I've recently seen reference to paternal racism, where whites assume the role of white saviour or parent for non-whites. This was originally framed with the ugly concept of non-whites being child-like, or less intelligent and cultured and born in the days of colonialism.
In 2016 paternal racism has evolved, it is now part of the argument against cultural appropriation and other arguments at the intersection of race, but with the racist (or subconsciously racist) aspect of non-whites as children being joined by social media battles for personal karma and for control and dominance over their peers, or as amusingly noticed on social media, the lone white male acting as a gallant white knight for female affections.
The numbers appear to support this. The native appropriation website related to the Washington Redskins logo controversy critiques the results of a survey that showed that only 10% of those interviewed were offended by the term and logo. The outcry was based on an assumption that offense of the logo was universal, but it showed essentially that this was a white on white issue. The website, although a creation of Native Americans is phrased in the language of the educated white middle class, and the majority of the protagonists and antagonists are white. This does raise some interesting questions, what would be the personal motivations of those engaged in the cultural appropriation game? Are they doing it for themselves or for the greater good?
