Maybe I have bitten off more than I can chew.

[Tobin S.]

I'm trying to write an article about bigotry and white culture for a web site that I write for, and it just feels like I am trying too hard. It usually takes me a couple of hours to crank out a story or an article, but I have been working on this one sporadically over the past few days. It seemed like a good idea, especially considering current events, but now I'm thinking I should just scrap it or save it for another time when I'll have a fresh perspective on it. What follows is what I have so far. Is my premise bad? Should I keep plugging away or hit save and forget about it for a while?

I think we are witnessing the beginning of the end of white supremacy. You may think we saw the end of that a long time ago, but when you consider the recent events regarding the confederate flag and the marriage equality ruling from the Supreme Court, I think you can see that white supremacy has been alive and well up to the present in the United States.

I got the idea of writing about white supremacy from a recent interview I saw of Dr. Cornel West, the famous professor and civil rights activist. He sort of mentioned it in passing during the interview; that is, that white supremacy is still with us. He did not elaborate much at the time, so I don’t know if I’m using the phrase quite the way he would use it or with the same understanding. I just want to mention where the idea of the theme of this article came from.

I know some people may think that white supremacy died for the most part a long time ago. The phrase may conjure images of the KKK, Nazis, and slavery, all things that are pretty much considered dead and gone. That kind of overt white supremacist thinking still makes a rare appearance now days as we have seen with the shooting at the church in South Carolina. What I am talking about is much more covert, pervasive, and alive in American today.

I will now define what it is that I’m talking about. In my view, white supremacy is the attitude held by much of the dominant culture in America that is characterized as being white, straight, Christian, and guided by males. Homosexuals and racial minorities are considered lesser people by the dominant culture. Women are seen as subservient to men.

I am not saying that you are necessarily homophobic, racist, and sexist if you are a straight, white guy. I’m a straight, white guy and I don’t have a problem with people who are different than me. Open-mindedness can be taught and learned no matter who you are. What I am saying is that if you go looking for bigotry in the white community, you won’t have to look too hard to find it. And since white culture is the dominant culture in our society, those bigoted views find their way into the fabric of our society. Conservatives at all levels of government are trying to legislate bigoted views and fight the evolution of a more open and inclusive society every day. However, it’s too late for them now. It’s going to take a lot more time to get to where we need to be as a society in regards to celebrating diversity, but we have started down that road and the light side of the force is getting stronger by the day.

[lunatica]

1. Don't scrap it

Leave it alone for a while and don't think about it. It feels to me that you're struggling with this idea because you haven't crystalised it in your mind yet. Your premise is good but it seems you aren't quite expressing it the way you want to.

If you leave it alone your sub-conscious will continue to work on it and sooner or later the full thought ramifications will pop into your conscious mind. Your subject matter is too complex to express simply. And it might be a subject that doesn't lend itself to one draft.

[irisblue]

2. as lunatica said let it sit for awhile

sometimes mulling it through is not an active thought process

[LiberalElite]

3. Hit save -

let it sit for awhile.