What happens to white people after we end White Supremacy?
When I was younger I would often use media to explain a complex sociological phenomenon or to explain why radical change was necessary. As I’ve grown and developed as a radical my process and focus has changed, even as I still pay close attention to the themes in the media I interact with. This is why I was so surprised to see people unhappy with the fact that Thor gave Valkyrie Asgard before leaving to find himself in Avenger’s Endgame. Although the directors allowed their fatphobia and ableism to impact how they allowed Thor as a character to develop, there is still a very important radical reading we can pull from this film and his character arc. The fact is, if white people and oppressors are serious about ending oppression, they will not only destroy the systems of oppression that their people created and benefit from, but they will also transfer full control of any rights and benefits they received in the present due to those systems to the people who were directly harmed or their descendants. Lastly, they need to isolate themselves and do the inner work to heal themselves of the ways they have internalized those systems of oppression and create a new identity for themselves that’s not built on oppression and violence. Thor’s arc, as sloppily written as it may be, is actually the second time I’ve seen this “oppressor steps down from power” theme done in a way that is politically sound. The first time I recall seeing it done right was in the Disney show Star VS The Forces Of Evil.
Star Butterfly and Thor are very similar characters. They are both start out as very positive, surface level people with simplistic views of good and evil. In Star Vs The Forces of Evil she, like Thor, is next in line to rule her kingdom in another dimension. Where Thor never really saw his family as oppressors, Star is a Mewman living on Mewni where she and her family treat “monsters” like second class citizens. As they both spend time on Earth, they learn more about their cultures, their family histories, and the material effects of the harm their people have caused. Thor received his birthright through bloodshed, which is why it was so powerful for him to destroy his homeland the way he did. Like a lot of white people, he felt that by ending individual institutions of oppression, he could do enough to distance himself from his family’s oppressive history. In the same way that Asgard is a people and not a place, white supremacy is more than just the institutions that created and continued it, as it is also the ways oppressors benefit from it.
Star on the other hand received her birthright through outright theft, which is why she chose to find the person her family stole from and return the leadership of the kingdom to them. She also returned the “benefits” of her stolen birthright by returning the magic wand that is a symbol of current or future leadership, and by working to ensure a smooth transition of power. In Endgame, Thor followed Star’s lead by giving up leadership of his people to Valkyrie, a person who saw and was directly harmed by Thor’s family and their violence. Again, the Russo brothers are not necessarily the best at layered political messages, but I think this is a very important message to highlight. My hope is that the white people, and other people in positions of power who watch Endgame will pick up on this in the same way that I pray white children who watch Star will.
Seriously working to end the oppression of marginalized people starts with stepping down from power, and turning over all control of that power, and any material benefits of that power, to the people who your power oppressed.
As people who are serious about liberation, both Star and Thor did that, but what is interesting about Star and Thor’s future arc is that they will deal with the after effects of these decisions. What are white people when they are no longer white, and can no longer lean on the power of whiteness? As Toni Morrison said so eloquently, “Are you any good? Are you still strong? Still Smart? Do you still like yourself?”. My focus is never white people, or other people in power, but these questions are a great starting point for white people undoing the violence of whiteness. Star’s writers are intentional about having her chose to return to earth to answer these questions, and I’m interested to see her show ends. My prayer is that Thor not only stays fat, but also is allowed to answer those questions in Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 3 as well.
The fact is, white supremacy and all other forms of oppression are deadly. More than just killing us, they are causing trauma that is written into our DNA, affecting people for at least another 2 generations. I’ve been thinking critically about what happens to black people post liberation, when we can finally rest from the 400+ year fight and just exist and heal collectively. I think it’s great that characters like Star Butterfly and Thor are raising this question for white people as well. Although they are only characters in media, it is so important that this concept is normalized, especially as the conversation around reparations starts to really enter the mainstream.
Further Reading:
