The Mamdani Lesson for Handling a White Supremacist

Part 1

Disclaimer: The words and thoughts collected here were fashioned by a human being, not artificial intelligence.

I am writing this essay for the sake of history. Although I wish my perspective to resonate with my contemporaries, the truth is, clear well-constructed arguments cannot compete with the psychological pain being experienced by millions of European Americans during this second Trump Administration. The capacity to entertain nuance is limited. Due to economic stress, millions of citizens are in “survival mode.” Psychological stress is also present, which is more difficult to address because it is not physical in nature. Being white is no longer popular, so, neither will this essay be.

I’m okay with that. And, because I have resigned myself to being unpopular, future generations will question how I displayed, and sustained, such courage. The question will not arise from the personal methods I employed. No, the tools of humanity I use are no different than the tools available to my contemporaries. The question fascinating future minds will be: why didn’t more citizens take up those tools? What was the inner resistance? Why was fear of reprisal so great this author could overcome it but the masses could not?

Photo by Mark Stebnicki: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-a-statue-13727908/

I can imagine such questions because when I study the Civil Rights Movement those questions surface in my mind. It is hard for me to accept during the 1950s and 1960s that European Americans crafted solutions to business problems yet were (somehow) unaware of their oppressive acts which produced segregated outcomes. Brilliant minds which could innovate and work on landing a man on the moon - somehow, could not see the self-harm caused by attendance at a lynching. The distance created between those two ideas within the same mind just doesn’t add up.

332 days into this second Trump Administration, a similar level of cognitive dissonance is being exhibited.

It doesn’t seem to positively influence the national conversation on public policy that the majority of residents possess and operate smart phones connecting us through the internet. Herein is technology permitting a level of democratic participation radio and television could never afford the “American people,” yet, is failing to do so.

Clarity, while possible, is elusive. Confusion reigns, not because information isn’t available, but because facts are being denied. The denial is not because people do not want to know the truth. The denial is because the truth is horrific.

The architects of the Trump Presidency want a “white” ethno-state. Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon make their intentions plain. So are the ICE raids on “illegals” and the “undesired” intellectual opposition.

The political violence being visited upon European Americans in order to coerce the masses to align with white supremacy ideology is increasing daily without much organized resistance.

What resistance that does exist is performative. The “No Kings” rallies are able to turn out millions who disagree with the current events of injustice, without making any concrete demands that those acts cease. Attendees articulate their presence at the rallies as cathartic. They need to see, and feel, that they are not alone inside the distress they feel watching what is happening while, at the same time, feeling completely helpless to influence those who ascribe to white supremacy to change their behaviors.

It is as if the democrats and leftists are stupid, meaning they are walking around in a stupor, unable to accept the reality on display before them. “No, this can not be true,” they appear to say to themselves. “The people I know and love; the people whom I see as kind and generous; the people who are great parents, professionals, business leaders, coaches and problem-solvers - they seem to want to live in a whites-only ethno-state. I see them cheering Trump on and making excuses for moral behaviors they do not practice themselves. It’s as if I do not know my own friends and family members anymore. I feel betrayed. And, alone. I don’t know what to do that is safe for me to do. Right now, I feel that if I disagree with them, they will hurt me the way I see them wanting to hurt Black, Brown and Indigenous people. I thought we were making progress. I did not know things were this bad. It’s like our country is unrecognizable to me right now. This is not who we are!”

Despite reading those sentiments daily over social media posts, as a Black man living inside the United States, I underestimate the level of psychological and emotional pain being communicated. The already veneer of cognitive dissonance stitching the white mind together is dissipating. Few European Americans wish to be treated as oppressors. Yes, they know oppression is happening. No, they don’t believe their specific hands are directly contributing to the oppressive acts. The distance between those two ideas is the material of nightmares.

This ENDS part ONE of this essay. This part is for free. The second part is behind a paywall for a reason. EAGER is a grassroots organization designed to assist European Americans who want to walk out of white supremacy to be able to do so. EAGER needs resources. Economic resources. One pathway to generating those resources is an $8 monthly access fee to paid articles. To inspire you to support us, we authors provide FREE articles and PAID EDUCATION. Please help us by subscribing to this Substack for only $8 per month. We promise to provide you with high-quality education and solution-oriented essays.