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It’s how we end up with panels, podcasts, op-eds, and think pieces dominated by men who don’t actually understand the systems, institutions, and policies they’re analyzing but feel entitled to define them anyway.
Because whiteness has long taught white men that their opinions matter more than other people’s expertise.
That curiosity alone equals qualification.
So when Klein admits he doesn’t know his role, the question isn’t just “why not?,” it’s “then why the hell are you so loud?”
Why do you get to shape national discourse without doing the personal work to understand where your perspective even comes from or the work you should be doing?
Why do you get to represent coalitions you’ve never built?
Why are you platformed, praised, and paid to “explore ideas” that have lived consequences for those of us who don’t have the luxury of detachment?
This is exactly what Mediocre calls out, the dangerous legacy of a culture where white men’s uninformed opinions still carry the weight of authority, while the lived experience of those most impacted by oppression is treated as “bias.”
White men, if you don’t know your role, that is your answer.
Your role is to stop talking long enough to learn.
To stop centering your ignorance as curiosity.
To stop mistaking access for insight.
Because the rest of us can’t afford to gamble our futures on your “I don’t know.”
#Mediocre #MythOfWhiteMaleSupremacy #TaNehisiCoates #EzraKlein #WhiteMen #GoodWhiteFolx #Antiracism #Accountability #PowerAndPrivilege #SystemicRacism #CulturalCritique #DoTheWork #ProfitWithoutOppression #KimCrayton
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