3 ms·

Being white and angry gets you labeled “Angry White Man”. Come to think of it, the issue of our culture’s ballooning expectations of positive public expression

Being white and angry gets you labeled “Angry White Man”. Come to think of it, the issue of our culture’s ballooning expectations of positive public expression seems to persist at a fairly continuous rate regardless of race/gender. And, while race/gender discrimination exacerbates all social inequalities, inherent systematic inequalities like cultural expectations and capital inherently elude acknowledgement in an inspection of identity lines.

DanBC 8y ago
> Being white and angry gets you labeled “Angry White Man”. The angry label gets applied far earlier to women and black people.
- jameskegel 8y ago
  I'd like to see the evidence upon which you make assertions like this.
  - haskellandchill 8y ago
    I've observed it, the threshold is currently lower for a white male, especially an educated white male that presents themselves well and is law abiding and free of debt and addictions. The good citizen in general is rewarded, as it should be I suppose. You can't fight city hall.
  - scarface74 8y ago
    The closest I can find is this: https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/3/17/14945576/black-white-bodies-size-threat-study https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/3/17/14945576/black-whit... Now imagine if the Black person shows signs of anger. On the other hand. I once had a really tall (White) manager who you could tell would go out of his way to stand further back from a crowd so we wouldn’t have to look up at him. I’ve had to tell my tall and big stepson to be mindful of his size. He still thinks of himself as this little kid (not in a bad way)
- extralego 8y ago
  Maybe so! I personally theorize you are correct, but more importantly, we should agree the effects are both significant and problematic well beyond the limits of such a scope. Let’s consider the causes, potentials, and limits associated with addressing the given concerns. If critical theory has it’s way, the explosion of positivity is part of a built-in feature of commercial capitalism which incentivizes avoiding the problems itself creates. The ceiling on mitigating socially implemented racism is dependent on mitigating the economically implemented racism which associates identity with class, which defines our experiences and therefore our stereotypes. Given the economic incentive to avoid economic explanations, the cost of disproportionate blame deserves strategic consideration.
tptacek 8y ago
The movie "Falling Down" notwithstanding, "angry white man" isn't a pernicious stereotype, and "angry black man" is. I'm neighbors with more than one professional black man who has told me they have to be extra careful in the workplace, because any frustration they express will be amplified by the perception of their (overwhelmingly white) coworkers. The first time I heard this, I didn't understand and had to have it explained to me. It's a thing.
- wglb 8y ago
  The first time I saw this articulated was in the article https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/09/fear-of-a-black-president/309064/?single_page=true https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/09/fear-of...

DanBC 8y ago

> Being white and angry gets you labeled “Angry White Man”. The angry label gets applied far earlier to women and black people.

jameskegel 8y ago
I'd like to see the evidence upon which you make assertions like this.
- haskellandchill 8y ago
  I've observed it, the threshold is currently lower for a white male, especially an educated white male that presents themselves well and is law abiding and free of debt and addictions. The good citizen in general is rewarded, as it should be I suppose. You can't fight city hall.
- scarface74 8y ago
  The closest I can find is this: https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/3/17/14945576/black-white-bodies-size-threat-study https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/3/17/14945576/black-whit... Now imagine if the Black person shows signs of anger. On the other hand. I once had a really tall (White) manager who you could tell would go out of his way to stand further back from a crowd so we wouldn’t have to look up at him. I’ve had to tell my tall and big stepson to be mindful of his size. He still thinks of himself as this little kid (not in a bad way)
extralego 8y ago
Maybe so! I personally theorize you are correct, but more importantly, we should agree the effects are both significant and problematic well beyond the limits of such a scope. Let’s consider the causes, potentials, and limits associated with addressing the given concerns. If critical theory has it’s way, the explosion of positivity is part of a built-in feature of commercial capitalism which incentivizes avoiding the problems itself creates. The ceiling on mitigating socially implemented racism is dependent on mitigating the economically implemented racism which associates identity with class, which defines our experiences and therefore our stereotypes. Given the economic incentive to avoid economic explanations, the cost of disproportionate blame deserves strategic consideration.

tptacek 8y ago

The movie "Falling Down" notwithstanding, "angry white man" isn't a pernicious stereotype, and "angry black man" is. I'm neighbors with more than one professional black man who has told me they have to be extra careful in the workplace, because any frustration they express will be amplified by the perception of their (overwhelmingly white) coworkers. The first time I heard this, I didn't understand and had to have it explained to me. It's a thing.

wglb 8y ago
The first time I saw this articulated was in the article https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/09/fear-of-a-black-president/309064/?single_page=true https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/09/fear-of...