RAGE
You may have noticed my silence. I will explain it because I can’t contain it anymore.
It's not that I haven't been thinking or feeling. I haven't shared my thoughts for a few reasons. One, I don't want suits from DC to knock down my door. And there's also the reality that the white-owned platforms I write on will boot me if I am as honest as these times require.
For the last few months, I've been silently seething.
Before the wall-punching news came out that Breonna Taylor’s murderers wouldn't face any charges, I knew I wanted to write about rage. So, last weekend I wrote 2,020 words about the rage I'm feeling as a Black gay man in the United States. I’m not publishing those words in full because they read like a naked screed.
But I won't force you to guess what I wrote in my mess of an essay, which I call a “messay.”
The themes are what you'd expect:
Whiteness is one of the worst inventions in the world’s history; America is a white shithole country because of whites; I don't love a country that doesn't love me; I hate this country; I welcome regime change by a foreign power for the good of Black people and people of color; Trump and his whole administration should face removal by force now, and if the Electoral College and Russia elect Trump again, I may stop writing to preserve (regain) my mental health.
(Now that Trump has COVID, add to the list that I am rooting for the best outcome in his case—for Black people. Although time is running out, there are still a few ways 2020 can redeem itself...)
Those were the basic points. Now imagine that in 2,000 words.
Instead of a long rant about rage, this newsletter links to eight rage-related essays. I’m not sure if that change is better, but you have about 8,000 words here and over 30 minutes of reading time.
For me, this is a great deal of writing because it takes me a week to write 500 decent words. Then, so I can hear what I wrote, I have to play them back on my computer, run them through proofreading software twice, and proofread by hand. After that, I format, find pictures, and send 10 test emails to myself. Yeah, I know, right? And I still publish typos and errors.
Anyway, I tried to be insightful with my research and reflections in these essays, but most of them tap the same sources and sentiments. Although whiteness invents new ways to offend and oppress, there are only so many ways one can say, “Whiteness is the bane of my existence.”
Cussing is more apposite, effective, and cathartic than trying to conjure some new way to say, “Fuck the 73% of whites who still oppose reparations.”
If they aren’t saying it already, historians may look back and say, “Fuck the Police” was more effective than “Defund the Police.”
Let’s think about it: One speaks to mission; the other speaks to methodology. One comes from the heart; the other comes from the head. One comes from the streets; the other comes from the halls of academia. One wears a blue collar; the other wears a white collar. Both have a place. One is an indictment; the other is a judgment for the plaintiff.
But we shouldn’t stop Fuck-ing the police. That’s my point. And as much as I hate repeating myself, I guess I hate whiteness more. That’s why I keep writing.
Whiteness definitely hates me, and my eight pieces below are a collective “Fuck you” to whiteness. Sam is not a happy camper. Sam is not a happy warrior. Sam is a raging one, even when he’s silent.
Read on for more rage.
This piece is for paying subscribers to the newsletter and patrons. In this piece, I write about the unique horrors of whiteness. I tried to make sense, but it may still read like a screed. It is what it is. I don’t really care. Do u?
In this piece, I examine Brittney Cooper’s book on rage, thoughts from Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Marquis Bey, William Cross Jr., Steve Martinot, and Edmund S. Morgan to demonstrate that emotions are a type of melanin. Although blushing, turning red, and looking pale may count as emotional melanin, that’s not what I’m talking about in this piece.
I wish the talking heads on TV could have a conversation about violence that doesn't automatically condemn all violent protests as all bad. Research shows that violent protests can have a positive impact on policy changes.
This piece is for paying subscribers and patrons. With quotes from Steve Martinot, I explain how the machine of whiteness exonerates, and why rage is the only response.
In this piece, I work with quotes from James Baldwin, bell hooks, and Zora Neale Hurston to think about times without race and rage.
This short piece is about my new effort to be ignorant as a remedy for my rage. No news. No notifications. And some scholars say ignorance is a good strategy.
This one is personal. I don't write many personal pieces, and that’s why this piece is for paying subscribers to this newsletter and patrons.
This piece, which reflects on Derrick Bell’s “Racial Realism,” is for paying subscribers and patrons.
Chewing on the Past
I think these older pieces are still relevant; at least I'm still thinking about them. Several of them speak to where I am now and what I’m feeling. You may also see links to them in my latest essays connected to this newsletter.
We Need More Pessimistic People to Darken White Supremacy’s Hope
White People Have No Moral Authority to Tell Black People to Be Happy
Books I'm Reading, Have Read Recently, or Recommend
This is not my newsletter for book recommendations. I’m still working on that newsletter. But I don't want to hold back books I can share now. So, here are eight on my list:
White Bound: Nationalists, Antiracists, and the Shared Meanings of Race by Matthew Hughey. With so much emphasis on whites and antiracism, Hughey’s book, which finds similarities between “white antiracists” and “white racists,” is important. This book is available on Scribd, where you can read (or listen) all you want for $8.99.
Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism by Laura E. Gómez. I'm still reading this book. In the beginning of the book, Gómez gives an excellent analysis of what race is. I expect this to be an insightful read. This book is available on Scribd.
The Origins of Capitalism: A Longer View by Ellen Meiksins Wood. I'm excited to read this book because of the connection between capitalism and racism. This line in the book description is also true for whiteness and white racism: “Capitalism is not a natural and inevitable consequence of human nature, nor simply an extension of age-old practices of trade and commerce.” It's an important fact that whites invented both capitalism and racism. This book is available in the Verso bookstore as an eBook for download in several formats.
