White “progressives” almost invariably depict blacks as victims — oppressed people lacking in personal agency. Erec Smith offers his thoughts about that in an excellent Quillette essay.

Smith writes:

Agency is a good thing, but when applied to the politics of pity, it is something that simply isn’t available to black students. The politics of black pity may be a significant cause of what Martin Seligman and Steven Maier have called “learned helplessness.” This is how contemporary manifestations of the politics of pity put forth by teachers, administrators, and politicians “play the mischief” with black Americans.

Smith concludes with a challenge:

Because it has been normalized in so many contexts, the politics of pity may be invisible to you. Ultimately, ask yourself if your ideas about racial justice are the result of a respect for one’s fellow citizens regardless of race, or are they the result of compulsory pity? If the former, you are contributing to a solution to racism. If the latter, you are part of the problem.

Read the whole thing.