White Cowardice Will End Us All

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The Eye of Whiteness

I almost didn’t write this week’s newsletter. Whiteness is too often the center of everything that goes on in the U.S., but it’s hard to hold in my frustration about the most consistent social pattern I’ve observed during my adult life.

The overwhelming majority of white folks stay giving up the booty on actual progress.

Bomani Jones, one of my favorite sports analysts, is fond of using this phrase to describe athletes who cave under pressure that they should, more likely than not, overcome. Short arm a wide-open touchdown pass because you were worried about the free safety even though he’s two steps behind you — you gave up the booty. Miss a routine three-foot putt under ideal conditions — you gave up the booty. Interupt a teammate’s post-game interview to show off your MAGA hat, but then refuse to elaborate why when the press asks you about — you gave up them cheeks playboi.

This last example is particularly poignant and illustrative of what seems to me to be one of the pillars of whiteness — pathological levels of cowardice when it comes to navigating race and racism.

I’ve written and talked a lot about this phenomenon over the years, so I’m reluctant to keep beating this dead horse. Except for the fact that white cowardice is a hoard of zombies that, if one doesn’t oppose, will overrun everything.

So, the white gaze notwithstanding, let me try to contextualize this moment in history and perhaps see a way through the latest USian nightmare.

“Good” Cowards.

In my experience confronting white nonsense, almost every white person who doesn’t openly admit they’re racist demands any observers of their f*cksh*t believe that at the end of the day they are a “good person”. They want absolution based on their intent and for any impact they didn’t perceive as hostile to be ignored.

I get it. Finding out your actions were problematic when all you were trying to do was help or even mind your own business is a deeply unpleasant experience. I lose my empathy when this feeling of personal discomfort overrides the moral priority of addressing the harm done.

I often ask, “Is their comfort so much more important than doing the right thing that they can’t see what they should be doing?”

And too often, the answer to that question is yes. #wypipo.

Bigoted humans are never going away. It’s within all of us to live in a world view like 47 and his followers. The strength and sustainability of a human culture should be measured largely by what components of human nature it incentivises. The fact that someone like T*ump can even get close to power, let alone seize said power twice is a damning indictment of the society he comes from.

A society that produces a person and a leader like 47 isn’t built by hoards of bigots; it’s built by hoards of people who refuse to oppose bigotry. People who, under ideal conditions where they’re not personally at risk, can tell you all about the right thing to do, but when they’re deeply unsettled, lose their moral compass.

The Wild Kitchen and Shook Whites

I think USian society will only marginally change so long as whiteness is left intact. Deconstructing whiteness is as necessary to rebuilding human societies that work for humans, and our relations are as essential as removing termite-infested wood on a home renovation project.

Fundamentally restructuring how a human views something, especially something as integral as one’s identity, requires much more subtlety than a bombardment of facts. We humans need narratives to smooth out existential conflicts, and food is one of the best ways to accomplish this, in my experience.

But more than just eating good food, we need to shift our thinking. Being intimately involved in the work and creativity it takes to nourish yourself, at least for me, rewires your brain in ways that instill humility and a strong work ethic. You learn reciprocity and build confidence without an inflated sense of your abilities. Wild food is honest like a Black aunty who tells you about yourself when you f*ck up, but also encourages you to do better.

Being able to engage with food on as much of my terms as possible is one way I’m navigating the place that white cowardice has led us. When processing my North Carolina hog, I think about how generations of Black folks made their first deposits to freedom in the kitchen. I find hope in imagining what could be once a critical mass of white folks decide that whiteness isn’t working for them and how much abundance there is within us to make a just and sustainable future.

The Wild Kitchen is my way of living that future today, so that when white folks stop caring more about what’s right instead of what’s comfortable, the people I love will be ready to help build something worthwhile.

CONSIDER THIS

My New Computer

The M1 MacBook Air remains one of the best pieces of technology I’ve ever purchased. However, it’s been nearly five years since I made that purchase, and it was time for a change. I spent a lot of time deciding what specs I wanted for my new MacBook Air, but I eventually settled on the baseline version.

I started my YouTube channel and this business with a base-spec M1 Air, so I ultimately decided on a base-spec M4 to see how far technology has come. I haven’t yet attempted to edit videos on this new machine, which will determine how impressed I am with tech advances, but having double the RAM in my new M4 will undoubtedly make a difference.

If you’re in the market for a new everyday laptop, Apple's current offerings are hard to beat. If you have an M1 Air, I think now is a great time to upgrade.

Thanks for reading!

-Jonathan