Gospel Coalition Treats Blacks Like Children (Ameen Hudson on Code Switching)

All right, so I was in the middle of doing a very positive video about the people that I recommend you take a look at their content in 2021 and all that kind of stuff.

It was a very positive video and I wasn't quite happy with it. So I, I stopped it about eight minutes in or so, and I was going to redo it.

Um, but then I saw this and this just seemed like a lot more fun. So this is a woke preacher clip about code switching.

Now, if you don't know what code switching is, let me, let me fill you in because I code switch myself now, um, code switching is when you, when you have a certain way that you speak a certain dialect, a certain way that you speak

English with, you know, with your normal self, like when you're hanging out with your boys or something like that.

And then when you're in an official kind of capacity, like let's just say you're in a job interview or something like something of that nature, like it doesn't have to be a job interview, but it, but it can be anything like that.

A business transaction, something more official. You switch how you speak.

So like in real life, you might be like, yo dog, what up son? And then when you're in, in a bank, you go, well, let me just, uh, get my, my briefcase out and like, you know, that's an exaggeration obviously, but, but, but that's, that's the, that's the idea of code switching.

Now, now, um, this is something that I, I, I personally do. Um, when

I'm hanging out with my family, my Puerto Rican family, I'll talk a certain way. Um, and when

I'm on the phone trying to do a business deal, I'll talk a different way. Um, when I'm preaching, um, from the pulpit, sometimes

I'll talk a different way and all that kind of stuff. And, and, and this is just kind of normal.

Like this is something that, that many, many people do. Not everybody does this, but many people do do this.

Like there's just a way that you talk differently to different, you know, audiences. Um, and I think it's totally appropriate.

I think it's totally normal. It's a common human experience, but for some reason the woke church makes this to be the worst thing ever.

It's like the most severe form of oppression. Now, if you remember the very first time

I encountered somebody woke, at least that I can remember was in college. I've told this story many times where I had a teacher.

He was a black guy that was on loan from Howard University teaching me Afro Caribbean philosophy.

And he tried to convince me through very carefully chosen words and, and very interesting sounding rhetoric that I was oppressed because I speak

English. Because the very fact that I speak English means that I speak the language of my oppressor, meaning that my oppressor is greater than I and all of that kind of stuff.

Now when I was younger, I thought that was stupid. Um, but, um, and it is stupid, don't get me wrong.

But little did I know that there's a whole world of this kind of stuff. So I want to, I want to talk about this video.

This is, um, Gospel Coalition's new great podcast, As In Heaven, all about racial justice.

And it's going to talk about the extreme oppression that African Americans feel in the United States because of code switching.

Here it is. And, and I want to understand more about it. All right,

I'm back. I'm back. I just had to get it in my ear so that you wouldn't hear the echo and all that kind of stuff. Anyway. So here we go.

Uh, as in heaven, Amin Hudson about code switching. And I want to understand more about your heart and your soul when you code switch at a heart level.

Why are you doing that? What do you, what do you think you're trying to accomplish or accommodating or I just want to know more about what that feels like.

All right. Let me stop and give him a fair treatment here because I can tell you very easily how

I'll answer to this. And obviously I'm not woke. So this is a perspective of someone who isn't trying to blame everybody else for my problems.

This doesn't have a victim mindset or at least were actively works to suppress his own victim mindset because I think some of us,

I mean all of us have at some level of victim mindset and I think it's a sin to be mortified, to be, to be perfectly honest with you.

So here's why I code switch. I code switch because I want to be understood.

I want to be understood and because I want to accomplish certain goals. So when

I speak to a perspective client and we're talking about a $60 ,000 deal, right?

Um, I, I don't want to talk to that client in such a way where they question my competence, right?

And so when I'm talking to my boys about the latest jets game or something like that, or if I'm talking to my, my cousins or my family or something like that, or even if I'm like talking to you on, on YouTube, um, there are certain ways of talking that I don't think will be very helpful in closing that $65 ,000 deal.

And so I want to be understood and I have a certain goal to accomplish. I want to come across when

I'm talking to a perspective client as, as competent as I possibly can. And I understand that there are certain parts of my dialect that I might use in everyday life that would not be, uh, effective for that certain goal.

You understand what I'm trying to say? Likewise, if I'm, if I'm a street preaching and I'm in the inner city or something like that, there's going to be,

I'm going to code switch there as well because there's going to be certain parts of my speech that if I were to say it to a perspective client that I'm going to do a $65 ,000 business deal with, it would be helpful, but it wouldn't necessarily be helpful in the streets.

