And who is to blame for this? Why don’t we all look in the mirror? It is human nature, an unfortunate atavistic trait, to see the world as a zero-sum game. As blue collar whites have seen their world collapse in the past couple of generations as a lack of post–high school education all but dooms them to poverty, they naturally look to the new prominence of gays (whom they hardly knew existed back in the 60s and 70s), of immigrants, of black, brown and yellow people. A lot of these people aren’t actually doing all that well, but never mind…
The genius of the Republican Party has been to exploit this sense of a zero-sum game, to convince their voters that they have fallen back because others have surged forward. The utter failure of the Democrats has been even to try to offer a compelling counter narrative. When Howard Dean back in 2000 said something to the effect that we should be trying to pursue the guys who drive pickup trucks with Confederate flags decals, he was roundly roasted. But he was absolutely right.
I believe a more insightful conversation about the issues raised by Ms. Andreeva is possible. I think that the article by Ms. Schless-Meieir is a bad way to initiate that conversation. I’m not missing any deeper meaning – the issues raised by Schless-Meieir have virtually nothing to do with the article by Andreeva. Andreeva’s article wasn’t about white “paranoia”, or some quasi-subliminal mass white fear about being “wiped out”. Please. It was about an industry – television, probably the highest-profile of all industries – undergoing a radical change in hiring practices, those changes are about race, and the results of those changes – who we see on TV – are some of the the most over-hyped, over marketed “realities” in the world. The fact that people,
including the people directly affected by those changes, are talking about those changes isn’t indicative of some ongoing blizzard of white hysteria that only the deep people can see. Schless-Meieir’s article is, well, bad. It’s bad writing. (You might say it’s Not Ready For Prime Time – know what I mean?) If you want a more insightful, deeper conversation about identity politics, race
relations, and whatever insecurities white people are supposed to be harboring in the contemporary U.S., or on the phenomenon of online publications using outrageous headlines as a marketing tool, I suggest not predicating that conversation on something as poorly thought out and written as this article.
“Take, for instance, the creeping anxiety among white folks in the U.S. about our impending “minority” status.
This demographic reality has fostered a deep sense of paranoia about a pervasive existential threat, not just to white people but also to white institutions, values, and culture. White folks are, irrationally, afraid of being wiped out.”
As a white person, I wish when folks make these types of statements that they wouldn’t paint with such a broad brush. Some or many, yes – but not all of us.
That said, I think the author is right on with this topic – I find it pretty self-centered and very myopic for this Nellie Andreeva person to ask such a question. Seriously, Ms. Andreeva, you think whites are losing something–anything–when our entertainment starts to actually represent the real world? – OMG, I truly believe folks like this are in serious need of mental therapy.
I find Andreeva’s question repugnant. Adrien Schless-Meier, please take note that some or many white people might fear the future – but not all of us. Some of us are pretty enlightened. Thank you.
Edit: I find now that the original article by Andreeva is based in questions regarding the television industry and how it has dealt with race quotas, etc. This article on TPM appears more like a FOX Entertainment hit piece than a serious delving into race, some white people’s fears, etc.
Shame on you for printing this.
You’re right, I hadn’t thought of it that way. The first thing came to my mind was some tightie rightie or other ranting against the tyranny of workplace safety regulations. So Carnival Cruz helped me imagine men with .357 revolvers in their pants, resolutely pouring ammonia and bleach into unlabeled containers, and defiantly shelving them closer than 18 inches to the ceiling.