Angry White Men: Did America Breed White Men To Believe They Deserve Power?

On the morning of September 4, 1957, fifteen-year-old
Dorothy Counts set out on a harrowing path toward Harding High,
where-as the first African American to attend the all-white school
she was greeted by a jeering swarm of boys who spat,
threw trash, and yelled epithets at her as she entered the building. 
#BlackHerstory Via For Harriet.

When Michael Kimmel, a professor of sociology and gender studies at Stony Brook University in New York, released his new book, "Angry White Men" I had a serious Mitch McConnell image flash into my head.

Actually, I have had repeated Mitch McConnell moments every since he declared that the number one agenda of the GOP would be to make Barack Obama a one term president.  Over the years since he first declared this comment, it has been rationalized as a foregone conclusion of any opposition party, except no opposition party ever declared it in such an honest way.

McConnell was not simply doing his rightful duty as the Senate Minority leader, he was venting a frustration that had boiled itself into anger and his lid came off.  What McConnell was also expressing was a sense of loss that the electing of Obama

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represents to way too many white men who never expected the America that they've discovered in the last two elections.

Kimmel has done a timely release even if he does it a bit narrowly.  In his attempt to achieve a work that reflects the voice of the subject at hand, the angry white man, Kimmel interviews several of them and includes their stories as the framework of the book.  By the end, you would have wished he captured more Mitch McConnell and less white supremacy.

Despite the extreme examples depicted in the book, the topic speaks to the challenge of change within any nation experiencing a shift of power.  Up until now, there has always been a prototype depiction of the white man's  polar opposite's.  Oddly, black men, black women and women have made up the group seen as opposing to white male power.  Statistics would declare that women are the only opposing power base that all men encounter.  If this is a problem for you as a man, you might find yourself angry towards the growing power of women.  For a growing number of white men, this problem becomes displaced anger.  Anger towards blacks, and Jews and women and everything that seems to be challenging the heretofore unchallenged face of American power.

Just look at the history books.  If you spend too long on the page of presidents, you would think that white men are the only one's qualified for the job.  In some ways that may be true, because the process of perfecting one's leadership skills comes from on the job training.  The changing face of power means America has decided that we need to train all of our citizens for the opportunity to lead.

But is it more than that?  Have we gone down the road of white male leadership for so long that we have only one face to blame for our failures?  When congress had  approval ratings as low as 9% it was reflective of both their do-nothing decision and an American belief that congress no longer has our best interest in mind.  When you fall to 9%, it means that even loyal voters have lost confidence in your motives.

Motives.  To begin to speak on any man's motives is a slippery slope because it assumes a seat of judgement. My hesitation in producing this post was the danger of declaring the motives of another.  It took a dear friend to post the photo above of the young lady with the angry white mob behind her before I found  the words to share this post.

When I came across this picture, I noticed for a few seconds the powerful black woman that is the focal point of the lens, but I quickly found my eyes looking into the souls of all of the young men around her who felt justified to behave as they did.  Where did they gain this justification?  I would imagine it came from the angry white man that is leading this pack of terrorist.  In all of their expressions (even those smiling) I sense the spirit of fear. Usually anger is fear in disguise.

Kimmel does a great job in pointing out the generational impact of white male privilege upon white male anger.  The world that white men indirectly promised to their white son's is going away.  More and more the changing economy and the face of leadership is forcing everyone to accept the process of societal evolution, white men are simply the people most displaced by this change.  When you have a seat at the front of the crowd for so long, it becomes emotionally challenging to involuntarily share your seat with others.  It can get infuriating to take a seat in that pack or near the back like the rest.

Yet, the beauty of change is change itself.  This is the process that we ask for when demanding a more diverse world.  Power does not shut itself off or redistribute itself with better discretion.  This has to be done by an intentional, outside force.  Anyone approaching a source of power with the intention of taking it away or redirecting it had best proceed with caution.  

In other words, let us all pray for our angry white men and ease them through this change.