I have written about Goodwhites several times before, suggesting that much of the nation's polarisation comes from the scramble of a fairly large group to position themselves as the defenders (and protectors) of black people, by painting the other people as badwhites. A lot of PR energy goes in making sure that people know how many badwhites there are out there, right on the brink of power if we are not ever-vigilant. Bogey-stories abound.
Asian-Americans confuse this issue terribly, and the Goodwhites can think of no better strategy than to keep distracting attention from them."No, no, look over here. Here there are lots of sad black people and the badwhites who mistreat them. This is where your focus should be." When pressed, they maintain that all the smartest people in the country, the Asian-Americans, who know more about getting into good colleges than anyone else, are somehow being fooled and manipulated by racist whites, who will do anything to keep black people down.
Oh, so you're saying there's no racism at all in America, huh? And the next round of whack-a-mole begins.
2 comments:
It is hard to overstate the awesome power of rednecks and trailer trash in this country. The man behind the curtain is actually named Billy Bob. That's why they don't want you to read a book called, Protocols of the Uneducated Bubbas of Bucksnort.
Although I have Goodwhite tastes, I despise Goodwhite slander and defamation. I don't enjoy spending time with uneducated bubbas, but I still feel they are at the end of the day my people. They are not perfect, but they are not half as bad as Goodwhites would have us (and more especially Goodwhite clients and protectorates) think they are.
There is a scene near the end of Sinclair Lewis's Elmer Gantry in which an atheist is brutally beaten by gap-toothed Christian savages on some country road between two corn fields. When I first read it, I accepted that such things happened fairly often. When it became possible to search old newspapers electronically, I tried to find real-life examples of such beatings. I didn't find any. I'm sure some ugly things happened in this very large country, but Sinclair Lewis defamed my people when he wrote that scene.
Assistant Village Idiot: I have written about Goodwhites several times before, suggesting that much of the nation's polarisation comes from the scramble of a fairly large group to position themselves as the defenders (and protectors) of black people, by painting the other people as badwhites.
One should be cautious with dichotomies. Racial goodness (avoid racist language, have friends of color, support multicultural programs) is a continuum. Overt racism has made something of a comeback (e.g. Senator Tuberville's comments on white nationalism), but America has changed over the last half century.
None of this addresses the lingering problem of systemic racism or the importance of promoting diversity in the structures of power.
JMSmith: There is a scene near the end of Sinclair Lewis's Elmer Gantry in which an atheist is brutally beaten by gap-toothed Christian savages on some country road between two corn fields.
Not sure about atheists, but they actually made postcards of the lynching of Blacks. Invite the kids! Make it a picnic! "Mere" beatings were not likely to be reported.
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