Who is the "Angry White Man?"
April 14th 2008 05:08
I first saw this when someone sent it to me in an email. I sourced it and sure enough it was written as a column back on February 9th in the Aspen (Colorado) Times Weekly. But alas, it took Rush Limbaugh to get the ditto-heads all around the country fired up. Those who think FOX really is a news channel and the Republican Party is actually concerned with their interests. The column has taken on a life of it's own thanks to remarks by Barack Obama about the bitterness in some.
What the article does (very well) is to highlight just how correct his comments were. As Obama said, he could have phrased it better. But the message is true. It is oh so refreshing to hear a politician speak frankly. The so-called "Angry White Man" as portrayed by Gary Hubbell in the original column is the epitome of the kind of misplaced anger that Obama seeks to address. Below is the original column that is circulating in email land, with my comments following.
In Election 2008, Don't Forget Angry White Man
by: Gary Hubbell, Aspen Times Weekly
There is a great amount of interest in this year's presidential elections, as everybody seems to recognize that our next president has to be a lot better than George Bush. The Democrats are riding high with two groundbreaking candidates - a woman and an African-American - while the conservative Republicans are in a quandary about their party's nod to a quasi-liberal maverick, John McCain.
Each candidate is carefully pandering to a smorgasbord of special-interest groups, ranging from gay, lesbian and transgender people to children of illegal immigrants to working mothers to evangelical Christians.
There is one group no one has recognized, and it is the group that will decide the election: the Angry White Man. The Angry White Man comes from all economic backgrounds, from dirt-poor to filthy rich. He represents all geographic areas in America, from urban sophisticate to rural redneck, deep South to mountain West, left Coast to Eastern Seaboard.
His common traits are that he isn't looking for anything from anyone - just the promise to be able to make his own way on a level playing field. In many cases, he is an independent businessman and employs several people. He pays more than his share of taxes and works hard.
The victimhood syndrome buzzwords - "disenfranchised," "marginalized" and "voiceless" - don't resonate with him. "Press 'one' for English" is a curse-word to him. He's used to picking up the tab, whether it's the company Christmas party, three sets of braces, three college educations or a beautiful wedding.
He believes the Constitution is to be interpreted literally, not as a "living document" open to the whims and vagaries of a panel of judges who have never worked an honest day in their lives.
The Angry White Man owns firearms, and he's willing to pick up a gun to defend his home and his country. He is willing to lay down his life to defend the freedom and safety of others, and the thought of killing someone who needs killing really doesn't bother him.
The Angry White Man is not a metrosexual, a homosexual or a victim. Nobody like him drowned in Hurricane Katrina - he got his people together and got the hell out, then went back in to rescue those too helpless and stupid to help themselves, often as a police officer, a National Guard soldier or a volunteer firefighter.
His last name and religion don't matter. His background might be Italian, English, Polish, German, Slavic, Irish, or Russian, and he might have Cherokee, Mexican, or Puerto Rican mixed in, but he considers himself a white American.
He's a man's man, the kind of guy who likes to play poker, watch football, hunt white-tailed deer, call turkeys, play golf, spend a few bucks at a strip club once in a blue moon, change his own oil and build things. He coaches baseball, soccer and football teams and doesn't ask for a penny. He's the kind of guy who can put an addition on his house with a couple of friends, drill an oil well, weld a new bumper for his truck, design a factory and publish books. He can fill a train with 100,000 tons of coal and get it to the power plant on time so that you keep the lights on and never know what it took to flip that light switch.
Women either love him or hate him, but they know he's a man, not a dishrag. If they're looking for someone to walk all over,they've got the wrong guy. He stands up straight, opens doors for women and says "Yes, sir" and "No, ma'am."
He might be a Republican and he might be a Democrat; he might be a Libertarian or a Green. He knows that his wife is more emotional than rational, and he guides the family in a rational manner.
He's not a racist, but he is annoyed and disappointed when people of certain backgrounds exhibit behavior that typifies the worst stereotypes of their race. He's willing to give everybody a fair chance if they work hard, play by the rules and learn English.
Most important, the Angry White Man is pissed off. When his job site becomes flooded with illegal workers who don't pay taxes and his wages drop like a stone, he gets righteously angry. When his job gets shipped overseas, and he has to speak to some incomprehensible idiot in India for tech support, he simmers. When Al Sharpton comes on TV, leading some rally for reparations for slavery or some such nonsense, he bites his tongue and he remembers. When a child gets charged with carrying a concealed weapon for mistakenly bringing a penknife to school, he takes note of who the local idiots are in education and law enforcement.
He also votes, and the Angry White Man loathes Hillary Clinton. Her voice reminds him of a shovel scraping a rock. He recoils at the mere sight of her on television. Her very image disgusts him, and he cannot fathom why anyone would want her as their leader. It's not that she is a woman. It's that she is who she is. It's the liberal victim groups she panders to, the "poor me" attitude that she represents, her inability to give a straight answer to an honest question, his tax dollars that she wants to give to people who refuse to do anything for themselves.
