Thank you for such a thoughtful and well written article. I hope many more readers find and forward. We live in scary times and need to be aware of the damage these ideas present.
The Confederates were blinded to the fallacy of their actions by their medieval romanticism (via the novels of Sir Walter Scott, according to Mark Twain). Similarly, white supremacists are blinded to the fallacy of their actions by the fact that their preferred sources of information are supremely biased and flawed.
I wonder at times if the great Native American leaders who promised that “ The White Mans Curse” in time would end their power swiftly. Research on this subject on the internet is completely different than books that I have in my library from 1909 till 1943 tell a much different story . There are 263 reservations left in this country today . They have repeatedly experienced “ sitting in silence “ as you experience in the writing club. I think there is a type of fear that takes place when you try to voice the truth against a greater number courageous individuals who try to stand up are always shut out we see this today over and over. It takes one word to make that change it’s “ Unite”
I think if we speak we find there are a lot more allies than we ever imagined. I've been seeing that momentum slowly build over the years. Thanks for the comment Carin!
My indigenous neighbor in Alaska would threaten to get his cousins and go beat up some Inuit kids at the BIA school. I asked him why didn't he get together with the kids from the school and beat up some white people? This was hypothetical/hyperbole, of course but at age 12 I thought the mindset was flawed. 🤷♀️
History is on your side, however, voting can prevent a white supremacist from becoming president. Yes, the evil will not go away, however we have a choice. VOTE!
The human race will probably survive (and probably with much greater mingling of DNA than the White Supremacists imagined even in their worst nightmares) but I agree that it shouldn't be as hard as it is every time we have to deal with a new generation of those who keep missing the memo.
I'm not sure I agree with your premise that white supremacy inevitably collapses under incompetent leadership. It seems to me that white supremacy survives because of social conditioning that subconsciously tells all American Caucasians that social structures and institutions are set up to treat them preferentially and assures them that they will always be shielded from real competition from different looking "others."
This is unbearable propagandist confusion. My grandparents had to get reprogrammed in Brazil after the Nazi’s were stopped. 98% of this population will be lucky to not face execution or exile for their active participation in dumbing down, censoring and poisoning the population.
American’s you still do not understand you have international protected human rights. This govt and you 4% of the worlds population. Reminds me of Napoleon small man complex America your days are so over.
Stand see the evil for what it is, 70 years of murder, mayhem, pirating and pillaging its over.
In fifth grade I joined Mrs. Marion's after school civics club, and never lost interest in civics. Of course, I became a history buff, a political junkie, and civic leader. But I was 42 years old when I finally ran for local office. Oddly enough, that little campaign taught me more about politics than everything I'd ever read about or heard before. Walter, you simply have to try it for yourself to understand what happens in there.
Inside politics, where politicians are competing for office, everything is driven by violent emotions - the kill or be killed kind of emotions - and holding on to your principles in there is a f-cking herculean task. The only thing that held me together, was a team of serious and accomplished people who were determined to put me in office and keep me there long enough to turn around our little community's 20 year long downhill spiral. IOW, I did not run alone, I was merely the face of the project that we'd all been involved in for over 10 years. I lost that election, but all of us learned more from losing than we ever would have learned from winning.
Winning that election would have made it "seem" like a politician could make things right. But that was a lie, and when we called the opposition's bluff everything turned around. Can you guess what we did? Yup, we stopped participating in public affairs - we completely withdrew our voices and went silent. In a few short months, no one showed up for anything related to local government. City hall was empty and council members sat there alone. No one volunteered for anything at all. The once vibrant, sometimes two full pages, of letters to the editor section of our newspaper died.
Our mistake had been our failure to realize that we'd been doing all the work, all the research, all the brainstorming, all the outreach, etc., so when we left the scene, those who'd been elected had nothing - absolutely nothing. The next time I ran for local office, I won by well over 60% of the vote. The lesson had been learned.
After that experience, whenever I make a decision on who I will vote for, I am looking at the people candidates surround themselves with, far more than the candidates themselves. A candidate's team tells me exactly what kind of people the candidates value, and who they need and want around them.
Trump's dependency on his daughter and keeping her in close proximity was a HUGE warning sign of a very troubled man. Usually, presidents do everything they can to protect their family, but not Trump. Trump dragged his daughter into his presidency and clung to her like she was a frigging life raft. By happily playing her part, Ivanka enabled her husband, Jared Kushner, to hide behind her skirts, doing his dirty deeds in the Middle East.
When Trump lost re-election, his daughter and Kushner left him to fend for himself all by himself. In hindsight, Ivanka used Trump's dependency on her, to cut ties to her father, and establish her own empire. Trump was left with two sons he does not respect or like, and a wife who does not like or respect him. IOW, Donald Trump is a lonely man who spends most of his time in the company of social media - just like his most ardent followers.
Well said Walter, it’s an interesting dynamic to observe human interaction that compels some to exert their will over others while others submit… your example of the writers club scenario was quite helpful for today’s situation across the national scene
I would certainly like to think it's possible for White Supremacy to die, but I'm skeptical. There are centuries of history here and elsewhere. Lust for power is uniquely human and deeply ingrained. What gives me hope is the end of Apartheid in South Africa. I think it's our best modern-day example of reversal in a power structure. Thanks for your optimism!
I'll be writing about this more in the next week. The secret is in addressing the pillars of white supremacy that are considered untouchable. If you think about it, I bet you can guess what they are.
Thank you for such a thoughtful and well written article. I hope many more readers find and forward. We live in scary times and need to be aware of the damage these ideas present.
Thank you Carolyn!
The Confederates were blinded to the fallacy of their actions by their medieval romanticism (via the novels of Sir Walter Scott, according to Mark Twain). Similarly, white supremacists are blinded to the fallacy of their actions by the fact that their preferred sources of information are supremely biased and flawed.
