Please know that I use the term “white trash” with a heavy heart, as I believe it to be an expression almost as ugly and hurtful as the n-word, but if the shoes fits . . .
I Hope it’s Finally Clear to Everyone that Domestic Terrorism Committed by White Supremacists is Definitely a Real Problem in this Country.
I was actually relieved to discover I wasn’t the only one to notice the “demonstration” of “white privilege” that occurred in the midst of the horrendous events that took place at the U.S. Capitol last week. Is there any question but that Black Lives Matter protesters would have been treated very differently, as in more likely to be shot!
I’ve talked a lot about white privilege, but I fully admit that I more frequently associate the term with society’s winners, the most privileged among us, the Wall Street crowd et al. But what happened at the U.S. Capitol last week served as a reminder that whiteness bestows privilege on some of the least fortunate in our society. Even by the standard of Trump rallies, the group of thugs who invaded the U.S. Capitol were a pretty scuzzy bunch, a group that even Donald Trump would have difficulty referring to as “very fine people.” It’s pretty scary to see just who Trump’s most avid supporters really are, the people who were the hungriest for his hateful, racist rhetoric. These people are filled with hatred and resentment because they have lost all sense of worth except for their whiteness, the last vestige of their white privilege, something most of them don’t even acknowledge.
After blatantly encouraging his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol, President Trump proceeded to throw them under the bus by saying they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Trump has thrown dozens of loyal enablers under the bus for years—including the likes of William Barr and Jeff Sessions—when it suited his purpose, so it’s not surprising he should do the same with his most loyal supporters whom he believes are very special and claims to love. Yeah, the thugs who invaded the Capitol all deserve to be thrown under a bus, but nobody deserves it as badly as Trump and his chief enablers.
These People Have Nothing to be Proud (Boys) of Except their Whiteness
Just like Trump himself, his supporters paint themselves as victims (by the way, the dude with the horns and the face paint has already been arrested) but seem oblivious to the plight of people who have not had the same advantages they’ve had. These people might have benefited from generations of freedom and, indeed, white privilege in America, and yet they’ve sunk to where they are, like polluted water finally finding its own level—in other words, a cesspool. Is there any question that taking back “their country” and regaining “their freedom” means not having to complete in an increasingly competitive world in which they feel their status and identity is threatened. Indeed, when these people claim their freedom is being taken from them, it’s clearly synonymous with having lost their white privilege. And what do they really mean when they shout “USA” at the top of their lungs? I’m not sure, but if I had to guess, it means an America in which white privilege reigns supreme, regardless of the content of one’s character.