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We kind of knew that a lot of white people felt this way, but I’d thought it was just a whiney, victimy minority of whites. Turns out, as a recent Harvard/Tufts study reveals, that a MAJORITY of white people now see racism as “a zero-sum game that they are losing.” Despite all evidence to the contrary (which we’ll examine later) most Caucasian Americans really believe that THEY are the greatest victims of racism nowadays. As a Proud White Man myself, I find this baseless self-pity somewhat embarrassing.
This particular study, which looks only at whites vs. blacks, is not a perfect fit for a blog about Orange County, which of course, aside from Anaheim, HAS no black people. (Many of the black folks I know from LA and other neighboring counties are literally afraid to drive through the OC at night. Hey, when is the last time you heard the expression “Driving While White?”) No, it’s mostly Latinos and Asians that your poor OC honkies feel victimized by and resentful of. Isn’t it? Well, let’s have a quick informal Orange Juice poll and see:
[poll id=”305″]
Back in the Real World…
Just today – Tuesday – the Pew Research Center released an analysis of the latest census, and it turns out that the economic inequality that has always existed between whites, hispanics and blacks has BLOWN UP over the last few years to chasm-width due to the inordinate impact our foreclosure crisis has had on the minorities.
As of 2009, the median wealth of white households was 18 times that of hispanics, and 20 times that of blacks. As this AP article explains:
“the housing boom of the early to mid-2000s boosted the wealth of Hispanics in particular, who were disproportionately employed in the thriving construction industry. Hispanics also were more likely to live and buy homes in states such as California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, which were in the forefront of the real estate bubble, enjoying early gains in home values.
“But those gains quickly shriveled in the housing bust. After reaching a median wealth of $18,359 in 2005, the wealth of Hispanics — who derived nearly two-thirds of their net worth from home equity — declined by 66 percent by 2009. Among blacks, who now have the highest unemployment rate at 16.2 percent, their household wealth fell 53 percent from $12,124 to $5,677.”
Roderick Harrison, a former chief of racial statistics at the Census Bureau who is now a sociologist at Howard University, adds, “Typically in recessions, minorities suffer from being last hired and first fired. They are likely to lose jobs more rapidly at the beginning of the recession, and are far slower to gain jobs as the economy recovers. One suspects that blacks who lost jobs in the recession, or who have tried to help family members or relatives who did, have now spent whatever savings or other cashable assets they had.”
Okay, that’s recent history. Should we go back farther? If we do we see that unemployment for blacks has ALWAYS been almost exactly DOUBLE that of whites. Now you’re thinking to yourself, even if you’re not saying it, that that’s because they’re lazy, uneducated, not pulling themselves up by their bootstraps like Geoff Willis would, etc. etc.
Well, this eye-opening Salon article (if you scroll down to the section entitled “Twice as hard, half as far”) depicts a series of experiments in 2001 and 2004, where groups of equally qualified young black and white men applied for jobs around first Milwaukee and then NYC. The experiment was originally meant to measure how much of a drawback it was to have been in jail, as some of the whites and some of the blacks both pretended to be ex-convicts. What really amazed the sociologist running the experiment was that, while the imaginary criminal history was definitely a drawback in the job hunts, race was even more of one – to the degree that the white applicants with a criminal history got more callbacks than the black applicants with none!
Hence the old and still-true black expression alluded to in the subtitle: “You’ve got to work twice as hard to get half as far as a black person in white America.” Professor Sam Sommers, an author of the Pew study, marvels at white folks’ perceptions of their own hardships, pointing out that “economists have documented over and over again that it takes twice as many resumes to get a call back from an employer if you have a black-sounding name.” I could go on and on, especially given the vast bibliography of sources that my trusty research assistant Anonster has provided me, but I think I’ve done enough for now.
