Stephen E Bronner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300162516
- eISBN:
- 9780300163735
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300162516.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This book presents bigotry as a systematic, all-encompassing mindset that has a special affinity for rightwing movements. It explores the appeal of bigotry, the self-image it justifies, the interests ...
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This book presents bigotry as a systematic, all-encompassing mindset that has a special affinity for rightwing movements. It explores the appeal of bigotry, the self-image it justifies, the interests it serves, and its complex connection with modernity. It reveals how prejudice shapes the conspiratorial and paranoid worldview of the true believer, the elitist, and the chauvinist. In the process, it becomes apparent how the bigot hides behind mainstream conservative labels in order to support policies designed to disadvantage the targets of his contempt. Examining bigotry in its various dimensions—anthropological, historical, psychological, sociological, and political—the book illustrates how the bigot's intense hatred of “the other” is a direct reaction to social progress, liberal values, secularism, and an increasingly complex and diverse world.Less
This book presents bigotry as a systematic, all-encompassing mindset that has a special affinity for rightwing movements. It explores the appeal of bigotry, the self-image it justifies, the interests it serves, and its complex connection with modernity. It reveals how prejudice shapes the conspiratorial and paranoid worldview of the true believer, the elitist, and the chauvinist. In the process, it becomes apparent how the bigot hides behind mainstream conservative labels in order to support policies designed to disadvantage the targets of his contempt. Examining bigotry in its various dimensions—anthropological, historical, psychological, sociological, and political—the book illustrates how the bigot's intense hatred of “the other” is a direct reaction to social progress, liberal values, secularism, and an increasingly complex and diverse world.
Stephen Eric Bronner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300162516
- eISBN:
- 9780300163735
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300162516.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This chapter examines how modernity created the bigot and how he tries to re-create the normality of prejudice. It argues that the institutions and beliefs that the bigot holds dear are opposed to ...
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This chapter examines how modernity created the bigot and how he tries to re-create the normality of prejudice. It argues that the institutions and beliefs that the bigot holds dear are opposed to modernity, whose origins date back to the European Enlightenment and the democratic revolutions lasting from 1688 to 1789. Modernity's new capitalist production process substitutes exploitation for the bigot's hatred. In addition, modernity's fostering of pluralism and individualism hurts the bigot's sensibility. The bigot deals with modernity as best he can, yet has never felt entirely comfortable in using science to support his prejudices. He is uncertain what to make of capitalism; the logic of capitalist accumulation baffles him. He endorses inequality and the idea of competition, but only when he is on top or, better, believes he is on top. This chapter also reflects on the character of the bigot in relation to the Other and his own identity.Less
This chapter examines how modernity created the bigot and how he tries to re-create the normality of prejudice. It argues that the institutions and beliefs that the bigot holds dear are opposed to modernity, whose origins date back to the European Enlightenment and the democratic revolutions lasting from 1688 to 1789. Modernity's new capitalist production process substitutes exploitation for the bigot's hatred. In addition, modernity's fostering of pluralism and individualism hurts the bigot's sensibility. The bigot deals with modernity as best he can, yet has never felt entirely comfortable in using science to support his prejudices. He is uncertain what to make of capitalism; the logic of capitalist accumulation baffles him. He endorses inequality and the idea of competition, but only when he is on top or, better, believes he is on top. This chapter also reflects on the character of the bigot in relation to the Other and his own identity.
Stephen Eric Bronner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300162516
- eISBN:
- 9780300163735
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300162516.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This chapter examines how the bigot manipulates myths and mythological thinking to serve his material and existential purposes. It argues that myths appeal to the bigot because he can easily adapt ...
