This is brilliant, and just within the last week or so I’ve witnessed this “look what you made me do” behaviour perfectly illustrated in 1) the rift in the Unitarian Universalist church, and 2) a sourdough baking group on Facebook, of all things. Perfectly main stream indeed.
Douglas Hofstadter's piece "A Person Paper On Purity In Language" which is (horrifyingly to me!) forty years old now was my introduction to how pervasive this particular problem is - and the related issue of sexism, of course - and how easy it is to overlook things because they are considered to be normal and therefore uncontentious.
I’d charitably guess part of centrists drive to not talk about race is when you do, plenty of people reveal themselves to be racists. Probably friends, relatives, colleagues, and people Conor respects would drop some pretty blatant racism. These are people Conor believes to not be racist. When it comes up they become racist. So better not to say, that way Conor can feel he and his friends aren’t.
You know white supremacy is mainstream simply by witnessing the millions of American shouting "All Live Matter" before you can even finish the phrase BLM then hijacking the conversation to explain all the ways they definitely aren't a racist. MAGA = racist and is the exact reason it became so popular. No one loved Trump because of his healthcare plan or his position on the Farm Bill. The bigotry was and alway will be the primary appeal of the MAGA folk.
"I’m observing that white supremacy is a mainstream position: a centrist position, precisely because white supremacy is our national current, the thing that runs right down the middle of the river. "
It, like whiteness, is the default. You almost never hear the words "white" Congressional representative/CEO/person, etc, unless their whiteness is an integral part of the story. You ALWAYS hear the words Black Congressional representative/CEO/person, etc, even when it isn't at all relevant, because they're an exception to the default: male, white (and straight, and Christian).
And THAT is how you know that America is thoroughly white supremacist, and even people who don't consider themselves 'racist' are part of it.
I certainly inderstand the hesitation to give additional attention to bad tweets but I also think it is important for people to see the type of mentalities being dealt with, especially uf the person also has a platform at a high profile outlet like The Atlantic. Nice work as usual A.R.
By definition, centrism is compromise with/accommodation of white supremacy. But more than that, it is accepting the benefits of, but not the accountability for, white supremacy. For white people, this is a tremendous bargain that requires zero effort. No wonder it is the default position.
"wypipology is the anthropological examination of the customs and habits of white people. See, if you survive in America. This is my belief. For real. You have to know white people. And one of the things that I believe, too, you can’t understand racism. You can’t understand white supremacy. You really can’t understand America by studying black culture and black history because black people didn’t invent racism. White people did. Black people don’t perpetuate racism. White people do. Black people didn’t, for the most part, create the laws, the constitution, the traditions and the customs that govern our society. White people did that. And if you want to understand how that affects black people, you can’t just study black people. You have to study white people because they are the ones who created all of these disparities. They are the ones that created all of the things inside the system that we are trying to dismantle. If you want to understand how the criminal justice system work works, you can’t just study like the black people inside the criminal justice system. You got to understand why white people want us inside the criminal justice system. You got to understand why white people aren’t arrested even though they commit the same kinds of crimes. For instance, white people use drugs more than black people, but black people are arrested at three times the rate of white people for drug use. Why is that? Well, you can’t understand that by just looking at the people inside the criminal justice system. You got to look at the people who escape the problems of the criminal justice system and what makes them escape. Its whiteness. And that is why I’m a wypipologist, just because to understand America, to understand racism, to understand white supremacy, and to understand how this entire thing works, we have to dedicate ourselves not exclusively, but part of our education has to be in understanding why, when, where and how white people manipulate this entire system to their advantage."
So yes, Mr. Friedersdorf is a White supremacist. Then again, like many White males residing in privilege, the beneficiary of a lifetime of affirmative action and White person handouts, he considers himself a libertarian.
Libertarians are, of course, just garden variety conservatives in every meaningful way, but they want to be accepted by the cool smart book reading kids in college (who for some odd reason are reliably progressive). Problem is, libertarians think Ayn Rand is somehow not puerile, unintelligible verbal vomit. So the smart kids who read books bust out laughing at the socially inept (often creepy) kids who act like the smart kids are supposed to be impressed when they (the libertarian) spouts about their 'heterodox views' on feminism.
Which means, of course, he's a fascist.
Connecting some dots a few years ago:
White privilege and white entitlement give rise to white supremacy-- Whiteness as Property. (Sept. 6, 2017)
"The various normative expressions of racism— white privilege, white entitlement and white supremacy— must be viewed as both preconditions and products of the political and economic institutions of a nation that was literally founded on purely racist principles.
Prof. Cheryl Harris, writing in the Harvard Law Review, provides a comprehensive and horrifying history of the legal definition of whiteness, and how that definition served as the basis for reifying the racial political and economic hierarchy from earliest days of the US...
If we are to address the abuses and inequities of our political and economic systems, we must recognize them clearly, and understand them fully for what they are, and what they have always been: instruments for establishing and maintaining white supremacy."
This is brilliant, and just within the last week or so I’ve witnessed this “look what you made me do” behaviour perfectly illustrated in 1) the rift in the Unitarian Universalist church, and 2) a sourdough baking group on Facebook, of all things. Perfectly main stream indeed.
If Young Conor can be a racist, then anyone can be a racist...
... and that's what most angers us. We might have to look into a mirror and see ourselves without blinking.