Much white-man victimhood stems from perceptions that you’re losing economic opportunities to less-qualified minorities because of racial quotas, affirmative action and such, and “conservatives” constantly dream of a “color-blind” society where everyone is treated exactly equally, but data like the above show that we are still far from that place. (And by the way, affirmative action is malfunctioning if it results in a lesser-qualified applicant getting a position; it is only supposed to favor an underemployed minority if they are equally qualified – and that’s almost always how it works, despite the understandable disgruntlement of any rejected applicant. Especially during hard times that are hard for working people of ALL races.)
Reflections of some Nice Guy…
If there’s somebody who can respond to the Pew study charitably by empathizing with white resentment, putting it in context, and skillfully talking you down, it probably wouldn’t be me, it would more likely be some Chinese-Filipino Presbyterian pastor named Bruce Reyes-Chow, who wrote this compassionate piece on SF Blog. Some excerpts:
The findings of the report were no surprise to many I am sure, but they do raise a significant question… What do we do when a vital member of the community holds a perspective that is more about perception than reality? While I get how White people can “feel” that this is their reality – they are targets of racism – we must not allow this perspective to drive the future of our conversations on race. Yes, there may certainly be instances where White folks are pained because of their race, but the idea that racism against White people should be taken seriously as a larger social reality does not hold water for me. Compassion and understanding for particular instances where White folks are harmed because of the color of their skin must be had, but as a norm that drives larger understandings of race in the United States, acceptance and agreement are simply not options for me.
What I think is really going is that as the perceptions of racial relationships get better, there is a social understanding that if it is not that bad for brown people anymore than certainly it must be worse of for White folks. This “if it’s better for ‘them’ it must be worse for ‘us'” mentality only exacerbates the problem of genuine racial harmony.
Now in business circles, where the primary matrix of success and relationships is financial profitability this may actually be true. There is a finite amount of resources that are available for people to attain and exploit. For instance, when I travel and board planes, I see that there are a limited number of seats in first class. There is not an unlimited space for people to be part of that part of the airplane, so IF equal access and opportunity ever does level the playing field, a few of the 90% of White men who generally occupy those seats are going to have to walk a few more rows into coach because there will be women and brown folks moving on up. The same goes for upper-management of fortune 500 companies, leaders of educational institutions and other places where White men still occupy a disproportionate number of high-level seats.
This notion that we each hold a finite amount of resources that must be protected at all costs, and even if those gains have roots in historic injustice and unearned privilege, is dangerous and will get us nowhere. This will be especially true if this posture of scarcity and protectionism is transfered to our understanding of dignity, compassion and community. We often treat our own ability to see people as complex and created human beings as some kind of commodity that is doled out based on merit and/or availability furthering the idea that if am going treat this person with a generous spirit, than I must have to take something away from someone. And even worse, we fall into the destructive trap of believing that if I see someone else being treated with a generous spirit, then obviously something is being taken away from me.
… [skippin’ religious stuff] …
So . . . all compassion to White friends and strangers for the emotional and physical struggles around your experiences of race, but the social understanding that racism is now worse for White folks than for others must be not only be shed, but challenged by you and the rest society as a whole if we are truly going to move forward to a place of genuine racial wholeness.
In other words, man up, you’ve still got it better than most. Save your anger for the wealthy who are reaming ALL of us, and their politician puppets – YOU know who they are!
* * *
Next up: The incredible, staggering Persecution Complex of SOME Christians!
“In other words, man up, you’ve still got it better than most. Save your anger for the wealthy who are reaming ALL of us, and their politician puppets – YOU know who they are!”……. Hmmmm.
Are you political puppet of Obama?….. Nelson?
Did you took all my money via Obama’s taxation?….. Nelson?
FYI comrade Vern, the wealth is a product of an intelligence. (“IQ”)
So, stupid people will be always poorer than smart one no mater how many millions you will throw art them.
The color of the skin is a good indicator about your IQ. There are always exceptions to the rule, however.
I can name hundreds of brown and black X-multimillionaires who are now in poverty just because of their diminished IQ….. Mike Tyson is one of them.
