Let’s face it. This whole shut the government down thing? This is about angry white guys.
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Yes, I realize there is a lot of talk about Obamacare, and the Constitution and death panels and corporations getting a twelve month pass and all that, but really and truly? This is about angry white men, who, more and more lately, just can’t “get er done” anymore in national elections. Which, not surprisingly, makes them mad (er).
In the past, all you had to do was get mad at women, immigrants, taxes, science and liberals and then sit back and watch the votes pour in.
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Why can’t they win national elections? Because they simply don’t have the votes any more. What was once a simple matter of being angry and white has turned into something much more complex. In the past, all you had to do was get mad at women, immigrants, taxes, science and liberals and then sit back and watch the votes pour in. And the more elections white guys won, the angrier they got. When George Bush won for the second time, they got so mad they had steam coming out of their ears. Dick Cheney, the Odin/Zeus/Freddy Krueger of angry white men had to have his pacemaker replaced weekly because he was so mad at winning. Doctors followed him around and every time he started another war, they had to pop in a new ticker. And angry white guys loved him for it. Because, they were mad about winning, too. They swarmed in huge packs behind him on their medicare funded scooters and cheered every time he hated somebody. Because President Bush had won the damn election so angry white men were LIVID. I mean, he WON right? I’m here to tell you, winning twice made them soooo mad.
But then, something even more angry-making happened. The number of angry white voters began to decline. Maybe the really old wrinkly white guys started kicking the bucket. I don’t know. But something happened. The result was, they couldn’t quite win Florida or Ohio any more. Not even from a black guy. Even when they used every voter suppression trick in the book.
This did not go over well. Some people started thinking maybe all the wars and crazy tax breaks for the rich and global warming and over priced sports stadiums was getting a little out of hand so they stopped voting for angry white candidates. Even black angry white candidates, regardless of how many times Karl Rove told them to. And that made the angry white men CRAZY ANGRY. Their poor wives got so angry their faces puffed all up. Or was that just age? We may never know.
And then, it happened. The numbers of angry white men declined to the point that the remaining angry white men collapsed like a dying star into a super dense mass of white hot angry called the Tea Party and they started sucking up all of the GOP political will around them like a black hole of whiteness.
And then, it happened. The numbers of angry white men declined to the point that the remaining angry white men collapsed like a dying star into a super dense mass of white hot angry called the Tea Party.
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And so we stand here today. Witness to the last stages of a angry white male flame out. It’s like they burned up all their Fox News hydrogen and now the Tea Party dwarf star is consuming the very mass of its own Chevy Suburban self. Tea Party leaders like Ted Cruz are running around the capital, their rhetorical hair on fire, yelling about how the President won’t “come to the table and talk.” Come to the “crazy flaming table of white hot lemming rage,” you mean? And why should he? Any sane person would want to put a little distance between himself and collapsing black holes of angry entitled whiteness. Cause they totally suck.
Ew.
So, its pretty much over. Yeah, angry white men can still shut down the government every few years and they can all still go to Denny’s carrying their AR-15 assault rifles, but no matter how white hot crazy angry they get, their numbers are just not going to hold up. Angry white guys are just not generating the kind of lemmings over the cliff intertia they used to be able to count on. The glory days are over. What was born through the machinations of the Southern Strategy and came to fruition during the Reagan revolution is now finally petering out.
Angry white men’s numbers are dwindling. They need to breed more. But they are old. And their swimmers have lost their spunk. And not even super-sexy angry white ladies like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann can restore their once prime breeding numbers. Angry they got. Babies they don’t got. At least not at the rate they’ll need to outnumber all the people they have pissed off.
Yes, we can still look forward to more CPAC conferences and yes, a few women in the midwest will be jailed for taking birth control, but for the most part, we’re watching the last enraged gasps of a dying breed. Yes, its true. Angry white conservative men are on the decline.
