Plum McCauley returns with a new guest-essay on the most divisive and contentious issue of the current culture wars.
Re-examining the Term “White Supremacy”
by Plum McCauley
As Gregory Hood noted in his speech at the 2022 American Renaissance conference, the term “white supremacist” is on its way to replacing “racist” as the go-to pejorative for progressives these days. But when one attempts to nail down exactly what the pejorative is intended to rebuke, however, things get a little tricky.
That’s because, like the term it’s replacing, it applies to nearly everything. White people have been rebuked even by respected institutions for having characteristics that only a couple of decades ago would have been considered, without question, the necessary equipment for all human beings to succeed, nay survive, in life, anywhere.
But since most of us who keep abreast of these developments are already familiar with the ever-expanding list of characteristics under fire for being associated with “whiteness” and hence “white supremacy,” I won’t elaborate further. It’s become theatre of the absurd.
Besides, they’re not really the issue anyway. They are merely hastily fashioned cudgels that have been added to the arsenal of materiel collected for the purpose of clobbering white people over their heads till kingdom come.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest just for the hell of it that we reconsider the phrase “white supremacist” in order to introduce some balance into the discourse about race. When I first submitted a draft of this essay to a conservative webzine, one of the reasons the editor gave for rejecting it was that he didn’t “perceive a pressing need to rehabilitate the term ‘white supremacy’.” But I disagree. I think white people need to firmly push back against its strictly pejorative use. After all, we’ve been conditioned to define it solely as an antagonistic posture toward others, connoting meanness and contempt toward anyone not white.
Apparently we need to constantly remind folks that even if one admits (as they should) that white people have caused vast human suffering through conquest and enslavement, it is essential to historical accuracy (otherwise known as truth) to acknowledge that there are very few peoples on the earth who have not oppressed others for reasons mainly having to do with territory and resources. Once conquered, the people who inhabited those desirable bits of geography became subject, if they were allowed to live at all, to either tribute or coerced labor. And these conquerors came in a full range of shades. Educated people, even progressives of a previous generation, used to know that.
Yet another point involves the psychological attitude allegedly propelling these acts of geographic expansion and domination. Did those thousands of acts of conquest and exploitation throughout history require a mental posture of superiority on the part of those making incursions into new territory? I doubt it. Invasions were serious endeavors, and no general worth his position as leader would willfully underestimate those he was about to face in battle. If conquerors have proven themselves more powerful than the conquered, and acquired the territory and people in question, why would they have needed any further justification or excuse for doing so, such as the sense that they were “superior” to the conquered? In fact, this is a case of putting the cart before the horse, for any feelings of superiority in the subjugating force would have arisen after conquest, rather than before it as a propelling motivation.
Likewise, since European and American slave traders must have shared the same attitude toward their cargo as did the Africans who rounded up these unfortunates to be sold in the coastal slave markets, I don’t think the excuse of “white supremacy” as their motive applies here, either.
Rather, white supremacy is a recent attribution to white people of an attitude of superiority — and consequently contempt — toward black people that might at some point be manifested injuriously to blacks, whether physically, socially, or economically. However, black people would argue there’s no “might” about it, that this injury has happened in the past, is currently happening, and is, in fact, inscribed in American law. Therefore, to eradicate all vestiges of this injury and to prevent future manifestations of it, it is not enough to legislate against actions; we must legislate against thoughts and their expression.
The idea that thoughts should be legislated is abhorrent for many different reasons. But one indication that this move is not advanced in good faith is the fact that this notion — that the opinions white people hold toward other races inexorably lead to harmful outcomes — is a two-way street. All races and ethnicities have in-group preference as well as feelings of ill-will toward outsiders. Those attitudes were fundamental to survival and have been hard-wired into us after thousands of years of development. Preferences for one’s kin or group, to be more explicit, are not exclusive to White Europeans. Nor is loathing.
I think it’s time to shed the guilt. White Americans have done more to compensate for their ancestors’ enslavement of the African peoples than have any other people in the world for their own nation’s participation in this evil. Enough already. Maybe it’s time to re-define white supremacy and promulgate that understanding of the term without shame.
Let’s finally admit out loud that there isn’t a racial or ethnic group in the world that doesn’t think it’s the cat’s pajamas. Sometimes they’ve even earned their self-admiration. But rather often they haven’t, and that’s still okay, because loving your group/tribe/kind is normal and admirable, and we wouldn’t be here today without our ancestors having indulged whole-heartedly in this sentiment.
So, I’m saying it loud and clear: my people, White Europeans, are the cat’s pajamas, and no one else even comes close.
