There is no such thing as whiteness – there, I said it. And it is a sad truth that in the 21st Century, it is suddenly necessary to point out the obvious fact that "whiteness," as a categorical reality, does not even exist. Yet by means of a hideous regression in thinking imposed upon us by a small cadre of racist ideologues, this is precisely where we've landed – and rather abruptly, I must say. Not long ago – like, oh, the day before yesterday – this view of the human condition would have been denounced as intellectually perverse and morally repugnant from virtually every quarter of American society. But today, it is championed by government, business, sport, and educational institutions who seem to have victories, warped ideologies, and dollars as their top priorities, not the truth, decency, or morality. The ready acceptance of this racist doggerel represents a sad commentary on our times' moral and intellectual status.
Viewing life through the lens of “whiteness” (or any skin color, for that matter) hardly represents a leap forward or breathtaking insight into the true nature of human reality. It is instead a stunning and disturbing freefall into the ignorant, ethnocentric hatreds of our past. Ascribing various qualities of character – either positive or negative – to the color of one’s skin is something any modern scientist would instantly recognize as an error in category, like ascribing meanness to rocks simply because they’re hard, or spontaneity to trees because they blossom. Human attitudes, beliefs, prejudices, etc., are social and cultural constructs, while skin color is a biological construct, plain and simple.