So, thanks for the shitty wars and the global warming and the collapse of our national infrastructure, angry white guys. Thanks for the 11th hour attack on women’s bodies and the fetishizing of guns and big business. Thanks for the weird angry-Jesus religious distortions and the retro anti-science fairs. Thanks for all the binary, nasty, self-absorbed stuff that says, “Hi. Shut up and let me have my way. Cause I’m an angry white man.”
I’d like to say it’s been fun. But it hasn’t.
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You sum it up so well. 2008 was the first presidential election I was legal to vote in. I very quickly stopped getting information from television because of these angry white men. I asked my friends, “Do they realize what flaming stereotypes they are?”
I think a lot of people are reaching the same conclusion at about the same time, with differing ways to express it. The shutdown and potential default is making it all crystal clear.
I think the tea party are the New Confederates, as I write here at the Fayetteville (NC) Observer:
http://fayobserver.com/articles/2013/10/07/1287131?sac=fo.local#comments.
I think you know what’s happening in NC.
Independently, the Washington Post’s Colbert I. King reached the same conclusion, calling the tea party “the New Confederacy.”
John Weest, sorry to see that your last comment was M’d out. Not sure why though
I have to say that I’m really impressed with some of the responses. It appears that there are many that have educated themselves on the reality of this issue and have not given into the typical main stream media propaganda. In reading through these posts is there appears to be a common thread indicating that the original article is based upon the so called “radical” and not the main stream. Where as I’ve read countless articles here at GMP that have made it clear that today’s feminism is not represented by the “radical” feminists, it appears that the same benefit… Read more »
Tom, my question to those who somehow seek to paint the Tea Party sponsored radical anti-goverment agenda as “not extreme” is simple. How far out on an anti-government limb do you have to go, risking our fragile economic recovery along the way, to be viewed as radical? Seems like these guys don’t give a damn about anything but their dogmatic ideology. Until a hurricane hits. Then they’re all about government.
There’s actually quite a bit of blame to go around. It takes a village to ruin a government. It’s fair to say that as a very general rule white male voters are more likely to vote Republican. However, in the spirit of inclusion and in the spirit of the war against sexism, let us not forget the tens of millions of WOMEN who vote Republican. No one wins a seat in Congress without a significant number of votes from women. The people who shut down the government (whomever is to blame) were put there and continue to be put there… Read more »
I think it is sad that reproductive numbers are what is driving our elections. That, which party will benefit me more is the one I will vote for. Looking long term these stubborn stupid white men might have all your best interests at heart. This is really nothing more than a challenge to authority. As president he should be able to drill his way through it. He lacks the political courage to do so as evidenced by his slow move toward gay marriage and his fumbling of the red line in Syria and his fumbling of the “shovel ready jobs”.… Read more »
Happy to disagree with you here, John. Are we as liberals and progressives obligated to sit quietly while our president is called a Nazi? Your plea for civility is best directed at the Rush Limbaughs of the world. The President has spent five years trying to work with the Republicans in the House. It has been a massive waste of time. They don’t play nice. Ever. The gloves are off my friend, because its the only language the Tea Party gerrymandered crazy squad understands. So, thanks for your call for civility, but we didn’t start this shit storm. The far… Read more »
So your reasoning boils down to “They started it!!!!!” This is utterly fruitless.
No, its not. down to that. It is one point among many. CW, you are trying very hard to box in my thesis. But you are fighting a battle which avoids a simple truth. These guys are dangerous, both for America and for our democratic process.
I know it’s hard in the land of the interwebs, but it’s perfectly ok to disagree with an idea, without being disrespectful. I think that’s what we’ve lost in this country. The entire idea of pluralism. That it’s ok if there are different views out there. If everyone agreed, it’d be a pretty boring world. The trend to attack as a way to make your opinion more valid, just shows the lack of interest in even knowing what the other side is saying. It’s an modern adult version of “Na-Na-Na, I can’t hear you.” You do realize that the Koch-led… Read more »
For those talking about the role of women in racism, don’t forget that he acknowledged them in his post: “Some people started thinking maybe all the wars and crazy tax breaks for the rich and global warming and over priced sports stadiums was getting a little out of hand so they stopped voting for angry white candidates. Even black angry white candidates, regardless of how many times Karl Rove told them to. And that made the angry white men CRAZY ANGRY. Their poor wives got so angry their faces puffed all up. Or was that just age? We may never… Read more »
” Point being, the women in the conservative movement are largely the wives and daughters of the angry white men. In a world of male dominance, our opinions become adjuncts of their opinions; the culture we are surrounded with shapes us to obey, or at least to follow what the men do. (Speaking as a woman raised by an angry white man in MS.) ” You make the issue to one sided, it doesn’t work like that. Both men and women are co responsible (I will never be tired to say this) and there is no such a male dominance.… Read more »
The last time I checked,voting is a singularly private event.White women have been supporting angry white males for generations.