Previously by Plum McCauley: Muslims Need an Enlightenment, Not a New Head of “Church”
Birds of a feather flock together.
A trip to any Walmart would disabuse any ethnic white that all whites are supreme. My own life experience informs me that many if not most white people are just as dumb and trashy as those they would look down their noses at.
However, if we ever colonize the Moon, Mars, the skies of Venus, the asteroid belts, Europa, and all the interstellar space between here and Alpha Centauri it will be be by asians and whites and a smattering of other races. Space travel and colonization will always be dangerous and lethally so for the stupid. There will be no extra mass allowance for diversity hires or the dim-witted. It will be a Great Sorting by merit and intelligence, and it will not matter what the sociologists say; the differences in abilities will be painfully and lethally obvious.
That is a an excellent discussion point. Thanks, I will enjoy it
In other words, the conditions of our development on earth would be present once again, forcing people to reevaluate their priorities. Agreed.
But as for trashy people, even trashy people have a right to love their own kind. I am trying to REDEFINE supremacy, not simply uphold its original pejorative meaning. People, white people included, should be able to express pride in their own people and their people’s accomplishments. That does not necessarily entail derogation of others. Right now, this is something white Europeans the world over are denied. It is assumed that white pride is automatically an expression of contempt toward others. Bull!!!
I agree with your original premise. There should be no shame in saying that one is white and proud of it, or having and expressing an in-group preference in the same way that latinos, African-Americans, native Americans etc trumpet from the rooftops. And I don’t begrudge that to other groups to have pride in whatever accomplishments they claim.
Whites of European descent are villianized in my opinion out of jealousy and because it is glaringly obvious to other races that for whatever reason we are superior; so much so that we mostly don’t think about it or don’t feel the need to bray about it and can watch with a bemused expression as every other group claims a month to crow of their accomplishments.
As to white trash or trashy individuals of whatever other ethnicity, I believe that we make an error as a group by not condemning and shaming such dysfunctional behaviors within our group. Christians would say hate the sin and love the sinner. Perhaps. If we truly believe in the supremacy of whatever group we belong to then those who bring shame upon the group should be shunned and shamed, used as an object lesson to others of how not to be, or given tough love and a swift boot to the bum to motivate them to get their act together since our group is better than that and their actions discredit the group. Every group has something to be proud of even if like the Cubs they only win once a century. Pride is good and races should start acting their race.
I think that we used to mock hillbillies for the very reason you state, that as a group they were found wanting. But for sexual deviants, we don’t condemn anything for fear of being prudish. Hence, the ubiquity of drag queen story hour.
As for jealousy, no one put it better than Joe Sobran:
The late Joe Sobran wrote in 1997:
“The concept of envy — the hatred of the superior — has dropped out of our moral vocabulary. The idea that white Christian civilization is hated more for its virtues than its sins doesn’t occur to us, because it’s not a nice idea. Western man towers over the rest of the world in ways so large as to be almost inexpressible. It’s Western exploration, science, and conquest that have revealed the world to itself. Other races feel like subjects of western power long after colonialism, imperialism and slavery have disappeared. The charge of racism puzzles whites who feel not hostility, but only baffled good will, because they don’t grasp what it really means: humiliation. The white man presents an image of superiority even when he isn’t conscious of it. Superiority excites envy. Destroying white civilization is the inmost desire of the league of designated victims we call ‘minorities.'”
I’d add Jews, especially Ashkenazi.
East Asians also score above average in IQ tests, but the culture discourages questioning or individual enquiry. Countries as politically diverse as (“communist”) China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea tend to copy, improve and mass-produce others’ inventions, from videotape to high-speed trains.
Good that you put “communist” China in quotation marks.
They have borrowed a concept (created by those same Ashkenazis), taken what is useful to their needs, and discarded the rest. They’re about as communist as Biden is lucid.
And that’s likely the source of the West’s angst and fear regarding China. Western nations have been so used to being superior for so long that the idea of being inferior along with visible evidence of that inferiority manifests itself in denigration, threats, and calls for war.
Maybe we should start a big push for going into space and make sure that africans ahould be given the first places on such rockets.
Of course with the standards that would be given to rockets that go to whites.
“…white people have caused vast human suffering through conquest and enslavement”? I stopped reading right there. Whites were the least of the world’s slavers, and have done more for the human race (and ungrateful people of all races) than any other people in history. To think of the blood shed in World War Two, and what this country has become… is to cry.
WWII Wasn’t necessary, the Brits playing their great game and the Armistice of WWI made Germany what it was and the over throws of the Kings of Europe caused instant instability. The Lions and Victors care not for the opinions of the sheep and vanquished.
