Frequent appearances on radio talk shows give me an unusual look at how every-day Americans feel about these questions. When I first began speaking as the editor of American Renaissance, I expected to face a barrage of unremittingly hostile radio personalities and listener telephone calls. I have been very pleasantly surprised. Most talk show hosts are, at the very least, polite, and many are clearly sympathetic. Usually, about half of the callers agree enthusiastically with what I have to say.

Recently, I was on a Los Angeles radio program hosted by a man named Tom Leykis. He apparently has the reputation of someone who argues ruthlessly with opponents, and generally manages to get the better of them.

Unlike other talk show hosts, he was hostile from the start. He began with a violent attack on the idea that people of different races have different average levels of intelligence. I defended the idea and later we took calls from listeners. Because I was speaking to a Los Angeles audience, I would have liked to talk about other subjects — immigration, for example — but for two straight hours Mr. Leykis stuck to the subject of race and intelligence.

I was surprised to find that almost every caller thought that there were no racial differences in intelligence and some callers attacked me vehemently. Perhaps the radio station screened out callers who agreed with me or perhaps they just didn’t call. However, because I always invite listeners to write in for sample copies of AR, it is the response after the program that really matters.

About thirty people did not even wait to see a sample issue; they sent subscription checks immediately. Several hundred people wrote to ask for sample issues, and of that number, about one hundred subscribed. This was an unusually good response, but it only reflects the large number of people who listen to Mr. Leykis’ program. There is a great deal of support in America for common-sense thinking about even the most ruthlessly suppressed aspect of race: Differences in average intelligence.

As an indication of how that Los Angeles audience responded to the program, I have excerpted comments from some of the dozens of letters we received. Since the writers probably did not expect their letters to be published, I have withheld their names. We are printing them in place or our usual letters column, and I think they are a good reflection of the views of our readers. AR is proud to be a forum for ideas that are widely held but to which the mass media remain firmly closed.

From Los Angeles, CA:

I want to express my gratitude and appreciation for your courage in speaking out on a subject that is taboo in today’s America — despite the First Amendment. I have lived most of my life in awe of the inconsistency, unfairness, hypocrisy, and multiple standards that characterize race relations in this country. Unfortunately they also characterize the behavior of all the other special interest groups (for lack of a better term) that are screaming for special treatment: women, homosexuals, handicapped people, you name it. This is a sad state of affairs. I hope that I will outlive this period in our history and that I will witness a return to our senses.

From Santa Ana, CA:

It was really refreshing to hear your radio interview. You gave us the hope that common sense has a chance to come back to the USA. We came to the USA from Europe one decade ago without any money, with three teenage sons and with no English at all! Now we are living in our own house and the older son owns a house, too. Two younger sons finished college study with bachelors degree diplomas and both are working hard on their professional qualifications. I wonder why we are not homeless and why we aren’t buying our groceries with food stamps the way so many blacks and Hispanics do. Thanks again for your clear words on a subject that has been so long taboo.

From Newbury Park, CA:

It was certainly refreshing to hear your views articulated in such a concise and philosophically consistent manner. You may be pleased to know that your host, a well-known liberal knee-jerker, never allows guests or callers to voice opinions as controversial as yours without challenging them. It was obvious to me that he was intimidated by your mastery of the material and thought a tactical retreat was his only option. I am particularly annoyed by the travesties unleashed under the guise of affirmative action. I finished my BA at UCLA last year and, despite graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, was awarded the grand total of $100 in support for my entire first year of graduate school. My research indicates that all minority graduate students were completely or almost completely funded to attend UCLA. I continue to seethe. If I may make a suggestion, when presented with the time-worn canard that intelligence tests are culturally biased, you might ask why no one has been able to design a test on which blacks score as well as whites. I find this argument to be particularly effective.

From Van Nuys, CA:

I heard you on the Tom Leykis show and couldn’t believe what I was hearing. You are a very dangerous man to the “Powers That Be in the Media.” Your intelligence, articulateness, and common-sense use of facts and statistics could not be refuted. You certainly made a quiet man out of the normally loud-mouthed Mr. Leykis. You are a dangerous man because you have the courage to stand on the side of truth in the face of tremendous forces. Truth is a very dangerous and hated thing to those who identify with lies.

From Sherman Oaks, CA:

I am sorry I was not able to get through to support you on the air, but you did very well and spoke very articulately, I might add, using statistics, references, and history to make your points. What I don’t understand is why so many callers called you a racist. You were very polite and calm, and did not make one racist remark. Yet, many callers responded to you as if you were the second coming of Hitler. Liberal thought has done more to hurt minorities than help, but you can never tell them so without their coming to their usual conclusions about you. How did we get to this point? There’s something else I’m still trying to figure out: If there are many conservative, thinking people in this country — and I truly believe there are — why are the media so firmly on the left? Still, I do believe there is great change coming. Rush Limbaugh and people like him finally have a chance to get the conservative message onto the airwaves. And thank you, Mr. Taylor, for your contribution.

From Los Angeles, CA:

Never have I heard anyone articulate white, racial issues so intelligently and eloquently. Furthermore, it was very gratifying to hear Tom Leykis verbally and intellectually defeated, not that the latter is a difficult task, but the former is a mighty victory.

From Arcadia, CA:

I could not leave the radio until your program was over. The truth and logic of what you said had even the “great” Tom Leykis on his knees — not to mention the light-weights who called in to his show. It is not often these days that someone has the courage to stand up and “speak the truth.” The pressures of the liberal/racial activists keep the silent majority silent. Three cheers for you and for your publication.

And on and on they went — some too flattering to print. The point is that despite a massive campaign of distortion and misinformation, there are many, many Americans who have not swallowed the party line on race. They are waiting and hoping for someone to take the lead and say what must be said.

Our country has not yet reached the stage of near-total hypocrisy that characterized the dying days of the Soviet Union, when virtually no one believed in Communism but virtually no one dared say so in public. There are still many Americans who appear to believe that the races are equivalent, and that a non-white, third-world future would be a wonderful thing for our country. Of course, the mass media persist in parroting these views.

A repudiation of this fashionable nonsense must come from below before it comes from above. No politician or editorialist is going to take the lead unless he is forced to by a groundswell of public opinion. Our “leaders,” as we call them, are not leaders in any real sense. They are followers of whatever they think political fashions are likely to be; they are the slaves of public opinion.

Public opinion — and when the subject is race, it is vastly different from published opinion — is made up of people like you. Take the first step in expressing a taboo thought. You may be surprised by the sudden emergence of friends you never expected. And do not forget that being called a “racist” is not the end of the world. In fact, it is likely to be a sure sign that you are saying something worthwhile.

In the meantime, American Renaissance will try to get on the air as often as possible, and you may be able to help us. There are sure to be talk show hosts in your area who would be interested in AR’s point of view. They have to find guests day after day, and they know that race is a vitally important subject. The rioting that followed the verdict in the trial of Rodney King only confirms how important race is. Please send an issue of AR to the station and ask them to contact us.

You can be sure that even though you may not know them, many people in your area think as you do, and would be delighted to hear someone talk sense about race for a change. You are not alone.