Thread by @4GWDOTDOTDOT

"The emergence of whiteness as a category of analysis is not always a bad thing. But if you go too far, you make it so that there is no common world possible across racial boundaries," @JohannNeem tells @conor64: theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/… // I spent 4 years inside post-war Bosnia-

2/ Herzegovina and talking to Croats, Serbs, & Muslims there was a common narrative. Under Tito, even though there were 3 main ethnic-religious groups, at work they all shared each others' holidays. When the Muslims had a holy day off, the Croats & Serbs became Muslim for a day.

3/ The Muslims did the same on Croat & Serb days. Sure, you could be a cynic and say the workers wanted a day off. But, the conversations were about how they genuinely shared in Titoism, the sense of brotherhood. It was the ethno-nationalists, especially the bosses at work, who

4/ began to divide the workforce with ethnic-religious favoritism--who was laid off first, who did not get time off. Division and favoritism fanned resentments which led to mass murder, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. The essay is about 'othering' people who don't be 'othered.' I

5/ am not "White." Never have been. Never will be. Why? Because "White" makes no fucking sense. If you grow up with a strong ethnic & religious sense, jumping into the vacuous "White" category makes no sense. And there is more that we share as Americans--the point of the essay.