Therefore, your “other words” above are somewhat oxymoronic as always, laced with jealousy and grapes:
Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on the vine but was unable to, although he leaped with all his strength. As he went away, the fox remarked, ‘Oh, you aren’t even ripe yet! I don’t need any sour grapes.’ (Esop c. 620-564 BCE)
People who speak disparagingly of things that they cannot attain would do well to apply this story to themselves before they attack wealthy and IQ superior.
I was born a poor black child……..
Hey Vern,…..I noticed you threw in the word “Some” for your next article……atta boy!…..there’s hope for you yet, I’m still praying for ya!.
Dude, I’ve told ya – I’m a Christian myself! (Of sorts .. in my own way..)
You are a Christian in a lot of peoples’ way!
Good post, Vern. I hope all our persecuted friends take the time to read that Salon article in its entirety, as it’s well worth it.
On MSNBC yesterday, the beautiful and brilliant Melissa Harris-Perry was commenting on the Pew Research analysis and said that a 10% unemployment rate among blacks would be considered great progress, that to me, really highlights the reality gap we have between the races in this country.
Great post, Vern!
victims of racism? and the proof is economics‘?
In Santa Ana there are Latino’s who make more money than I do (white man), that is proof that Latino’s in Santa Ana are Racist .
There are blacks on TV and in the movies who make more money than I do, that means all blacks on TV and in the movies are Racist .
The Moon is white and not a single black astronaut has been there, the moon is Racist .
The black astronauts will visit the black hole under the black president economy sooon!
Most excellent blog post roomie. Remember that bigot Bakke?
@Stanislav: Really “Stan”? Really? Where is the empirical evidence that “no “mater” how many millions you throw “art” them” poor people are stupid?
@gericault: Those who embrace the twisted logic of the invisible cloud being(s) never cease to amaze me.
Look at the national debt!
That is all we spent on stupid people.
In the interest of clarification, regarding “that bigot Bakke” :
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0438_0265_ZS.html
and
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Regents+of+the+University+of+California+at+Davis+v.+Bakke
Racist drivel, nothing more, nothing less. Race is completely self-defined and until we simply make all discussion race and gender neutral, then it is definitionally racist.
“Race is completely self-defined”
Then how do you explain this; “What really amazed the sociologist running the experiment was that, while the imaginary criminal history was definitely a drawback in the job hunts, race was even more of one – to the degree that the white applicants with a criminal history got more callbacks than the black applicants with none!”, when it is ILLEGAL for employers to ask about race?
From Yahoo Finance;
There is no situation in which questions about an employee’s race or skin color should be use to determine their eligibility for a job. This protection is granted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Employers are permitted to ask an employee to reveal their race on a voluntary basis for affirmative action purposes.
I’ll have to scour the internet for it, but a study was also done on employment callbacks using made up names and resumes. They studied the difference in percentage of callbacks for names that sounded “black” vs. names that didn’t. FAR fewer calls for the names that sounded black.
Oh, and the “content” parts of the resumes were the same…they just changed the names.
Well, maybe Willis would say that these people shouldn’t be calling themselves Jamal and Latisha, and then maybe when they show up for their interview they could do something about lightening up their skin and de-ebonicizing their speech. After all, “race is completely self-defined.”
Here’s the study I spoke of, which received quite a bit of media coverage when it was released.
http://www.nber.org/papers/w9873#navDiv=4
The study shows that unusual names are less attractive to employers. Why not use Giusseppi and Domanique instead of Greg and Sarah if you are trying to test for race.
What’s so unusual about those names? By now, everyone knows that some black people have unusual names. That’s not some societal aberration.
And you can’t talk about other names because the study didn’t include those. But that doesn’t invalidate the limited study parameters and conclusions.
Geoff,
You still haven’t explained why in Devah Pager’s study (from the Salon article), white “criminals” were still more likely to get hired than black men with no criminal history.
