How to Deal with Your Whiteness

Trump was elected because of whites. He was almost reelected because of whites.

“Rural” voters supported Trump, as did “working class” voters. But those are codes for white rural voters and white working class voters. African-American rural and working class voters didn’t support Trump. Asian-American rural and working class voters didn’t support the “kung-flu” president either.

Trump ran on whiteness and was nearly reelected on whiteness. His language regarding the “greatness” of America was code for a white-dominated America protecting itself against non-white foreigners. Given multiple opportunities, he consistently refused to denounce white supremacy.

Despite his utter incompetence, open racism, misogyny, and catastrophic mishandling of the pandemic, Trump won the majority of the white vote. Again. Whites, as a group, failed to denounce Trump and all that he stands for.

White people, including white liberals such as myself who didn’t vote for Trump and spoke out against for him for four years, have a problem. And that problem is whiteness itself, and our stubborn, overly sensitive refusal to acknowledge and deal with it.

Triggered

Are you triggered, being referred to as part of the white voting bloc? I know I am. I want to be seen as an individual. I don’t want to take responsibility for the collective actions of my broad cultural category. Why should I? I didn’t vote for Trump. I hate the guy and everything he stands for.

But Trump was elected precisely because white Americans are finally being asked to deal with our whiteness. And we hate this. We hate it so much that many of us stubbornly voted for Trump even while holding our noses.

My guess is that the majority of Trump voters, while they obviously tolerate racism in their president, probably aren’t terribly racist themselves. If asked they would tell you they voted for Trump because he was “tough on China,” or in reaction to the incidents of looting and property destruction that accompanied some of the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer, or fear of the “socialist” Democrats who suggested audacious plans such as wealth taxation and universal health coverage.

But the primary reason Trump received so many votes is because he so strongly supports the racial status quo in our country: the idea that we are mostly past racism, that white people have no special responsibility to address systemic racism, and that Black anger (against police killings and economic injustice) is a dangerous force that needs to be suppressed and controlled.

Many Trump voters voted for Obama. How could someone who voted for an African-American Democrat turn around and vote for someone like Trump?

What happened was that racial consciousness changed and evolved in the United States, and the ask got bigger. Eight years of Obama didn’t solve the problems people of color face with police brutality, disproportionate sentencing, lower pay for equivalent work, and other forms of systemic racism. So white people were asked to look deeper, to acknowledge white privilege, and to assist with addressing racism on a level deeper than “having black friends” or not saying the N word.

The reaction to that ask among whites has been catastrophic. An absolute screaming fit of a tantrum. No, I won’t apologize for being white! we screamed, despite the fact that no one was asking us to.

What Does It Mean to Deal with Our Whiteness?

It means observing and understanding how being white confers advantages in the United States, especially in regards to dealing with law enforcement, gaining employment, and generally receiving the benefit of the doubt when dealing with institutions.

It means using that privilege to stand up against incidents of racism and discrimination when we observe them.

It means having difficult conversations with friends and family who might harbor racist views, and slowly influencing them over time.

It means striving to be less racist ourselves.

It means learning to be less sensitive when we are referred to as part of the white group, and when asked to take some responsibility for our broader cultural identity.

It doesn’t mean apologizing for being white. It doesn’t mean endorsing looting or property destruction. It doesn’t mean we can’t have pride in our ethnic heritage (Irish, German, etc.). It doesn’t mean we have to be nice to every non-white person we encounter (sometimes you just don’t like someone for reasons other than ethnicity).

White people face the same problems that people of color face (economic insecurity, unemployment, drug abuse, police brutality, lack of health insurance, etc.). But generally we face these problems with more resources, and without the added yoke of racism.

Is it a big ask, to acknowledge and deal with our whiteness? Maybe it is. It requires a shift in consciousness, which is never easy.

But it’s not a valid excuse to vote for a white supremacist. Don’t be a sensitive snowflake. Acknowledge your whiteness and deal with it.

The Only Way Forward

If white liberals want to make progress on the issues we care about (addressing climate change, universal healthcare, clean air and water, worker protections, affordable education, etc.), then we need to deal with our white fragility problem. That’s because Trump won’t be the last president to run on a platform of whiteness and white fear. He might even run again on the same platform in 2024.

The plutocracy thrives on white fear and fragility. They will get away robbing the poor and giving to the rich until white people develop immunity to race-baiting language.

But once you see through that language, you can’t unsee it. People of color don’t want a race war: they want to not be murdered by police, they want jobs that pay reasonably well, and they want acknowledgement that in some cases the playing field isn’t level.

When white people in the United States learn to be unafraid (of people of color, of social change, of immigrants), then we’ll stop voting for white supremacists. Until then, it’s likely we’ll see more of the same.