"The tendency to identify with the illusion, rather than the reality, is illuminated in confusion around the use of the articles “a” and “the.” “A”, an indefinite article, references one of many, while “the”, a definite article, refers if not to one, certainly a specific grouping. The triangulation of American business organizational structures is a microcosmic representation of American society. As in the larger societal triangle, the apex of the American business structure is occupied almost exclusively, by “The” white man. All other Caucasian/white American males are part of the indefinable, and much larger group, “a” white man. Many a Caucasian/white American male has been persuaded to identify, on the basis of race and gender, with that narrowest and most insular segment of American society, almost always to their chagrin. Race and gender alone have never and can never create admission to this most exclusive cadre; class also must be present, and two out of three won’t do. “The” white man only seeks identification with his poorer and less influential brothers in times of great need and crowd control. In the movie, Gettysburg, one of the most illuminating scenes focuses on the seemingly hypnotic soliloquies by several Confederate generals. As the ground troops, the infantry, many of them without shoes, lined up and prepared for battle, their generals rode up on beautiful steeds of white and commenced to remind them why they were fighting: for their land, their homes, their way of life. Never mind that these men owned no land, lived in shacks and enjoyed the lives of sharecroppers. Essentially the larger numbers comprising the sector of “a” white man once again sacrificed their all to protect that which only belonged to the smaller sector, “The” white man."
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 03:30:00 +0000
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