Present Day White Identity in the U.S.

Politics and demographic shifts have precipitated a sense of white identity awareness. A heightened wave of people linking their whiteness to politics has emerged. Anxiety arising from political, economic and social resources and how they are shared is greater now than in the past. White Americans feel their position in the country is threatened. Diversity has been on the rise in America as a result of massive immigration witnessed between the mid-1990s and early 2000 leading to conclusions that whites will cease to be the dominant race in the country leading to an increase in white identity insecurities.

The election of Barrack Obama as the first Black American president stirred the sense of racial awareness in the white community and the need to protect their privileges and dominant status. ‘What would it mean for whites to become more positively embodied as white within a multi-polar social landscape?’. Though white nationalism does not necessarily lead to racism, and may just present a desire to protect privileges accorded to race often at the expense of other races, forming the basic reason why white identity only arises when whites feel threatened. In a country that views itself as racially egalitarian racial hierarchy still dominates every facet of life and determines the most basic of liberties accorded to an individual, these depends on which side of the track the individual subscribes to as a result of racial profiling, however in recent times there has been an increase in white identity insecurities.

Race as viewed today is as a result of classification based on physical attributes. The visible attributes lead one to identify with individuals of shared features. The classification further relies on political, historical and textual analysis. This identity based on race has an accumulative effect on the sociological, political and economic of an individual and communities at large. Goldberg concluded that ‘Race is irrelevant, but all is a race. Racial parameters play a role in career prospects, relationships, police treatment and in judicial outcomes. Social aspects in the American Society have always had a strong link to racial identities with the whites being the most preferred and privileged identity as result racism opposes social integration and assimilation. The underprivileged races and most predominantly the African-American have developed a strong identity as a result of the historical and modern-day oppression experienced.

Racial consciousness is a result of cultured systems and habits of discrimination through visual judgments. The acts of discrimination are further enhanced by racial profiling which leads to alienation of the underprivileged groups whose resulting phenomenon is negative sociality. Racism is a negative social undertaking that points out the internal and external internal structures of the integrity of societies. It denies individuals social particularity through exclusion and by terming them as outsiders. The complexity of racism makes it thrive and any attempt to overcome it requires much more than logical discussions.

Jose Medina analysis concludes that through epistemic ignorance current forms of oppression can be eliminated. Discrimination arises from oppression and leads to epistemic injustice negatively impacting on the democratic rights of individuals. Oppression being disproportional affects both the oppressor and the oppressed in different ways and degrees leading to negative consequences. To the oppressor, the results are epistemic insensitivity, sluggishness, and close-mindedness affecting the capability of one to learn from facts and what others present. As a result, an individual limits the capability of self-rectification and righting from others. The oppressed on the other hand attain epistemic virtues as a result of social experiences caused by the oppression. The oppressed develop an open mind, humility, and diligence.

Virtues and vices hence are not values of groups in the society but are acquired as a result of an individual’s experiences. Jose Medina’s concludes that oppressed people have are more likely to develop met lucidity as a result of social knowledge that often develops to a lucidity. The understanding gained help the prejudiced group develop different perspectives that lead to a change in the way they view and relate with the oppressors. The resistance that arises from this renewed outlook causes friction which can lead to an alignment between various social aspects. The ability to resist traditional views and habits can stimulate acceptable social change.

Social boundaries limit and contribute to an increased social insensitivity by determining what is right allowed and what is not. The limits imposed affect the space in which an individual can develop and orient themselves. Meta-blindness which is blindness to self-possessed blindness leads to critical purposes and is often experienced in racism present in politics. Meta-blindness serves a critical role in enabling oppression through social processes which leads to epistemic injustice where society is divided into interpretive groups where justice and injustice are determined by the group an individual subscribes to. The society at large has a mutual responsibility to enhance each other’s ability to take part in meaningful and productive policy development that rids it of these systematic injustices which are as a result of irresponsible historical and political oppression.

Racism in every society must be eradicated. People from different races must unlearn the art of perceiving others through the physical attributes that they exhibit and embrace any difference in a positive light. America is endowed with a wealth of diversity arising from the native people who lived here long before the onset of Europeans, people who were taken there against their will to work the land and others who have come to for the business, education, employment opportunities and all that the ‘Land of the free’ has to offer. Other than taking this as a threat the white nationalists should embrace the dynamism that results from the different groups and ensure that it leads in the support of social justice and empowerment. In a few decades, there is a possibility of the whites being overtaken in terms of dominance and this will lower their level of influence in politics, business and various social aspects.

Legislation that ensures fair treatment for all will safeguard their interests when they no longer have the privileges that they enjoy today. The more diverse the society gets the more tolerant and accommodating the society will become. A society where all are served equally, where absolutely no prejudice is tolerated is a dream that all racially discriminated groups harbor and one that will materialize in a not so distant future. White supremacy may soon be a thing of the past in some social and political aspects. The resulting blend of races and ethnic groupings with none claiming dominance and where all have an equal share of opportunities and rights might be the just the long-awaited cure for racism in America today.