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This chapter examines how the bigot manipulates myths and mythological thinking to serve his material and existential purposes. It argues that myths appeal to the bigot because he can easily adapt them to his self-serving outlook, that he employs stereotypes and double standards to justify his actions, that he resorts to conspiracy fetishism as a substitute for analysis, and that he is always susceptible to fanaticism. It also explains how the bigot's conspiracy fetishism is fueled by paranoia and projection, allowing him to feel justified in doing himself what he believes that the target of his hatred is doing. Finally, the chapter describes how mythological thinking builds the scapegoat into the bigot's conceptual apparatus from the start, this scapegoat being a construct of his prejudice.Less
This chapter examines how the bigot manipulates myths and mythological thinking to serve his material and existential purposes. It argues that myths appeal to the bigot because he can easily adapt them to his self-serving outlook, that he employs stereotypes and double standards to justify his actions, that he resorts to conspiracy fetishism as a substitute for analysis, and that he is always susceptible to fanaticism. It also explains how the bigot's conspiracy fetishism is fueled by paranoia and projection, allowing him to feel justified in doing himself what he believes that the target of his hatred is doing. Finally, the chapter describes how mythological thinking builds the scapegoat into the bigot's conceptual apparatus from the start, this scapegoat being a construct of his prejudice.
Stephen Eric Bronner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300162516
- eISBN:
- 9780300163735
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300162516.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This chapter examines the roles played by the bigot as a righteous true believer, an insufferable elitist, and a resentful chauvinist. It explains how each role offers the bigot the comforts of ...
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This chapter examines the roles played by the bigot as a righteous true believer, an insufferable elitist, and a resentful chauvinist. It explains how each role offers the bigot the comforts of conformity and an illusory sense of singularity, and argues that the particular rationality he chooses is intertwined with the particular role he plays. It also claims that all the roles played by the bigot buttress an “affirmative culture” supposedly superior to any other, giving him an entirely self-referential way of living in the world. The bigot employs homogenous stereotypes for making sense of both himself and the Other, but is naive when it comes to the myths that empower his prejudice. His roles turn him from a “nobody” into a “somebody.” The roles played by the bigot are not reducible to his bigotry, and each offers him a refuge from pluralism and the demands for democracy and social justice raised by the subaltern.Less
This chapter examines the roles played by the bigot as a righteous true believer, an insufferable elitist, and a resentful chauvinist. It explains how each role offers the bigot the comforts of conformity and an illusory sense of singularity, and argues that the particular rationality he chooses is intertwined with the particular role he plays. It also claims that all the roles played by the bigot buttress an “affirmative culture” supposedly superior to any other, giving him an entirely self-referential way of living in the world. The bigot employs homogenous stereotypes for making sense of both himself and the Other, but is naive when it comes to the myths that empower his prejudice. His roles turn him from a “nobody” into a “somebody.” The roles played by the bigot are not reducible to his bigotry, and each offers him a refuge from pluralism and the demands for democracy and social justice raised by the subaltern.
Stephen Eric Bronner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300162516
- eISBN:
- 9780300163735
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300162516.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This chapter argues that the bigot today is defined by the practice of prejudice. It explains how the bigot's roles as a true believer, an insufferable elitist, and a resentful chauvinist provide him ...
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This chapter argues that the bigot today is defined by the practice of prejudice. It explains how the bigot's roles as a true believer, an insufferable elitist, and a resentful chauvinist provide him with legitimacy as he practices his craft today; how he camouflages his intentions in order to function in a global society that is becoming more and more complex; and how the culture industry, consumerism, and radical individualism both fascinate and unnerve him. It also considers the tools employed by the bigot to challenge critical narratives about the imperialist, racist, and exploitative elements of American history; the bigot's attitudes toward politics, particularly when it comes to conservatism; and how the Tea Party channeled the bigot's prejudices through its own deeply reactionary forms of moral cognition predicated on the use of traditional myths, stereotypes, and double standards. The chapter concludes by outlining ways to confront the bigot today and to contest bigotry without spawning new forms of it.Less
This chapter argues that the bigot today is defined by the practice of prejudice. It explains how the bigot's roles as a true believer, an insufferable elitist, and a resentful chauvinist provide him with legitimacy as he practices his craft today; how he camouflages his intentions in order to function in a global society that is becoming more and more complex; and how the culture industry, consumerism, and radical individualism both fascinate and unnerve him. It also considers the tools employed by the bigot to challenge critical narratives about the imperialist, racist, and exploitative elements of American history; the bigot's attitudes toward politics, particularly when it comes to conservatism; and how the Tea Party channeled the bigot's prejudices through its own deeply reactionary forms of moral cognition predicated on the use of traditional myths, stereotypes, and double standards. The chapter concludes by outlining ways to confront the bigot today and to contest bigotry without spawning new forms of it.