How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century by Erik Olin Wright. I've been thinking about how Elizabeth Warren said she's a capitalist to her bones. Remember? Was she honest when she said that or was she trying to appease people? Is she aware that Malcolm X said you can't have capitalism without racism? Side note: For those who still ask if the United States is racist, Malcolm X may have asked, “Is it capitalist?” Back to Warren: Does she know that Tressie McMillan Cottom calls whiteness the primordial ooze of capitalism? Is she familiar with Cedric Robinson’s work on racial capitalism and the idea that capitalism has always been racist? Because there is a relation between capitalism and racism, this book looks like a must-read. If it’s crap, then someone else should write a better book with the same title. This book is also available in the Verso bookstore for download in various formats.
Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of The Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America by Nancy MacLean. This book has been timely since its publication. Or perhaps it sounded the alarm too late. Either way, for those late to the party, the book is more relevant now with the GOP takeover of the courts. For those concerned about antiracism, this book matters because Black people and people of color will suffer the most if the GOP gets what they want. MacLean doesn't offer any solutions to stop the GOP. Instead, she explains what the hell is going on and why. It should be clear that the GOP must cease to exist as a political party.
White Reconstruction: Domestic Warfare and the Logics of Genocide by Dylan Rodríguez, will be out on Oct 13. This book has been on my radar for over a year. As I understand it, “White Reconstruction” describes a period like Reconstruction. Rodríguez says we’ve been in White Reconstruction for the last 50 years. During White Reconstruction, whites maintain white dominance by adjusting and adapting oppression as a response to social pressure and movements. White Reconstruction explains the pattern, and realism recognizes the pattern’s durability. This theory fits with what Tressie McMillan Cottom calls “the elasticity of whiteness.” And it also fits with Joel Olson’s theory that whiteness has a tension between its desire for equality and its need to maintain its racialized standing. Here's a link to an interview with Rodríguez talking about White Reconstruction.
How to Argue with a Racist: What Our Genes Do (and Don’t) Say About Human Difference by Adam Rutherford. This is not a “how-to book” with a precise prescription to win arguments with racists. The title misleads. Forget it. Instead, this is a good book about human difference and genetics. At least for me, some information in this book is hard to grasp. That is not the author’s fault. He writes for people who aren't experts. The problem is our genes aren’t easy to understand. I learned a few things from this book, and there are a few things I'm still trying to understand. I will probably quote from this book when I write about mixed identity.
The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon. Fanon’s book is phenomenal. What else can I say? The United States is a settler-colonial state. Anything that deals with decolonization is a must-read, and The Wretched of the Earth is up there. What Fanon says about violence merits serious consideration.
Worth Reading Online
Read what Breonna Taylor's mom said about Daniel Cameron and the grand jury's decision by the Louisville Courier-Journal
Breonna Taylor and Perpetual Black Trauma by Charles Blow
A ‘Tragedy’ Means Blaming Black People by Jemelle Hill
We Want More Justice for Breonna Taylor Than the System That Killed Her Can Deliver by Mariame Kaba and Andrea J. Ritchie
Justice for Breonna Taylor means abolishing the police & capitalism by Monica Moorehead
Can Violent Protest Change Local Policy Support? Evidence from the Aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles Riot by Ryan D. Enos, Harvard University; Aaron R. Kaufman, New York University, Abu Dhabi; Melissa L. Sands, University of California, Merced.
The Function of Black Rage by Mychal Denzel Smith
Why the Democratic Party Needs Thugs by Michael Harriot
A Thought For Your Consideration:
“There are good people with whiteness, but there’s nothing good about whiteness.”
What do you think? I’m still chewing on those words from above. Here’s my thought process: I can no longer talk around the fact that I despise whiteness. With every passing day, my disdain for whiteness only grows. There’s no humanity in whiteness.
Perhaps my words read like theory. So, what do they mean in practice?
I have a personal side too. People who know me and read me know I have a white-status partner. We’ve been in a relationship for over five years. I love him. He loves me. I don’t mention him much because I write little about my personal life.
But as I learn more about whiteness, even I ask myself, “What about his whiteness?” How can I write what I write about whiteness and have a white-status partner?
Answer: I despise his whiteness too! The same is true for my white-status friends, supporters, ancestors, and all whiteness past, present, and future.
Suppose whiteness is a seat in first class at the expense, exploitation, and negation of Blackness. There may be good people in first class, but there isn’t a damn good thing about first class. Every day that first class exists is offensive and oppressive. So, split the people from their seats; first class has to go now. Rip the seats out now. Reconfigure the whole plane now. Fuck first class. First class cannot exist.
If I believe as many scholars and thinkers do, like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Dorothy Roberts, that race is not who we are, but a political system, if I believe that race is what people do to us, a matter of policy, then I can make a statement about whiteness and my partner without a contradiction. If that seems impossible, it only underscores the urgent need to eliminate the political power and ill-gotten gains in whiteness.
When I write about whiteness, I refer to political status, ideology, and a system, not phenotype.
So, that’s how I arrived at the statement—there are good people with whiteness, but there’s nothing good about whiteness. My dad used to tell me, “Son, there are good and bad people in every race.” He’s still right. I’d add there’s nothing good about race, especially whiteness.
Email/message me your thoughts.
Last Word
“Our impatience and rage is what has produced progress.” — Mychal Denzel Smith