White Male Backlash

This past Friday night, I watched the latest edition of Bill Maher's Real Time on HBO.  I have been a fan of Maher for quite some time, even remembering his original show "Politically Incorrect."

At one point during the show, there was a interlude between two of the guests related to the Kavanaugh hearings.  The white, male guest, Andrew Sullivan, is a frequent panelist on the show, representing the conservative perspective.  Over the years, he has been both booed and cheered, booed when he defended conservative values and policies, cheered since the election of President Trump as Sullivan is among many old school republicans who are not fans of the president.  For those of you who have never watched a Real Time episode, there is an obvious attempt to allow for time for opposing viewpoints to Maher's mostly liberal perspective by having what he calls "returning champions" on the show, meaning those who represent opposing viewpoints with wit and intelligence, while handling the general disagreement of Maher's other guests, and the audience, with aplomb.

The other guest in this particular instance was Soledad O'Brien, an American journalist who anchors her own nationally syndicated political show called Matter of Fact.  I can't say I have seen her on Real Time before, but I am familiar with her from watching a few episodes of her show and on other politically oriented panel discussions.

The dialogue in question surrounded Sullivan's statement that a portion of the tone of the Kavanaugh hearing and the more liberal media coverage surrounding the alleged sexual assault, seemed to equate all white males with sexual aggression.  A stereotype attack, if you will, that Sullivan found both alarming and insulting.  

This is not to suggest that he was defending Kavanaugh's behavior, if one were to believe he was guilty of attacking Ford, just that he believed that there were many who automatically considered Kavanaugh guilty, merely because he is a white male, as if that is how all white males behave.  Sullivan found this disturbing in the same way that all minorities, blacks, women, Native Americans, Muslims Mexicans, immigrants, etc are disturbed by the automatic prejudice that they have endured throughout history. 

O'Brien countered that the hearings and investigation into Kavanaugh's past, had nothing to do with his gender or race, but that it was all about his ability to perform the critical duties, impartial duties, of a Supreme Court Justice.  She denied Sullivan's claims that the hearings were distorted to resemble an indictment of all white men.

I think that at this point, it behooves liberals and democrats to ignore the "feelings" of the white male.  Yes, they have ruled the world, pretty much from the beginning, but especially over the last 500 years when humanity moved from a mostly agrarian society to an industrialized, mechanized, urban one.

And yes, they have worked tirelessly to enhance their dominance, through sheer brute force, divine right claims, old boy networks, and actual laws which denied every minority from the Native Americans to the slaves brought to work their plantations, to the women who bore their children, to have access to the same opportunities that they claimed for themselves.

Still, despite and because of those facts, we need to be sensitive to the angst the white male is feeling today.  We ignore it at our peril, just as Hillary did in the 2016 election because the fact is, we need the white male to continue to believe he is the center of the universe, even as that center evolves to be more inclusive.  Just as every minority, both individual and as a group will recount, it is not just about the reality that stands in their way to gain equal opportunities, but the realization that no one cares, that there exists a denial that both they deserve the same opportunity, and that they are capable of taking advantage of it when provided.

It is not easy being king of the hill for virtually, forever, and then to face the real possibility that that status is waning.  That real, fair competition for success and riches might soon replace the automatic rewards that the past has bestowed upon them by virtue of the birth lottery.  That dominating business and politics will take more than just having a Y chromosome which has mutated from the second X chromosome. 

And, even worse for the privileged, white male, the prospect that going to the right schools paid for by parents who made sure no bad behavior could not be excused or made non-existent, that fighting for one's country in a war zone is easily avoidable, and that their path to the top of their chosen profession will be made smoother by donations and campaign contributions, might still not be enough if the decisions became a matter of blind evaluation, must seem horrifying.  

In a world where so many white males bemoan entitlement when referring to those who receive Social Security, Unemployment Compensation, Disability payments or some other type of government funding, it must be horrifying to think that their programs of entitlement, private prep and high schools, legacy enrollments at the best colleges, social and business contacts handed down from mom and dad, might also be at risk.

With all due respect to Ms O'Brien, she should have agreed with Sullivan that there was some unfair bias at work against the white male during the hearings.  That a white male prejudice is one of the many factors powering the MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, among others.  That she should be sensitive to Sullivan's concerns, because we need to be better in our assessments of people than merely judging them by their white skin, male gender and blue blood pedigree.  That prejudice, no matter from which side of the aisle, or gender, or race, should not become the main component of any debate.

She should have said all those comforting things perhaps while touching or holding his hand so he felt more at ease and understood.

Then, and only then, she should have looked deeply into his eyes and said

"Doesn't feel good, does it?  Now you know how we have felt, forever."

Perhaps that is the only path towards a return to civility in our public discourse.  To acknowledge each other's pain and discomfort, share our stories in non-judgmental ways, listen to the other sides' anxieties and fears, marry them with our own stories, and work together to create a world where no one is ignored, no one is made to feel second class, and where we all benefit, together.