Trump and Stephen Miller capitalize on white America's fear its racial identity is losing value

[babylonsister]

Emily Walton Trump and Stephen Miller capitalize on white America's fear its racial identity is losing value
Racial identity threat is at the heart of racial division in this country, as whites strive to hold on to a narrow definition of cultural citizenship.
Dec. 16, 2019, 4:43 AM EST
By Emily Walton, associate professor of sociology at Dartmouth College


At a recent rally in Florida, President Donald Trump got cheers from his supporters as he positioned himself and his administration as an important line of defense in the supposed “War on Thanksgiving,” an evocative image of the threat posed by progressives to America’s cherished cultural traditions, as they wish to include a more inclusive narrative of the holiday’s history.

An even clearer example of the racially divisive attitudes harbored and perhaps even enabled by this administration is represented by White House adviser, Stephen Miller. Miller was recently found to have written hundreds of emails demonstrating his support for white nationalist ideology. Although some Democrats have called for Miller’s resignation, one of the main architects of Trump’s hardline immigration policies has so far faced zero consequences.

Whether spinning wild conspiracy theories about Thanksgiving or pushing xenophobic policy proposals, Trump officials have done little to foster racial and socioeconomic solidarity. So why are such extremist views tolerated in America — including at the highest branches of government?

As a sociologist who studies race relations, I argue that feelings of racial identity threat are behind this tolerance. These feelings are not limited to white people but occur among both those in the cultural majority and those on the cultural margins as they work to hold onto and attain cultural citizenship.

Cultural citizenship is the achievement of full, unabridged membership in a social group. These days, many white people sense their claim to cultural citizenship — which has long been assumed to be automatic — is slipping away. And yet at the same time, people of color strive for, but rarely achieve, cultural citizenship because it has historically been based on a narrow definition of whiteness. These seem like competing, even antagonistic, efforts. But both the holding onto and the striving for a claim to cultural citizenship are driven by similar fears.

more...

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-stephen-miller-capitalize-white-america-s-fear-its-racial-ncna1102081?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma&fbclid=IwAR3texbCW5tXJC1iKGr2YY_GTdzhAMHNTvPvUjKntzrNyrDH2dE_ieBRp1E

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Translated: losing identity of white superiority.

They'd love to re-instate Jim Crow laws and in the northern states as well.

[atreides1]

2. Well!!!

Ohio is kind of doing that already...especially with its voter purges...

[GeorgeGist]

3. Fear of adaptation is a well-known ...

evolutionary dead end.