There is none so dangerous as the white American who waxes nostalgic about what he or she likes to call “the good old days.” Or, alternately, those “simpler” times, or the era of so-called “innocence” remembered from their childhoods, memorialized in a Norman Rockwell painting, or via televised re-runs of the Cleaver family, or Opie […]
As someone who writes regularly on the subject of white privilege, I am often electronically attacked by those who insist that the very notion of such a thing is a mere figment of my imagination: well, mine, and that of all the other “race hustlers” out there. “Don’t you know that millions of white people […]
Being criticized for the things you say, when you’re a writer, is to be expected. It’s part of the gig, so to speak, and so most of the time, when such critiques are offered, I let them pass without much comment. But sometimes, criticisms can be so off base as to require a somewhat harsher […]
If hypocrisy were currency, conservatives would be able to single-handedly bail out the nation’s free-falling financial system in less than a week, without the rest of us having to front so much as a penny. So on the one hand, folks like this always tell others–especially the poor and people of color–to take “personal responsibility” […]
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Thirteen years ago, when I first started out on the lecture circuit, speaking about the issue of racism, it seemed as though everywhere I went, someone wanted to know my opinion of Louis Farrakhan. To some extent, this was to be expected, I suppose. It […]
“Everything you said in there was so insulting to me.” The words came harsh and unexpected. I had just given a speech on racism and white privilege at an upstate New York college, and was nearing the end of an after-event reception, when the young woman–who had been seething with anger, waiting to confront me–finally […]
Fundie Christians are an interesting bunch. On the one hand, they profess to love God “with all their heart,” and yet, on the other, they regularly send around unhinged e-mails about how God causes natural disasters or other tragedies as a way to punish the U.S. for abortion, or “taking prayer out of schools,” or […]
Conservatives love to parade as the apostles of personal responsibility. Whenever the issues of poverty, racism, or crime come up, for example, those on the right are quick to demand “personal responsibility” from the poor, from people of color, or from criminals. If you’re struggling economically, don’t blame the system: just work harder. If you […]
Published in LIP Magazine, Spring, 2005 It almost goes without saying that the analysis offered up by mainstream commentators in the wake of the Presidential election has been largely devoid of anything resembling substance: not that this should be considered particularly shocking, but it needs to be mentioned in any event. For example, the persistent […]
Published as a ZNet Commentary, February 26, 2000 When it comes to discussions of racism, or any other “ism” for that matter, often we miss the forest for the trees. Such was the case recently, when it was reported that Atlanta Braves relief pitcher, John Rocker, had cut loose with a string of racist, xenophobic, […]
