Dave Rubin on Identity Politics and Prejudice

TRANSCRIPT FROM THIS 'DIRECT MESSAGE' WITH DAVE RUBIN:

Published on Ora TV on Jan 27th, 2016:

One of the reasons I like doing long form interviews is that I can really focus on important issues with my guests. In many cases, the issues are inextricably connected, making it easy to go from topic to topic. If we're talking about political correctness, that's an easy jump to free speech which is then another easy jump to the regressive left. Sometimes these jumps just appear when I'm not looking for them and that's when the conversations really get good. It's the spaces where you have to think that are the breeding ground to spark new ideas.

My guest this week is civil rights attorney and legal expert Areva Martin. I've done the Dr. Drew show on HLN several times with Areva and always find her to be incisive, thought-provoking and passionate. While we've appeared together several times, this will be the first time we really get to flesh out some ideas in a long form way without worrying about a commercial break.

Areva and I are going to dive into a ton of hot topics and big ideas this week. We'll discuss everything from the Black Lives Matter movement, to the war on drugs, to the Oscars So White controversy. As a Harvard educated black woman who founded and manages her own very successful law firm, I don't think I could find a better person to tackle so many important issues with than Areva. Ah, see what I did there, I just played some identity politics, didn't I? Areva happens to be black and happens to be a woman, but in reality, how is that important to our conversation? Actually, I don't really think it is. I assume some of her views are based on her own personal experiences, but what I care about are her ideas, not the color of her skin or her gender.

We have to get over the idea that by looking at someone you can figure out what they're about. I literally could not care less about someone's skin color, their religion, or their sexuality. What I care about is their ideas. What do they believe? Why do the believe it? Are they right? Are they wrong? What kind of world are they trying to create? That is simply all that matters to me.

There are black conservatives out there. There are Mexican libertarians. There are lesbian Christians, and there are cis-gendered, blue haired, video game playing, bisexual Quakers. And if you care about all those labels more than the ideas that the people themselves believe in, then you are part of the problem. If you truly care about minorities then you have to care about the minorities within those minorities. If you truly care about diversity then you have to acknowledge diversity within diversity itself.

We should be defined by what we believe, not prejudged by peoples assumptions. As a wise man once said, when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.