America's dialogue on race has become a maddening monologue

Roger Kimball, editor of The New Criterion, recently told Fox News' Carlson that the four freshman congresswomen who make up the Squad should stop using the term "people of color" because it's a "racist phrase." Besides, he said, "everyone has a color."

True enough. And lately, a lot of voices on the right are showing theirs. They're all too happy -- at every opportunity -- to tap into the angst of white Americans who feel forgotten, pushed aside and marginalized.

The opportunists include Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who recently said this to Vice News about the Squad: "You know, they talk about people of color. I'm a person of color. I'm white. I'm an Anglo Saxon."

This is weird. My parents, who were born in the 1940s, were beat over the head with the idea that they were the wrong color. Mexican American mothers rubbed lemon juice on their children's faces because it was rumored to lighten the skin.

Now some white folks seem bored with their own privilege, and they want to be thought of as "people of color." Who can keep up?

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, R-Mass., recently told minorities who want to run for office that they had better "represent."

Speaking at the Netroots Nation convention, the Squad member said: "We don't need any more brown faces that don't want to be a brown voice. We don't need black faces that don't want to be a black voice. ... If you're worried about being marginalized and stereotyped, please don't even show up."

Preach. People of color do not all think alike. But what good does it do to have a Latino or African American elected official who cashes in on a cushy job but downplays part of his or her biography? Not much.

I have bad news. Our national conversation on race has turned into an incoherent rant. Deciphering it will require more dialogue, not less.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.