Stephen Eric Bronner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300162516
- eISBN:
- 9780300163735
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300162516.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This book offers a phenomenological perspective on the bigot, whom it describes as someone whose prejudices tend to intersect in their ideological and political expressions. It explains why prejudice ...
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This book offers a phenomenological perspective on the bigot, whom it describes as someone whose prejudices tend to intersect in their ideological and political expressions. It explains why prejudice appeals to the bigot, how he chooses his targets, and what impulses are common to his worldview. As a prisoner of his prejudices, the book argues that the bigot validates himself by resorting to myths, stereotypes, and double standards. It examines the bigot's way of thinking about the world, the roles that he plays, and his political ambitions. To understand how bigotry works, the book combines the existential, psychological, sociological, and political elements that shape what Jean-Paul Sartre calls “the etiology of hatred”.Less
This book offers a phenomenological perspective on the bigot, whom it describes as someone whose prejudices tend to intersect in their ideological and political expressions. It explains why prejudice appeals to the bigot, how he chooses his targets, and what impulses are common to his worldview. As a prisoner of his prejudices, the book argues that the bigot validates himself by resorting to myths, stereotypes, and double standards. It examines the bigot's way of thinking about the world, the roles that he plays, and his political ambitions. To understand how bigotry works, the book combines the existential, psychological, sociological, and political elements that shape what Jean-Paul Sartre calls “the etiology of hatred”.
Nadine Hubbs
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780520280656
- eISBN:
- 9780520958340
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520280656.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
I’ll listen to anything but country. This popular phrase allows middle-class Americans to declare inclusive, “omnivore” musical tastes, with one crucial exclusion: country, a music linked to ...
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I’ll listen to anything but country. This popular phrase allows middle-class Americans to declare inclusive, “omnivore” musical tastes, with one crucial exclusion: country, a music linked to low-status whites. In her provocative new book Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music, Nadine Hubbs dissects this gesture, examining how US provincial white working people have emerged, since the 1970s, as the face of American bigotry, particularly homophobia, with country music their audible emblem. Bringing together the redneck and the queer, Hubbs challenges the conventional wisdom and historical amnesia that render white working folk a perpetual bigot class. With rigorous class analysis, Hubbs traces changes in American tolerance over time and demonstrates that the working-class homophobe is a figure with a recent history. For most of the twentieth century, middle-class respectability rested on rejecting as “deviant” both queer people and the working-class acceptance of them. Today, homophobia is attached to the working-class “masses,” and middle-class Americans affirm their distinguished individualism by rejecting country music and the working-class bigotry it symbolizes. Skillfully weaving together historical inquiry, an examination of classed cultural repertoires, and a close listening to country songs, Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music confronts the shifting and deeply entangled workings of taste, sexuality, and class politics.Less
I’ll listen to anything but country. This popular phrase allows middle-class Americans to declare inclusive, “omnivore” musical tastes, with one crucial exclusion: country, a music linked to low-status whites. In her provocative new book Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music, Nadine Hubbs dissects this gesture, examining how US provincial white working people have emerged, since the 1970s, as the face of American bigotry, particularly homophobia, with country music their audible emblem. Bringing together the redneck and the queer, Hubbs challenges the conventional wisdom and historical amnesia that render white working folk a perpetual bigot class. With rigorous class analysis, Hubbs traces changes in American tolerance over time and demonstrates that the working-class homophobe is a figure with a recent history. For most of the twentieth century, middle-class respectability rested on rejecting as “deviant” both queer people and the working-class acceptance of them. Today, homophobia is attached to the working-class “masses,” and middle-class Americans affirm their distinguished individualism by rejecting country music and the working-class bigotry it symbolizes. Skillfully weaving together historical inquiry, an examination of classed cultural repertoires, and a close listening to country songs, Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music confronts the shifting and deeply entangled workings of taste, sexuality, and class politics.