Not to speak of the insignificant detail that no Americans ever went into Africa to capture slaves themselves (if they did I haven’t ever heard of the story and wonder why.) They bought them from others who did the dirty work and took advantage of them while it lasted, yes. But who enabled this in the first place, we all know. Africans do it to each other in tribal feuds since the dawn of time. And then there is Arabic language which has only one word for Black Africans, which is synonym for the function they were destined to fulfill. I wish them luck to emancipate themselves from this and if any Whites were even motivated to help them they would start telling the truth.
I made that point in the essay.
Ah, yes, should have started the sentence differently. I meant to heighten attention to it, especially since Islamic slavery continues to this day and their contempt for the black race is even encoded in the language. If this was so in German or English… But the oh-so-woke rather choose to remain oblivious for whatever reasons of their own.
Re-examining the Term “White Supremacy”
Brilliant essay Baron, and like you I’m saying out and loud ‘White Europeans, are the cat’s pajamas, and no one else even comes close.’
Which group of people brought as much to the world in every direction as the British people-and yet today those that are supposedly governing our nation are so full of people with origins across the globe that all direction of management is askew. Too old now to worry but I do worry for my Grandchildren with the controlled future plans being set out for them.
Thank you, but it’s not my essay, it’s Plum’s.
The funny thing is that the ones who harp on about ‘white supremacy’ are themselves guilty of engaging in anti white supremacy. Although I think they are too dumb to realise this fact.
Anyone who has read and listened to what actual white supremacists such as David Duke, Kevin Alfred Strom etc. said in the the early 2000s knows that they are no different than todays anti white supremacists. All you have to do is replace the word “Jews” with “whites” and their essays and opinion pieces are practically indistinguishable.
The main point of the antisemitic white supremacists, such as Duke and Strom, is that the Jews control everything that goes in the world. While the modern day anti white supremacists’ main point is that whites control everything.
Here’s a suggestion. The next time some anti white supremacist goes on a rant about how whites control everything, tell him or her that what they really mean is that the Jews control everything. Then take a step back and watch them lose their cool.
The reason why they’ll lose their temper is because they do not wish to come across as antisemitic, which the majority of them equate with racism. However they have no issue with actual anti white racism, which they do not equate as such.
A pertinent and recent example is Kanye West. He complained about Jews controlling everything and got crushed. Had he on the other hand claimed that whites control everything he would have been fine.
Here’s another thing to consider. The modern day anti white supremacists (woke morons) are mostly just sheep that tag along and embrace whatever trend is in vogue. It doesn’t matter what is. They embrace the ‘climate change’ trend, the ‘Covid vaccine trend’, ‘the poor oppressed ethnic minority trend’ etc.
These people are incapable of independent thought and need to be told what to think. That’s why those in power have such an easy time whenever they want to foist something on their populations.
And the sad thing is that things will probably remain that way as long as there are humans walking around on this planet of ours.
A little gem written by Michael Klonovsky: “If you remove each and every one of the White Man’s creations from this planet, his denouncers would have neither time nor means, not even terms, to keep heaping accusations upon him.”
More: https://at.wikimannia.org/Michael_Klonovsky#Zitate
Thank you for this reference! His aphorisms are quite interesting.
“…my people, White Europeans, are the cat’s pajamas, and no one else even comes close.”
Plum, this is put so endearingly. : ) It’s always been considered poor manners to brag, and ‘sinful’ to have pride, but dog gone it when only Whites are allowed no cheerleading whatsoever, things need to change. Recently when a (white) teen track star in my county ran an astonishingly fast timed lap, he raised his arms above his head with joy. Then some killjoy judge immediately disqualified him from victory for “too much celebration” i.e. poor sportsmanship. ?! Unbelievable. Whites in multi-ethnic areas are really held to very high standards when it comes to downplaying personal successes, and not disclosing any emotions, even visible anger, when a relative is murdered by a non-White perp.
My Christian husband rails against displays of personal pride. After a sports victory, he overheard our son singing Queen’s “We are the Champions…” when he got home, & was alone, happy and just singing to himself. “Not good. That song sounds too full of pride!” his dad chided. (Sigh) Whites are choosing to commit suicide every day. Only Native American Indians are more suicidal than Whites. Whites are way overdue some pats on the back, appreciation, and kind words.
Also, I’d like to see the term “excellence” substituted for “supremacy”. Until then, in silly fashion, I’ll continue to use such terms as ‘Yellow Supremacy’, for Oriental-Asian excellence/earned success.