You know what I mean? Like, like that's, I'm going to code switch there. So there's two reasons I code switch one.

I want to be understood and I understand that not everybody knows what I'm saying when I say fam, right? And number two,

I have a certain goal in mind and not every dialect that I could use is effective for that goal.

It's just a matter of being understood and accomplishing certain goals. That's why I code switch. Now let's hear what a victim mindset person says about why they code switch.

I think that, I think that it feels like being black in America. Um, I think that would, that's why

I mentioned the boys is double consciousness because when we, when, when, when we're code switching, we recognize that the dominant culture by and large historically does not recognize

AAVE as a language or as a dialect of intelligence. So we have to learn how to speak essentially two different languages or dialects so that we can actually be respected in certain circles.

So I know that when, when, when I'm on that phone, that I'm not going to be taken seriously if I'm not speaking in a way in which is in, in, in my, in the general

American English that is actually a given the social capital of respect and intelligence, right?

What a victim. I mean, he has to change how he speaks depending on his audience. I mean, this is, this is extreme oppression.

Obviously. I mean, this is, this is the kind of thing that we need to change our whole paradigms for. You know what I mean? Like we absolutely have to repent of the sin of forcing poor

Amin here to change his dialect depending on the situation he finds himself in. Let me tell you a little story.

Let me tell you a little story. I used to work in New York and one of the administrators, she reminded me very much of Carrie from the

King of Queens. She spoke like Carrie. She had the same mannerisms as Carrie and on all of that and actually found out later in life that there's a very good reason for that because Carrie, the, the actual actress,

I forget her name. She's from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and this girl was from Bensonhurst as well.

So they're very Italian and they just had a way of speaking. It was a very

Brooklyn accent. You know what I mean? Coffee, all that kind of stuff, right? And that's how this, this girl spoke.

And she realized one day that, and I think it was because there was a King of Queens episode about this.

She realized one day that if she wanted to get promoted, she would have to start answering the phone with a different dialect, a different, she'd have to code switch a little bit.

And so she altered how she spoke in order to get a promotion. She thought that would be helpful to get a promotion and it actually turned out to be very helpful because all of a sudden the directors and presidents of the company that we both worked for were able to have her on the phone with someone that was a little bit more higher up in a client company or something like that.

They could, they felt like they could trust her communication skills to be effective in that way. See, communication skills are actually very valuable as a skill.

It's a very valuable skillset to learn because someone who can communicate well can probably sell pretty well.

And that's a very valuable skillset to have. And so she ended up getting a promotion. She ended up making a lot more money and I'm pretty sure,

I could be wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure there's a King of Queens episodes where this exact thing happens with Carrie.

She has to change how she speaks. She has to learn how to not say coffee and say coffee, you know, that kind of thing.

And she ended up getting a promotion, I think, as well. And just so you know, this girl was white, okay, white.

And so if this is oppression, I mean, what are we all talking about here?

This is the oppression that we're talking about. We're talking about the fact that Amin has to change how he speaks depending on who he's talking to.

I mean, every person in the universe does this. I just don't understand. Different dialects, different styles of speaking.

I mean, it's just the way I speak to, again, the way I speak to my boys, the way I speak to you on YouTube is probably not appropriate for a business transaction.

You know what I mean? If I get all uppity and heated and stuff like that, it's probably not the best presentation for a prospective client, depending on what the business is, of course.

So this is the oppression? This is what fighting for your dignity is like?

Code switching? Let's let him finish because maybe there's more. There must be more to this.

So I have to know how to, I have to, in my mind, I'm like, okay, I got to pull out my best

English, general American English for this conversation because they have to think that I'm capable.

They have to think that I'm smart. And it's a terrible - Yeah, you have to do that. Because the thing is,

I'm writing a book right now, which by the way, guys, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be, just so you know.

Writing a book is a lot harder than I thought it would be, and I'm having to think, okay, I have a certain audience in mind, so I want to write a certain way, and I want to make sure that it's consistent.

Because if I was writing to, I don't know, an employer, a potential employer or something,

I would write a certain way. If I was writing to pastors, I'd write a certain way. If I was writing to laymen,

I'd write a certain way. And so it's very, I'm finding it challenging to keep my audience in mind when my tone comes across.

You know, how I, the words that I choose to use, the dialect that I choose to use in the book. This is normal.

This is normal for everybody. Like yes, in order to appear smart, you have to act smart.

You have to, you have to change what you say. Like if you want to appear smart, then you can't say fa -shizzle -dizzle -wizzle -nizzle, like you can't do that.

