This map is provoking discussion widely in the blogosphere.
That white men are more conservative than Americans in
general is, I think, not open to challenge. This makes a difference in close elections, so I am not
making light of the issue. The
important questions are how significantly so and why? This map does not help much because it hides the really
important cultural differences within the US that answer both questions to a
large degree.
What the map does show is that Southern white men are far
out of step with white men elsewhere, except for Mormon white men and perhaps a
tiny number of Western welfare ranchers and such who play cowboy. (There are very few of them, but they
are common in the demographically tiny state of Wyoming and combined with
Mormons, give the impression of a huge reservoir of conservatism in a state
with under a half million citizens total. Number 50 out of 50.) Minus these two-and-a-fraction groups and white
men in the rest of the country, the overwhelming majority, did not vote for Obama much less than
white women. Pooling the white men
of Mississippi and the white men of Maine does a serious disservice to the
latter, and disguises the realities of what is really going on. And, of course, Southern white women do
not really hold the Democratic banner all that high, either.
The South has long been the cultural and political outlier
in America, its religion often out of step with American traditions, its
history often a celebration of treason.
Nothing like a majority of white women in the South voted for Obama
either. There are plenty of good
and reasonable people in the South, White and Black and Brown and Red, but we
do not make their task of promoting civilization any easier by bad analysis and
playing into the hands of authoritarian racists like Pat Buchanan and Rush
Limbaugh who seek to convince white men that they speak for them. Yglesias makes teir claims easier to accept.
Many left-liberals get uncomfortable talking about culture,
but culture is what shows through in this map, not primarily race and
gender. Culture is what ails us
and may yet tear this country apart.
And the Democrats and 'progressives' are scared to talk about it for
various interesting but ultimately dishonest reasons.
But there is something EVEN WORSE about this
interpretation. Yglesias writes
"Drawing from the relatively small pool of white male progressives means
drawing from a shallow talent pool."
Part of what is wrong with this country is tied up with this
statement. It assumes that only a
tiny percentage of Americans are competent, and so we need huge 'talent
pools' to have a chance to get the best.
It is stupid elitism, "progressive" style. Apparently they believe they are somehow much more competent
than most everyone in the country and so need to do their thinking for
them. They are making the same
mistake their corporate and political equivalents to their political right are making: over
estimating their own intelligence while underestimating everyone else's. The corporate and political ones do more
damage because they are in power and the Progressives are not, but the problem is deeper than which faction
holds office.
Across the board we are getting pretty low levels of talent
and competence in leadership positions in this country, and the problem has
nothing to do with gender or race.
Obama's people clicked it up a notch, but that's often still not very high. This country is over centralized, and dominated by huge organizations
who for the most part have insulated their leadership from being held
responsible for their actions, especially incompetent ones. A far smaller nation with a far more
exclusive group of white men gave us the American Revolution.
The problem is not the size of the "talent pool" it is the
degree to which millions of people of talent of all races and genders are
subordinated to the ingrown leadership of giant organizations - mostly
corporate but also political. For
historical reasons most of these incompetent and corrupt leaders are white men,
but anyone who believes Blacks or other races are somehow less subject to these
patters is fooling themselves and should read a little history. I suspect it is no different with
women, given the number of dishonest and manipulative ones that have risen in
the conservative movement of today.
It is this comfortable elitism on the part of many 'Progressives' who sincerely think they are part of the solution rather than simply a more humane part of the problem that worries me even more than our cultural divisions. It prevents them from seriously considering policies that actually empower people and weaken the power of the incompetent elite that dominates this country.

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As a white man my removal of your post was hardly racist - especially since my original post criticized those who said white men are the problem. Nor was it childish - f you read this blog you know I allow far more personally insulting material to appear - so long as some REASONS with some EVIDENCE are attached.
"My people" is a code word. I think you know it. In the context you used it, the words distinguish from the "other people" who just happen to be brown or black or red or yellow. I am not one of your "people" even though I am white and male and don't like leftist PC mindlessnes such as Yglesias demonstrated.
In my experience race and gender have nothing to do with a person's value as a human being or their admirable or disgusting qualities. Culture is much more important. Individual character is even more important still.
Any knee jerk romanticization or denigration of ANY ethnic group or religion is tribalistic nonsense and not progressive at all. The PC left is about as bad as the racist right - they are often mirror images of one another and to a degree neither would find comfortable, they are symbiotic. The excesses of each push others into the other side.
