Dumb white men
The country witnessed last week an ugly side of its character when protestors and counter-protestors clashed in Charlottesville, Va., over the possible removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Protestors argued for maintaining Confederate flags, statues and other relics as representing the long and storied history of the Old South, one rooted in extreme racism and violence toward people of African descent.
On the other side were counter-protestors who saw their presence as part of a history of those opposed to racism and its modern version of hatemongering: neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
President Donald Trump also put in his two cents, saying there was blame to be had by both sides of the dispute, and to some, offered a half-hearted rebuke of the racism and extremism found among the protestors.
One thing clearly stood out in footage of the event: Protesters were largely young white men who clearly felt that removal of the statute was an attack on their values and history, albeit a sordid and refuted history. The South did lose the Civil War!
So, who are these angry, white men? They tend to be young, uneducated and bereft of any sense of history and humility regarding other ethnic groups in the country. Diversity to them is a sham, and the government the enemy, even though their candidate did win the White House just over 200 days ago. So, why the anger?
Much of the vitriol among young, white men can be attributed to a movement that began 37 years ago when another white man, an old one, Ronald Reagan, took hold of the country and branded government as the enemy and the market as king. President Reagan represented a growing number of white men who saw government as a major problem and all social institutions as costly. President Reagan was the first notable DWM in the country.
DWM stands for “Dumb White Men,” a pejorative assertion but borne out by so much evidence we have to call it for what it is — a sad reflection of the state of affairs in our country, presided over by a fullfledged DWM, President Trump.
Research has shown that men as children are less interested in reading when compared to girls of the same age, perform below girls on standardized tests, are going to college in fewer numbers relative to females, and even among those who attend college have higher rates of dropping out when compared to female peers. This is true among all races and ethnicities, yet the problem is worse among white men.
These are the young, white men we saw in Charlottesville protesting for a cause that is lost, angry at everyone, especially those who do not look like them, and believing that violence and hatred are the only ways to be heard. The problem is the message they promote is not acceptable to most Americans.
DWM cannot reconcile the values of the past with the growing number of persons of different races and ethnicities in the country that will be the majority by 2050. They have no way to assimilate, except through violent and feeble attempts to have others wallow in their ignorance. To them ignorance is bliss, but take it from a former DWM, ignorance is not bliss; it is just ignorance.
The dumb, white men of Charlottesville.