Don’t forget the whole Biblical command to obey your husband thing. Very powerful way in which women in the conservative movement hand over their autonomy to the men.
how many conservative women and men do you actually know? You are fighting a boogeyman that you just make eviler and eviler every minute. If you cannot see the idiocy on both sides of the aisle you’ve got your eyes closed. If you’re NOT angry about the direction our government (notice that I refrained from singling out any party or ethnic group) is taking us you’re not paying attention. My health insurance costs for my family of five will more than double next year- let that sink in. I pay for my own insurance because I work for myself. My… Read more »
CW, if I answer that I was raised in a conservative Christian family would you suddenly consider my statements valid? No, you would not. Your question isn’t relevant because you don’t care about the answer.
So your family represents ALL conservatives? Wow- there is no dialogue possible here. Its easier to sit back, thrown stones and pretend those who disagree are horrible caricatures. My extended family hails largely from the upper midwest and are dyed in the wool Democrats, union members and progressives. They are some of the best people I have ever met and I am blessed to have them in my life. I’ve met some pretty crappy people who held progressive beliefs as well. There are a couple families in my neighborhood who are just reprehensible. Which represents the progressive movement? Aren’t all… Read more »
Indeed. I grew up in a very conservative family and vividly remember my father–an angry white male if there ever was one–once giving my mother a list of candidates she was supposed to vote for before they went to the polls, and telling her “I’ll slap you silly” unless she voted exactly as she was told. He made that same threat many times, over many other issues. He threatened me and my sisters the same way. And my mother obeyed, because she had been told all her life by her father and by church pastors that a woman was to… Read more »
Are you serious? You can write this “I finally left home for college and found out that people of other races and religions, LGBT people, or even (gasp!) liberals were not the vile, evil, wretched creatures my father told me they were. (An opened mind is a dangerous thing….)” While also stating this: “am sure that there are some women who do indeed sincerely believe in the positions espoused by the Tea Party and other rabid conservative groups, but my own experience is that many of these women (and many of the men for that matter) are completely lacking in… Read more »
Dear CW,
Please note we are not talking about conservatives. We are talking about extremists and hard line Tea Party types. The part of the GOP that is pissing off the rest of the GOP. THAT is who we are talking about. NOT all conservatives. Senator Olympia Snow is considered to be a conservative. We are not talking about her.
Clearly patriarchy enforces roles for men, too. That doesn’t change the fact that their role has been one of control, and women’s role one of following/submission. The “angry white man” phenomenon stems from a loss of control. I don’t blame everything on men—far from it. I do, however, blame a lot on men who feel like they should have the right to control what women do. (And yes, also women who feel like men should have that right.)
Also, voting is a private event, a fact which many women have taken advantage of over the years, but cultural conditioning is a whole different ballgame for those who lack the upper hand.
This is the same argument conservative men used a century ago to try to deny women’s right to vote — wives just vote the way their husbands do anyway, so women’s votes are not really women’s votes, so they really don’t need to vote.
I’m also thinking of the Bradley Effect: who people say they vote for and who they actually vote for in private may be quite different.
