Possessive Investment in Whiteness by George Lipsitz - Essay Example

Summary of the Possessive Investment in Whiteness by George Lipsitz Chapter 7 This chapter mainly discusses the reasons why there is still a lot of possessiveness on the parts of the whites in relation to race. It claims that the reason why most of the African Americans are poor in the ghettos is not because of the alluded lack of enough resources and opportunities but a consequence of their own underdeveloped character. More often than not, racism and especially when it is related to the blacks and the other minority groups, is blamed on the high levels of inequality (Lipsitz 140).

According to Lipsitz (146), Lean on me beyond identity politics aims at showing that the attempts by African American to excel and hold positions that were previously regarded highly and meant for the whites is not an act of heroism. Instead he states that this is a new form of cowardice. According to him, the efforts to break loose and get what others get in the society is negative competition to fulfill ones desires. The chapter provides a real life experience of an individual to illustrate how the environment within which the African Americans live is filled with poverty and high levels of unemployment.

However, owing to the nature with which racism is misunderstood, whites view this phenomenon as the fault of the blacks. For this reasons, lessons were learnt both inside and outside of the classrooms as the aspect of racism infiltrated the entire community. The main message in the chapter is the need to associate with people beyond the race or color. This is mainly because, regardless of ones race and color, there is still a chance of being discriminated against. Thus, similarly to the earlier generations, there is bound to be no change in the lifestyle and livelihood with the same trend (Lipsitz 143).

In this sense, it is particularly related to the main idea of the book in the sense that it shows the tactics that the white people use to benefit themselves in the society. Despite the fact that there ios the constant struggle for equality among the different races, the whites still feel superior to the rest. In essence, the main reason why they behave in such ways is to ensure that they have the possessive investment in their whiteness. This is despite that there are certain rules and regulations created to ensure that there is law and order especially in terms of civil rights.

In this case, the actions that are taken by the whites are meant to ensure that there are white privileges (Lipsitz 145). There are a number of examples that are provided to prove this point. They include the element of the film that depicts Joe Clark as a hero. In the eyes of most African Americans, his efforts should be considered as heroism. Nonetheless, the views of the Whites dispute this by claiming that it is a cowardice act. In this sense, although racism is being fought every day, there are new forms and even worse kinds of the aspect that are cropping up daily.

This is an indication that there is likely not to be any significant progress in the issue. This negativity is also evidenced by the news reports that described Paterson as a “burnt out inferno of crippled factories and wasted lives” after the riot (Lipsitz 140). Works Cited Lipsitz, George. The possessive investment in whiteness : how white people profit from identity politics. Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 2006.