Op-Ed: no sympathy for white men

[Underseer]

http://www.damemagazine.com/2016/11/01/why-i-have-no-sympathy-angry-white-men

Why isn’t anyone suggesting that these beleaguered White men respond to their relatively new “hard times” by working hard and pulling themselves up by their bootstraps? Where are the people calling on these beleaguered Whites to develop empathy and compassion for those who have long been suffering, like African-Americans and other people of color? Why do we need to understand this community? Why is the opposite never suggested as a potential option? Is it because White men are simply not willing to emerge from their bubble and acknowledge the humanity of those they deem “other?” Or is it because they are unable to see beyond their own reality?

When this was happening to others, they were told to "stop whining" and "pull yourself up by the bootstraps."

Now that it's happening to them, we are all supposed to stop everything and feel sorry for them, even though they voted for this against the advice of tons of experts. They were warned. They were told those Republican economic policies would be a disaster for everyone who isn't either rich or a large corporation. They were warned wages would be suppressed, that the gap between the rich and poor would grow, that many middle class families would struggle, and that things would be even worse.

So now that all those white men have screwed the country up by ignoring the warnings of experts, now their solution is not too admit they were wrong about those economic policies, but to turn to racism, nationalism, sexism, etc. Instead of reversing the economic policies that are hurting everyone, let's hurt disadvantaged groups even more. Because that always fixes things, doesn't it? It worked so well for Yugoslavia and Nazi Germany, so why don't we diplomate those results here?

Fuck.

I'm tired of coddling idiots who refuse to stop making things worse and want to punish everyone else for their own mistakes.

And don't even start that "you're being racist against white people" argument. First, I'm half white, and for another, that kind of idiotic argument is in part how this country for this screwed up in the first place.

Stop. Just stop. Man up and own up to your own mistakes. Reconnect with reality. Above all, stop blaming relatively powerless disadvantaged groups for the mistakes you made with all that privileged power you never deserved in the first place. You worked very hard to make sure you had all these power, and this is what you did with it: you screwed everything up. You don't get too turn around and blame the people you kept powerless for the mistakes you made.

Damn crybabies.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

FFS, dude. Taking responsibility for one's actions is something other people are supposed to do. It's not something Republicans are supposed to do themselves. You're misrepresenting their position if you claim that they've ever thought this philosophy was supposed to apply to them as well.

 

[ApostateAbe]

Shame white men for no good reason, white men fight back against the wrongful shaming, call white men hypocrites for fighting back. Perfect kafka trap.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

Whiny woman whines about whiny white men hurts white man's feelings.

 

[funinspace]

And don't even start that "you're being racist against white people" argument. First, I'm half white, and for another, that kind of idiotic argument is in part how this country for this screwed up in the first place.

Yeah, that worked reeeaaaal good for Barack Hussein Obama, didn't it. What makes you think you'll do any better

Stop. Just stop. Man up and own up to your own mistakes. Reconnect with reality. Above all, stop blaming relatively powerless disadvantaged groups for the mistakes you made with all that privileged power you never deserved in the first place. You worked very hard to make sure you had all these power, and this is what you did with it: you screwed everything up. You don't get too turn around and blame the people you kept powerless for the mistakes you made.

Damn crybabies.

Tell you what, I've made no headway with my redneck, evangelical in-laws, so why don't you go down to their country property and splain it to them directly. I should point out that at least one of them really has an AR-15...

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Shame white men for no good reason, white men fight back against the wrongful shaming, call white men hypocrites for fighting back. Perfect kafka trap.

Well, it's sort of like when someone beats the shit out of the school bully. Sure, some kid just got the shit beaten out of him and that's a bad thing, but he gets less sympathy than some other random kid due to his having done the same thing so often to others.

 

[ApostateAbe]

Shame white men for no good reason, white men fight back against the wrongful shaming, call white men hypocrites for fighting back. Perfect kafka trap.

Well, it's sort of like when someone beats the shit out of the school bully. Sure, some kid just got the shit beaten out of him and that's a bad thing, but he gets less sympathy than some other random kid due to his having done the same thing so often to others.

Do you accuse white men of something malicious, corresponding to the behavior of a bully? If so, what?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Well, it's sort of like when someone beats the shit out of the school bully. Sure, some kid just got the shit beaten out of him and that's a bad thing, but he gets less sympathy than some other random kid due to his having done the same thing so often to others.

Do you accuse white men of something malicious, corresponding to the behavior of a bully? If so, what?

Huh. If only there were a specific reference in the OP which mentioned the specific subset of white men being referred to and the specific actions on their part which are being called hypocritical. If only ...

