The reality is that in a world where being racist is increasingly recognised as being morally wrong, white supremacists have been trying to appropriate this change in morality and use it to their advantage, writes Afroze Zaidi. [GETTY]
While the rest of the world looks on in panic, Donald Trump has had an extraordinary few weeks. And alongside him, centi-billionaire Elon Musk appears to have swooped into an unelected role that has given him unfettered access to government departments and funding policy.
Those who have been paying attention are ringing alarm bells over the hallmarks of fascism being laid bare during Trump’s short time in office. But one particular priority for the Trump-Musk administration appears to be the decimation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and practices.
As of 31 January, the Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced that it had slashed $1 billion worth of federal government contracts supporting DEI. Simultaneously, the Trump administration promptly allocated $1 billion towards military funding for Israel.
In the midst of this, as serial airplane crashes in the US caused further panic, Trump predictably took the opportunity to blame diversity hiring for an alleged lack of competence amongst air traffic controllers. That is, of course, despite Trump himself taking steps to severely undermine air travel safety, including firing key leadership figures in aviation and gutting an air safety advisory committee, soon after he came into office.
“I changed the Obama standards… only the highest aptitude…the highest intellect, and psychologically superior people were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers… I always felt this was a job… that had to be superior intelligence,” the president said in his statement.
Trump went on to emphasise, “We have to have our smartest people”. He also criticised the Obama administration for diversifying the workforce amongst air traffic controllers because it “was too white”.
The clear implication here is that if white people are in a particular job, it is simply because they’re the “smartest people”. It’s because they’re psychologically and intellectually “superior”. This ostensible emphasis on merit denies the very real structural disadvantages, including prejudiced attitudes, which affect the hiring of people of colour – or any other under-represented group – in any field.
The move to slash funding for DEI initiatives has been particularly devastating with the arrival of Black History Month, which takes place in February in the US. Trump’s focus on decimating DEI policies originates from a fundamental – and very much deliberate – misrepresentation of what ‘equality’, whether it pertains to race, gender, sexuality, etc, is or isn’t.
It is rooted in a narrative of the white population, and especially the white, cishet male population as victims within a ‘woke’ society. To further this narrative, Trump, Musk, and their allies and supporters have aggressively promoted a notion of ‘reverse racism’ i.e. white people being the real victims of racism in today’s world.
One of the clearest examples of this is the way Musk has repeatedly attacked Scottish MP Humza Yousaf because of his anti-racist rhetoric, calling him “a flaming racist” and other similar names. Trump, meanwhile, has historically followed a similar pattern with former NFL star and anti-racism campaigner Colin Kaepernick.
But the reality is that in a world where being racist is increasingly recognised as being morally wrong, white supremacists have been trying to appropriate this change in morality and use it to their advantage. They have decided to protect their power and maintain their dominance by declaring themselves the biggest victims of racism.
Doing so also helps to direct populist anger away from the injustice of a capitalist system and towards powerless groups who make easy targets.
And this is not a new development. I have previously written about how the concept of race as a protected characteristic is exploited by white people to cry reverse racism.
“Racism, of course, goes beyond mere discrimination. It includes the perpetual violence of structures and institutions, along with the power imbalances that allow this violence to go unchecked. It isn’t possible, therefore, for a person from a marginalised, oppressed, powerless racialised group to be racist towards a person from a group that holds historic power and socio/economic privilege.”
It is bizarre – and beyond all irony – that the two most powerful white men in the world today are promoting a narrative of victimhood to their supporters while exerting the power they wield to ensure the mass incarceration, deportation, and deprivation of rights of millions of women, people of colour, and LGBTI+ people. Moreover, doing so while publicly making nazi salutes and white power hand gestures.
What has also been making my head spin lately is the Muslims who voted for Trump at least in part because of his anti-LGBT politics. Now, as Trump gears up to bring back the Muslim ban and even deport US citizens, their lack of empathy for other communities has landed Muslim supporters of Trump in a mess of their own making.
My only thought is that this is the logical outcome of prioritising yourself and your own beliefs to side with oppressors at the expense of other oppressed communities. This should serve as a lesson for marginalised groups who have sought to assimilate, become ‘model minorities’, and demonise those who have vocally criticised racist and otherwise oppressive structures.
Falling in line with a fundamentally unjust system will never achieve justice.
Instead, we must unite in our communities, with other marginalised and oppressed groups, and demand the justice to which we are entitled. As things continue to spiral in the US – and, consequently, the world at large – the alliances we form amongst ourselves will matter more than ever.
Afroze Fatima Zaidi is a writer, editor and journalist. She has a background in academia and writing for online platforms.
Follow her on X: @afrozefz
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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.