Douglas Hofstadter's piece "A Person Paper On Purity In Language" which is (horrifyingly to me!) forty years old now was my introduction to how pervasive this particular problem is - and the related issue of sexism, of course - and how easy it is to overlook things because they are considered to be normal and therefore uncontentious.
https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~evans/cs655/readings/purity.html
I’d charitably guess part of centrists drive to not talk about race is when you do, plenty of people reveal themselves to be racists. Probably friends, relatives, colleagues, and people Conor respects would drop some pretty blatant racism. These are people Conor believes to not be racist. When it comes up they become racist. So better not to say, that way Conor can feel he and his friends aren’t.
You know white supremacy is mainstream simply by witnessing the millions of American shouting "All Live Matter" before you can even finish the phrase BLM then hijacking the conversation to explain all the ways they definitely aren't a racist. MAGA = racist and is the exact reason it became so popular. No one loved Trump because of his healthcare plan or his position on the Farm Bill. The bigotry was and alway will be the primary appeal of the MAGA folk.
I read the bad tweet and it resounded with "see what you made me do" gaslighting.
I think your deconstruction is spot on.
If I owned the Atlantic I'd have Conor read your essay and write a "what I learned" essay if he wants to keep his gig.
Just curious, is the picture of all those nice white folks from a lynching?
"I’m observing that white supremacy is a mainstream position: a centrist position, precisely because white supremacy is our national current, the thing that runs right down the middle of the river. "
It, like whiteness, is the default. You almost never hear the words "white" Congressional representative/CEO/person, etc, unless their whiteness is an integral part of the story. You ALWAYS hear the words Black Congressional representative/CEO/person, etc, even when it isn't at all relevant, because they're an exception to the default: male, white (and straight, and Christian).
And THAT is how you know that America is thoroughly white supremacist, and even people who don't consider themselves 'racist' are part of it.
Conor Friedersdoofus is such a shameless ball washer for the rich and pale. I’m pretty sure he knows exactly what he’s doing and why.
I certainly inderstand the hesitation to give additional attention to bad tweets but I also think it is important for people to see the type of mentalities being dealt with, especially uf the person also has a platform at a high profile outlet like The Atlantic. Nice work as usual A.R.
This is perfect. Thank you.
If anyone asks me why I decided to subscribe to your Substack, I’m going to direct them to this.
And I thank you for it.
“ maybe a mom screaming at a little Black girl named Ruby Dee”
pretty sure you mean Ruby Bridges
By definition, centrism is compromise with/accommodation of white supremacy. But more than that, it is accepting the benefits of, but not the accountability for, white supremacy. For white people, this is a tremendous bargain that requires zero effort. No wonder it is the default position.
"Am I saying Conor Friedersdorf is a white supremacist?
Yes. I am."
You and Michael Harriot agree (I commend his work to anyone who wants to learn anything about US history, stripped of bullshit):
"Every Wednesday is Wypipo Wednesday."
https://thegrio.com/podcasts/thegrio-daily/every-wednesday-is-wypipo-wednesday/
"wypipology is the anthropological examination of the customs and habits of white people. See, if you survive in America. This is my belief. For real. You have to know white people. And one of the things that I believe, too, you can’t understand racism. You can’t understand white supremacy. You really can’t understand America by studying black culture and black history because black people didn’t invent racism. White people did. Black people don’t perpetuate racism. White people do. Black people didn’t, for the most part, create the laws, the constitution, the traditions and the customs that govern our society. White people did that. And if you want to understand how that affects black people, you can’t just study black people. You have to study white people because they are the ones who created all of these disparities. They are the ones that created all of the things inside the system that we are trying to dismantle. If you want to understand how the criminal justice system work works, you can’t just study like the black people inside the criminal justice system. You got to understand why white people want us inside the criminal justice system. You got to understand why white people aren’t arrested even though they commit the same kinds of crimes. For instance, white people use drugs more than black people, but black people are arrested at three times the rate of white people for drug use. Why is that? Well, you can’t understand that by just looking at the people inside the criminal justice system. You got to look at the people who escape the problems of the criminal justice system and what makes them escape. Its whiteness. And that is why I’m a wypipologist, just because to understand America, to understand racism, to understand white supremacy, and to understand how this entire thing works, we have to dedicate ourselves not exclusively, but part of our education has to be in understanding why, when, where and how white people manipulate this entire system to their advantage."
So yes, Mr. Friedersdorf is a White supremacist. Then again, like many White males residing in privilege, the beneficiary of a lifetime of affirmative action and White person handouts, he considers himself a libertarian.
Libertarians are, of course, just garden variety conservatives in every meaningful way, but they want to be accepted by the cool smart book reading kids in college (who for some odd reason are reliably progressive). Problem is, libertarians think Ayn Rand is somehow not puerile, unintelligible verbal vomit. So the smart kids who read books bust out laughing at the socially inept (often creepy) kids who act like the smart kids are supposed to be impressed when they (the libertarian) spouts about their 'heterodox views' on feminism.
Which means, of course, he's a fascist.
Connecting some dots a few years ago:
White privilege and white entitlement give rise to white supremacy-- Whiteness as Property. (Sept. 6, 2017)
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/9/6/1696415/-White-privilege-and-white-entitlement-give-rise-to-white-supremacy-Whiteness-as-Property
"The various normative expressions of racism— white privilege, white entitlement and white supremacy— must be viewed as both preconditions and products of the political and economic institutions of a nation that was literally founded on purely racist principles.
Prof. Cheryl Harris, writing in the Harvard Law Review, provides a comprehensive and horrifying history of the legal definition of whiteness, and how that definition served as the basis for reifying the racial political and economic hierarchy from earliest days of the US...
If we are to address the abuses and inequities of our political and economic systems, we must recognize them clearly, and understand them fully for what they are, and what they have always been: instruments for establishing and maintaining white supremacy."