But the thing is, just because you do speak that way doesn't mean you're not smart. Like Snoop Dogg speaks that way, but to me, he strikes me as a very intelligent person.

Dr. Dre speaks a certain way, but he strikes me as a very intelligent person. So it's not a hard and fast rule.

It doesn't mean that if you speak like an idiot, you are an idiot, but you have to understand that how you present yourself, how your communication, that's a very important skill set.

That's not oppression though. That's just life. That's just life. I still don't understand.

It's a terrible way to have to live because you are, in a sense, fighting for your dignity via language.

It's a terrible way to have to live because you are, in a sense, fighting for your dignity via language.

That's not what you're doing. You're fighting, you're, you're, I don't get it.

I don't get it. And this guy's just saying, like, it's true. It's not true. Everybody does.

This has nothing to do with being black in America. This has to do with being a human being. And learning communication skills are very important.

It's just a fact. I mean, I don't really know how to explain why that's a fact, but it just is something that I've known since I was a kid.

Ever since I was a kid, my dad didn't teach me, okay, okay, now, Adam, you have to code switch. No, but he did tell me that there's a certain way to carry yourself, there's a certain way to present yourself, have a firm handshake, right?

And part of that is, what does a firm handshake communicate? You know what

I mean? When do you need a firm handshake? When do you need a, maybe a lesser handshake? I had this one uncle who

I, I eventually, as I grew older, I stopped shaking his hand because he had this crushing handshake that he was like, almost like he was intentionally attempting to hurt you, right?

It was the worst. And like, he just had no, and I'm sure that that handshake was good and appropriate in certain situations.

You know, you're on the job site or something like that. But like, when you're seeing your, like, your little, little nephew for the, for like the one time a year at Christmas or something, like, you don't have to crush his hand, like he had no semblance of what's appropriate for what situation in a certain handshake.

Now, that's a skill you need to learn. That's a skill. You don't crush your grandmother's hand when you're shaking her hand, but it might be appropriate for the job site.

I mean, I don't, I don't really know what to say. Like, it's just hard to even understand what to say. I know I'm speaking.

I talk a lot, but it's just crazy. I don't believe that that is the way that God has intended the world to be.

That you should not have to fight for your dignity via the way that you speak. That's not

God's plan for his, his, his, his, his creation. You are, you have dignity for the fact that you are made in the image of God.

See, but you see how he sees it? You're fighting for your dignity. No, no, that's not right. But you are competing in a world of people who are likewise speaking.

So in other words, if you, if you don't understand how to compete with your communication skills, that's a problem and you need to help.

You need to help you. You need to fix that. Right? You're not fighting. When I, when I talk to a hillbilly, right, I talked to a hillbilly because I have before I happen to quite enjoy hillbillies.

When I talk to jíbaros, you know what I mean? Those are Puerto Rican hillbillies. They talk a certain way, right?

And I don't think that they have dignity if I get in my mind, but based on the way they speak, and this probably isn't that much of an intelligent person.

Like I, I don't think less of them as a human being, like intelligence isn't equal to dignity.

But the thing is like, that's important information to have and it can actually fool you because you can talk to someone who talks like a hillbilly, but is actually smarter than you are.

And that can be very problematic. You know what I mean? You could be, you could not be prepared for how intelligent someone who speaks like a hillbilly is.

See, this is the thing. Like, like it's not a hard and fast rule, but it's important information to have. It's important information to have how to code switch and dialect and what that stuff means.

It's not, you're not fighting for your dignity. See, this is the difference between a victim mindset and a mindset that looks at things slightly differently because the fact that Amin has to code switch, he, he encounters that fact and thinks, man,

I'm being oppressed. I am such a victim. This is not God's plan. This is like, this is not the way it's supposed to be.

And it's like, I look at this and like, okay, I'm code switching. Why am I doing that? I don't immediately go to,

I'm a victim. I'm a victim. I'm being oppressed. Like, why is, why is that the answer here that doesn't make any sense?

That's just an assumption. And I can, I'm giving you a valid reasons why you might feel the need to code switch or why code switching is potentially helpful and stuff like that.

That has nothing to do with being a victim, but you see, there's two ways of looking at the world. I don't think Amin ever grew out of the constant,

I'm a victim mindset that you have when you're a child. I had it when I was a child and I still have it today to a certain degree, but I'm trying to fight that victim mindset and Amin has made a career out of exploiting the victim mindset.

I mean, I guess good on him, but it's kind of pathetic. And this is what the woke church does. They just never grew up from the, from, from, from being a child when it's like,

I'm a victim all the time. My brother got a bigger cookie. My brother got a bigger piece of cake. You must hate me kind of thing.