From AlterNet;
… Countless research studies, the Urban League’s annual State of Black America report, a 2005 Human Rights Watch report, and the numerous EEOC practice discrimination complaints over the past decade reveal that employers have devised endless dodges to evade anti-discrimination laws. That includes rejecting applicants by their names, areas of the city they live in, and claims of mistaken advertising (that the jobs advertised were filled).
In a comprehensive seven-month university study of the hiring practices of hundreds of Chicago-area employers (a few years before Pager’s graduate study), many top company officials said they would not hire blacks. When asked to assess the work ethic of white, black and Latino employees by race, nearly forty percent of the employers ranked blacks dead last.
The employers routinely described blacks as “unskilled,” “uneducated,” “illiterate.” “dishonest,” “lacked initiative,” “unmotivated,” “involved with gangs and drugs,” “did not understand work,” “unstable,” “lacked charm,” “had no family values,” and were “poor role models.”
No one has said that there isn’t racism in America and that racism is abhorent and should be eliminated. I just feel that the way to correct racism is not to add more racism.
Geoff,
You said “race is completely self-defined”, what does that mean?
The studies cited, prove that OTHER people can and do define your race for you and proceed to judge you based on those factors.
That is the very definition of racism.
The fact that you’re white may have something to do with your ignorance on dealing with prejudice and racism and that, of course, IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS POST!
. . . and by the way, until people talk about the difference between equality of outcome and equality of opportunity the bogus stats you site will continue to chime in. Notice none of the studies talk about the “Asian” gap because even though they were enslaved in this country Asian cultures highly value education which is the real barometer of wealth and success in this country.
“????????”……. Hmmmm
As I recall the black midget above lost all his millions big-time and was working as a security guard for minimum wages.
When he fell down the stairs his white wife told to 911 operator that he looks somewhat gross-out to be given mouth to mouth resuscitation.
The stupid people have much harder life than smart people!
LOL…this short, but profound video just WORKS on so many levels.
Obama is rattling sabers!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/07/25/executive-order-blocking-property-transnational-criminal-organizations
Join me!
-Stanley Fala
The term racist is thrown about much too freely. Now that I said that -, this post is racist!
I agree that the term racist is thrown about much too freely, and I tend to avoid it. I didn’t even use it myself in this whole long post (except for echoing the fact from the study in question that “white people feel they’re the biggest victims of racism.”)
“This post is racist?” Eh, I don’t think so. Why? Because I make fun of white people feeling like they’re the biggest victims of racism? That’s racist?
Oh, I think I get it now. The word “racism” is thrown around too freely in defense of blacks, Latinos, Asians, and others; but when it’s used in defense of poor put-upon white people, it’s appropriate.
Sure!…. There is no hate crime or racism against the white man!
Sure there are sometimes, but it’s not an endemic, systemic, or common thing.
If the whites stay in their neighborhood…… maybe.
As soon they commingle there is always crime against whites.
That is why whites are creating ghettos and discriminate to keep safe.
My background and upbringing are a testament to the ideals and challenges of the America as a melting pot and place to make dreams come true. My father chose to live and work in the Midwest, marry a freckle-faced blond, and raise his kids in a very white part of the area. Education was always emphasized and respected in my home — both parents taught school, and were always going to night school to further their degrees, or grading papers and doing lesson plans.
There were very few kids just like me, unless they were Mexican or Native American, or maybe Italian . Going to school and playing with neighborhood kids who were white seemed normal to me.
The day a 4 year old girl on my school bus turned around and looked at me and said I was a nigger shocked and hurt me. I was 8. I felt angry and confused. I wasn’t black or white, and even if I was black, I was stung by the hateful way she spat out the epithet. And I felt confused because I felt indignant to be mistaken as black. I didn’t feel superior to blacks, but I also wanted to be accepted as just a person.
