There Is No Such Thing as the White Working Class

[ehrnst]

the aftermath of last week’s presidential election, many have attributed the Democrats’ defeat to their inability and/or refusal to respect, speak to, care about, or prioritize the so-called “white working class.” According to this view, the “white working class,” like innocent children, have been “abandoned” by party elites. See, for example, this tweet from Senator Bernie Sanders:

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But even if we forget that Sanders lost to Clinton primarily because he got blown out among black voters, especially those in the country’s poorest region, the Deep South; even if we forget that, in last week’s general, Clinton won the under 50k vote; even if we forget that black people, Native Americans, and Latino/as suffer substantially higher rates of poverty than whites and would therefore seemingly be more antagonistic to working class-abandoning elites, such as Clinton, than white people (when the reverse is true); and even if we forget that whiteness served as far and away the best predictor of whether one voted red or blue, a question remains:

What makes the “white” working class different from the black, or Native American, or Latino/a, or Asian-American working class?

....................................................................................................



However, while this approach positions itself as the ally of the neglected and race-shamed white working class, it ironically perceives poor whites as too stupid to know what’s good for them. It differs on this score only in relying upon a different set of “elite” saviors to come to their rescue.

Importantly, I am not saying that Sanders, his supporters, or any other “leftist” who may feel critiqued in this post does not care about racism. Nor ought this post be read as an encomium for Clinton. This post instead intends to critique only a popular account of the relation between race and class.

We need to stop repeating this lie that white supremacy is not in the self-interest of any class of white people. We further need to ask ourselves why we cling to it so dearly and why it provides us such comfort. In truth, white people have not been duped; our support for white supremacy reflects not just a flaw in our thinking, but a perversion of our wills. We do not endorse white supremacy because we do not know any better; we believe that white supremacy is good because we want to believe it so. Misinformation and poor logic qualify more as consequences of our attachment to white supremacy than its underlying causes.

If one speaks of “the white working class” but never refers to the black, Latino/a, Asian-American, or Native-American working classes, one is making excuses for white supremacy. Period. In fact, one can reasonably separate the white poor from the non-white poor in theory only because they have separated themselves in reality: like their wealthier counterparts, working class whites have excluded black people, and to a lesser extent, non-black Latino/as, from their neighborhoods, schools, and families. When we give voice to the phrase, “white working class,” we affirm and authenticate that segregation.

https://womenintheology.org/2016/11/14/there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-white-working-class/

[sfwriter]

1. -eyeroll-

She says, "I am not saying that Sanders, his supporters, or any other “leftist” who may feel critiqued in this post does not care about racism. "

Then says, "If one speaks of “the white working class” but never refers to the black, Latino/a, Asian-American, or Native-American working classes, one is making excuses for white supremacy. Period."

I think we need to look at what Sanders said fairly carefully and especially examine his appeal to white and rural voters so we can get them in the next election. The author is right to say that working class issues are universal, but wrong to condemn those of us deciphering Trumps appeal as, "making excuses for white supremacy." That kind of hyperbole lost this election.

-Sfwriter

[Fast Walker 52]

3. Hyperbole lost this election? Your point is fine apart from that

but I would hyperbole clearly WON this election. Bigly.

[ehrnst]

5. We should also examine his lack of appeal to non-whites and educated women of all races.

Because that is where the Democratic Party and the world is headed in terms of voters.

[BainsBane]

7. And ignore the Democratic voters that he didn't appeal to

The voters of color who carry all Democrats? There is a reason Bernie lost. No Democrat wins any election without the great majority of votes by women and people of color. Republicans can, but not Democrats.

Bernie isn't offering advice. He's using the election to echo the same thing he did in 2014 that turned so many African Americans off him when he ran for the Democratic nomination. http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2014/11/19/365024592/sen-bernie-sanders-on-how-democrats-lost-white-voters.

[Fast Walker 52]

2. personally, I can't stand that term

but in any case, there's a good long piece about WWC voters and Trump support here:

http://electionado.com/canvas/1479173071893

[Cobalt Violet]

9. REally? Good luck winning the Rust Belt again without them.

[BainsBane]

4. Good points

Even more annoying is that many will mention working class and assume that means white, as though non-white workers somehow don't count.

I'll also note that particular tweet you posted is strange. Clinton won Brooklyn overwhemingly. She dominated where Bernie cane from, even when she ran against him in the primary. He is not part of the deindustrialized Midwest, never held a job as a laborer. That tweet is bizarre in so many ways. Russ Feingold didn't win those voters either, and he is from Wisconsin and opposes trade deals.

The tweet also echoes the 2014 interview he did in NPR that turned off so many African American voters, many of them working class. Those voters matter too. In fact they are essential for Democrats.

[ehrnst]

6. I find it fascinating that the man who lost the Democratic Primary

is being held up by some as it's savior, because white straight men favored him.

[BainsBane]

8. First-class votes

The rest of our votes are second-class, just like our citizenship.