An Open Letter From a Black Man to White America's Dying White Working Class and Poor
Posted by chaunceydevega at 2:01 PM
I believe that she may have been exaggerating. But her observation does get to something real about the way white privilege manifests. Research suggests that the average white American has no basic idea about how white racism and white supremacy impact the day-to-day lives and life chances of non-whites. In fact, social psychology experiments have shown that white folks believe that not having access to television is a far greater hardship than being black. This absurdity is compounded by the belief, demonstrated in recent surveys, that in the Age of Obama, “discrimination” against white people is now a bigger problem in the United States than racism against people of color.
In all, white privilege is a system that gives unearned advantages to white people because of their perceived racial group membership. Those unearned advantages in turn nurture and cultivate a deficit in coping skills. (This is not a function of race, but rather of power. Men likely have worse life coping skills relative to women, and straight people less so than those in the LGBT community.) This should not be a surprise. White America was built upon stolen land, income, labor and wealth, taken from First Nations, African-Americans and other people of color. More recently, the modern white American middle class was created through transfer payments and government subsidies such as the G.I. Bill and VA/FHA housing programs, opportunities that were systematically denied to black and brown Americans. Racism (and sexism) in the American labor force meant that jobs which earned a living wage were deemed the near exclusive province of white men.
And now white people — and white working class men in particular — are suffering an identity crisis, as their perceived birthright is being taken away from them.
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White America is hurting. White America is in a panic — stirred up by know-nothing nativists like Donald Trump, the bigotry and resentment-based politics of the Republican Party, as well as the eliminationist anxieties produced by the right-wing media. I worry that, as horses in a fire, that White America will run back into the burning barn instead of running out to the freedom that awaits them should they ever try at meaningful alliances with people of color.
Read More http://www.chaunceydevega.com/2015/11/an-open-letter-from-black-man-to-white.html
Please read it all, Chauncey DeVega is spot on here. I could only post so much and it does not even begin to tell the story.
Soon we will no longer be a White America and I embrace that. We will be colorful and diverse. I find that change beautiful. My family started as German Swiss Irish and a few other nationalities thrown into the pot. We are mixed now. We added Japanese Hispanic and African to the mix. The children grow more beautiful with every generation.
= new reply since forum marked as read
"This is not a function of race, but rather of power. Men likely have worse life coping skills relative to women, and straight people less so than those in the LGBT community.)
This should not be a surprise. White America was built upon stolen land, income, labor and wealth, taken from First Nations, African-Americans and other people of color.
More recently, the modern white American middle class was created through transfer payments and government subsidies such as the G.I. Bill and VA/FHA housing programs, opportunities that were systematically denied to black and brown Americans.
Racism (and sexism) in the American labor force meant that jobs which earned a living wage were deemed the near exclusive province of white men
White men in distress that is.
I'm not being snarky.
Just a few years ago the military decided to study how black women cope (we have the lowest suicide rates) with stress - financial, emotional, external family pressures, etc etc to see how they can lower the suicide rate in the military and among veterans.
We are quite simply - the most resilient and strong in America.
Last week? Two weeks ago? I read a poster lamenting about the potential of a certin candidate as President to send her son off to war. She was clear - candidate X wouldn't put her son in that position because he economy would give him no option but to join the military. . . and this was something POC should be able to relate to since it was a known issue in the black community. No options other thsn the military. She's right - our sons, fathers, brothers etc etc have had this as an option since Truman desegregated the military.
Yet - to quote Falkner - They endured.
Middle America NOW it's a tragedy now it's so sad to see this happening - to quote Marshall Mathers. 
Huggage time!
Needed that. 
Lol~ I have to sleep. I have to go work in four hours!