@Theresa I might venture to guess that most Americans,under the proper conditions,would get angry over loosing power.More than likely,this is a reflection of our humanity.We,notoriously don’t share power well.If it were 1967 when I was well on my way to becoming an angry blackmale,the drone of this one note sociopolitical critique,might have been appealing.I hated white people.Living in the Haight Ashbury in SF,I saw white people who said they were changing the world for the better,destroy my neighborhood in the process.They bought copious amounts drugs in scale and variety,open risque sexuality and dirt into my neighorhood.Then I started reading history.Not… Read more »
Mark,
It would seem that the issues you discuss in this article http://megasahd.com/2013/08/30/boys-and-self-loathing-the-conversations-that-never-took-place/ still inform your opinion of white males.
Hi Scott. Bingo. But please note I’m speaking of ANGRY white males. Not white males. There is a very clear distinction. And my issues with them don’t stem solely from my youth. Believe me. I’ve seen their influence in political spheres right up to the present day.
Mark, I am no supporter of the republicans. As someone who does not live in the US It baffles me how the American public supported the government of George W Bush. However, I also disagree with your painting of the republican party as a bunch of angry white men. Firstly if you were to use similar race and gender generalizations to describe any other group you would be called out for racism and sexism. Secondly, my memory of the tea party features Sarah Palin prominently. As other commenters have said, there are lots of angry racist women supporting the republican… Read more »
Please keep in mind I’m not talking about the GOP at large, I’m talking about the core of militant white dudes who drive the agenda there. They have literally hi-jacked the entire party’s legislative agenda and run the party off an ideological cliff. The GOP caucus is fracturing badly because of the inflexible entitled angry attitude of these Tea Party ideologues. Mostly white. Mostly male.
I’ve seen this same kind of reasoning applied by some pretty terrible people when they say “I don’t have a problem with black people, I just have a problem with ******!”
You could have written the entire piece without calling out race or gender, yet you chose to make it central to your work. I just don’t get this “ok for me but not for thee!” reasoning.
Mark,
It’s interesting that one of the main issues you take with the current trajectory of the GOP party is that they are racist and sexist. I find it rather ionic that you open your critique by attributing their behaviour by both race and gender. By perpetrating the behaviour one is criticizing the credibility of one’s argument is undermined. Further, this tends to alienate people, such as myself, who also disagree with the wrongheaded ideas that seem to come out of the GOP.
Gentlemen, race is an issue in how these guys practice their public politics. They are the same folks who actively support state voter suppression efforts, which disenfranchise black and latino voters. As a white man I have both the right and the responsibility to call out white racism and entitlement when I see it. Take a look down at your hands. If they are white you have the same responsibility.
@ Mark So true, however, you avoid any critique of the role played by women in this context in deference to going after the easy low hanging fruit. in doing so,you keep alive the historical revisionist myth that only conservative whitemen are responsible for keeping alive the culture of intolerance and civil/social regressiveness in this country.
I don’t care for your take on this at all.
Why do people who disagree with your point of view have to characterized in such a negative way? I really do believe that the policies that this administration are pursuing have not been good for the country as a whole. There are many other people like me. We are not brainless but simply disagree.
I could go on, but I am sure you have already simply classified me as an Angry White Man.
What a shame!
Larry- I agree wholeheartedly.
The fact is, the right wing is always happy to attack and never happy to be attacked, feigning civility and hurt feelings when they are called out. I’m just calling it like I see it. But I have said nothing here that isn’t appropriate given the history the the GOP and its bastard child, the Tea Party.
@Mark Goblowsky Greene…
Do you really know anything about the Tea Party? You really do not.
The Tea Party is anti-Establishment, period. THAT’S A GOOD THING!!! The Establishment, Dems and Reps, have ruined our great nation financially. They both supported the bailout of Wall Street. They both get money from corps and the wealthy……There is no real difference, except on social issues. But the real issues are economic.
What the Tea Party is saying is “NO” to business as usual.
What’s wrong with that Mark?
Whatever the Tea Party once had was long ago co-opted by the Koch Brothers to assault all things federal.
