Whites Just Told Pollsters How Far They Are Willing to Go
While some activists and pundits continue to applaud the reckoning with racism among whites, whites let pollsters know it all stops at reparations.
An ABC/Ipsos poll released on June 19 showed that, “Only about one in eight white Americans (14%) support reparations compared to three-quarters of African Americans (72%). Then on June 25, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that “only one in 10 white respondents” support reparations.
The point in the polls is obvious. But I’m not sure what point there is in asking whites what they think about reparations.
The enormous gap between Black people and whites on reparations isn't a mere difference of opinion that anyone should accept. Black people and whites aren’t going in the same direction while being at different places on reparations. Black people are right on reparations, and whites are wrong. Whites get no benefit of the doubt on reparations. And no one should have faith that whites want major change to the status quo, but they just don't think reparations are a way.
It's not a coincidence that the oppressor group opposes reparations, it's racist. White opposition to reparations benefits whites. Nothing that benefits the whiteness of whites is good for the world or humanity.
The world should chastise whites for this inhumane view because no one should have to argue why reparations, including cash payments, are necessary. No one should have to wait for whites to come around on reparations because to move an inch whites need Black people to die in the most brutal ways.
This democracy purports to work by majority rule. And people accept that the majority is legitimate and that the majority view rules. Republicans don't entirely accept that logic because they are determined to rule as a minority. But overall, too many people accept the majority and their views. Look at what Barack Obama said in a conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates:
“It is easy to make that theoretical argument. But as a practical matter, it is hard to think of any society in human history in which a majority population has said that as a consequence of historic wrongs, we are now going to take a big chunk of the nation’s resources over a long period of time to make that right.”
Obama offered a colorblind analysis. The fact is whites rigged the majority status they enjoy. No one should give any legitimacy to a rigged status. People refer to “minorities” like being in the minority in the United States is a natural occurrence or a fair reality. Neither is true. Today, being in the minority in the United States is an injustice imposed on people to maintain oppression. And the delay and wait for whites to change their mind in favor of an issue is an injustice.
On reparations, whites will not put their money where their mouth is. Their mouths without money are nothing but hollow holes that they should stuff and shut. The support by whites at this moment is toothless. This toothless talk by whites has the effect of whites offering thoughts and prayers for Black people.
The unjustified opposition by whites to reparations highlights again the problem with white identity, and the critical need to stop whatever makes whites white. White identity is in the way.
Even with all the protests, this white response to reparations is what everyone should expect.
White identity is a paradox. It's a contradiction. It's love and hate. It's equality and oppression. It is “All men are created equal” and the three-fifths clause at the same time. The late scholar Joel Olson analyzed this aspect of white identity in his book, “The Abolition of White Democracy.”
According to Olson, the white citizen believes in equality but doesn't want to give up their racist standing. The formation of white identity comes out of equality and oppression, and both exist in whiteness. And Olson says, “whiteness stands at the path to a more democratic society like a troll at the bridge.”
If that's the case, we can talk about policies, and we can talk about structural barriers, but it's an inescapable fact that white identity prevents changes. According to Olson, the political task is to chase and scatter that troll. It's not to negotiate with the troll or welcome the troll.
Whites shouldn't have a choice on reparations because whites can never choose what's right; whites will always want what’s white. Democrats in the House recently said they expect HR40, the bill to study reparations, to get a vote this year. And at the state level, local leaders are starting efforts for reparations. That's the way it should be. It shouldn't matter what whites think about reparations.
Politicians and policymakers have to make policies that chase and scatter whiteness. Those policies should end the ability for white viewpoints to singlehandedly control public policy. If that means opening the borders, so be it. If that means weighted voting, so be it. If that means getting money out of politics, so be it —so long as white power ends.
The brilliant words of Maya Angelou apply here. In polls about reparations, whites show Black people who they are, and this isn't the first time. The lesson is to believe them instead of believing in them.