FOOD FOR THOUGHT IN THE TRUMPIAN DECADE
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
JULY 28, 2017

IN READING TONIGHT, I CAME ACROSS THE TERM MONOLITHIC IDENTITY. IN SEARCHING THE TERM, I FOUND THIS SHORT ESSAY ON A VERY REAL AND CURRENT PROBLEM. OF COURSE, IT’S ALSO AN ANCIENT PROBLEM. TODAY, ESPECIALLY SINCE FIELDS LIKE PSYCHOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY, LIBERAL THEOLOGY HAVE EMERGED AND AT LEAST PARTIALLY SHED THEIR ORIGINAL WHITE SUPREMACIST ASSUMPTIONS; AS SUCH, WE ARE PARTISANS IN THE MIDDLE OF A CULTURAL REVOLUTION.

DONALD TRUMP IS THE FIGUREHEAD OF THE ENEMY, AND BERNIE SANDERS FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE HOPEFUL FOR A BETTER WAY FOR HUMANS TO THINK OF THEMSELVES AND OF THE WORLD. THE IDEAL IS FOR PEOPLE TO BE OPEN TO EACH OTHER BASED ON HUMANNESS AND NOT ON SKIN COLOR. THIS IS A MOVEMENT, WHICH ISN’T ONLY POLITICAL, BUT PHILOSOPHICAL.

THE TRUMP SIDE BELIEVES IN WHITE RIGHTS AND THE SANDERS SIDE BELIEVES IN HUMAN RIGHTS. WE PROGRESSIVES ARE MAINLY MODERN-THINKING AND COLLEGE-EDUCATED, THOUGH THERE HAVE BEEN GENTLER PEOPLE IN THE PAST AS WELL, LIVING ALONGSIDE THE SLAVE-OWNING, VERY WEALTHY WHITE PLANTERS. MY PARENTS’ PEOPLE HAD FARMS, BUT NOT SLAVES, AND ON BOTH SIDES, THEY WERE INTERESTED IN READING, POETRY, AND TALKING ABOUT IDEAS AROUND THE KITCHEN TABLE. A POOR TO MODEST INCOME DOESN’T MEAN IGNORANCE, AND ESPECIALLY OF THE CLOSED-MINDED TYPE THAT IS SO POPULAR THESE DAYS.

WE WERE FARMERS AND CLOSE TO THE EARTH, BUT NOT UNCARING. FROM THAT MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL BACKGROUND, I APPROACH THE MEETING OF RACES ON THE BASIS OF SHARED HUMANITY AND OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE. IN THIS NEW WAR BETWEEN THE RACES, I AM A NEUTRAL. I’M NOT PASSIVE ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT I AM IN AN ACTIVELY NEUTRAL POSITION FROM WHICH I CAN SEE AND FEEL BOTH SIDES. I HOPE THAT’S ENOUGH. JESUS SAID WE SHOULD LOVE EVERYONE AS OURSELVES, BUT I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT. I DO SEE EVERY HUMAN, EVEN IF SOMETHING MAKES ME FEEL AFRAID OF THEM, AS WORTHY OF CARE AND ATTENTION.

ONE ASPECT OF BEING INTROVERTED IS THAT WE AREN’T PRONE TO JOINING APPARENTLY EVIL GROUPS SUCH AS THE KKK, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE WHITE. WE AREN’T AGGRESSIVE, THOUGH ACTING IN FEAR CAN BE JUST AS BAD IN ITS’ RESULT. IN FACT SOME THEORIES OF HATRED IS THAT IT IS BORN OF FEAR RATHER THAN SIMPLE ANGER. ALL THOSE UNRULY EMOTIONS ARE THE PRODUCT OF INSTINCT UNTEMPERED BY THOUGHT.

THE CENTER LINE IS ONE OF DESIRING GOODNESS, AND TRYING TO ACHIEVE IT. THERE ARE PEOPLE OF ALL COLORS IN MY GROUP, AND PEOPLE OF ALL COLORS IN THOSE WHO CHOOSE PRIVILEGE OVER FAIRNESS ALSO, SO IT ISN’T SIMPLY A WAR OF BLACK AGAINST WHITE. WHEN JESUS SAID TO MARY AFTER MARTHA WENT OUT TO HER AND SCOLDED HER FOR NOT DOING HER PART OF THE HOUSEWORK, JESUS SAID TO MARY, “YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE BETTER PART.” THE BETTER PART IS TO CULTIVATE ACTIVELY THE HEALTH OF THE INNER SPIRIT.

