I had a thought spurred by something I just read – a black actor suggested that he’d want to sit down with Rudy Guilliani to discuss his most recent racist outburst: “black parents should teach their children to be respectful to the police”. Lessons on how to model respect in the home probably shouldn’t come from a guy who is a known philanderer and humiliated his ex-wife by going to public events with his mistress. 

That notwithstanding, and not addressing the blanket nature of his statement, I will say simply this: I would sit with someone who is naive and spend a time trying to help them develop a greater understanding of an issue; whereas, I would NEVER sit with someone like Guilliani. I wouldn’t shake his hand for $100,000. He is ignorant, but not naive. What could he possibly not understand at this stage and at his age? His ignorance is willful. He is not naive. 

The statement on face, is not at all unreasonable, but in context and with the presumptive implications at play, it is nothing short of ridiculous. To be naive is to be ignorant of facts, which feels fairly agnostic; to be ignorant in a willful way is to be ignorant on a deeply personal and philosophical level and speaks, more to character in my opinion.