[[[Gus diZerega]]]
I don't like getting into racial debate either. However, i've been drawn into this debate by the original title of the article. I don't believe white men are the problem. People like "Franklin Evans" (who I presume isn't white) only irritate me with lies and guilt. I have a right to defend my myself and my blood.
When I say "my" i'm not being politically correct. By "my" I mean "my", no if, an, but, about it. I can't deny that i'm white. I can't deny what I am.
[[[[[White people are not being oppressed. White people are losing their privileges, unearned and unjustified, from decades of being in the majority and using bully tactics to stay in power.]]]]]
Privilege? What privileges?
Is it a privilege that white schools and neighborhoods are racistly cleansed in the name of integration. Is it a privilege that non-whites are entitled to jobs, grants, and scholarships even if they didn't earn it. Is it a privilege that racist laws like Affirmative action and racist Government quotas deny whites their basic property rights and their right to self-determination?
Is it a privilege that whites are tought to hate themselves in schools while non-whites have entire history months to celebrate themselves? What privilege? The whole culture, media, schooling of America is racist against white people and works to benefit non-whites. It's ok for black or whatever to be proud of whom they're. It's ok for them to play racial politics with their own black tv & radio channles, newpapers, organizations, schools, and their right to be seperate in electing politcians which best represent them.
You have things backwards.
Most postions of power whites hold have been earned. White people have worked hard for positions of power they gained. Whites have had tons of influence on technological, science, space, and just about every sector of American society. Any positions we gained have been earned. If we didn't earn it we would have gained it.
Also, the only people bullying people trying to gain power are non-whites. How can a black man become president in a nation blacks represent only 13%? Obviously you lie once again, because if we were bullies there wouldn't be a black president, period.
[[[[Franlin Evans]]]]
It's funny how you use "we the people". According to what people consider racist on this site then own nations "white" founders would be racist. In fact, if I quotes the writers of the Constitution, Franklin, Jackson, or even Lincoln you soft head would probablly explode, because they'd be to racist for you.
By the way, please. Whites did't kill the original occupiers of America. European settlemens 600 years older then Columbus have been found in Canada.
When are we EVER going to get past the issue of race in this world!?!
I celebrate my heritage and am proud of my ancestors. BUT - I never think of those of my race being "my people" and anyone of a different race are "those other people". I am perfectly capable of being proud of myself without feeling that I'm somehow better than people of a different race. We are all of ONE race - the HUMAN race and according to the latest science, we are all descended from the same peoples so there's no way to "place your people first".
Everyone should be proud of who they are, and feel free to celebrate their individual cultural heritage. What does it matter what race a person was who invented this or that. Or what was done by whom in the past. How far do you want to go back? Egyptians had a complicated society with beautiful architecture thousands of years ago when my ancestors were running around painting themselves blue and throwing spears at each other. Arguing over what happened before any of us were born is a pointless, stupid waste of time. WHAT DOES IT MATTER NOW??? Is somebody keeping count for some kind of sick contest? How does it help anything? If you had cancer, would you shun a cure that was developed by someone of a different race than yours?
The point of progress is to become better PEOPLE, regardless of what we look like.
People like "Franklin Evans" (who I presume isn't white) only irritate me with lies and guilt.
I'm left to assume that you either do not read posts all the way through (regardless of their length), or that you decide I'm lying when I ended my post with
"Signed,
A patriot who happens to be both white and male."
As for getting things backwards, there is not enough time in the day to illustrate the actual, factual history of non-white minority oppression in the US starting before the ink was dry on the Declaration of Independence... actually, before it was a gleem in some landed gentlemen's eyes.
Good day to you, Nov. 1st. You might try reading "The Federalist Papers" some time.
Franklin,
I have a feeling that according to Nov 1, you would probably be deemed, "not white enough". He'd analyse yr picture and say yr cheekbones are too high or yr eyes are brown or yr hair too dark or your great great great great great great great granny was a quarter "red savage" and pronounce you "unclean" and not one of "his" people. "White" is a political construct, or to be less polite, BULLSHIT. no-one is "white" just like no-one is black. Like Gus, I know a code word when I hear it. But you hit the nail on the head when you said the white folk are fighting to maintain their privilege. The sense of entitlement is so deeply ingrained that they do sadly actually believe the nonsense they spout. Even the ones that think they're liberal are often pretty damn racist and sexist under the paint. They will scream louder than a firework though if you point out that fact!
If they won't even read a post though, how can we expect them to read the writing on the book of their own soul?
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