There was a time when I could not have had a conversation with any of my White working class male friends without the subject of “affirmative action” coming up. The general theme was something like this: “I lost my job to some Black guy because of that dammed affirmative action!” The term “Affirmative Action Babies” became a staple on right wing talk radio and among most talking heads on Fox. Working class Whites who lost their jobs due to globalization or who were passed over for a promotion, or missed some educational opportunity found affirmative action babies to be a natural scapegoats. The one problem is that White women benefited from affirmative laws far, far more than Blacks.
Below Tim Wise opens an old, new door on affirmative action. He details the unmistakable connection between affirmative action and white privilege: (Tim Wise, one of my favorite White “Black Militants”.)
Just as the corporate media has made Blacks the face of welfare recipients (By sheer numbers many more Whites are on the welfare roles than Blacks) ; The “dead beats” caused the housing crash by not living within their means (sound a bit like knowing their place). Rick Santelli’s rant on the trading floor of Wall Street set the tone that placed the recent housing crash squarely on the worn out shoulders of America’s Black population. America’s Black population has been solidly branded by the media with the label of affirmative action babies.
What I find puzzling is that White women who have benefited far more than Blacks were and are today shamefully quiet, allowing Blacks to take the brunt of white male rage.
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