Angry White Men: A Book Review

Angry White Men (AWM) by Michael Kimmel explores variations on the concept of aggrieved entitlement. According to Kimmel’s theory, when an individual or group expects certain privileges based on their status and reality does not conform to those expectations, a backlash can occur.

Aggrieved entitlement is used to explain a variety of social phenomenon in modern America including the upsurge in nationalism, hate radio, men’s rights groups, domestic terrorism, suicides, and white supremacy groups of all sizes. The common thread in all these trends comes from the demographics of the individuals engaged in these activities. As the title suggests, aggrieved entitlement is by and large the exclusive affliction of angry white men marginalized by multiculturalism, feminism, and gay liberation.

The book was written in 2013, when the Trumpocalypse was inconceivable as a realistic option for the country. AWM focuses on the conditions that gave rise to Trumpzilla, but it doesn’t speak directly to his corrosive impact. It also only hints at the underlying sexual frustration and insecurity I believe is at the heart of racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism and anti-gay bias. It does provide useful insight into an influential but warped strata of society, especially when read in conjunction with Carol Anderson’s White Rage and Aaron James’s Assholes.

If Black Panther is the Target of a Mass Shooting in 'Merica...

Here’s a thought based on no specific knowledge or evidence. It is not a threat. It is a preemptive observation based on an established pattern of behavior.

There will probably be a mass shooting in a theater somewhere in America during the Black Panther opening weekend.

This thought might be depressing, but it will not be shocking in light of the political, social, and cultural environment we exist in. The ingredients are all present. The mood is ripe for a violent backlash in pop culture. It would be more surprising (but a huge relief) if the weekend passed without a racial attack at the movies.

If there is another episode of mass murder in ‘Merica, and I hope there isn’t, we know what the responses will be and how blame will be handed out. We will blame Marvel for making the movie. We will blame the theater for showing it. The people who went to see it will receive the most blame from the powers that be. How dare they create such a dangerous situation? We will pretend to be shocked. We will avoid the real discussion. The terrorists will be taken alive and characterized as disturbed loners or misunderstood men who had their whole lives ahead of them.

Debates will rage about the threat this type of film poses. Questions will be raised about whether or not it should have ever been made, or if the sequel should be canceled, or if anyone will go out to see it the following weekend.

Here is another thought based on nothing more than my own distorted view of reality. On the second weekend, more people will go to see it than the first. We will pretend to be shocked. It will be seen as a rejection of hate and a triumph for America. But that won’t be the real message. We will avoid the deeper discussion.

I’ve been wrong before. I hope I’m wrong now. If we are attacked again, I know what I will do. I’ll repost my advice for escaping a mass shooting, the same way I’ve done for most of the high profile terrorist attacks. (See What to Do When the Bullets Start Flying). I will tune out the false disbelief and misplaced blame. And then I’ll go and see the movie again and again, even if it’s horrible.

I hope you will too.

Have fun.

G   

2016 Is Our Year of Brutality

By Gamal Hennessy

There are only a few days left in the year, and for many of us the end can’t come soon enough. Members of my generation have seen our icons fall in film and music. The wider world is bracing for Brexit, the Trumpocalypse and ongoing bloodbaths in Syria, Yemen and South Sudan. The most sensational brutality of the year might be a recent phenomenon, but the cruelty that has faded from the headlines and mainstream consciousness is embedded in the fabric of ‘Merican culture.  Police brutality and violence against people of color had a prominent place in the public consciousness this year, but not much has changed on the ground.

From Anton Sterling to Jessica Williams to Philando Castile to Korryn Gaines to Tyre King to Terence Crutcher to Taiwon Boyd to Levonia Riggins to Keith Scott to Alfred Olango to Deborah Danner we find a pattern.  The gender, age, and geographic location might have been different for each victim, but the outcome was the same. Our police use our funding to murder us and face little or no consequences for their actions.

And all this occurred under the administration of an arguably progressive, feminist, black president. Do we have any reason to believe police brutality will decrease under Trumpzilla? Is there any chance the motivations of police will change? What is the likelihood that people will stop labelling us as criminal simply because of our race? Our society shares several characteristics with the slave ships of the Middle Passage. Those similarities are likely to deepen once we replace Obama with Trumpzilla.

None of us are fortune tellers. We don’t know what 2017 will bring, but it’s safe to say some of us won’t make it to see 2018. All we can really do is listen, learn, fight, work, create and love the people who are important to us.

Good luck to everyone who reads this. Remember the Moscow Rules.

Have fun.

What is Wrong with Us?

By Gamal Hennessy

Ten questions raised by yesterday’s subway stabbing in New York

1.       How many of us think “I might get stabbed on a subway train today?”

2.       Why is so much of our violence based in hatred of “The Other”?

3.       How does our own internal anger translate into stabbing someone who did something so offensive as offering us a seat?

4.       Why can’t we be comfortable in our own skin without worrying about the violent hatred of strangers?

5.       If violence doesn’t happen in a vacuum, what triggered this attack? Was it really just a racist woman who didn’t want to sit next to a Black person?

6.       If we can’t be safe in a public place surrounded by people, where can we be safe?

7.       What did she hope to accomplish by stabbing a person who offered her a seat? What was she trying to prove? What did she hope to gain?

8.       What details are missing from this story?

9.       How long will it take for the white nationalists to claim this hate crime as symptomatic of everything wrong with women, Hispanics, Blacks and transgender people in America?

10.   What the fuck is wrong with people?

Trumpzilla Might Be the Best Recruitment Tool for ISIS

By Gamal Hennessy

Question: What do racist hatemongers, Wall Street executives, and Middle East terrorists have in common?

Answer: They will all probably benefit from the coming Trumpocalypse.

In the case of the terrorists, consider what Trumpzilla said when asked if the attack in Berlin Christmas Market attack would cause him to evaluate the proposed ban or a possible registry of Muslims in the United States:

"You know my plans. All along, I've been proven to be right, 100 percent correct."

Let’s break this down.

• First, no one knows his plans. He might not even know himself.
• Second, he has rarely if ever been proven right, since the vast majority of his statements conform to the classic elements of bullshit.
• Third, if the goal of ISIS is to drive a wedge between the moderate international Muslim population and the secular governments of the West, then all of Trumps “ideas” play into the hands of terrorists. Discrimination, isolation, and abuse radicalize lone wolf terrorists, which is exactly what ISIS needs to survive.

I’m not an expert on counter terrorism. I’m not an expert on ISIS. Having said that, I am pretty sure that pouring gasoline on a fire is not the best way to put the fire out.

But I don’t think Trumpzilla wants to put the fire out. He needs the crisis to hide his crimes and ignorance.

Have fun.

G