Conor Friedersdorf takes a deep dive into dangerous waters, the furious controversy among the woke folks on the left regarding the culpability of white women for Democratic losses in the recent midterm elections, and particularly the assumption that the failure of (many) white women to vote “correctly” proves that they’re, you know, TOTALLY RACIST!
Well, I’m sure it’s the case that many white women are racist, like many white men, though I would point out that the white race hardly has a monopoly on racism. Yes, black people can be racist too, as can Asians, Hispanics, et al. But the particular venom with which the wrong-headed white gals are denounced overlooks a few important things:
First, white women, particularly those who are not high up on the economic scale, are more likely than the general population to be bible-reading evangelicals. White evangelicals are likely to be on the “wrong” side of a whole list of social/moral issues, along with the particular issue of unquestioning support for Israel (because many evangelicals see current events in the Middle East as a literal expression of God’s will, almost a Third Testament that is happening before our eyes). Woke folks, of course, think that it’s “insane” for any woman to think that abortion is wrong, that homosexuality is a sin, that “gay” marriage is a sacrilege, etc. and can only be attributed to the very darkest and most corrupt of motives, and so they loathe that which they cannot understand.
Second, screaming at people, or merely condescending to them, is seldom an effective way to change their behavior.
