What’s a White Man to Do? April 27
No doubt white men hold a lot of power, but that doesn’t mean they carry the master key to every portal of power. Some actually vote based on nothing more than a belief that one candidate is superior to another based on actual facts and free-thinking opinions. White men aren’t always guided by a hate of women, racial minorities, or anyone else for that matter. There’s no underground club where men meet, drink beer, and think up ways to humiliate women and minorities. There’s not even a secret handshake.
This year, the democrats feature two candidates that not so long ago wouldn’t have been considered as candidates at all, much less having a good shot at the White House. For now, the republicans are sticking with an old white man, but even Crazy Legs McCain is considering a female Veep to bring the Grand Old Peckerheads screaming and kicking into the 21st century. The idea that Carly Fiorina - who more often than not acts like an old white male - is a possibility seems like a romp with the panderbears, but what do you expect? McCain will say anything if he thinks it’s to his advantage. Hell, the man even hugged Bush.
Jiggly Bit Haters?
Nora Ephron - a woman who I generally respect and admire - wrote a HufPo piece last week that accuses white men of being either racists or sexists based solely on their external jiggly bits. In fact, she implies that white men (particularly those living in Pennsylvania) aren’t even people. According to Nora, “This is an election about whether the people of Pennsylvania hate blacks more than they hate women. And when I say people, I don’t mean people, I mean white men.
Whaaaaaa? By her logic, if I vote for Obama, I’m a sexist. If I vote for Clinton, I’m a racist. If I vote for McCain - something as probable as reversing the spin of Earth - I’m undependable. “The outcome of the general election will depend on whether enough of them vote for McCain,” she writes. “A lot of them will: white men cannot be relied on, as all of us know who have spent a lifetime dating them.” Now I’m just a lowly white male, but that statement says more about her ability to choose boyfriends than it does about how I - or thousands of other white men - will vote.
Hermaphrodite Female Eskimos
I’ve heard lots of hog-swallop this election season that runs along those same lines, but precious little about extending that pretzel logic to where it ultimately goes. If a white female votes for Obama, is she Phyllis Schlafly incarnate? How about a black woman who votes for Clinton? Does she get a complimentary membership to the KKK? My God, could a sudden groundswell of hermaphrodite female Eskimos swing the whole election?!
It’s true that some white males will vote for McCain, just as some black women will vote for Hillary and some white women will vote for Barrack. Elections are like that. They’re a chance to voice opinions about which way the country should head. Mostly these decisions are simply that - decisions. The fact that some actual racists or sexists vote the way they do is something that’ll happen regardless of who’s running, but that’s no reason to blame white males for the outcome.
There was one small statistic that Nora forgot in her article. While there are more registered white voters than black voters, there is one thing clear according to the 2004 census, there are more registered women than men. That would seem to suggest that white men don’t hold all the cards. I can’t speak for all men, but when it comes to black vs. white and male vs. female, we don’t even have a dog in this hunt, so please don’t blame us because women can’t get along with each other.
I’ll go back to being a racist and sexist now. After all, it is what we do.
The Poobah is a featured contributor at Bring It On!
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Ali A. Rizvi Apr 28
I’m not a white male - I’m a born again agnostic Canadian of brown skin originally from Pakistan.
I think Nora Ephron’s article was juvenile and lacked insight, to put it mildly. I absolutely love the way you put across what I’ve thought about for years before this election - there is a double standard against whites, specially white males.
I’ve shared your post on my Facebook. If you’re on Facebook, do add me - search “Ali A. Rizvi” from Buffalo, NY. Great post.
Ali A. Rizvi’s last blog post..Obama’s Strongest Case for Electability to the Superdelegates
Omnipotent Poobah Apr 28
Ali,
Thanks for the kind words. I often run into this sort of attitude but it usually doesn’t bother me much. But this one was so over the top I felt I needed to say something.