Being white means you never have to say you’re sorry
I must admit, I’ve never been apologetic about having been born white.
But now, thanks to JD Vance, I don’t have to feel sorry about something I’ve never felt sorry about anyways.
The chameleon-like vice president recently caused a stir when he said, “In the United States of America, you don’t have to apologize for being white anymore.”
The comment came at a Turning Point USA event, the group formerly led by the late Charlie Kirk and occupied by lots of young white guys who feel they’ve been handed a raw deal.
Vance is by no means the hand-ringing, guilt-ridden type, so his vow of not needing to apologize is largely moot.
His headline-grabbing comment came after saying, “We don’t treat anybody different because of their race or their sex, so we have relegated DEI to the dustbin of history, which is exactly where it had belonged.”
DEI, of course, is “diversity, equity and inclusion,” an objective initially meant to level the playing field for generations of discrimination that benefited white guys. But, like many efforts, DEI grew bloated and scoldy, especially when interwoven into corporate- and college-speak.
I will take this opportunity, however, to apologize on behalf of white people for Jake Paul being foisted onto the boxing public.
Granted, you must admire the fact that an internet influencer with limited pugilistic skills was able to earn millions in a rough business. But he is a benefactee of so-called white privilege because a Black or brown YouTuber would not generate the mass appeal to have the public pay to watch them get their jaw broken.
Does white privilege exist? Sure. Whites have historically received breaks because of their skin color. And during a police stop on a lonely road at midnight, I’d rather be a white guy than not.
Is it overblown? Somewhat. Qualified minority job candidates in law, media and the corporate world often have a leg up in fields desperate to catch up having work forces that represent the population as a whole.
Vance’s comment was ludicrous because the only white folks apologizing for their color are small circles in academia and in liberal blue bubbles of concentrated white guilt like Decatur.
Besides, you don’t have to be embarrassed about yourself to be empathetic about the struggles of others.
Vance might as well have made a fist and yelled “White power!” or channelled Jesse Jackson and chanted “I. Am. Somebody!”
There is a certain white fragility that is beneath a former Marine who became famous selling his up-from-his bootstraps hillbilly background.
But grievance has long been a tactic in politics and conservative whites figured they might as well join in on it, too.
White victimization is now being institutionalized. Andrea Lucas, the head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), recently issued a public service announcement: “Are you a white male who’s experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex? You may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws.”
The phone lines are open now.
Josh McKoon, a former state senator who heads Georgia’s GOP, said the pendulum for DEI has swung from the “fever pitch” of 2020 when George Floyd was smothered to death by police.
“There was an effort that said historical wrongs are the responsibility of those who are walking around today,” McKoon told me. “There is a coalition that has had a world-view that America in its 250 years is an arch villain.”
However, the public grew tired of lectures, he said.
He added that young people, particularly white males in their 20s and early 30s are finding it harder to land jobs and are feeling more isolated.
One theory is that white Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and even older millennials are hanging onto their jobs but have relented to bringing on more diversity into the entry-level positions. This locks out young whites, especially guys, giving rise to victimhood.
McKoon noted Dems have long catered to various minorities, adding “It’s bad to build a party around racial identity.”
Ironically, that’s exactly what Donald Trump and Vance are doing.
I called state Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Democrat running for lieutenant governor, for two reasons: 1) he is just one of three of the 236 legislators in Georgia who is both a white male and a Democrat and, 2) he was a roommate of JD Vance in Yale Law School. In 2016, Vance, who was once a never-Trumper, messaged McLaurin, telling him that Trump might be “America’s Hitler.”
McLaurin said he is not surprised by Vance’s recent comments.
“I think he thinks he’ll gain by using the inflaming rhetoric that Trump used to get elected,” McLaurin said. “But he doesn’t realize how stupid he sounds.”
Scorched-earth politics might work for Trump, McLaurin said. But, he added, “in this political era, you have to couple your awfulness with entertainment value. JD Vance is not that.”
He said learning about injustice in American history helps give citizens a clear-eyed view of where we are today.
However, McLaurin noted that court rulings and the administration’s anti-DEI efforts may be backfiring for white men. An even playing field can benefit females and Asian Americans.
“Some of those rulings have hurt white men,” he said. “That’s kind of a fool-around-and-find-out moment. People who overestimate their own chances don’t like what real fairness looks like.”
About the Author
Bill Torpy, who writes about metro Atlanta for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, joined the newspaper in 1990.
