often i wonder about the most effective way to undermine whiteness as a political category. (lots of this is inspired by joel olson's Abolition of White Democracy)

to be clear undermining and further abolishing whiteness as a politic means getting rid of the violence and privilege of racial caste, not getting rid of people who currently identify as white

whiteness exists separately from its constituent members. whiteness does not need nordic, anglo, iberian, or slavic europeans (individually) to operate. it is hotly contested in what constitutes it, but is absolutely a category of power and dominion above all else.

what i mean by this is no one can clearly define whiteness, but they know it when they see it. it is difficult to pin down by design. so it can adapt to the changing realities of demographic shifts. proximity varies, but the people who suffer the most are Black and Indigenous ppl

italians were not white, and now they are. Russians and eastern europeans were not white, and now they are. ethnic jewish people have oscillated between white and not. it is about who fits the most beneficial and politically expedient role in the coalition itself

whiteness, as a political category, since its inception has existed to dominate Black and Indigenous people and justify slavery, displacement and murder.

do we want white folks to stop appropriating other cultures and go back to their european roots? how is this best achieved without reinforcing white nationalism? how do we parse out the political benefits of whiteness without ceding ground to it and reinforcing its existence?

To reiterate the Abolition of whiteness does not refer to getting rid of white people. it refers to eliminating the political category of racial domination, benefits, and violence.

there is no reason the political category of whiteness should exist. white people should be free to go back to being european and should be able to have cultural connections to roots and traditions that are separate from power, conquest and domination.