The Pandemic of Anti-White Negativity
Ever since 2016, when MTV aired an ill-conceived video titled “New Years’ Resolutions for White Guys,” it seems to have become fashionable for journalists, bloggers and activists to disparage white people. Among other ways, this manifests itself in accusations of systemic racism and white privilege, along with the widespread enthusiasm for “racial equity” and, in general, the constant blame against whites for the problems of others. Indeed, much of the crowd trumpeting social justice appears driven, in no small part, by this festering, pathological rage against whites.
Case in point: this very outlet, Medium, is riddled with stories taking a confrontational and judgmental — dare I say racist? — tone towards whites. Here are just a few of the titles that convey this tone:
“Dear White Women: Here’s Why It’s Hard to Be Friends With You”
“Have I Bought into ‘Whiteness’?: A Candid Look at Interracial Relationships”
“Dear White People: Where Is Your Home Training?”
“Black People Cannot Be Racist; Victimization is an ugly color on white people”
“America Has a White Male Problem — And It’s Not The One We Think”
“Can White People Stop Asking Me to Google Things for Them?”
Mind you, sometimes these stories are written by white people themselves, which indicates perhaps an even worse problem: whites are being persuaded to assume undue self-guilt over the difficulties of their non-white neighbors.
That’s not to mention the monopolization of the word “racism.” In common parlance, anyone can be racist, just like if a non-white person came up to me and called me a cracker. But according to the “woke” redefinition that person would not be guilty of racism, but only of the supposedly-softer sin of prejudice. One need not be a lexicographer to see the convenience this serves for someone with an ax to grind against white people who wants to dodge any possible fault for racism.
But all this is just the tip of the iceberg. Whites are being denied or pushed out of positions if they don’t satisfy certain representation goals, or if they don’t fall in line with the “woke” racial narrative. This happened to the senior curator of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He was pressured to resign by a group of petitioners who accused him of “white supremacy” after he said that, in featuring a more diverse array of artists, the museum would still continue to feature white artists. A similar incident occurred in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where a white teacher was mistreated and ultimately terminated from his position on account of his race. In the name of equity, organizations and people in leadership roles are daring to discriminate against white people. Just recently, Lori Lightfoot, to mark her two years as mayor of Chicago, only allowed non-white journalists to interview her. Her excuse was the lack of diversity — in her words, the “overwhelming whiteness” — of the Chicago news media, which she said was institutionally racist. What if, instead, the dominance of whites in Chicago’s news media is simply due to the talent pool of journalists being made up of mostly white people? In a lesser-known event, the Michigan State Police were exposed as having required greater exam scores for white men in order to be promoted to sergeant; for them, a score of 92+ was required versus 73+ for women and/or non-whites.
For a long time, I’ve felt betrayed over the fact that, despite me having never regarded my non-white neighbors as inherently different from me, there is such ill sentiment and disregard for people like me. However, I’ve learned to not let this feeling of betrayal affect me as deeply. Indeed, one would expect those who stand against segregation’s legacy to be above promoting it in a new form.
But the conscience of humanity is extremely fickle. History testifies to that fact with countless examples and it’s no different today, hence the continuing need for all of us — white, black or otherwise — to safeguard our rights against the rise of tyranny— yes, even by arming ordinary citizens.
There are valid ideas that can be gleaned from this heightened social vigilance. There are ways to promote diversity in the workplace without discriminating against certain candidates for a job. And qualified immunity for police officers is something that must be changed. I’d even argue that it should be abolished.
Perhaps much of this recently-pronounced bitterness against whites is understandable, though far from justified, in light of what this country has seen from the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent article by the Foundation of Economic Education (FEE) details how employment for low-wage and middle-wage workers had, as of last March, remained lower than before the pandemic struck. Low-wage workers were hit especially hard, while employment for high-wage workers actually increased slightly. According to an analysis by CNBC, blacks and Latinos have seen the steepest declines in employment due to COVID-19, with whites and Asians seeing less severe declines. Research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis notes that in 2019, the year before the virus struck the US, white families had considerable financial advantage compared to black and Latino families. Much of the rhetoric from those expressing support for “racial equity” seems to conflate race and class, even if not intentionally. These economic disparities between racial groups may explain why that is.
Any significant disparity in advantage between social groups is likely to foster resentment on the part of the less-advantaged groups, which in turn gives rise to anger and disregard towards the better-off groups — in this case, white Americans. As F. W. de Klerk once noted, “Peace does not fare well where poverty and deprivation reign.”
Most people in this country do not support preventing disadvantaged groups from improving their circumstances. But there are right ways and wrong ways to address our disparities, and the fact that they exist does not justify animosity towards people from groups who, as a whole, are faring better. I tend to see this wave of heavy-handed “wokeness” in our country as akin to the McCarthyism of the mid-20th century. As with any wave of undue suspicion and discontent towards others, we can hope that the passion driving it will eventually give way to reason and understanding.