I would venture to say that most white people are not white supremacists, Nazis, or hood-owning members of the KKK. I doubt most would see themselves as racists or bigots either. The majority are decent people who just want to earn a living, raise their kids, and enjoy their vacations. But that is the problem when they fail to censure or hold accountable the few who are active racists and bigots. It is the problem because white people are the majority in this country who also hold the reigns of corporate and political power.
History has shown that it only takes a few well-placed and well-funded loud mouth bigots to make the lives of minority populations in this country and in countries around the world miserable. They need only fill the heads of decent white people with fabrications that dehumanize or make villains of their targets. These wealthy bigots have a perverted sense of superiority and are motivated by greed and power. We’ve heard the baseless protestations that “Indians are savages who rape women and kill children without provocation” in order to raise enough fear and ire among the populace so that they could forcibly steal Indian lands. We’ve known about how the false claims that “Blacks are lazy children and only 2/3 human” made it acceptable to steal their labor to build this nation; and how the ridiculous accusation that “the Jews killed Jesus and have a plot to take over the world” was enough to silence the masses that allowed for the holocaust.
Today the rhetoric is, “Mexicans are rapist and drug dealers”; “Muslims hate Americans and are terrorists”; “Immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans”; “Black males pose a threat”; “Jews are taking over”; and “transgender women pose a danger in public bathrooms”. These are the daily messages whites are being fed on a daily basis through media outlets and now there is a bigot in the White House. Remember President Andrew Jackson had the consent of whites as he made war upon the American Indians who only sought to defend themselves .
When wealthy bigots fund bigoted media moguls who then join forces with bigoted politicians who enlist bigoted armed forces (police, military, and self-appointed militias) then disaster quickly follows. Examine the decimation of the 500 Native American nations, the enslavement of millions of Africans followed by Jim Crow, the murder of 6 million Jews, the exclusionary immigration policies, and the internment of Japanese Americans. These events began with wealthy funders of the media who then fooled the masses in believing their lies, giving political cover to political leaders who then sanction weapons to enact their will.
Bigots are not stupid people. They are strategic and not to be underestimated. Let me repeat myself: they seek out like-minded individuals of influence who then sell their fabricated grievances against minority groups to the unsuspecting white masses in order to give bigoted politicians cover to do their dirty work. And it is easy to do because the masses are either apathetic, gullible, ignorant, or uneducated.
On occasion, I will turn on C-Span’s Washington Journal at 4am to hear what callers across the nation are saying about a particular current issue. Yesterday morning, a particular caller identified herself as a strong Trump supporter and she said that it was now confirmed that President Obama’s birth certificate was a fake. That neither Barack nor Michele were actually U.S. Citizens. I would classify her as the gullible white person who is willing to believe conspiracy theories from fake news outlets. Another caller, a white male, also a Trump supporter, wants us to all chip in to pay for the wall because of all the dangerous people coming across to do us harm. But the majority of the callers were apathetic. They just wanted to give the president a chance and thought only that the liberal media and the democrats were out to get him.
Thankfully, there are whites who oppose the bigots. We saw them last Saturday in Charlottesville and yesterday in Boston (Yay Boston!). They are the whites who are paying attention. Educated whites are typically the first to recognize the lies and the motivation behind them and they are the first to raise the red flag in protest alongside the targeted minority group. They try to sound the alarm for their otherwise sleeping neighbors. Eventually they may successfully rally enough people of good will to the side of justice and liberty. But too often it is only after the devastation. Educated whites have to be brave as they face down other whites who have been so duped into believing lies and conspiracy theories that they are willing to resort to violence on behalf of the bigots behind them. Heather Hyer was one of the brave (RIP).
Now is the time to wake up white people! Rupert Murdoch and his Fox News is bad enough, but Steve Bannon just told you that he is back at the wheel of his media outlet, Brietbart News, funded by billionaire Robert Mercer (read more ). Brietbart News traffics in conspiracy theories and claims itself as an outlet for the alt-right movement. Bannon is ready to go to war against the ideals of freedom and justice for all. The question is, will educated white people of good will fight now, before the damage is done and before violence breaks out in earnest? Will they educate and challenge their white friends and family members who are too busy to pay attention to what is real and true? I hope so. And the 20,000 people (mostly white) who showed up at Boston’s Anti-racist rally yesterday gives me greater reason to hope.