I am reading Marc Lombardos Economies of Whiteness: On the Social Ecology of White Liberals. I love this quote: If we are serious about redressing the racially focused violence inherent to the functioning of our economy and our society as a whole, then we need to become much, much more attentive to the role of white liberals in managing the institutions that enable and maintain such an antidemocratic and morally abject political consensus. Too often, in the face of the continual efforts of the right to rescind voting rights, roll back educational desegregation, and ensure the perpetuation of a racial caste system by less overt means (e.g., by using the Drug War as the engine for the mass incarceration of black men in particular and poor people in general1) liberal institutions and individuals are given a pass. Yes, they could do more. Yes, they could do something. But they’re all that’s standing in the way of the Republicans! What choice do we have?! In the face of this argument— if one can really call it an argument rather than a defense mechanism— I want to suggest a counter-intuitive hypothesis concerning the political function of liberalism in general and the social function of white liberals in particular. What if the fact that white liberals benefit from white supremacy is not simply an accident? What if the simplest explanation for the fact that white liberals are as ineffective as they are at preventing the economic and social violence that pervades our society is actually the best explanation? What if the truth about white liberals is that they are just as essential to the maintenance of white supremacy as those who administer state-sanctioned racially focused violence directly in their roles as cops, prison guards, prosecutors, judges, and civic leaders? What if it is actually the intellectual, spiritual, and moral bankruptcy of white liberals that constitutes the greatest obstacle to redressing the most enduring and fundamental injustices in our society? Please read this book if you like critical whiteness studies!
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 19:23:10 +0000
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