Stupid White Men: …And Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation!
Moore, Michael. 2004. Stupid White Men: …And Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation! Harper Paperbacks.
Rating:
8
Summary:
Better written than I expected; perhaps a bit too long
The basic argument of ‘Stupid White Men’ is that most of the ills of society can be attributed to oppressive, white men. Despite focusing primarily on Republicans and most especially on what Moore considers to be the ‘stolen’ election by George Bush, Moore does not overlook the Democrats and their sketchy record. Much of this ire is aimed at the surprisingly pathetic career of Bill Clinton who, according to Moore, despite talking the talk, didn’t walk the walk of social democracy.
Moore also discusses several other issues, including the continued racism in the U.S., conflict in the Middle East, and his involvement in the Florida election debacle and convoluted support for Ralph Nader.
The format of the book varies from informal prose to several letters by Moore to political leaders and bodies, including George Bush, Yassar Arafat, and Secretary General of the U.N., Kofi Annan.
The ultimate political conclusion of the book can be summed up by a quote from the book itself, “There are about 200-plus million of us who would like to see a real two-party system (or three-party, or four-party – hey, it’s a big country!), with one party fighting for the right to write off one’s backyard tennis court as a business expense and the other fighting for the right to see a doctor if one gets sick. It really is that simple” (p. 225). In essence, Moore is arguing that the rich can fight for their luxuries, but they need to at least afford the poor the same opportunity. As for the Democrats, despite pretending to be the representatives of progressive socialism in this country, they have sold out to big money, leaving the poor of this country without representation.
Review:
I think Moore makes a lot of great points. There are, however, several menial things about this book that bothered me.
First, why is Michael Moore qualified to write this book? Before you crucify me for evaluating a piece of work on the credentials of the creator, hear me out. Moore readily admits that he doesn’t have a college degree of any sort (either graduate or undergraduate). I’m okay with that, I really am. But without any credentials, I would really like to know why Moore is qualified to write this? Has he spent years and years studying politics? Has he held political office? Does he have some sort of insider perspective? I should probably admit here that I am just finishing my Master’s degree and am beginning work on a PhD, so I may be a bit biased. Nevertheless, I would be a bit more trusting of Moore’s perspective if he were to explain why he is qualified to write this book. Even if he just argues that he is qualified because he is a politically active citizen of the U.S., I would accept that, but I’m hesitant to just accept any Joe Shmoe’s opinions on politics.
The second problem I had with the book is that Moore never really explains why whites are a/the problem. Yes, his point is well taken that whites have been responsible for a lot of problems, but haven’t they also been responsible for a lot of societal advances (advances Moore doesn’t point out)? And isn’t Michael Moore white? Just as he didn’t make explicit connections between his conceptual points (ownership of guns and violent crimes) in Bowling for Columbine, Moore doesn’t make any clear connections between why whites are a problem. Given the title, you would think that Moore is, in some sense, attacking the white race. Obviously, he isn’t going that far, but he doesn’t really say why the race of these alleged ‘perpetrators’ is really a big deal. Is there still racism in the U.S.? Sure, I won’t deny that. But by claiming whites are the problem (or at least white leadership), isn’t Moore really just making matters worse? Why doesn’t he say what he really means? The bourgeoisie continue to exploit the proletariat, and because money tends to pass from generation to generation at the same socioeconomic level and originally it was whites that had had the money (while brutally enslaving blacks), it just so happens that whites continue to dominate. This really doesn’t have anything to do with race. It has everything to do with political leaders (who are predominantly white) selling out.
Don’t get me wrong. I think Moore is making some really good points. But I think he used the title to sell books, despite it not really being the issue he is addressing. Overall, I think Moore should be commended for being forthright. Many of the points he makes are good points. I would have liked to see Moore explicitly cite references, but I can understand that in popular literature that just isn’t the norm.
In short, this is a provocative book aimed at getting people to think. Though not always perfectly clear, the basic points are good ones. If you’re a political conservative, you may not like the book, but you may still want to read it just to see what the opposition is saying. If you’re the liberal opposition, instead of complaining about the format, you may want to appreciate the fact that the book is popular and perhaps being used as a tool to gain converts toward your cause.