Donald Trump, Justice

'Woke' White Men Will Abandon Us Again, And Sooner Than You Think

Women and minorities have the same number of allies today as we had before this all started: not many.

By  
on
(Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)

(Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)

Social media has been flooded with newly aware white men. White men who just woke up to the sexism and racism some of us have been trying to tell them about all along. They’re going to stand with women, they say. They’re not going to let Muslims be terrorized by Trumpkins, they protest. They will teach their kids better than they were taught, they promise.

Please. Most of them won’t last 18 weeks before they go back to business as usual. In 18 months, it’ll be like this never happened.

I’m not talking about all white men, obviously. White men who went to the mattresses for racial and social justice two weeks ago didn’t need Election Day to teach them something new about white privilege, or male patriarchy, or any of the forces of arrayed against minorities and women in this country. The white men grinding it out at the ACLU ain’t going anywhere. Gregg Popovich was always here. I can still listen to Springsteen.

But a lot of white men are just now seeing — just know acknowledging — the hatred that’s always been part of the story of America. Those white men are unreliable and will soon go back to telling us “don’t make everything about race,” and chuckling in the background as their Trump-supporting buddy talks about where he’s going to grab that woman at the bar.

I know that’s going to happen because I’m a minority, I’ve been one all my life. I’ve had minority viewpoints, all my life. These newly woke white men don’t have the stomach to walk four feet in my shoes, much less four years.

First, these white guys will learn that they are in the minority within their own demographic. Right now, our social media feeds are keeping us in our comfortable bubbles. But pretty quickly, these white men will have to deal with the fact that 65% of them voted for the president-elect. Then there are the millions and millions of white men who didn’t vote at all. And then there are all the white men who voted for Hillary, but still don’t think sexism and racism are huge issues and are eager to give Trump a chance to prove that he’s not a racist (as if the past year and a half hasn’t given us quite enough evidence).

Sponsored

Between the Trump voters, the non-voters, and Hillary men with their heads in the sand, that’s a whole bunch of white people who will be telling these men that their newfound commitment to social justice is unwarranted, or flat out wrong. That’s a whole bunch of white people who will say to these guys: “can’t we just watch the game,” or “Trump won, get over it.”

Many of the white men who are so loud and chesty on Twitter today will fold like a cheap chair once they find themselves in the minority at Buffalo Wild Wings.

And they haven’t even gone to work yet! You think these white guys are going to start speaking up on behalf of women and minorities at their place of business? On company time? They’re going to call out their Trump-supporting bosses when a bad joke is made? When they see Trump-fueled harassment at the workplace? When it comes time to hire a diverse candidate?

Be real, people. White men didn’t change overnight just because Trump’s America proved all us “social justice warriors” right.

We are alone, there’s no cavalry of “good” white men coming to save the day. White men are not going to stand up to other white men just because they liked your status update.

Sponsored

Women and minorities have the same number of allies today as we had before this all started: not many.

Elie Mystal is an editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

Topics

, , ,