white people
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Kanye West Is What Happens When Whiteness Becomes The Standard
Admittedly, reminding myself that Whiteness isn’t any sort of standard to measure myself by is a concept I still wrestle with. Even today, as I’m acknowledging the existence of White privilege, of White supremacy, and of the creation of Whiteness, I have to consciously urge myself not to allow it to infect me. But it’s so pervasive,…
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Why So Many Liberal White Guys Just Can't Admit The Election Was About Race, Explained
Who are liberal White people? Liberal White people are somewhere trying very, very hard. Where can you find them? Trader Joe’s parking lots. Inner-city bike lanes. Jason Derulo listening parties. Giving TED Talks about couscous. Writing for Slate. Producing feminist porn. I see. So, how are liberal White people taking Donald Trump’s election? Well, I’m not…
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Mark Lilla's "The End Of Identity Liberalism" Is The Whitest Thing I've Ever Read
A predictable but still fascinating byproduct of the election is the emergence of a new sub-genre of discourse and literature solely comprised of White people attempting to explain Trump’s win without saying the words “race” or “racism.” Its almost as if they’re engaged in some sort of devolved, pre-racial game of Taboo. “Quick, explain what happened…
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For Black People Who Have to Work With White People in the Age of Trump
Listen, I know this has been a tough few days. The morning after election night, you probably went to work shocked, stunned and disappointed in America, like when George Zimmerman was acquitted for killing Trayvon Martin, or the first time you heard of the Luther Burger. Such is life for black people in America. It’s…
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I Will Never Underestimate White People's Need To Preserve Whiteness Again
There is an understandable inclination to believe that by voting for and ultimately electing Donald Trump, White people (particularly working class White people) voted against their own self-interests. After all, this is a man who became a billionaire by swindling and defrauding and sometimes just outright not paying people exactly like them, and there’s no…
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A Complete Breakdown of White People's Fears
There is a contingent of alt-right trolls who patrol the internet, radio shows and public conversations to quickly dismiss any real-world discussion about police brutality, state violence or how society devalues the bodies of black people. Their argument is always the same: Black people commit a disproportionate amount of violence; therefore, black people make up…
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White America Must Heal Itself: 2016 Is 1965 and 1984
Last weekend, during a writing retreat, I ended up in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Iowa entered the Union as a free state and was a hub for the Underground Railroad, but I wasn’t surprised to see a handful of Confederate flags flying from homes as I drove through towns called Solon and North Liberty. Ours has…
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Four Simple And Practical Things Black People Can Do So White People Won't Be So Gotdamn Fucking Scared Of Us
Yesterday, footage was released of 40-year-old Terence Crutcher getting shot and killed by Betty Shelby, a Tulsa police officer. Crutcher appeared to have his hands up, was unarmed, and, from the multiple camera angles made available to the public, didn’t appear to be any sort of a threat. Yet, that didn’t prevent him from getting executed by…
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Donald Trump Doesn’t Understand White People
After a year and a half of dog-whistling so loud that even Blue Dog Democrats held their ears, Republican nominee Donald Trump has switched gears. First he was going to “Make America great”; then he was going to “Make America safe”; and now he’s pitching “What have you got to lose?” to African-American and Latino…