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

Shame white men for no good reason, white men fight back against the wrongful shaming, call white men hypocrites for fighting back. Perfect kafka trap.

Well, it's sort of like when someone beats the shit out of the school bully. Sure, some kid just got the shit beaten out of him and that's a bad thing, but he gets less sympathy than some other random kid due to his having done the same thing so often to others.

Only maybe it isn't he school bully that got beat up but the school bully's brother or some stranger who happens to look like the school bully. And then the people cheer it on because he got what was coming to him...

Sorry, but blatant racism is blatant racism, even if it is against white men.

 

[ApostateAbe]

Do you accuse white men of something malicious, corresponding to the behavior of a bully? If so, what?

Huh. If only there were a specific reference in the OP which mentioned the specific subset of white men being referred to and the specific actions on their part which are being called hypocritical. If only ...

Go ahead and be explicit. As far as i can tell, you are saying that white men are like school bullies who kinda deserve to get beat up because they whine about oppression.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Huh. If only there were a specific reference in the OP which mentioned the specific subset of white men being referred to and the specific actions on their part which are being called hypocritical. If only ...

Go ahead and be explicit. As far as i can tell, you are saying that white men are like school bullies who kinda deserve to get beat up because they whine about oppression.

Or you could read the thread you're purporting to respond to. One or the other, I guess.

 

[ApostateAbe]

Go ahead and be explicit. As far as i can tell, you are saying that white men are like school bullies who kinda deserve to get beat up because they whine about oppression.

Or you could read the thread you're purporting to respond to. One or the other, I guess.

I will answer the question you refuse to: white men didn't do shit to deserve the hatred directed at them.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

Huh. If only there were a specific reference in the OP which mentioned the specific subset of white men being referred to and the specific actions on their part which are being called hypocritical. If only ...

Go ahead and write a post here entitled "No sympathy for black women" and link it to an article entitled "Why I have no sympathy for angry black women" then somewhere in the article see that it refers specifically to a subset of black women. Now wait and see how much outrage you get coming your way and see if anybody calls you racist. Then point out that it was a subset you were talking to and roll your eyes at them. Lets see how that works out for you.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Or you could read the thread you're purporting to respond to. One or the other, I guess.

I will answer the question you refuse to: white men didn't do shit to deserve the hatred directed at them.

Nobody's disputing that fact, so you're not actually arguing against anybody. The OP is about a subset of white men who have long supported the GOP and their policies to ignore the plight of others since it was the responsibility of those others to pull themselves out of their beleaguered state and just whine and cry about how unfair things are for them. Now that this subset of people finds themselves in the same beleaguered state, they're just whining and crying about how unfair things are for them.

This is why you should actually read the OP instead of stopping after reading the tongue-in-cheek title to the OP and then pretending that what you're arguing against is somehow related to what others are arguing for.

 

[Elixir]

Shame white men for no good reason, white men fight back against the wrongful shaming, call white men hypocrites for fighting back. Perfect kafka trap.

Well, it's sort of like when someone beats the shit out of the school bully. Sure, some kid just got the shit beaten out of him and that's a bad thing, but he gets less sympathy than some other random kid due to his having done the same thing so often to others.

At the risk of taking this thread seriously... I disagree. The poor white trash that is suffering so much right now, have done only one thing to deserve it; they've swallowed promises of a quick and easy fix to their situation offered for decades by conmen like Cheeto-face. In most cases they don't know any better. Unlike a bully subjected to his own treatment of others, they've never had anyone to push around.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

No Sympathy for Black Women

Huh. If only there were a specific reference in the OP which mentioned the specific subset of white men being referred to and the specific actions on their part which are being called hypocritical. If only ...

Go ahead and write a post here entitled "No sympathy for black women" and link it to an article entitled "Why I have no sympathy for angry black women" then somewhere in the article see that it refers specifically to a subset of black women. Now wait and see how much outrage you get coming your way and see if anybody calls you racist. Then point out that it was a subset you were talking to and roll your eyes at them. Lets see how that works out for you.

I have no sympathy for black women who argue that people in beleaguered states should pull themselves out of it without whining and complaining who then turn around and whine and complain when they find themselves in a beleaguered state.

No Sympathy for Black Women Article

 

[ApostateAbe]

I will answer the question you refuse to: white men didn't do shit to deserve the hatred directed at them.

Nobody's disputing that fact, so you're not actually arguing against anybody. The OP is about a subset of white men who have long supported the GOP and their policies to ignore the plight of others since it was the responsibility of those others to pull themselves out of their beleaguered state and just whine and cry about how unfair things are for them. Now that this subset of people finds themselves in the same beleaguered state, they're just whining and crying about how unfair things are for them.