That's a mindset that children have that parents should teach their children not to have. It's actually a very sinful self -centered mindset.

And so let's let him finish, but man, regardless of how you speak, what language you're able to master or not, how well you're able to master languages that is, that's given social capital.

That should not be something that determines how folks view your intelligence or your intellectual ability or your capability or your, or just your worth in general.

And I feel like we have lived in a world in which we were like fish in water.

We were raised in knowing that we have to code switch. It's normal for us, but it should not be normal.

I don't understand why it shouldn't be normal. I mean, again, I've done this myself and this is the thing you see how he puts a lot of stuff in there.

He's like the way you master a language should not have any indication as your intelligence and your capabilities and your dignity and worth.

Those things are not the same at all. Like you get your dignity and worth from the image that you bear, the image of God.

But that does not mean that everybody's of equal intelligence. That does not mean that everybody's equally capable.

And just because somebody is less intelligent than somebody else does not mean that they're worth less.

Do you see how he puts it all in one big, uh, in one big grouping and it's like, it's all the same.

Like your intelligence equals your dignity. I know he didn't say that, but, but the way he put it out there, it's like as if that's the state, it's not the same.

I don't look at someone who's less intelligent than me as less valuable than me.

And likewise, I don't look at someone who's more intelligent than me as more valuable than me. I just, that's not part of the process.

Right. And, and so if, if language skills and communication skills cannot be part of your intelligence level, then what can be,

I mean, what, what is part of your intelligence? Are people more or less intelligent than others? Like just by nature, like did

God make some people stupider than others? And I know I'm just using a, uh, I'm using a common word like stupid, right?

I'm code switching here, right? This is how I do it on my YouTube channel. But does, but does God make somebody less intelligent than other, does he give people different skills and capabilities?

I think the answer is obviously yes. It's obviously that yes, but what does that have to do with dignity and worth and all of that?

It has nothing to do with dignity and worth unless you make it have something to do with dignity and worth. I mean, studies have shown that, uh, that your first born is the highest

IQ. And then on average, the more children you have, they have less, lower and lower IQs.

Does that mean that your, your, your, your youngest is less valuable than your oldest? I don't think so, but, but, but what, but what, what is being said here?

I don't know. I don't know. And the thing is like, like this idea, it's so self -centered that, that, that I mean here is like, we black shouldn't have to live this way.

We have to live this way. You're not the only ones who live this way. I'm watching for the first time, uh, that Netflix documentary,

Making a Murderer, right? It's got that guy, Steven Avery, who I think did it by the way. And then

Brendan Dassey, who I'm not quite as sure about. Brendan Dassey. And these are two people, white, white men.

These are white men. And they don't strike me as that intelligent, Steven a little bit, kind of deceptively intelligent,

I think. But Brendan definitely not. And they speak like they're not that intelligent.

You understand what I'm saying? Like, like this is, and so, so, so people like that, is it, is it oppression?

Is it, is it, do they have to code switch? I mean, this is something that Woke Preacher Clip said, and I want to give him credit for this because it's the first thing

I thought of as well, Woke Preacher Clip, so good on you. He says, I disagree with almost none of this, but not, has no one ever,

TGC ever met a redneck? Don't they realize that code switching for dignity and access to economic opportunity cuts across racial lines?

I haven't seen it, but isn't this the theme of hillbilly elegy? Right, exactly right.

I just told the story about a non -hillbilly white person who had a Benson Hurst accent who had to code switch.

She had to code switch because she realized that talking like the girl from My Cousin Vinny isn't doing her any favors.

And she's white, really white. I just don't understand, man.

This is not, it's not even just an American thing. This is, everywhere has dialects and certain people get disrespected.

They got the, they got the, and Woke Preacher Clip says this again. This is something I know because I'm Puerto Rican.

It's not uniquely American thing either. He says, I remember my Dominican friends joking about how textbook Spanish is more proper than what they speak.

Right. My mom gets this all the time because my mom is Puerto Rican, but she speaks like a Spanish speaker.

And she always gets complimented and ridiculed because she gets it from both sides.

Like she gets complimented by like official Spanish people. Your Spanish is so good. You know what I mean? And then she gets ridiculed by Puerto Ricans that think she's whited out because she speaks

Spanish too well. You know what I mean? Like, like this is, this is so self -centered.

It's just so childish. It's just as blacks are so oppressed because of the code switching.

Code switching happens all the time. I think I've made my point. I think I'm done with this video.