Nadine Hubbs
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780520280656
- eISBN:
- 9780520958340
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520280656.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
This book contextualizes the declaration “anything but country” and challenges both the conventional wisdom that renders the provincial white working class America's perpetual bigot class and the ...
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This book contextualizes the declaration “anything but country” and challenges both the conventional wisdom that renders the provincial white working class America's perpetual bigot class and the presentism—the static framing and historical forgetting—on which it depends. I examine working-class cultural repertoires, with particular focus on gender and sexuality, from a dual perspective drawing on Bourdieusian empirical research and on historical and critical analysis of American country music. Through these inquiries, I historicize the contemporary construction of the white working class as severe and intolerant in realms of gender and sexuality. I argue that the working-class homophobe is a construct with a specific history, and I chart its rise from the 1970s to the present.Less
This book contextualizes the declaration “anything but country” and challenges both the conventional wisdom that renders the provincial white working class America's perpetual bigot class and the presentism—the static framing and historical forgetting—on which it depends. I examine working-class cultural repertoires, with particular focus on gender and sexuality, from a dual perspective drawing on Bourdieusian empirical research and on historical and critical analysis of American country music. Through these inquiries, I historicize the contemporary construction of the white working class as severe and intolerant in realms of gender and sexuality. I argue that the working-class homophobe is a construct with a specific history, and I chart its rise from the 1970s to the present.
Nadine Hubbs
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780520280656
- eISBN:
- 9780520958340
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520280656.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Chapter 1, “Anything but Country” (along with parts of chapter 2), examines the dynamics of the dislike of country music and the prevalence, since about 1970, of representations of both country music ...
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Chapter 1, “Anything but Country” (along with parts of chapter 2), examines the dynamics of the dislike of country music and the prevalence, since about 1970, of representations of both country music and the white working class in terms of political conservatism and racial and sexual bigotry. The chapter analyzes several commonplace, contemporary cultural representations of a monolithic white working class driven by bigotry. These representations often use country music as proxy for the working-class bigot. I also highlight the professional middle class's role as the narrating class in America's knowledge economy, interpreting and narrating all levels of American life—including working-class existence—in academic, media, and other channels.Less
Chapter 1, “Anything but Country” (along with parts of chapter 2), examines the dynamics of the dislike of country music and the prevalence, since about 1970, of representations of both country music and the white working class in terms of political conservatism and racial and sexual bigotry. The chapter analyzes several commonplace, contemporary cultural representations of a monolithic white working class driven by bigotry. These representations often use country music as proxy for the working-class bigot. I also highlight the professional middle class's role as the narrating class in America's knowledge economy, interpreting and narrating all levels of American life—including working-class existence—in academic, media, and other channels.
Ann M. Little
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780300218213
- eISBN:
- 9780300224627
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300218213.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
This chapter describes Esther Wheelwright’s stay in Québec, North America’s most impressively fortified city, which was surrounded by enormous earthworks and enclosed by thick stone walls and gates. ...
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This chapter describes Esther Wheelwright’s stay in Québec, North America’s most impressively fortified city, which was surrounded by enormous earthworks and enclosed by thick stone walls and gates. There, Esther was accompanied by Father Jacques Bigot who helped her enroll in an Ursuline school. Due to Esther’s Euro-American origin Father Jacques brought her to the Château Saint-Louis to live with the governor and his family rather than transferring her immediately to the Ursuline convent. Her new Canadian hosts quickly shed Esther’ of her Wabanaki identity, and described her in contemporary documents as purely Anglaise (English). This distinction would make all the difference in her life among the Ursulines.Less
This chapter describes Esther Wheelwright’s stay in Québec, North America’s most impressively fortified city, which was surrounded by enormous earthworks and enclosed by thick stone walls and gates. There, Esther was accompanied by Father Jacques Bigot who helped her enroll in an Ursuline school. Due to Esther’s Euro-American origin Father Jacques brought her to the Château Saint-Louis to live with the governor and his family rather than transferring her immediately to the Ursuline convent. Her new Canadian hosts quickly shed Esther’ of her Wabanaki identity, and described her in contemporary documents as purely Anglaise (English). This distinction would make all the difference in her life among the Ursulines.
