It’s sunny, and it’s cooler, which is appropriate for September and today, I have those people in my head, the ones who, if they don’t feel sufficiently catered, will take their ball and go home, politically speaking.
Of course it’s not all white men or only white men but what struck me today was particularly white men, who will carry on a grudge for insufficient deference. But here is what that actually means.
They feel entitled to be treated a certain way by people who are not white men, and when that doesn’t happen, they lean into their privilege and wield it as a weapon. This may be played like it’s a subconscious thing, but it really is not.
The underlying belief is that human rights are theirs to grant and withdraw as they choose, and if we don’t “behave” they will aid the party who wants to take them from us, whether actively by voting for them or passively by not voting for Democrats.
The thing about this game is we are all supposed to pretend it’s not happening, and that’s not the reality of it, the truth behind it or the base of it, this use of privilege as a weapon. Oh no, it’s just men weighing their options when it comes to politics.
Right.
And then the groups against whom they use their privilege as a weapon are also the ones who are tasked with “changing their minds” or “swaying them” or “convincing them” as though they are the ultimate “deciders,” they are the ones who can choose who is or isn’t entirely human.
Because it’s worked that way so far.
But that whole song and dance is nothing more than an exercise in power and control. It is a demand for acknowledgment that they are the ones who ultimately have the final say.
And wow do they get mad when you disrupt that world view.
So I have a few paths forward for us as we head toward an election that is likely to have a whole lot of mantrums. For those of us whose rights are always in question, whatever the reason, be it gender, religion, orientation, race, nationality, language preference, disability, persuading these men is not our job. We do not need to debase ourselves for full humanity. The hoops are not theirs to command our jumping.
For the white men who do not see politics as a means of control in a world where you will cling to your privilege regardless of cost, these men are your responsibility.
It is on you to get them to do the right thing. And yes I can hear you saying from here “oh it won’t work, why bother.”
And that’s your own privilege talking.
Because it’s white men who are never made responsible for the actions of other white men. Weird, isn’t it, how every one is an individual, but every marginalized group is a monolith.
I wonder who set up that scheme. Eyeroll eyeroll.
I’ve seen it myself with white men eager to talk about Black people voting for donald or Jewish people working for donald but suddenly uncomfortable when I point out the largest demographic voting for donald are other white Christian men.
No interest in group responsibility then.
The momentum of the Harris/Walz campaign is immense, no matter what the wet blankets are doing to try to squelch it, and we are fast approaching a moment in which you taking your ball and going home is irrelevant, because we will have a stadium full of equipment.
Roll with us or get out of the way, because the whole point is we are tired of the old game. We have a new one with new rules.
Have a great Tuesday.
A Bit to Read 
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