White America is divided into three groups:
- A very small percentage (mostly millennials) is woke. These people view American history as a narrative in oppression and are eager to do penance in the form of reparation payments. The lunar landing would be a timely illustration of the woke mentality; while most of us consider it to be a remarkable, unifying story of American accomplishment, a woke person would say it is just another example of minority oppression, because all three Apollo 11 astronauts were white men.
- A much larger percentage, but not a majority, is defiantly unwoke. These folks not only reject the notion of white privilege; they assert that white people are victims, and that minorities are the true privileged group, because they receive a boatload of undeserved government benefits and cuts in line. Lindsey Graham’s Rosa-in-reverse statement during the Kavanaugh hearing about the white man refusing to be silenced as a classic example of this mentality.
- The rest of us, including me, think that white victimhood is a bad joke, and acknowledge the reality of racism on a daily basis, but do not accept the notion of white privilege or any obligation to pay reparations.
So where is this debate going? Will the center hold?
I have my doubts. Demographics and momentum are on the side of the woke. The backlash from the unwoke is likely to be ferocious. It’s hard to be optimistic that good sense will ultimately prevail.