I have spent my whole life growing up in a rural agricultural community situated in the Bible Belt of the South. The pastoral South is a unique place. Its charming fried chicken and sweet tea demeanor is often able to overshadow its underlying issues with race, religion, and misogyny. The South offers the incredibly unique juxtaposition of people who proudly tote rebel flags, yet frequently listen to rap albums. Southerners are appropriately labeled as being “pro-life”, but if clarified, “pro-life” often means “pro-straight white Christian male life.” This political scene set the stage for Donald Trump to become a formidable political force. After the recent election of Trump, many have wondered how such a nontraditional candidate could attain the most coveted office in the United States. The answer is simple:
Trump utilized the nonexistent idea of white oppression.
Trump was able to capitalize off of the distant relative of Rudyard Kipling’s “The White Man’s Burden.” This inbred cousin, whom CNN news analyst Van Jones appropriately named “Whitelash”, might be just as equally detrimental to minorities.
Whitelash is the twisted phenomena of white people who purposefully or inadvertently try to counter the recent perceived oppression of Caucasians. Those who participate in whitelashing seem to feel like America is being desecrated by outsiders. Trump mirrored this false perception when he so eloquently stated, “When Mexico sends it people, they’re not sending their best. . . They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” His plan to build a wall along the Mexican-American border adds to this mentality; a wall provides an obvious physical barrier that isolates America from any alleged foreign threats.
Another instance of whitelash is when Trump, in an attempt to prevent future terrorist threats, passed an executive order to temporarily ban refugees and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Trump, and others who actively participate in whitelashing, seem to believe that terrorism is only perpetrated by the Muslim population. In fact, Donald Trump’s published online Statement on Preventing Muslim Immigration states that, “Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred [displayed by Muslims] is beyond comprehension.” Here, Trump plays off of whitelash judgement by portraying Muslims as hating American ideals. Statements such as this one strike fear into the already isolationist hearts of Islamophobics. In stark contrast, an FBI study on terrorism from 2002-2005 states that, “In keeping with a longstanding trend, domestic extremists carried out the majority of terrorist incidents during this period. Twenty three of the 24 recorded terrorist incidents were perpetrated by domestic terrorists.” A similar FBI study done in 2007 states that, “As was the case in 2006, substantial numbers of victims of terrorist attacks in 2007 were Muslim.” Whitelashers refuse to acknowledge that prior to committing acts of violence towards innocent Americans, radical jihadists often begin their reign of terror by targeting their own citizens and people of their same religion. Whitelashers also dismiss the idea that domestic terrorism includes left-wing, right-wing, and lone wolf extremism, because acknowledging this would actually place blame on the whites that are deserving of that culpability. Whitelashers overlook the fact that every school shooting has been executed by a white man. They fail to recall the instance when Robert Lewis Dear Jr., a white male, opened fire in a Colorado Planned Parenthood center. Some whitelashers even forget about Dylann Roof, who is still relentlessly unapologetic about shooting nine black people during their Bible study. These obvious instances of domestic terrorism are either ignored or excused by whitelashers. They often fish for reasons to minimize the murderous actions of white mass shooters by stating that they were “mentally ill”, when in reality, white shooters have the same intent as Muslim extremists: they want to kill as many Americans as possible.
Whitelashing is not just refusing to recognize that the faults of any minority are also the faults of whites. It goes much further than that. Whitelash is happening because many whites are tired of being told that ingrained discrimination is immoral. Some whites are often protective over America. They view the United States as being their God-given right, and any outside menace, whether it be racial diversity or cultural and religious differences, seems to threaten the beautiful white prestige of America that has been established through years of minority oppression. Many white Americans who traditionally voted red have felt disillusioned, and throughout the years of the Obama administration, many Caucasians started to feel like Washington retained elitists in the House and Senate. Some also took issue with the fact that a black liberal occupied the White House. Since then, numerous whites have begun to view politicians as aloof outsiders who are disinterested in the average American’s struggles. This caused Trump’s popularity as a presidential candidate to skyrocket. Trump, although born into wealth and luxury, was able to appear relatable to certain white Americans through his unfiltered, bombastic speeches and lack of political experience. Trump’s appeal might have begun as being purely economic; many southern republicans support small business, less government regulations, and little taxes. However, I believe that every political issue eventually boils down to social partialities. As Trump gained prevalence on the political forefront, his whitelashing rhetoric soon began to exemplify the nationalist mindset. Having a sense of pride for one’s homeland is important to his or her identity, but through the strategic use of whitelashing, Trump was able to blur the line between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism means that you are proud of your country’s accomplishments. In contrast, nationalism is the fundamental belief that your country is the only important nation, which seems to insinuate that you feel the people of your homeland are superior to those of other countries. Nationalism and whitelashing are infinitely intertwined. White Americans essentially used their vote for Trump to lash back at a government that they no longer identified with.
At this point, whites who claim to support Lady Liberty need to give themselves a hard look in the mirror. Can one who allegedly identify with the sacred American ideals of independence and limited government also support a president who openly justifies his discriminatory actions with the skewed view that America is no longer great due to the ever-growing presence of foreigners? Is it morally acceptable to use your vote to flip the middle finger to anyone who practices an unfamiliar religion or is from a differing ethnic background?