This is why you should actually read the OP instead of stopping after reading the tongue-in-cheek title to the OP and then pretending that what you're arguing against is somehow related to what others are arguing for.

You know what sucks about black people? They become president of the United States, and then they don't end the wars like they promised. I think I just reasoned exactly as well as you and the OP.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Nobody's disputing that fact, so you're not actually arguing against anybody. The OP is about a subset of white men who have long supported the GOP and their policies to ignore the plight of others since it was the responsibility of those others to pull themselves out of their beleaguered state and just whine and cry about how unfair things are for them. Now that this subset of people finds themselves in the same beleaguered state, they're just whining and crying about how unfair things are for them.

This is why you should actually read the OP instead of stopping after reading the tongue-in-cheek title to the OP and then pretending that what you're arguing against is somehow related to what others are arguing for.

You know what sucks about black people? They become president of the United States, and then they don't end the wars like they promised. I think I just reasoned exactly as well as you and the OP.

I don't believe you used the word "think" and "reasoned" properly. Or engaged in reading comprehension.

 

[ApostateAbe]

You know what sucks about black people? They become president of the United States, and then they don't end the wars like they promised. I think I just reasoned exactly as well as you and the OP.

I don't believe you used the word "think" and "reasoned" properly. Or engaged in reading comprehension.

If you have a problem with that, then complain to all the black people, after they are done fucking up the wars.

 

[Toni]

Well, it's sort of like when someone beats the shit out of the school bully. Sure, some kid just got the shit beaten out of him and that's a bad thing, but he gets less sympathy than some other random kid due to his having done the same thing so often to others.

At the risk of taking this thread seriously... I disagree. The poor white trash that is suffering so much right now, have done only one thing to deserve it; they've swallowed promises of a quick and easy fix to their situation offered for decades by conmen like Cheeto-face. In most cases they don't know any better. Unlike a bully subjected to his own treatment of others, they've never had anyone to push around.

Well, sure they've had people to push around. Generally black people and brown people and people who come from strange countries with funny accents and strange religious beliefs. And women.

Only I don't think of them as poor white trash. Bunch of them, I just think of as family. Mostly pretty decent, hard working people who love their kids and try to do their best. But who cannot or will not see the same qualities in people they think are somehow different than they are. Who they used to be able to look down on, so they weren't quite the bottom run on the ladder. But thanks to government programs and affirmative action and civil rights, well, those things that used to keep other folks on the bottom rung aren't necessarily still keeping them down quite so much. Even with all the drugs and all that. Lord knows our drug policy has sure done its part to keep folks down...

Thing is, that progress or 'progress,' depending on your point of view, has left a great many of working class and lower income whites behind. Used to be that you could do decently--not be much worse off--or better off than your neighbors or most people you were related to or saw in your town--if you worked your farm or your small business or factory shifts. If you were diligent and fortunate, didn't drink too much, nobody got terribly sick or disabled, nobody died--- you could do fairly well, send your kid to college, have something for a modest retirement. Sure, you felt kinda bad if your kids didn't have much time for old ma and pop, what with their fancy college degrees and fancy office jobs and that but there was satisfaction in seeing your kids do better than you had done.

But things changed. Manufacturing is one huge change, but so is how we farm and who farms and who profits from farms. Big boxes have largely replaced small businesses necessary to small towns. Restaurants and grocery stores are chains. Largely, so are hospitals and clinics. There is a big disconnect between making and consuming and it's not just because jobs have moved overseas.

At some point, people stopped seeming to want to see anybody--including their own kids--do better than they had done for themselves. I don't understand that myself. I was raised by parents who had worked hard to gain some economic security that eluded their depression era parents, and who wanted more for their children than to barely make it. My whole generation was raised by parents who grew up in the depression, a great majority of them in pretty harsh circumstances, but who all wanted better for their kids. Some dreamed bigger than others and of course, some were more successful at achieving wealthier offspring. But there was pride in having grandkids who didn't know how to milk or muck out a barn or can beets or hoe a garden. Or work a line.

I don't know why that changed, why we stopped dreaming for our kids to have a better life than what we had. But it happened and we started saying that schools were failing when really, it was us who was failing our children. Who gave our kids the convenient excuse that the schools were failing, and the economy was bad so no matter how much they tried, they wouldn't get very far and wouldn't achieve what we had. Then beat them over the head with it. Here's $50. There's room in the basement....