The Continuing Campaign to Make America White Again

Two opinion pieces were published this week that underscore the foundation of racism upon which the Trump Administration policies are built.  Both pieces follow the "leak" this week of a memo outlining the Department of Justice's plans to pursue dismantling of affirmative actions programs.  Both pieces point out the absurdity of portraying US whites as victims.   Prof. Carol Anderson , is the author of White Rage, the Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide. She reminds us in her NYT opinion, white men benefit from flexible undergraduate admissions programs.  If objective scores and grades were the predominant selection method, white males would be a distinct minority on campus.  Flexible admissions policies that consider gender as a bona fide admissions factor, benefit white males as much as anyone else.  But it is race of which whites most complain.

 In his New Yorker piece, Jelani Cobb focuses on the heart of racist thinking.  Whites view their economic status comparatively.  One African American succeeding financially is an affront to less affluent whites.  The underlying assumption that whites deserve to be successful in every way before any person of color "succeeds", (however that is defined), is the source of white resentment.  Whiteness as the ideal standard is what Trump and many followers look to preserve. 

Mr. Trump may not be a seasoned politician.  He may be unable to deliver on his major campaign promises. But he knows how to stoke his base. Through feeding anger and irrationality, Mr. Trump has begun his re-election campaign.