Quick Takes – Critical Whiteness; Problematizing Whiteness; Invented Privileging of Whiteness

     Another “quick takes” on items where there is too little to say to make a complete article, but is still important enough to comment on.

     The focus this time: Whiter than white.

     First, a little mood music:

     Carrying on…

     If there is one thing you learn at colleges now-a-days, it is how oppressive oppressors oppressively oppress. Case in point, Cal. State San Marcos’ “Whiteness Forum” where students were required to present a “critical look at Whiteness”:

“‘Students learn best when they actually do something as opposed to just hear something,’ said Professor Dreama Moon, who teaches the communications class called ‘Communicating Whiteness.’ Every year for the last 13 years, students have created projects to pull together the forum as part of the class, she said.

“…

“The syllabus for the class states the course seeks to examine ‘whiteness as a historical, social, political and ideological “invention” with a long trajectory within the United States and in the world.’ The syllabus defines whiteness ‘as a system of power based on racist ideology maintained discursively, institutionally, and materially.’

“…

“The ‘Whiteness Forum Project’ was an assignment in the class in which students were called on to ‘research, plan, and execute an educational forum on whiteness on the CSUSM campus.’

“‘The objective of the forum is make whiteness visible in a critical way for faculty, staff, and students on our campus as well as the greater community,’ the syllabus states. ‘The forum WILL NOT be a simple cultural celebration of whiteness, but an arena for critical education.'”

     Of course, if requires “critical” approaches doesn’t work, then it must be “problematized“…

“Critical Whiteness Studies addresses the need for a deeper analysis of race, one that accounts for both sides of the race coin, that of the plight of people of color AND how Whites are also complicit in a system of race, […] Therefore, this class takes a deeper look into how race operates within White contexts and how such operations ultimately impacts people of color. By doing so, we bridge how Whites AND people of color can collectively work together towards a racially equitable society.”

     This, of course, begs the question: If “Whiteness” is all about power and prejudice—being synonymous with the term “racism”—then how can White people be racist if it is the so-called “anti-racists” who hold the institutional power to push this prejudice?

     As one anonymous student noted:

“[W]hen our University offers classes about ‘problematizing whiteness,’ it is hard to really believe that we [Caucasian male students] are really being the oppressive ones.”

     Ultimately, this isn’t about racism… it’s about power of meting out derogatory diminutions and having the privilege of being the one doing the meting.

“Seeing blacks in all aspects of society, even a man perceived as black being president, and racism against minorities (other than Asians) utterly gone from government, activists are presented with this choice.   Clearly in a nation where a black man was elected president twice we’re not living in the racist hell hole they claimed. There is no institutional racism in government (against blacks at least); the days of that are long, long gone.

“So they have to cling to some kind of oppression to retain power and keep getting money and feel significant. How? Claim white people are still somehow in power and oppressing blacks by being ‘privileged.’ Being an ordinary American isn’t normal its ‘privilege’ so the rest of the country seems somehow diminished by comparison.

“See, if you cannot prove someone is being held down, you have to convince people that others are being lifted up unfairly. This maintains the leftist base worldview of the oppressed vs the oppressor. When there’s no oppressor, it all falls apart, so you define normal as oppressive.

“So now ‘normal’ becomes ‘exceptional’ and ‘privileged’ which makes everyone else normal. Its not fair you enjoy comfort and familiarity in culture, that’s holding others down, oppressor. Instead of teaching and encouraging people to be part of normal Amrican culture, you declare it oppressive and bad, so people can stay the way they are and feel virtuous in the process

“This works in all sorts of ways. Heterosexuals aren’t normal, they are ‘cisgendered’ and privileged, oppressing others. Transexuals are normal under this new system, its the ordinary person who is privileged and unfair, the oppressor.

“This is also about dividing to conquer, breaking people up into little groups to control easier without banding up — fear is the primary tool of the tyrant — but ultimately the modern left is less about that than about normalizing the strange.

“Any system or device that makes people feel uncomfortable, has to be ended. The people who are discomfited are never considered wrong or weird by the left (unless a designated unperson like a Christian conservative white male), just oppressed. No matter your perversion, oddness, or madness, you must be not accepted for who you are, but celebrated and embraced, encouraged, promoted. Those who will not take part in this must be shunned, even destroyed.”

     TTFN.

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