Why are white folk so mad?

The eleventh hour shenanigans (i.e. voter id laws, copious dollars spent on negative and false ads) the Republicans tried to pull to suppress the vote didn't work and President Obama won. And on Wednesday, more than few friends noted that their workplaces were markedly colder and quieter. Many even felt they were personally being given the stink eye. Why? Because African slaves were brought to America for the sole purpose of free labor. Neither they nor their descendants were ever intended to have the same opportunities and privileges as whites in the minds of the founding fathers and many of their descendents. (And far too many of us still don't.)  Therein lies the problem - far too many white folks, older men in particular, are threatened by the thought of giving any appreciable power to the group they unrelentingly oppressed for centuries. It's preferable to cling to a fantasy of the good old days when it was unfathomable that this great country could be led by a black man.  Joan Walsh wrote a book called "What’s the Matter With White People? Why We Long for a Golden Age That Never Was,”.  She expounds on her ideas in this interview,   I don't even need to review the book  trust me the title says it all.

The Republican party which was the party of a progressive thinking Abraham Lincoln has become the party of stodgy, rich, white guys who believe they have a special monopoly on Christian values and budget balancing. They've refused to concern themselves with the minutia of a rapidly changing demographics. Seriously what other group of men would be so impudent and self absorbed as to try to define rape not once but 3 times on a national platform? This same group also thought it wise to air their antiquated ideas on the female reproductive system as well. Given the results of last Tuesday, sadly many of them feel they need to double down on their conservatism, if they are to win the 2016 election.  If the Republican party is to survive, they must understand that this country is changing quickly not just ethnically but idealogically as well. They can choose to evolve or dig their heels in.  And please don't mention Herman Cain as a sign of party progressivity because eventually Donald Trump & Co would have asked for his birth certificate as well.

So white folks, don't be mad. You may have convinced yourself that the 2008 election was a fluke but in 2012 President Barack Obama proved once again that he could play the game, by your rules, and still win both the popular and electoral votes. So stop your bitching and deal with it, just like we've done for every election before 2008 - we, ALL of US, have work to do.