When I write "elite," I am referring to white kids who have gone to good universities, sometimes the Ivies, but also good state universities. They are, I believe, at the heart of the mobs that are currently protesting and, as I wrote in my
previous post, have learned their hatred of American institutions from their professors. They are not the redneck-like protesters that were maligned by the press during the early days of lockdown. In fact, the photo above (in a recent issue of
Book Forum), at a demonstration against Scott Walker a year ago, shows a young, buff, rather attractive male. I think he is recognizable as one of the elite white kids I am referring to. Were it not for the sign he holds above his head, one might guess he was a student at the University of Wisconsin, a very good university. I say U Wisconsin, because the political figure being protested by the sign was until 2019 the governor of Wisconsin. (Click to enlarge.)
What takes me aback is the sign about the young man's head. We know from it that he finds Scott Walker revolting, but his words reflect on him as well. Why would a well-bred young man be so vulgar? The vulgarity does not land on Walker; it lands on the young man. And why, when it is so easy to laugh at rednecks for their inelegant ways, does one not find this elite class equally offensive?
But most of all: What is with these young, privileged white males displaying themselves in all their vulgarity?
Photo credit: Mark Peterson Steidl/Redux Pictures
