Trump and allies try to redefine racism by casting White men as victims

[Nevilledog]

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Tweet text:

Jonathan Lemire
@JonLemire
The conservatives wield their own definition of racism, one that disregards U.S. history that gives White people a monopoly on power and wealth

They argue everyone must be treated equally — and, therefore, White men must not in any way be disadvantaged

washingtonpost.com
Trump and allies try to redefine racism by casting White men as victims
Trump is helping to push a diverging definition of racism that reflects deep and often partisan divisions about what, if anything, needs to be done to produce a more equitable America.
10:00 AM · Feb 5, 2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/05/trump-redefine-racism/

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https://archive.fo/McRSl

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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), for example, joined conservatives who complained that President Biden’s decision to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court was “offensive” and excludes most Americans. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said that limiting the pool to Black women is “affirmative racial discrimination.” And Trump surrogate Lynnette “Diamond” Hardaway called Biden’s approach “affirmative action” and said it was “racist, it is racism, toward anybody whether you’re White or Black.”

Writ large, the statements cast White men as victims, enraging many members of marginalized communities.

Bishop Talbert Swan, president of the Greater Springfield, Mass., chapter of the NAACP, said: “It is gaslighting on steroids for White men who have always been the most privileged segment of society to think that America offering to non-White males the privileges that they have always had from birth is somehow discriminating against them. For that demographic to be out in public, screaming racism and pretending to be victims is one of the most clownish disingenuous acts that I’ve ever seen.”

A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to a request for comment.

Experts in political speech and critics on the left say there is more at play than a disagreement over whether White people can be victims of racism or a slanted understanding of the role race plays in America. Some see the desire to identify racism and label opponents “racist” as an effort to wield grievance and stoke animus for political gain — a tactic Trump and others have used in campaigns to anger and animate voters. It’s a sentiment steeped in beliefs among some voters that attempts at equity have gone too far and are punishing people who happen to have been born White.

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