White Liberals Guilt

Does it not seem like white liberals' guilt has been in overdrive since about 2008?  Obviously 2008 because of Obama's election as president.  Somehow he convinced a lot of people that he embodied their ideal, which for a large number of people, at least partly, was to assuage the guilt of their whiteness - to offer redemption at being white.  I am convinced this was a heady undercurrent of much of the mainstream media coverage of Obama's campaign, including the lack of reporting on many topics.

Aside from the easy Obama example, and wading into more popular and probably more accurate barometers of the phenomenon, what about black celebrities, in particular two dead ones: Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.  Can anyone think of any other reason how these people were elevated to near sainthood after their deaths, other than an impulse to praise famous black people?  Jackson was widely derided as weird, if not wacko, with strong suspicions of pedophilia; Houston became a tragic, pathetic figure, the victim of easy access to drugs, various women's issues, and a bum husband.  How in the heck did their careers resurrect after their deaths, esp. Jackson's?  The post-mortum coverage was over the top in lauding these individuals' impact on society and extolling their virtues - while quickly glossing over their glaring character faults.

Which brings me to my main point, the story of Trayvon in Florida.  The coverage has been fascinating.  On the one hand, you have your race hustlers (think Al Sharpton) out milking this thing for everything it's worth.  Then you have the very racial descriptions of the alleged wrongdoer, the shooter Zimmerman.  White father, very white surname, but Peruvian mother and what appears to me very Hispanic looks.  Many descriptions cast him as just "white," some "white Hispanic."  When was the last time you saw this description used for illegal immigrants?  If he had been the victim of a "pure" white shooter, it would have been so much easier to trot out the tropes, but this one's complicated.  Yet the theme of white-on-innocent-black-violence persists.

And the only reason I can think is that white liberals' race guilt still runs deep.  Obama hasn't worked out so well for them.  The movement still needs a focus.  Trayvon is just its latest manifestation. (The possible facts, and I emphasize possible, this thing still needs to be sorted out, be damned.)