It was bound to happen sooner or later. My parents minimized the incident, indeed I haven’t thought of it much, just when the accusations of racism are thrown about. But that little girl knew nothing about my straight A report card or the fact that my folks held master’s degrees. All she knew was my coloration was dark. Who taught her that?
My Hawaiian step-brothers were also called that despicable word I cannot even write when they were young children during the 60’s. I guess it was the universal insult. I would like to think kids growing up today are experiencing very different lives.
I think you’re right; the younger generations are becoming far more tolerant and “OK” with the increasing and evolving ethnic and religious diversity of America. It’s the older generations that are having a hissy fit.
Sure!
That is why they have gangs…… Huh?
White people must take their children into white schools if they want some performance.
In junior high, I took my daughter from Santa Ana to Huntington Beach Edison.
What happened in Norway is direct result of forcing brown and white together.
If the governments in Europe will not pay attention, expect more of racial violence there.
America is different story.
Here we are Americans except for Blacks who call themselves African American and Latinos who are calling themselves anything except Americans.
No assimilation = Racism!
Unless these people become Americans they have no right to benefit from the American culture.
Because these people have different color of skin they are easily identifiable so racism is live and good.
Last week I went to South Coast Plaza for walk an 2/3 were Arabs in their stupid burka.
White must be racist to survive.
“Here we are Americans except for Blacks who call themselves African American and Latinos who are calling themselves anything except Americans.”
Stan. What about the Indians (or what some term, to the chagrin of Russell Means, “Native Americans”)? Weren’t my ancestors forced to assimilate to white culture?
“What happened in Norway is direct result of forcing brown and white together”
Would you say that Indian violence against white people in this country(i.e. the 1973 siege at Wounded Knee) was an inevitability because whites/Europeans tried to eminent domain the Indians from their rightful home to government housing (i.e. reservations)? Or was it because some Indians were too trusting of the duplicitous Euro white man claims of “peaceful co-existence”?
So where do the events in Norway fit into “the spiral of life”?
Like I said…the older generation.
Good points Fawkes,
“Weren’t my ancestors forced to assimilate to white culture?”…… Hmmm
As I recall they were forced into an isolation in reservations….. aka concentration camps rather than forced to assimilate. They were conquered which is a legitimate act recognized by the law.
Problem was that they let Christian Church do a number on them. A price to pay to believe in Jesus. All atrocities on the reservation were done by Churches not by US government.
This is what Norwegians fear! To be outrun by Muslims and put them in reservations in their own land….. History repeats itself on the “spiral of life” so unless you stop emigration of Muslims you will end up with sharia law on a reservation.
The Wounded Knee was legitimate uprising which got busted as did Prague Spring uprising in 1968. That is why I (the participant) elected exile and not a reservation (gulag).
Indians must fight for their survival! The racism is good motivation and Indians should preserve their race by arm (or economical) struggle.
Only by way of power you can live in the peace!
Right now Indians are in power by way of gambling money but again are divided by the white man because they are corrupt by materialism as they were when they lost against the white man. See Hernando Cortez Spanish Conquistador and his ability to bamboozle Indians to destroy themselves. (IQ)
Unfortunately, it hangs on the IQ. Indians always relied on the white man’s IQ and white man always took advantage of it. So it is up to Indians to fix that. (Do not complain, do not explain)
FYI, as the Indians are getting shafted by the white man, (Europeans) the white man is being shafted by Jews. (Federal Reserves, Bilderbergers, Luminaties, Trilateral Commision, etc. etc. etc.)
Ask yourself: “Why are Jews running your Casinos”?….. can’t you do it your selves?….. can’t you be like Chines and grab Jews by the balls?
BUMPER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m8exq06vV4
:…Indians should preserve their race by arm (or economical) struggle.”
So should I suggest at the next tribal member meeting that our casino sever their relationships with Wells Fargo and the Federal Reserve and establish our own tribal bank and print our own currency? I don’t know how some of the elders would react to such a radical idea.
