In the post election viewpoint, many on the left have opined that identity politics are “over”, and that Democratic party members must move on. Even vaunted progressive icons have asked whether or not it is “easy” to stand up to issues of racism and hatred, in comparison to “the real struggle” of economic issues.
But for NFL player Nikita Whitlock, an individual certainly not suffering from severe economic stress, the realities of dealing with racism weren’t in any way muted or changed by his wealth.
www.northjersey.com/…
Whitlock returned home with his family on Tuesday night and found "KKK," three swastikas and other racist language scrawled onto the walls of home. The largest word, "Trump," was also written in marker on the wall leading up his staircase.
His immediate thought upon entering his home was to make sure he kept his family safe, he told The Record early Thursday morning, but in the hours after the incident he reflected on what was now littered throughout his home.
Incidents such as those faced by Nikita Whitlock occur every day, though they don’t often make headlines at ESPN and SI.Com. Instead, it is often people who have less of a voice who face the real world lash of people with ideas that prevent them from rising, economically and socially.
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“I wanted to make you aware of some very concerning behavior recently occurring at North. We have had several incidents in which students were harassed based on their race and/or ethnicity. This behavior is intolerable and will be handled swiftly by the staff and administration based on our Student Code of Conduct. I have attached below the announcement that I personally read to the entire student body this afternoon.
“I ask that you please speak to your child tonight about the importance of respecting everyone and our intolerance for any type of harassment. It is also important that students report any concerns immediately to an adult so that inappropriate behavior may be swiftly addressed and safety ensured.
Incidents such as these occur every day, whether they make the paper or not. The fact is, despite calls that identity politics are a problem for the left, it is now, more than ever, that we must stand up for those who stood behind us in the election booth.
Minority communities voted overwhelmingly for a Democratic ticket. While many writers talk about the need to woo back the white working class, we also need to point out that now is the time that white liberals focus on more than wringing their hands over how to win over other whites. We must make it clear to our strongest supporters that in a time that could be dangerously difficult for them, we stand for them rather than run away.
I’m reminded of a lesson given to me years ago by Linus Beloit, a director of a drug & alcohol rehabilitation service for veterans in the Kansas City area. His lesson was pretty straight forward: you could clean up a poor, white soldier. Get him off of drinking and into a suit and tie and he’d have a decent shot of getting a job. But a minority former soldier with a prior history of alcoholism? The rate of second chances was far fewer, not because of their skill sets or service to the country, but because there were still assumptions made about them that were not made of their white counterparts in the hiring practices.
We all have an identity. It can be one of wealth or poverty, of religious belief or lack thereof, it can be of our genetic heritage or disability. In the end, these all shape our identity. While Republicans master using identity to pit groups against each other in the hopes of winning votes, it is imperative we remind each other that to be an ally isn’t about putting yourself out there when it is easy. It is about making it clear you will be the person the moment needs when things are at their most difficult.