Outstanding commentary and "truth"
Thank you Greg!
I wonder at times if the great Native American leaders who promised that “ The White Mans Curse” in time would end their power swiftly. Research on this subject on the internet is completely different than books that I have in my library from 1909 till 1943 tell a much different story . There are 263 reservations left in this country today . They have repeatedly experienced “ sitting in silence “ as you experience in the writing club. I think there is a type of fear that takes place when you try to voice the truth against a greater number courageous individuals who try to stand up are always shut out we see this today over and over. It takes one word to make that change it’s “ Unite”
I think if we speak we find there are a lot more allies than we ever imagined. I've been seeing that momentum slowly build over the years. Thanks for the comment Carin!
My indigenous neighbor in Alaska would threaten to get his cousins and go beat up some Inuit kids at the BIA school. I asked him why didn't he get together with the kids from the school and beat up some white people? This was hypothetical/hyperbole, of course but at age 12 I thought the mindset was flawed. 🤷♀️
FELICES WHITE SUPREMACY IS DOOMED TO CLUMBLE UNDER
History is on your side, however, voting can prevent a white supremacist from becoming president. Yes, the evil will not go away, however we have a choice. VOTE!
Every one of us should care and vote! Blue waves! Thanks for writing!
The human race will probably survive (and probably with much greater mingling of DNA than the White Supremacists imagined even in their worst nightmares) but I agree that it shouldn't be as hard as it is every time we have to deal with a new generation of those who keep missing the memo.
Well said !!!!!!!
I'm not sure I agree with your premise that white supremacy inevitably collapses under incompetent leadership. It seems to me that white supremacy survives because of social conditioning that subconsciously tells all American Caucasians that social structures and institutions are set up to treat them preferentially and assures them that they will always be shielded from real competition from different looking "others."
Go read W.E.B. Dubois
I have read him. He published The Souls of Black Folk in 1903. That's 121 years ago, Walter. How much has actually changed since then?
This is unbearable propagandist confusion. My grandparents had to get reprogrammed in Brazil after the Nazi’s were stopped. 98% of this population will be lucky to not face execution or exile for their active participation in dumbing down, censoring and poisoning the population.
American’s you still do not understand you have international protected human rights. This govt and you 4% of the worlds population. Reminds me of Napoleon small man complex America your days are so over.
Stand see the evil for what it is, 70 years of murder, mayhem, pirating and pillaging its over.
FELICES HWITE SUPREMACY IS DOOMED TO CRUMBLE LINDER
In fifth grade I joined Mrs. Marion's after school civics club, and never lost interest in civics. Of course, I became a history buff, a political junkie, and civic leader. But I was 42 years old when I finally ran for local office. Oddly enough, that little campaign taught me more about politics than everything I'd ever read about or heard before. Walter, you simply have to try it for yourself to understand what happens in there.
Inside politics, where politicians are competing for office, everything is driven by violent emotions - the kill or be killed kind of emotions - and holding on to your principles in there is a f-cking herculean task. The only thing that held me together, was a team of serious and accomplished people who were determined to put me in office and keep me there long enough to turn around our little community's 20 year long downhill spiral. IOW, I did not run alone, I was merely the face of the project that we'd all been involved in for over 10 years. I lost that election, but all of us learned more from losing than we ever would have learned from winning.
Winning that election would have made it "seem" like a politician could make things right. But that was a lie, and when we called the opposition's bluff everything turned around. Can you guess what we did? Yup, we stopped participating in public affairs - we completely withdrew our voices and went silent. In a few short months, no one showed up for anything related to local government. City hall was empty and council members sat there alone. No one volunteered for anything at all. The once vibrant, sometimes two full pages, of letters to the editor section of our newspaper died.
Our mistake had been our failure to realize that we'd been doing all the work, all the research, all the brainstorming, all the outreach, etc., so when we left the scene, those who'd been elected had nothing - absolutely nothing. The next time I ran for local office, I won by well over 60% of the vote. The lesson had been learned.
After that experience, whenever I make a decision on who I will vote for, I am looking at the people candidates surround themselves with, far more than the candidates themselves. A candidate's team tells me exactly what kind of people the candidates value, and who they need and want around them.
Trump's dependency on his daughter and keeping her in close proximity was a HUGE warning sign of a very troubled man. Usually, presidents do everything they can to protect their family, but not Trump. Trump dragged his daughter into his presidency and clung to her like she was a frigging life raft. By happily playing her part, Ivanka enabled her husband, Jared Kushner, to hide behind her skirts, doing his dirty deeds in the Middle East.
When Trump lost re-election, his daughter and Kushner left him to fend for himself all by himself. In hindsight, Ivanka used Trump's dependency on her, to cut ties to her father, and establish her own empire. Trump was left with two sons he does not respect or like, and a wife who does not like or respect him. IOW, Donald Trump is a lonely man who spends most of his time in the company of social media - just like his most ardent followers.
Well said Walter, it’s an interesting dynamic to observe human interaction that compels some to exert their will over others while others submit… your example of the writers club scenario was quite helpful for today’s situation across the national scene
I would certainly like to think it's possible for White Supremacy to die, but I'm skeptical. There are centuries of history here and elsewhere. Lust for power is uniquely human and deeply ingrained. What gives me hope is the end of Apartheid in South Africa. I think it's our best modern-day example of reversal in a power structure. Thanks for your optimism!
I'll be writing about this more in the next week. The secret is in addressing the pillars of white supremacy that are considered untouchable. If you think about it, I bet you can guess what they are.
Thanks for the in-depth history lesson of the many examples of hate groups crumbling. I sure hope you're right for this time as well.