General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)Do y'all realize how much the Joe Biden "frontrunner" talk smacks of white male entitlement? [View all]
Not only is it premature to be labeling a frontrunner this early in the game before anyone has even gotten in the race, but I seem to recall lots of griping about Hillary Clinton expecting a "coronation" even when she was in the race fighting like hell to win the nomination.
Moreover, many of the reasons given for Biden's supposed superiority over any other possible candidate are the same reasons used to diminish Hillary Clinton - his experience (her experience made her too establishment), longevity (she'd been around too long), political acumen (her acumen meant she was calculating), toughness (she was harsh), spontaneity (WHY did she SAY that? NOT HELPFUL, Hillary!), etc.
This can't be viewed in a vacuum, but must be considered in historical and social context. White men have historically been a given credit for things that minorities and women are not credited for; in fact those same attributes we laud white men for are usually seen as deficits in women and minorities. And often they get spotted extra points for just being the white guy (couched in other, more innocuous gems like, "he's so competent!" and my favorite "he just a regular guy."
Joe Biden could be a great candidate. But so could Eric Holder and Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala Harris and Deval Patrick. Let's not ignore them, put them at the back of the line or make them play catch up because we've decided to give Joe Biden the white guy head start.
I'm urging my fellow Democrats to take a close look and think about whether privilege is coming into play and helping to shape some of your opinions about this race. Be clear, I'm not calling you a racist or sexist nor do I assume you are. But we all have biases (I know I do) and unless we are willing to look at them, recognize and try to overcome them, we're not going to make any progress.