Here and elsewhere, accompanying the book’s mockery of the essentially innocuous solipsism of White People is what Lander, a man of the left, described to me as his exasperation with progressives’ “cultural righteousness” and “intolerance and groupthink”—a set of attitudes that enhances and is enhanced by a profoundly smug and incurious outlook. To be sure, these faults aren’t peculiar to the progressive and the hip, but Lander repeatedly and cleverly shows how some of White People’s favorite activities (watching political documentaries, “raising awareness,” foreign travel), which they complacently embrace as broadening, are in fact lazy and tend to be intellectually and politically stultifying: White People “like feeling smart without doing work—two hours in a theater is easier than ten hours with a book.”
More damning is the conclusion produced by a careful reading of this often fine-grained semi-sociological analysis: a good deal of the progressives’ attitudes, preferences, and sense of identity are ingrained in an unlovely disdain for those outside their charmed circle.
Shack.
How do you squids float those shacks and concentric circles out in all that wet blue stuff? Heh–actually the range we used the most in 3rdAF was a Dutch Mil H2O
site off the hook of Holland.
PS: At least for conventional stuff-for nuke events we went up “the Wash”
thru Scotland for the low-level delivery
Dive-Toss, LOFT and LADD overhead lay-down stuff.
The reviewer is right on…the site in general, clearly targets the hyper-self-conscious members of the “white” (I use the quotes because whiteness is an attitude as well as a racial position) community who have taken on the mantle of championing persons of color and politically correct causes without recognizing/acknowledging/relinquishing any of their racial privilege (I think of it as the phenomena of white folks who love black folks but can’t list any people of color among their friends, or haven’t had a person of color as a guest in their home–not counting housekeepers or nannies)…
I find the site hilarious and see many people that I work with reflected in its posts…but it also makes me wonder…the author mocks those who pretend to understand race/racism, but ignores those who also benefit from racism/racial privilege but don’t care to give the appearance of recognize their advantages.
My question has always been, is it that the author thinks the former is not as bad as the latter, or, does the author merely think the latter is unsalvagable? Or is the question, is outright racism more honest?
Mostly, I think it is…when someone admits to being racist, at least it gives you something to work with…its harder to convince folks who think they are not racist to see it when they are…
self righteous indignation of that sort isn’t limited to the elite of liberals, though…
fun post, thanks…nice to know someone else knows the site.
*stirring the pot*
…when someone admits to being racist, at least it gives you something to work with…its harder to convince folks who think they are not racist to see it when they are…
I can’t resist asking: in your opinion, how common is the latter case?
{yawn} Seen the site, it was boring and self-absorbed, kind of like a Woody Allen movie. The writers seem really impressed with themselves.
Now, if you want satire, check out Blackpeopleloveus.com. The “testimonials” are a hoot.
That right there is funny, I don’t care who you are.