Suggested Answers to the Short Quiz

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johnkarls
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Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:43 pm

Suggested Answers to the Short Quiz

Post by johnkarls »

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Question 1

Did Gloria Steinem write the following about Angry White Men --

“Being white and male has brought unfair power for so long that some think it’s natural both among those claiming it and those suffering from it. Michael Kimmel has done us the life-saving favor of naming this delusion that may endanger us more than any other. From executives for whom no amount of money is enough to white supremacists for whom no amount of power is enough, from U.S. wars in which men die to U.S. domestic violence in which even more women die, this illness is lethal for us all. Angry White Men is a brave, sane, compassionate, and rescuing book.”

Answer 1

Yes.

Question 2

Did Katra Pollitt (Columnist for The Nation) write the following about Angry White Men --

“White men still have most of the power and most of the money, so why do so many of them feel so victimized? In this fascinating guided tour of the world of angry white men -- Glenn Beck fans, white supremacists, school shooters, men’s rights activists -- pioneer sociologist of masculinity Michael Kimmel shows how ‘aggrieved entitlement’ leads them to blame people of color, immigrants, liberals, intellectuals, the government, and above all, women, for a society that is changing fast and, they fear, leaving them behind. No dry academic study, Angry White Men is full of shrewd political analysis, empathy, and humor.”

Answer 2

Yes.

Question 3

When our author, Sociology Prof. Michael Kimmel, returned to his PhD Alma Mater (U/Cal-Berkeley) as a Visiting Professor 1992-93, was he voted “Best Professor on Campus” by The Daily Californian?

Answer 3

Yes.

Question 4

Using Gloria Steinem’s definition of Angry White Men from Q-1 which she calls a "lethal illness" (“executives for whom no amount of money is enough to white supremacists for whom no amount of power is enough”), is there such a counterpart as Angry White Women? Angry people of color?

Answer 4

It is always possible to find individuals in any group who exhibit a particular characteristic.

However, vis-à-vis women, one need only ask her/himself whether s/he has ever seen or heard of female antelopes butting heads with their horns.

And the most obvious answer which applies to the female of virtually every specie, though there may be other contributing factors, is testosterone.

Vis-à-vis people of color, we marveled last month over how the free descendants of American slaves who were typically permitted neither education nor access to news, have not deserted to a greater extent the Christianity with regard to which their slave masters were hypocrites to embrace another religion such as Islam.

After all, polls now show that a sizable majority of all Americans do not attend religious services even though they believe in God, because they believe that those who do attend are hypocrites. And we were mystified why more African Americans did not follow the example of Muhammad Ali to become Muslims.

Question 5

What is/are the problem(s)?

Answer 5

Although our author catalogues many problems and many symptoms, the common threads seem to be (A) the changing role of males in American society and the difficulties many of them experience in adapting, and (B) even to the extent to which roles have not changed, the increased pressures (including economic) many American males encounter that frustrate their ability to fulfill their responsibilities and, therefore, steal their self esteem.

Question 6

Does our author have any public-policy suggestions?

Answer 6

After saying (p. 282): -- “Yes, it's true that their [Angry White Men’s] sense of entitlement may be illegitimate -- if that entitlement has to do with superiority over others who are in the same position they are. But it’s quite another thing to believe yourself entitled to a decent job and a social safety net that enables you to wake up in the morning and go to work and feel you are making a contribution to the greater good -- and for which you are granted not only a decent wage, capable (with your spouse) of supporting a family, with something put a(s)ide for your retirement, but also granted the respect of your coworkers and a secure place in your community.”

-- our author makes several suggestions =

(A) With respect to his first category (illegitimate entitlement regarding gender, race, etc., which he posits is diminishing rapidly as the older generation dies off and the younger generation takes over), his advice is “get over it.”

(B) But with regard to his second category (a decent job and an adequate social safety net), he recommends several public policies:

(1) Employers should be required to implement better diversity-training programs and to treat workers as if they are NOT expendable, devalued and scorned.

(2) For workers who suddenly lose their health benefits or lose their jobs to out-sourcing and down-sizing, a “New Deal” with respect to which he is vague as to details while extolling both the programs and the heart-to-heart communications of Franklin D. Roosevelt in implementing his New Deal.

Question 7

Do we have any?

Answer 7

Let’s discuss at our meeting.

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