Mark Meadows Showed Us the Six Stages White Men Go Through When Getting Called Out for Racism

{snip} But one of the more newsworthy moments came when North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows brought out a Black woman who works for the president’s administration as proof that Donald Trump can’t be racist.

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They generally follow a pretty strict blueprint as if they went to some sort of racial deflection boarding school. With that said, here is what happens when you call a white man out for racism.

1.The Racist Act

The white man’s response to being called racist begins, of course, with the racist act. {snip} Mark Meadows dragging a Black woman on stage like he was presenting her to the highest bidder, all in order to prove that Trump wasn’t racist is, in fact, an act of racism. He presented one Black woman as representative of an entire race and as a way to excuse a whole racist. Similar deniably racist acts include stopping and frisking Black folks, following a Black customer around a store or not getting approved for the same loans as our white counterparts. The decision to call out said racist act will always, always lead to the rest of the steps.

2. Shock and Outrage

“How dare you?!” usually comes next. Scratch that, it always comes next. {snip}

3. “I Know A Black”
4. “No YOU’RE Racist”

I’m grouping steps three and four together because Meadows hit us with a one-two combo of white man meltdown, melding these together so seamlessly, so effortlessly, so loudly that it all seemed like one step. First, like someone sinking into quicksand looking for a vine to hold on to, he yelled out to the Black friend he had in the room, Elijah Cummings, who he is apparently actually friends with. Then he went to his mental Rolodex of Blacks in his life he could toss in front of the friendly fire of his own making, lobbing up the fact he has Black nieces and nephews. BLACK NIECES AND NEPHEWS, PEOPLE. Because, of course, white people merely being around Black people absolves them of any capability of being racist. {snip}

The “I have a Black friend” defense is a tale as old as time. It’s a belief that white people have that revolves around the idea of proximity to Blackness equating to an absence of racism. We all know this isn’t true, but it’s one of the most readily used defenses.

{snip} The “no, you’re racist” defense falls flat when you realize that nobody can be racist against white people because nobody has the power over white people to oppress them. This is Sociology 101. Racists don’t know Sociology 101. Or decency. Or, you know, an understanding of how not to be racist.

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Within minutes, like clockwork, social media was full of clips of Meadows announcing, loudly and proudly that President Barack Obama was from Kenya. Not only that but Meadows also proudly declared that he’d send Obama back to said Kenya. {snip} The whole birther movement was an act of racism and Meadows perpetuated it. It never fails. If you allow someone who does something racist to talk long enough or if you do even a superficial amount of digging into that person’s life, the inevitably more racism appears. Like magic. It never fails.

6. *Shrug*

And like a whimper, nothing happens. Because what really ever happens to white men who reveal themselves to be racist. {snip} When in the end “racist” is just a mild inconvenience. Nothing substantial really happens to them. Sure, they may get fired eventually but they’ll find more jobs with no problems. They’ll find bigger fan bases who embrace their racism. They get to keep their jobs as governors. They become presidents. They throw fits on national television and get coddled into feeling like everything is okay. They learn nothing. They don’t grow. They get to continue to hate us. And all we get in the end is a shrug.

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