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ABSTRACT
Despite boasting its self-characterization as the “land of the free,” US American “freedom” is, at times, tainted with historical amnesia, hypocrisy, and inhumanity. This article examines today's socio-political climate by drawing from de Tocqueville's (2003) prediction that American democracy is a tyranny of the majority. Because tyranny relies on gaslighting and dismissing facts, no definitive portraiture of freedom is made; therefore, the tyrannized wonder whether they are truly living within freedom or, instead, in collective submission to its illusion. This article examines this phenomenon in order to investigate how whiteness (re)produces conditions of disillusionment and tyranny. By employing hermeneutics of whiteness as a methodology, the authors investigate how whiteness infiltrates thoughts/epistemology, speech/rhetoric, emotions/emotionality, and nationalistic symbols/semiotics. The authors analyze implications for US education and offer a plea for all to consider.
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1. For the purpose of this article, we use the term “American” to identify those born and living in the United States; we are fully aware, and prefer to make the distinction, that there are many Americas—Central America, North America, etc.
2. The etymology of the word denigrate rests on the root part of the Latin “niger,” or “black,” thus making the word mean “to make black, or to endarken.” We use the word purposely here to show that threats to whiteness are often rooted in anti-blackness, or the fear of that which is not white.
3. MAGA is the acronym used by Trump supporters, often in the form of its hashtag #MAGA, which stands for his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
5. The National Basketball Association team for Los Angeles, California.
6. A reference to how President Trump publically refers to both racial groups as “the” African Americans and “the” Latinos.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Cheryl E. Matias
Cheryl E. Matias is an associate professor in the School of Education & Human Development (SEHD) at the University of Colorado—Denver. Her research deconstructs the emotionality of whiteness in urban teacher education and how it impacts urban education. She is the author of Feeling White: Whiteness, Emotionality, and Education.
Peter M. Newlove
Peter M. Newlove is a doctoral student and critical whiteness studies scholar in the Urban Ecologies program at the University of Colorado—Denver. His research centers on exploring critical methodologies for the field of whiteness studies. Other interests include critical literacies and the development of K-12 curriculum that reveal and deconstruct whiteness.