MOST PEOPLE ARE, LIKE ALMOST ALL EXTROVERTS, BLIND TO THE NEEDS OF WHOM THEY CONSIDER TO BE “THE FEW.” THAT’S WHY THERE ARE THE BULLIES AND THE BYSTANDERS WHO EXHIBIT “THE BYSTANDER EFFECT. BOTH ARE EVIL. IN MY OPINION, FREUD WAS RIGHT WHEN HE SAID THAT IN ALL OF US THERE IS THE EGO, THE ID AND THE SUPEREGO. THE EGO IS THE CONFIDENCE, THE ID IS THE DEPRESSIVENESS, AND THE SUPEREGO IS THE RATIONAL MIND IN QUEST OF FAIRNESS, GENTLENESS, OPENNESS AND ACCEPTANCE. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH PERFECT ACCEPTANCE, BUT IT’S ON AN INDIVIDUAL RATHER THAN A GROUP BASIS. I WILL SIN, BUT AT LEAST I WILL SIN ALONE. IT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WILL FIGHT WHEN NECESSARY, AND A GROUP WHO WILL LYNCH A BLACK MAN. WE, THE RELATIVELY INTROVERTED, DON’T ALWAYS SUCCEED, BUT WE ARE AIMING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THAT’S HOW I SEE WHAT I OWE MY FELLOW HUMANS, AND WHAT I OWE THE ETERNAL.



TAG: MONOLITHIC IDENTITY

MONOLITHIC ANYTHING

During Week 6: Native American Representations, I talked about how popular literature at the time used the notion of the “monolithic Indian” to throw Native Americans of all different tribes into an abstract and generalized bunch. This strategy was effective in robbing all Native Americans of their true identities, culture, and autonomy. This dangerous idea basically made North America easy prey for white Manifest Destiny. This cultural genocide was validated by the fact that popular literature painted the Native Americans as treacherous, blood thirsty, savage, sub-human, and since “all Indians are the same,” then by logical extension, they must all be a threat too. This stereotypical “Indianness” was used to systematically silence an entire population, who at the time, were the majority on this continent, so it’s no surprise that White America is mortified by the notion of “whiteness,” the current social movement to define whiteness, and the challenging of white privilege from all fronts.

In Dyer’s “The Matter of Whiteness,” he informs us that, “This assumption that white people are just people, which is not far from saying that whites are people whereas other colors are something else, is endemic to white culture. Some of the sharpest criticism of it has been aimed at those who would think themselves the least racist or white supremacist. Bell Hooks, for instance, has noticed how amazed and angry white liberals become when attention is drawn to their whiteness, when they are seen by non-white people as white. Whites are everywhere in representation. Yet precisely because of this and their placing as norm they seem not to be represented to themselves as white but as people who are variously gendered, classed, sexualized, and abled. While speaking of racial representation, in other words, whites are not of a certain race, they’re just the human race” (Dyer, 10). This logic is the exact same thought process that was robbed from the Native Americans, African Americans, and any other mistreated minority throughout our country’s history. The first step to making an ethnicity disappear (or to take away its power) is to strip its cultural identity. Racial categorization, just like that which was used against groups like the Native Americans and African Americans, serves to place race first, and human status second. That’s why White America is so scared of the idea of whiteness to gain traction. For such a generalization to take root would threaten the white supremacy in the very fabric of our country and bring about the end to white privilege.

To represent all cultures as “just human” first, and as a race group second is an entitlement that all cultural identities should have been afforded from the very beginning of our nation’s birth, but they weren’t. In order to correct this, white supremacy must be challenged, questioned, and destabilized. Whiteness, as surprising as it may be, does not monopolize being human, but it will continue to attempt to. It will continue to death roll in rebellion for White America knows that to be the minority (or perceived minority) in America is quite possibly the most disadvantageous and life threatening social position to find yourself and your ethnic group in. America does not need a cultural genocide or white purge, but what America does need to do is to see all ethnic groups, no matter how different, as equally human first, and as ethnic groups second. This is a white luxury that has been monopolized for far too long and should instead be a human privilege.

-Edgar Nava
APRIL 28, 2016 BY GOREPOLICE
CATEGORIES: CRITICAL ESSAYS

RACE, MEDIA, AND REPRESENTATIONS
critical reflections on race and popular culture
AUTHOR: GOREPOLICE

https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/character/tichondrius/gorepolice -- Gorepolice of the Black Harvest
https://raceandmediablog.wordpress.com/author/gorepoliceblog/
https://raceandmediablog.wordpress.com/category/image-based-blog/


MOVIE REVIEW:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tokyo_gore_police/
TÔKYÔ ZANKOKU KEISATSU (TOKYO GORE POLICE) 2008
82%
Average Rating: 6/10
Reviews Counted: 11
Fresh: 9
Rotten: 2

MOVIE INFO

A mad scientist known as Key Man has created a rampaging virus that mutates unsuspecting humans into nightmarish abominations of nature, and in order to dispose of these repulsive monstrosities, the Tokyo police have created a special squad of fearless freak fighters. Chief among these brave officers is Ruka, a sword-swinging dealer of death who has a special knack for dispatching with Key Man's hideous creations. Despite the fact that they operate on opposite sides of the law, Key Man and Ruka have both dedicated their lives to one common goal: seeking vengeance against the crooked cops who killed both of their fathers many years ago.

TAGS: AFRICAN AMERICANS, CSUF, JUST HUMAN, MAINSTREAM, MONOLITHIC IDENTITY, NATIVE AMERICANS, WHITE PRIVILEGE, WHITE SUPREMACY, WHITENESS