DO I HAVE TO BE A STUPID WHITE MAN ?

Once again kusturica provides the food for thought... Thanks brother ! It had been too long...

I'm a white bastard

I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth.

I've never had to try hard for anything. It was all handed to me.

I've never been fired from a job for my appearance. I've gotten every job I've applied for even though I wasn't necessarily qualified. I've never been accused of stealing by an employer. After all, I'm white. Let's not forget that I'm a white male. Heterosexual to boot.

I've never been harassed by ignorant people who didn't understand me. I've never been threatened with physical violence by those people, nor feared for my life because of their nonexistant threats.

My upbringing was practically utopian. My parents had no vices and never fought. I was never physically or emotionally abused by anyone with any authority over me.

I have been spoiled from a young age with affection from women, primarily because of my whiteness and my position in life. It makes me very happy and fullfilled.

I have always been able to afford my rent.

I love to rub these facts in the faces of those less fortunate. I hate most non white people, and I don't think much of women or homosexuals. They deserve their lot in life, and their struggles aren't that bad anyway, so what are they complaining about?

I vote Republican every time.

I've never stood up for, nor helped in any way, anyone less fortunate than me.

I'm a real white bastard, and I find this so inspiring that I always have plenty to say about it.

I already answered this on kust's blog, but I believe that this half-self-portrait has a structure profound and meaningful enough to deserve a wider acknowledgement.

Up to "I have always been able to afford my rent", it's a common core curriculum shared by all stupid white men, and it could harmoniously be inserted in "Stupid White Men" as a counter-point to "Kill Whitey" :

White people scare the crap out of me. This may be hard for you to understand-- considering that I am white-but then again, my color gives me a certain insight. For instance, I find myself pretty scary a lot of the time, so I know what I'm talking about. You can take my word for it: if you find yourself suddenly surrounded by white people, you better watch out. Anything can happen.

But what really happens... in kust's piece at least, is that at this point there is a fork, a switch-over : a refusal to bear the stupid white man's burden for him. The guilt is given back to whom it may concern.

Maybe it's only due to my presently serious state of mind, but to me it's more than a joke. In the "Kill Whitey" chapter, all those who fit the dominant pattern are automatically sinners and must atone for the color of their skin in various ways helpfully provided by the author.

That's what Mike does. This part is autobiographical. That’s what the people from sorryeverybody.com did after the election. Self-whipping is part of the American left’s culture, and rebelling against this attitude is healthy and no joke at all. Is it fair that the innocent should bear the cross for the guilty ? Well, it happens all the time at any rate. That’s the way of the world. That’s one of the most hidden and unfathomable laws of the world. And the wilful, lucid and permanent bearing of the cross by a few innocent men is what saves the world. But can holiness be demanded ?

No. Not because it’s asking too much. Because the average Joe couldn’t bear the guilt without feeling guilty. That’s what kust expresses when he says “real” and “bastard” instead of, in an undifferentiated way, “stupid” and “man”. That’s what Mike expresses when he writes : my color gives me a certain insight. For instance, I find myself pretty scary a lot of the time.

But, contrary to what one might think, both of them don’t fundamentally disagree. Actually, at the beginning, the “Stupid White Men” are clearly Bushco : How did all this happen? Three little words: Stupid White Men. And the book closes on what can be regarded as a genuine absolution : You own the store. The bad guys are just a bunch of silly, stupid white men. And there's a helluva lot more of us than there are of them. Use your power. You deserve better.

Like kust, Mike knows undeserved guilt bears no fruit and that’s why “Kill Whitey” is not the final word to “Stupid White Men”. But he also knows that no one is innocent and that responsibility is but a tensional axis between guilt and innocence, and so he blurs the image of the culprit just the time for you to understand you’ve got to take your share – you too are someone’s whitey – we’re all on the same boat – let’s kill our inner whitey, again and again. Which takes us far away from the miserable accusation of racism and self-hatred often cast by the anti-Moore fuckwits.