Toni Morrison: Fear Of Losing White Privilege Led To Trumps Election

[CousinIT]

Toni Morrison has written a powerful essay in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States, and it gets right to the heart of why Trump won.

In a piece titled “Mourning For Whiteness” from the November 21 print issue of the New Yorker (published online Monday), the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist argues that Trump won due to the terror of privileged white men in the face of a rapidly diversifying country.

“Under slave laws, the necessity for color rankings was obvious, but in America today, post-civil-rights legislation, white people’s conviction of their natural superiority is being lost,” Morrison writes.

“There are ‘people of color’ everywhere, threatening to erase this long-understood definition of America. And what then? Another black President? A predominantly black Senate? Three black Supreme Court Justices? The threat is frightening.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/toni-morrison-fear-of-losing-white-privilege-led-to-trumps-election_us_58330ee2e4b058ce7aac0964?

[Barack_America]

1. Absolutely. It's that, and one more thing...

...continued conflict regarding gender roles. Specifically, the inability of men to "provide" for their families, combined with the increased earning potential of women, relative to men.

This is the likely reason for the amounts of women and minorities who voted for Trump in supposedly surprising numbers. These individuals felt they were voting for the return of male earning potential.

[bigtree]

2. this was an interesting perspective on the loss

... it's interesting how this same narrative can be written (and has been) from several povs, depending on your race, ethnicity, or gender.

Morrison gives a very stark and unforgiving account which I'm certain is very valid to her own experience, as well as to the history she cites in the essay.

[Lotusflower70]

3. Move forward, step backwards

There is always backlash when there is progress.