Talk:John Derbyshire/Archive 4

Virginia Tech massacre
The day after the killing of 32 students in the Virginia Tech massacre, Derbyshire was criticized for commenting on the lack of immediate action against the shooter. Derbyshire wrote in National Review's Corner blog:

Where was the spirit of self-defense here? Setting aside the ludicrous campus ban on licensed conceals, why didn't anyone rush the guy? It's not like this was Rambo, hosing the place down with automatic weapons. He had two handguns for goodness' sake—one of them reportedly a .22. At the very least, count the shots and jump him reloading or changing hands. Better yet, just jump him. Handguns aren't very accurate, even at close range. I shoot mine all the time at the range, and I still can't hit squat. I doubt this guy was any better than I am. And even if hit, a .22 needs to find something important to do real damage—your chances aren't bad.

In response, former National Review writer John Podhoretz commented harshly on Derbyshire's assessment:

"The notion that a human being or group of human beings holding no weapon whatever should somehow 'fight back' against someone calmly executing other people right in front of their eyes is ludicrous beyond belief, irrational beyond bounds, and tasteless beyond the limits of reason. 'Why didn't anyone rush the guy?' Derb asks. Gee, I don't know. Because he was executing people? Because if you rush a guy with a gun, he shoots you in the head the way he executed the teachers in each classroom?" }} This section excised as being noncontextual and not helpful to the biography. Placed here if somebody wishes to use the sourcing. Ray Talk 05:17, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

Excellent work you guys. The article looks a *lot* better since I recommended it for deletion :).Jarhed (talk) 20:48, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion
(updated) John Derbyshire is well known among a very small non-notable group as a controversial commentator. For example of his controversial statements, his newest book is entitled "We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism" [ http://www.amazon.com/Are-Doomed-Reclaiming-Conservative-Pessimism/dp/0307409589 ]

In other words, Derbyshire makes a point of making controversial statements. For example, he has stated that women should not be allowed to vote John_Derbyshire. That is a damning statement for those who don't understand the process or freedom of political commentators in our country. Derbyshire has further demonstrated himself incapable of making statements that other people do not label "racist". In fact, such a characterization of him emerges almost everytime he comes up in discussionWikipedia_talk:Biographies_of_living_persons.

It is clear to me that this article is so controversial that it can not pass NPOV standards anytime in the near future. Since Wikipedia guidelines clearly state that the inability of an article to adhere to NPOV guidelines is grounds for deletion, I have nominated this article for deletion. For all interested editors, please post your thoughts on the article deletion page: Articles for deletion/John Derbyshire.Jarhed (talk) 02:27, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

multiple issues template
Are there any issues left that require the multiple issues template to still be there? The article looks a lot better now. Off2riorob (talk) 12:50, 21 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Looks ok to me too. I am fine with removing the templates.Jarhed (talk) 18:24, 30 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Template removed.Jarhed (talk) 06:38, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

Article by BLP subject about this article
The subject wrote an article about this article as it was in July 2009: -- JN  466  04:08, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

"Race realism"
Shouldn't this page mention Derbyshire's embrace of so-called "race realism"? 72.73.98.217 (talk) 18:31, 28 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Do you know of a reliable source that discusses it? If not, then no, it should not be mentioned.  Skomorokh   18:33, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

"Comments on women's suffrage"
Regarding this edit, it is besides the point that some of the content of the section can be verified by a primary source (i.e. the book itself). Lack of coverage in reliable secondary sources mean we have no neutral means of presenting the information in-context. Skomorokh  15:43, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

pronunciation of Derbyshire
Wikipedia is full of incorrect pronunciations. Take Derbyshire - dɑrbɨʃər. What is the evidence for this pronunciation? In British English the r's are not pronounced. I have heard Derbyshire speak on the Internet. I am pretty sure dɑrbɨʃər is not the pronunciation. /dɑ:bɨʃə/ or /dɑ:bɨʃɪə/ are what is said in English. Who puts this inaccurate rubbish into Wikipedia without checking first? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.153.186.63 (talk) 16:22, 10 April 2012 (UTC)


 * I'd agree with your comments regarding British English pronunciation (at least, for most dialects of English) - no 'r' at the end. This seems to have been added originally a couple of years ago, and the person who did it seems no longer to be contributing to Wikipedia. I think the best thing to do for now is to remove the IPA entirely, until we can find a source that tells us how John Derbyshire pronounces his name. AndyTheGrump (talk) 16:42, 10 April 2012 (UTC)