Spot on. Thank you for saying what I have been thinking for a long, long time. We are witnessing the death spasms of the end of the era when American society was built and revolved exclusively around the wishes, whims and rules of white, heterosexual, Protestant Christian men, to the exclusion of virtually all others. We are not very far removed from the days when women were regarded as the property of men they had to “obey,” could not vote or own property, and were barred from most all career fields solely because of their sex; when non-whites and non-christians… Read more »
Mark- Larry is an individual. you have no idea of who he attacks or doesnt. Your response doesn’t address anything he has to say.
@Cat Where is this clear truth you see?Are we really to believe that the Tea Party is composed of only angry white men?Are we really going to ignore and dismiss the impact of hundreds of years of co-sponsored bigotry and hatred from women?How does this happen with such unquestioned casualness in the face of hundreds of years of clear contrary evidence? The women of the South were everybit as racist as the men.They also beat and killed slaves too.Let’s not forget that this bigotry among women could not be bound by physical or political borders either.Even amongst the most progressive… Read more »
Funny (despite your protestations) and almost spot-on. Except for one thing: The Reagan Revolution had absolutely NOTHING to do with the Tea Party or Angry White Guys. Reagan was the last president to be elected with broad bipartisan support. Reagan Democrats were real; and they voted in huge numbers. Say what you will about Reagan, but his was a presidency based more on positivity than any since.
@Bob I am afraid you are mistaken about Reagan, He was helped by angry white guys, many of them democrats who felt as though Civil Rights had gone too far, placing white people,men and women at a disadvantage.There is a dierct link beteen Reagan ideology and “angry white male”narrative. However, blamng only white men, as if they invented and supported racism by themselves is a crock. This happens far too often.
Lee Atwater, Reagan’s campaign manager was a proponent of the Southern Strategy, a political strategy dating from the day after Lyndon Johnson signed the voting rights act in 1964 (I think that’s the year). From that day forward disaffected whites in the South were encouraged to jump ship from the Democratic party in protest against civil rights legislation. To this day some version of the southern strategy has continued, via coded language about entitlements, vote fraud and immigrants. All of this has served to move white male voters into the GOP.
More on the southern strategy here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy
I have no words for the magnificence of this piece. Thank you for wording it so clearly and truthfully (and, by consequence of the truth, hilariously).
I used to be Liberal until Obama and Holder started playing the race card on voter ID cards. That, and the cell phone give away, and the 59 weeks of unemployment checks, and trying to take away law abiding citizens gun rights. That, and adding to the gun violence problem by choosing to prosecute only 4 of the over 77,000 people that lied on federal background checks to purchase a firearm.
@Andrew, The first election I was able to vote was in 1980. I have been a life long Republican until two years ago. I am a Black man. The vitriol simply became intolerable. White guys were standing up in my local GOP chapter totally disrespecting the President, Nancy Pelosi and women in general. You can disagree. But, must it be so full of vitriol? No. The Tea Party is a very promising movement. Why? Because it rejects the Establishment and its good old boy way of doing things (back room trading). Now I see playing out a party that is… Read more »
The fracturing of the GOP is a good thing. Actual conservatism (limited govt in all things) is starting to arise out of the wreckage of the positionless politics of the neocons. I’m looking for the same things you are- a party that puts its money where its mouth is whether the “pork” is “Obamaphones,” subsidies to corporations, or the bloated pig of the ACA.
Andrew, if you can use the term “race card” with a straight face, you were never a liberal. You were just a conservative who hadn’t found his bigotry threshold yet.
“crazy flaming table of white hot lemming rage”–what a great line!!! Since, however, there’s the picture of the guy who can’t spell “moron”, I do have to point out a little mistake in your article. The Military Assault Rifle is (or at least was, back in Vietnam) the M-16. The civilian version is the AR-15. There is no rifle called the “M-15”. The old style Jeep was the M151a2.
AR 15. I actually knew that. Dang. I’ll fix it.
Nicely said. I’m afraid to say I think you’re correct about the end of the Tea Party, ’cause I might jinx it, so I won’t.
In fact Paul,it was the Reagan democrats defecting from the democratic party just like democrats,women and men, had done after Civil Rights became law,that won the election for Reagan.