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>...is something I BEEN seeing more and more (over the past 3 >years) and even on this board. >perspective of feeling attacked is something I see, not an >"attack"] > >The Boston Globe even kicked out this article last week: >https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/07/02/defense-white-male/Me9UoUrcPbcljxRkPFlXAP/story.html > > > > >The argument: > >White people are under attack. > >Whiteness is under attack. > >Its not ok to be a straight white male. > >NOT ALL WHITE PEOPLE ARE RACIST. > >You like that penicillin and that computer you using right? >You're welcome b. > >etc etc etc, until your eyes fall out of your head. > > >https://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/simpsons/images/1/12/Helen_Lovejoy_Tapped_Out.png/revision/latest?cb=20150531020148 > > > > >Boston Globe article swipe: >EVERYWHERE I TURN these days I encounter the term “white >male,” almost always used in a pejorative way. I understand >the reasons for this. There are abundant examples — both in >history and current events — of boorish and evil white men. >Hitler comes to mind. Stalin. Mussolini. On a much lesser >scale, certain unmentionables in present-day D.C. > >For one example, it’s not difficult to look at the assembled >power brokers of the Republican congress, smiling as they >eliminate funds for the health care of women, and see them as >part of an evil empire of powerful, pale-skinned, masculine >creatures. And I’ve met enough obnoxious white men in my own >life to understand the contemptuous tone in which “white >male” is so often used. > >But these blanket condemnations are part of a very narrow and >skewed reading of both history and current events. While >it’s certainly true that white men have started wars, >participated in torture, and committed rape, they/we have not >cornered the market on evil behavior. Idi Amin comes to mind. >Pol Pot. Baby Doc Duvalier. Hirohito. > >Not to mention certain notorious female camp guards and serial >killers. > >It’s not hard to argue that white men have done more harm in >history — from the keeping of slaves to the genocide of >Native Americans, and a thousand other examples — than any >other single group. But it can also be argued that they have >done more good — in combatting evil regimes, in developing >medicines, in inventing everything from the automobile to the >cellphone to various methods of birth control. White men >discovered penicillin, Novocain, the drug regimen used to >treat people afflicted with AIDS. In many places the chances >are good that if your home is on fire, it will be a white man >who comes to put it out. And, if it were not for the millions >of white men who gave their lives in World War II, we might >all be starting the work day with the Nazi salute. > >Associating us only with evil deeds, selfishness, and violence >is as misguided as making general disparaging statements about >any other group: women, blacks, Muslims, homosexuals. Yet, in >certain circles, it has become acceptable — even laudable >— to do just that. > >Not long ago I had an exchange with a former student of mine >— we were discussing women’s rights and abusive men — >and she told me I had no right to speak on the subject. “We >were made to be silent for millennia,” she said, “now >it’s your turn.” That kind of revenge must be satisfying, >and particularly soothing to those who’ve been hurt by men >— no small number. Ultimately, though, understandable as it >may be, the impulse toward revenge leads nowhere except to a >seesaw of oppression and fury. > >I thought of arguing with her that my right to speak on those >issues derives from the fact that I have two daughters and >have been married for 38 years to the same good woman. But >those aren’t the true reasons. The true reason is that I am >a human being, and the welfare of all human beings concerns >me. > >At the root of the oppression of women, an oppression which >denied and continues to deny them equal status and >opportunity, was what Hemingway — a quintessential white >male, much in disfavor in certain circles now — called >“those dirty, easy labels.” For centuries, females were >considered less intelligent, less dependable, fickle, flighty, >hysterical. That was the rap, and it infiltrated the culture >in everything from hiring practices to the naming of >hurricanes. > >From Jews to African-Americans to homosexuals to Irish, >Italian, and now Middle Eastern immigrants, hatred began by >tossing all of them into a group, and attributing to that >group the most unattractive characteristics imaginable. What >is being done to “white males” now, it should go without >saying, is not on a par with what was done to those people. >But the instinct to label and blame is born of the same kind >of group-think. > >Maybe one fine day we’ll learn to eschew labels, or at least >see beyond them, and focus on the humanity we share. >
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