In Defence of Whiteness Studies
That was the caption over the article. Whiteness Studies? What the hell!? So I began to read the article. It was in response to an item published the month before (which I had missed), in the National Post, by columnist Barbara Kay, herself a thoughtful and excellent writer. As I read on, I became convinced this was a clever send-up, a sly Monty Pythonesque skit meant to poke readers in their metaphorical funny-ribs - an obvious entertainment on a discredited thesis.The responder, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia, name: Bruce Baum wrote in the second paragraph of the article:
"As someone knowledgeable of (sic) this field, I can report that her (Barbara Kay's) argument was highly misleading. She belittled significant insights that this field of study offers to comprehend the tangible reality of white racial domination in modern history along with the pervasive, race-inflicted global inequalities that are its legacy."The light dawns: this stiffly pedantic paragraph reflects the anguish of the academic left. That group that cannot sufficiently kick itself in its collective arse in compensation for history's white colonial conquests of other-coloured peoples around the globe. Repent, ye offspring of unrepentant white slavers!
"Population genetics has shown that old ideas about human races do not fit the actualities of human genetic similarity and diversity. Yet race ideas and race-based social practices and policies have firm roots in U.S. (and Canadian) social and political history. In 17th century Colonial America, English planter elites came to see themselves as "white" people and enslaved African peoples whom they called "negro" - a term for "black taken from Portuguese and Spanish." (wot? where's the rest of the thought, the sentence structure?)Really! Who would've guessed?
Through the stilted language and serious demeanor we hear the discovery of a child crying out: Eureka! Does the writer truly believe that what he has discovered, what he and his peers are promulgating is unknown to most people? Must we belabour the obvious? Has society not acknowledged this past time and again and made concerted if overdue efforts to make amends?
This, dear Political Scientist, is what people throughout time immemorial have done to one another; manipulated and enslaved and used and abused one group over another. You've just discovered that? You want to flagellate your audience? You insist they take you seriously?
Is this a rehash of history or hysteria?
I felt compelled once I realized the good (assistant) professor's pitch was earnest and for real, to fall on my dinner fork and commit a hari-kari of mea culpa for my ancestors' "white" presence on this globe.
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, October 17, 2006
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