There are many millions of Angry White Men. Four million Angry White Men are members of the National Rifle Association, and all of them will vote against Hillary Clinton, just as the great majority of them voted for George Bush.
He hopes that she will be the Democratic nominee for president in 2008, and he will make sure that she gets beaten like a drum.
-John McCain is not a "quasi-liberal maverick." There was a time when he had a slight independent streak, but of late he is right down the neo-conservative line. More war, more deficits, more tax giveaways to the rich...in short, increasing the myriad problems.
-The "Angry White Man" isn't nearly as widely represented as Hubbell suggests. And he is a racist. But even more so, he is a misogynist. He cannot fathom the thought of a woman as president. That's why the article expressly attacks Hillary Clinton even though Obama has very similar positions. He is right to say that his "Angry White Man" can be from any race. He is from many backgrounds too. But he is always is racist, he always is misogynist, and he is always easy to manipulate along those lines.
-Most important, he is just plain wrong. He decries welfare (the old "black woman in a Cadillac" that goes back to Reagan) even though welfare is not even close to what is busting the budget. America has over 800 military bases worldwide and a floundering economy as a direct result of the policies put in place in the Reagan years and followed (even under Bill Clinton, to a large degree) ever since. The two Democratic candidates (especially Barack Obama) see the folly and want to reverse it. The "Angry White Man" has seen his real earnings decrease by an average of one percent a year since Reagan. Do the math, that's over 25 percent. And he is duped into blaming the brown man. The Mexicans did it to him, not the economic policies that forced (and allowed) millions to try to feed their families. He is duped into thinking it must be Hillary Clinton's fault, even though the biggest growth in illegals came under Reagan and Bush.
-Last, I am an angry white man. Not in any way like Hubbell describes, of course. I am white, I am a man, and I am angry. I also like to hunt and hike, and a little sport now and then. But I am able to think for myself and to see the world through an open mind. Why am I angry?
I am angry that some closed-minded individuals choose to allow their insecurities and ignorance to be warped into a political movement. I am angry that thugs masquerading as members of the executive branch are allowed to run amok because they have distracted and scared enough people. It isn't the black person, the brown, the woman, the immigrant - or any of the other imagined threats to the "Angry White Man." It is his own ignorance, his own misguided belief system. He doesn't realize that every time he votes in favor of modern conservatives he is voting against his own self-interests, and those of his family. The "Angry White Man" needs to refocus his anger where it belongs.
What the article does (very well) is to highlight just how correct his comments were. As Obama said, he could have phrased it better. But the message is true. It is oh so refreshing to hear a politician speak frankly. The so-called "Angry White Man" as portrayed by Gary Hubbell in the original column is the epitome of the kind of misplaced anger that Obama seeks to address. Below is the original column that is circulating in email land, with my comments following.
In Election 2008, Don't Forget Angry White Man
by: Gary Hubbell, Aspen Times Weekly
There is a great amount of interest in this year's presidential elections, as everybody seems to recognize that our next president has to be a lot better than George Bush. The Democrats are riding high with two groundbreaking candidates - a woman and an African-American - while the conservative Republicans are in a quandary about their party's nod to a quasi-liberal maverick, John McCain.
Each candidate is carefully pandering to a smorgasbord of special-interest groups, ranging from gay, lesbian and transgender people to children of illegal immigrants to working mothers to evangelical Christians.
There is one group no one has recognized, and it is the group that will decide the election: the Angry White Man. The Angry White Man comes from all economic backgrounds, from dirt-poor to filthy rich. He represents all geographic areas in America, from urban sophisticate to rural redneck, deep South to mountain West, left Coast to Eastern Seaboard.
His common traits are that he isn't looking for anything from anyone - just the promise to be able to make his own way on a level playing field. In many cases, he is an independent businessman and employs several people. He pays more than his share of taxes and works hard.
The victimhood syndrome buzzwords - "disenfranchised," "marginalized" and "voiceless" - don't resonate with him. "Press 'one' for English" is a curse-word to him. He's used to picking up the tab, whether it's the company Christmas party, three sets of braces, three college educations or a beautiful wedding.
He believes the Constitution is to be interpreted literally, not as a "living document" open to the whims and vagaries of a panel of judges who have never worked an honest day in their lives.
The Angry White Man owns firearms, and he's willing to pick up a gun to defend his home and his country. He is willing to lay down his life to defend the freedom and safety of others, and the thought of killing someone who needs killing really doesn't bother him.
The Angry White Man is not a metrosexual, a homosexual or a victim. Nobody like him drowned in Hurricane Katrina - he got his people together and got the hell out, then went back in to rescue those too helpless and stupid to help themselves, often as a police officer, a National Guard soldier or a volunteer firefighter.
His last name and religion don't matter. His background might be Italian, English, Polish, German, Slavic, Irish, or Russian, and he might have Cherokee, Mexican, or Puerto Rican mixed in, but he considers himself a white American.