“I don’t know how some of the elders would react to such a radical idea.”……. Hmmmm
It depends on how you will present it to them. if you will present it so that they will understand, most will react positively. Otherwise you will fail and so will your Band.
It is like any other presentation. You must do your research, put together a plan and show them advantages and disadvantages.
However, I believe that you have existing contracts prepared by the unscrupulous lawyers and there may be no room for a change.
In other words, you may be screwed by the white man all over again.
So the objective will be to use your IQ to screw the white man in return.
White man’s wisdom:
No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.
George S. Patton
There are also exisiting contracts between the existing tribes and the Federal Government that have been violated by the Feds consistently throughout the years. The lawyers will use the heavy hand of the government to their advantage if they sense any form of resistance from our members. But I do expect that already.
Since we are telling non-Indian casino operators/CEOs like Steve Wynn to go f— themselves, should we also steal his mother’s secret bread pudding recipe as we tell him to go piss up a rope? We might need for the buffet since the old people love it.
The white man has “Achilles heel” which is his greed.
Base on that you can defeat any preexisting contract providing that you can invoke a greed in white man’s mind.
Or use a skinwalker to get hands on Steve Wynn mother’s secret bread pudding recipe and get high on sugar which will further weaken your position.
“White must be racist to survive.”
Very well said! Except, we don’t need to just judge people by the color of their skin, in about 2 mins either observing, listening, reading will generally tell you if the person is an idiot or not. The statistics, information regarding the state of the black and hispanic population in this country is a reflection on a white guilty 60’s population that have turned people of color into morons!
In this country it used to be the black single mother problem and now it’s the hispanic single mother problem….The direct result of a white guilty government, the democrat and republican party!
It is easier to be black, brown and useless in this country than to be a white, man trying to feed his family…That is just the truth, no racism involved!
Vern – you are a certified self-hating white man!
Born in the 50’s….Just an another white guilty hippie!
I agree that there are times when certain ethnic groups have been, are currently being, and will be held back because of their ethnicity. However, I think a certain amount of disparity is ok if it’s based on merit. We see it all the time at the Olympic Games. This is how it should be. Real life is a little different though. That’s why no matter what the reason (nature, nurture, etc.), people with an overabundance need to help out our less fortunate brothers and sisters. We need to come to grips with the fact that some ethnic groups might have certain advantages over other ethnic groups (whether that’s nature or nurture is besides the point).
I think the most important thing is that American should push for a level playing field. If at the end of the day you are a “have” instead of a “have not” based on merit, what’s the big deal? Even better if that “have” shares with the “have not.”
“American should push for a level playing field.”
Alex, what do you mean?
I think of a level playing field as something like a 100 meter sprint at the Olympic Games, The gold medal will be given to any athlete regardless of ethnicity. They just have to run faster than anyone else and not get caught taking steroids.
If only black people win, does it matter? Does it matter if they have a genetic advantage? Or a cultural advantage? Nope, because we all know everyone had a fair chance to get the gold.
Except for swimming!
Blacks can’t swim. So we must give them gold medal so we do not discriminate against blacks.
FYI, there was a sport announcer ( his name escaped me ) fired because he said same thing on TV in good faith.
I’ve heard that Czechs can’t pee straight.
Evidently, they can’t think straight either.
That is actually true comrade Vern because of the foreskin which Americans do not have due to the mutilated genitals.
So if you forget to pull your foreskin back little bit before you start pee the outcome is unpredictable usually missing the urinal.
So make sure that you do not stay next to me when I piss.
That’s not true. That would only be if the Olympic Committee followed racist policies. They do follow sexist policies in that they have separate games for women who generally don’t perform as good as men. In theory, all Olympic Games should be open to anyone regardless of race or sex.
If Olympic Games were run by Hillary Clinton, more blacks would be given gold medals for swimming and more whites medals for running. And the women? Well, they would be told it’s the glass ceiling keeping them from doing better than men.