Tim Thomas: White Privilege Says He Doesn’t Have to Go to the White House, But it’s not Racial

You know what: I’m really sick of the emergence of this “angry white man” thingy that has emerged singe president Obama has stepped on the scene. It’s like all of a sudden white men everywhere are full of resentment. Wife burnt the toast? Ugh, it’s that Kenyan bastard Barack Hussein Obama’s fault. Lost a sock in the laundry? God damn you, Barack Obama! Senate Republicans block a bill to prevent the outsourcing of jobs while you’re unemployed? That fucking Barack Obama is the freaking anti-Christ! Not only that, he’s a Muslim who worships Karl Marx and Idi Amin! I mean, the shit is crazy, right? But of course it is; and, that’s why you have people like Newt Gingrich spreading the political meme of white resentment. Yeah, forget the economy being shitty as a direct result of  years of suicidal federal policies that never had regular people in mind. What’s important, is to push, and buy in to the lies and disinformation, that paints president Barack Obama as the portrait of everything that’s wrong with America.

Yep, that’s white privilege for you; it’s side effects are self-righteousness, and amnesia.

Speaking of which, the latest “angry white man” to make my ass itch is none other than NHL’s Boston Bruins goalie, Tim Thomas. Just in case you don’t follow the sport of hockey. Like me, you probably never heard of Tim Thomas the NHL goalie. Or. you probably wondered what the hell is Tim Thomas the Black dude who once played for the New York Knicks doing playing hockey these days? But don’t worry, there’s more than one Tim Thomas; and yes, he’s a white, guy. Not just an ordinary everyday white guy mind you. He is the goalie of the Stanley Cup winning Boston Bruins. So yeah, he’s not only well known among hockey fans. He’s also a tad bit wealthier than the average white guy in America.

So why am I mad at Tim Thomas? Well it damn sure isn’t because I’m envious of him an wealth and success as Mitt Romney would have you believe. I’m upset because he recently made a decision not to visit the White House with the rest of his team, as is often tradition for winners of national championships to be honored there. No, it’s nothing new really; winning teams in professional and amateur sports have been visiting the White House and meeting with the president forever. Hell, most of them come bearing gifts as a matter of fact. Like I said, this is an American tradition as apple pie, hot dogs, and chitlins at Thanksgiving dinner, But somehow, Tim Thomas decided to break tradition as a form of protest against the government by not attending. On his Facebook page, he has offered the following statement and reason for his actions:

I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT

OK, so Tim Thomas is mad, and Tim Thomas felt the need to protest. Good for him! If you’ve been reading this site long enough, you’d probably know that I’m down with raising hell, marching in protest, and or even tying myself to a tree to make a point. OK, well maybe not tying myself to a tree like white folks do, but you get the point. I do believe in the democratic tradition of collective or individual protest and activism. However, my problem with Tim, is that I don’t know what in the hell is he protesting. I mean, his statement above has kinda left me hanging. No seriously, what exactly is he talking about? What is it specifically that the government has done, that he is upset about? Why the need to disrespect the White House? And then to hide behind the veil of the first amendment and “freedom of speech,” as many are defending him and his actions (?). Yeah, that shit is pissing me smooth the fuck off. It is because something tells me that if president Jim Crow was in office, this wouldn’t happen.

But instead it’s president Obama, so quite naturally the White House has all of a sudden been devalued, and not worthy of any respect. But hey, this is what white privilege is all about. White privilege is what took Muhammad Ali’s title away and wanted to throw him in jail for refusing to go to war in Vietnam.White privilege said Tommie Smith’s “Black Power Salute” at the 1968 Olympic medal ceremony was un-American, disgusting, and worthy of Tommie Smith and John Carlos being expelled from the Olympic games, and recieving death threats when they returned home.

You see, white privilege says that political statements, such as the one made by Tim Thomas, unlike any made by African American athletes, is acceptable. Not only acceptable, but protected without fear of retribution or consequence. White privilege says, “so what he’s the first Black president… he ain’t nothing special.” And it is this same white privilege which makes it acceptable for an appointed politician, Rep. Doug Landhorn, to skip out on the president’s State of the Union speech. So yeah, I’m pretty pissed off right now; unlike some of you, I’m not as privileged. I’m not as privileged to hide behind the first amendment like supporters of Tim Thomas have done. One has to wonder if he were a Black athlete, if he’d be given a pass pretty much like some of our elected politicians here in America in the age of Obama. As far as I’m concerned, all you “angry oppressed white men” can go spray yourselves with water hoses, beat yourselves in the head with police night sticks, and get bitten by racist German Shepherds. At the end of the day, all this angst is just a projection of your fears and insecurity of loosing your foot hold as society changes.

This might not be true for Tim Thomas. His disrespectful form of protest may have nothing to do with president Obama and or his policies. Instead,  other than it being reflective of the angst of the typical low0information voter easily influenced by today’s sound-bite politics and the puppeteers who influence their decisions and actions. Tim Thomas may be a self-centered asshole athlete just attempting to be an ultra-cool hipster. You know, sorta like Kelly Clarkson endorsing Ron Paul?