America's Problem is That (over 50% of) White People Want It to Be a Failed State...

[LymphocyteLover]

Last edited Fri Nov 6, 2020, 12:11 PM - Edit history (1)

Because they keep voting for Republicans.

Hard to argue with the logic in this piece:

White Americans can be relied on, in the majority, as a group, to “vote Republican.” I put it in quotes because it’s worth examining what that anodyne statement really means. Liberal, sane, thoughtful White Americans often overestimate how many of them there are, how widespread their cause is. The result is that when I say “Americans are…” meaning of course the majority, which is still white, I get a wave of protest. Americans aren’t dumb! Americans aren’t dumb! They’re not violent, stupid racists! They want to live in a modern society! Are they, do they — at least the white majority? Let’s take a brief and hard look at reality.

Here are some things white Americans have been for, as a group, in their majority. Segregation. Endless war. Inequality. Billionaires. Capital. Guns and religion as primary social values. That is what the voting pattern above means. Conversely, here are some thing white Americans have been against, as a group, in their majority. Desegregation. Civil rights. Womens’ rights. Their own healthcare, retirement, and childcare. Public goods of any kind whatsoever. That is what the “voting pattern” above means in the real world. Need I go on? America’s problem is that white Americans as a social group, its majority social group, want America to be a failed state. They don’t want to live in a modern, civilised democracy, and never have.

White America is America’s problem. A big, white, ignorant problem. The problem of the white American voter — that white Americans don’t want to admit — goes back more than half a century at this point. If the answer is “Make America Great Again!” then the question is: “well, who brought it this point of self-destruction?” and the answer is….white Americans. They’re the ones responsible for the self-destruction of the society they still rule as a massive majority. Nobody else is responsible for their poverty, despair, and humiliation but them. That is what the chart above makes crystal clear.

Who voted, over and over again, to have worse lives? No healthcare, retirement, affordable education, childcare — no public goods of any kind whatsoever? White Americans did. What the? The question baffles the world. Why would anyone choose a worse life? The answer is that white Americans would not accept a society of true equals. “I won’t pay for those dirty, filthy peoples’ educations, healthcare, retirements! Why, their grandparents were my grandpappy’s slaves!” White Americans chose to retain power, supremacy, superiority, even in a failing society. They chose staying on top of decline and ruin, rather than prospering as equals.

https://eand.co/americas-problem-is-that-white-people-want-it-to-be-a-failed-state-bac24202f32f

[msongs]

1. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. nt

[Thekaspervote]

2. True..but not all of us!

[LymphocyteLover]

6. Yes, obviously not a huge number of white folks, but the majority are

still pretty fucked up politically

[CountAllVotes]

7. +1

The author is writing about their own reality.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

3. Lyndon Johnson said it many years ago:

"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."

[eppur_se_muova]

13. And LBJ was way too right re. many of our neighbors here in the South. nt

[CountAllVotes]

4. Sounds like the author has a problem

Talking about him/her self is ye?

[LymphocyteLover]

9. the author is a brown dude

umair haque

[rzemanfl]

5. K&R. n/t

[bullimiami]

8. dumbfucks. they want a failed state until it fails them. then theyll be crying.

[MomInTheCrowd]

10. Fund AM progressive radio

There is basically 0 out there

[LymphocyteLover]

11. yes, we really need this!

[Atticus]

12. Such ridiculous stereotyping and exaggeration to criticize any particular race or demographic

legitimizes the tactic for use against all others.

Not at all helpful.

[appalachiablue]

14. Build progressive radio & more to try to balance US media giants.

Umair's articles are brilliant, the case he makes is strong. But I think this is a mighty wide brush re the current atmosphere especially.

Plenty of white people are working to preserve our democracy and advance social and economic fairness, equality and progressive policies. This could have been pointed out.

[Hestia]

15. No. Stop it. This is how Dem's were divided in 2009 on - picking sides

Blue Dawgs, et al. Quit looking at skin color and come to the table to work on problems together. It's articles like this that the Putin Party picks up on and use as a wedge to divide us.

No. Just No.

[LymphocyteLover]

18. It's not about dividng Dems at all! it's about who we need to win over somehow

Did you read the piece?

[MicaelS]

16. I am a 63 yr old white male.

This piece is spot on.

[ancianita]

17. Sorry, but as an antiracist, I have to say that you

have racially tarnished a majority of white people, not just white Democrats.

You need to rethink your sweeping proclamation.

[LymphocyteLover]

19. it's the title of the piece and I didn't write it!

I put it here for discussion.

I will edit the title, though since clearly it is bothering people.

[ancianita]

20. Okay, cool. We often don't pass along

sweeping bigoted arguments.

A common sense look at numbers can smash this argument and give factual grounding to any discussion of white racism.

Start with the 250,200,000 white pop. total used by Statista, then subtract the Trump vote total, and then we can make more sense of white racism.

[LymphocyteLover]

22. I don't know-- silence is complicity

Fact is the US, run predominantly by white people, has a very troubled history on race.

[LymphocyteLover]

23. the piece says it's something unique about most whites in America

and I do think we can overcome this issue-- just need to break the code

[ancianita]

25. Agree.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

21. Too many white people think they don't NEED government.

Other than the military, police and laws to protect their property.

It was the white voters earning more than $100,000 a year who mostly voted for Trump again.

If government-supported infrastructure is allowed to keep failing, they'll act clueless about how it happened and blame government again.

[LymphocyteLover]

24. yeah, it's bonkers

[RussBLib]

26. More like 25-30% of white people

Still far too high