Progressive Democrat Issue 105: THOUGHTS

In many ways the Republican Party today is the party of the Angry White Man. What do I mean by that? These are the guys who somehow think that society is unfair to them even though they are members of the most favored group in the world: the white American male. They are the main demographic that buys into the kind of propaganda Fox News puts out. There is a whole chunk of our society who isn't really all that skilled, smart or strong but aren't happy being mediocre. Rather than look into themselves for the problem, they blame the blacks, Asians, women and anyone else they can think of.

Back in the first Bush presidency, many were trying to blame Mexico and Japan for our economic woes. It couldn't be us, it had to be "them." Now we have an angry white man icon as President, a man who is so lacking in skill, intelligence or imagination that it boggles the mind, yet he is President and people look at Colin Powell, Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton and ask "are we ready for a black/women president?" We apparently are ready for an idiot, dry drunk liar, but we're not quite sure about intelligent blacks or women.

Bottom line is that someone like Bush should be flipping burgers. But instead, Bush is our President and I'm willing to bet that the majority of those who are still enamored of him are angry white men who feel cheated by a society that, in their fantasy world, favors minorities and women over good-old-boys.

They completely ignore the fact that women aren't trusted with decisions over their own bodies, one in four women are victims of sexual abuse of some kind, and blacks suffer from increased mortality at all ages, just to name a few examples that blow their world view out of the water.

The angry white man is, in my eyes, something of a buffoon. It is hard to take seriously someone who is a member of the most favored group in the world but who is convinced that the world is unfair to them. It would be crazy if it didn't get people like Bush elected. But Bush is their God and we have to suffer the consequences of their worship of Bush.

Following close on the heels of a diary I wrote at Culture Kitchen on Angry White Men and Conveniently Compassionate White Men, Michael Bouldin at Daily Gotham posted a pefect video of this person who seems to be the God of the Angry White Men, the person they still think is a good president. This video shows their God in his top form. So here it is, the God of the Angry White Men:



This is out President. This is the man who runs our nation and who feels he is Tsar of the world, Supreme Soviet dictator of all the people. This is the man who the Angry White Men still love despite the failure of all he has done.

This reminds me of something Charles Rangel said awhile back. Those of us in NYC are used to Congressman Charles Rangel (Democrat representing Harlem and the senior-most member of the Congressional Black Caucus). But maybe people not familiar with him are surprised at his bluntness. His political tactic of advocating the draft so that the army includes a wealthier and whiter pool of recruits seems to have baffled many. But here is an example of his humor from 2005 that a reader reminded me of. From the Monday, April 4, 2005 Washington Post:

Rangel was interviewed on New York Public Television WLIW21 last Monday night and asked for his quick reaction to various people. The first was Bush.

"Well," Rangel said. "I really think that he shatters the myth of white supremacy once and for all."

Well, he has a point.



Here's the Newsletter:

MARTIN LUTHER KING, jr. DAY PART I: from a reader in New York

MARTIN LUTHER KING, jr. DAY PART II: from a reader in Tennessee

MARTIN LUTHER KING, jr. DAY PART III: Action

KIVA UPDATE: Helping the World

NY STATE FOCUS: Blue Tiger Democrats

NYC GROUPS AND EVENTS

VIRGINIA GROUPS AND EVENTS

CALIFORNIA GROUPS AND EVENTS

NEW JERSEY GROUPS AND EVENTS

MICHIGAN FOCUS: Meeting Party Leaders

MIDWEST GROUPS AND EVENTS

FLORIDA FOCUS