He's a man's man, the kind of guy who likes to play poker, watch football, hunt white-tailed deer, call turkeys, play golf, spend a few bucks at a strip club once in a blue moon, change his own oil and build things. He coaches baseball, soccer and football teams and doesn't ask for a penny. He's the kind of guy who can put an addition on his house with a couple of friends, drill an oil well, weld a new bumper for his truck, design a factory and publish books. He can fill a train with 100,000 tons of coal and get it to the power plant on time so that you keep the lights on and never know what it took to flip that light switch.
Women either love him or hate him, but they know he's a man, not a dishrag. If they're looking for someone to walk all over,they've got the wrong guy. He stands up straight, opens doors for women and says "Yes, sir" and "No, ma'am."
He might be a Republican and he might be a Democrat; he might be a Libertarian or a Green. He knows that his wife is more emotional than rational, and he guides the family in a rational manner.
He's not a racist, but he is annoyed and disappointed when people of certain backgrounds exhibit behavior that typifies the worst stereotypes of their race. He's willing to give everybody a fair chance if they work hard, play by the rules and learn English.
Most important, the Angry White Man is pissed off. When his job site becomes flooded with illegal workers who don't pay taxes and his wages drop like a stone, he gets righteously angry. When his job gets shipped overseas, and he has to speak to some incomprehensible idiot in India for tech support, he simmers. When Al Sharpton comes on TV, leading some rally for reparations for slavery or some such nonsense, he bites his tongue and he remembers. When a child gets charged with carrying a concealed weapon for mistakenly bringing a penknife to school, he takes note of who the local idiots are in education and law enforcement.
He also votes, and the Angry White Man loathes Hillary Clinton. Her voice reminds him of a shovel scraping a rock. He recoils at the mere sight of her on television. Her very image disgusts him, and he cannot fathom why anyone would want her as their leader. It's not that she is a woman. It's that she is who she is. It's the liberal victim groups she panders to, the "poor me" attitude that she represents, her inability to give a straight answer to an honest question, his tax dollars that she wants to give to people who refuse to do anything for themselves.
There are many millions of Angry White Men. Four million Angry White Men are members of the National Rifle Association, and all of them will vote against Hillary Clinton, just as the great majority of them voted for George Bush.
He hopes that she will be the Democratic nominee for president in 2008, and he will make sure that she gets beaten like a drum.
-John McCain is not a "quasi-liberal maverick." There was a time when he had a slight independent streak, but of late he is right down the neo-conservative line. More war, more deficits, more tax giveaways to the rich...in short, increasing the myriad problems.
-The "Angry White Man" isn't nearly as widely represented as Hubbell suggests. And he is a racist. But even more so, he is a misogynist. He cannot fathom the thought of a woman as president. That's why the article expressly attacks Hillary Clinton even though Obama has very similar positions. He is right to say that his "Angry White Man" can be from any race. He is from many backgrounds too. But he is always is racist, he always is misogynist, and he is always easy to manipulate along those lines.
-Most important, he is just plain wrong. He decries welfare (the old "black woman in a Cadillac" that goes back to Reagan) even though welfare is not even close to what is busting the budget. America has over 800 military bases worldwide and a floundering economy as a direct result of the policies put in place in the Reagan years and followed (even under Bill Clinton, to a large degree) ever since. The two Democratic candidates (especially Barack Obama) see the folly and want to reverse it. The "Angry White Man" has seen his real earnings decrease by an average of one percent a year since Reagan. Do the math, that's over 25 percent. And he is duped into blaming the brown man. The Mexicans did it to him, not the economic policies that forced (and allowed) millions to try to feed their families. He is duped into thinking it must be Hillary Clinton's fault, even though the biggest growth in illegals came under Reagan and Bush.
-Last, I am an angry white man. Not in any way like Hubbell describes, of course. I am white, I am a man, and I am angry. I also like to hunt and hike, and a little sport now and then. But I am able to think for myself and to see the world through an open mind. Why am I angry?
I am angry that some closed-minded individuals choose to allow their insecurities and ignorance to be warped into a political movement. I am angry that thugs masquerading as members of the executive branch are allowed to run amok because they have distracted and scared enough people. It isn't the black person, the brown, the woman, the immigrant - or any of the other imagined threats to the "Angry White Man." It is his own ignorance, his own misguided belief system. He doesn't realize that every time he votes in favor of modern conservatives he is voting against his own self-interests, and those of his family. The "Angry White Man" needs to refocus his anger where it belongs.
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Comment by samaritan
Fringe Faith
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
Hey Jeff, can you do me a favour? Go to your window, lift the glass, stick your head out and scream I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!
Then vote those sorry Republican arses out of the White House.
Ruby
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
how anyone can sit back in business and make money from other people yet be selfish enough to deny the needy welfare is always amazing to me "my taxes, my taxes" they always cry . . . that homeless bum on the street they hate so much could so easily be them if they had a major medical problem or an abusive home life
i feel sorry for the NICE white men who get clumped in with selfish idiots
Comment by Jeff Musall
Secular Humanity
Comment by Johnny Come Lately
Jack's Back