Stuff White People Like: The Great Illusion

There is a famous blog that many of you have probably heard of called Stuff White People Like, it's basically a satirical site that pokes fun at a list of things that supposedly all white people like from morning coffee to khaki pants and having black friends. The blog has become so famous that it's now a book, and I believe I read they are working on another. There is no doubt that they are making some sweeping generalizations and if you read the blog you realize they are really poking fun at urban/suburban white liberal-minded people as opposed to all white people in the world. Nevertheless, what makes the blog amusing, as most true humour, is that there is some truth in it. Most of us who have read it can see a bit of ourselves and our friends and families. There is even an online test you can do to see how white you are.

So the first time I encountered the blog I was of course highly amused and had a few good laughs at my own expense, but on further reflection I also realized that there was actually a profound message in all this humour. That our interests, and our likes and dislikes may not be our own and are highly influenced by the media. What is more alarming is that we think we are original thinkers and highly independent but it is an illusion of the grandest proportions, we are really just conforming to a certain way of thinking and building an image of ourselves as independent thinkers.

I forced myself to reread the list of stuff and ask myself which things I really liked as my own and which things I had adapted as part of my image as an independent thinker. As an example I've always said that I liked Vespas (which is #126 on the list). When I thought about it I realized I don't like Vespas, I mean sure I like the idea of driving around Sicily, the wind in my hair, the sun on my face a beautiful woman with her arms wrapped around me while we stop at remote romantic cafes and drink red wine and eat homemade pasta. But really, 99% of the time having a vespa in the city I live in would absolutely suck, especially for me, I'm not that technically inclined and I'm more concerned about getting places than the vehicle i got there in.

As another example take coffee(#1 on the list), I like my coffee and I still do, but I am honest that what I like more than coffee is the ritual of coffee, I can get by quite well with out it, but I enjoy taking the time to relax and enjoy a few minutes with a nice espresso, either with company or even alone. It would be dangerous to reject everything on the list unilaterly so as not to be conformist, but to be the exact opposite is also a form of mimicry.

But aside from these sort of personal likes and dislikes of my own, there is a broader message here about conformity and how difficult it is to actually be an independent thinker in a modern media world. It is challenging to maintain an independent viewpoint. We are inundated with media influences that are shaping our tastes and our opinions. We need to be conscious of this so that we can forge our own identity.

In some ways it is alarming this conformity but how do we have healthy debate about society when we are all conforming to the same norms? When the people who are the influencers and the decision makers are all saying the same thing. Perhaps it is as Francis Fukuyama says that it is the end of history and we are conforming because of the triumph of the western idea. The ideas we have now are the right ones and there needs to be no further debate about society other than to bring the laggards into the western fold.

Perhaps, but I am skeptical. There is in my mind still room for meaningful debate and dialogue about the right way to live and the right way to govern ourselves. We need to guard against this conformity and challenge it. If we truly want to be independent thinkers and move forward as a society we must embrace healthy skepticism; an attitude of questioning our own opinions and ideas, and constantly assessing whether it is something we believe or whether we are just adapting the opinions of others as expressed in the media. This is challenging but if we are to have a modern renaissance we must question ourselves and the conformity that is so easy in a modern media world. It is a challenge but one that is worth doing.