During my time with the participants of Facilitated Conversations with Kim Crayton – Mediocre, a few things have become clear. It’s not just about how you uphold the myth of white supremacy. It’s about how deeply that myth has hollowed you out from the inside. Here’s what I now know:

Andrew Cuomo, who on paper is a Democrat and served as Governor of New York from 2011 to 2021, was just endorsed by Donald Trump. Pause for a moment and let that sink in. This is not an isolated incident. It is a textbook example of why white men cannot be trusted to do anything, without a consistent, demonstrated antiracist practice, but protect and promote the myth of white supremacy when confronted with accountability or consequences.

I recently came across the term “the politics of care” while watching the YouTube video From Prince to Commoner: What Andrew’s Downfall Tells Us About Power. The concept is explored beautifully in an academic article by Berenice Malka Fisher and Maurice Hamington, which asks: “What would be required for care to be an ethic and political practice that orients people to a new way of living, relating, and governing?” Their answer is as radical as it is necessary:

Between George Clooney saying it was a mistake to push Biden out and the chatter about Jon Stewart possibly entering politics, I can’t help but see, once again, the myth of white male supremacy at work in real time. It’s the same story, over and over again. The same pattern of centering mediocre, unremarkable white men as the voices we should listen to, the leaders we should follow, the thinkers we should trust.

As a certified special needs educator, I knew that my students’ challenges, academic or social, never devalued their humanity. Providing them with specialized services, attention, and care wasn’t about lowering expectations; it was about building a learning environment where patience, practice, and compassion made mastery possible. Success didn’t look the same for every student, but that didn’t make any of them less capable or less valuable.

The numbers are clear and they tell a story of harm, relief, and the systems, institutions, and policies that make both possible. After Ryan Walters, a self-described Christian nationalist and anti-LGBTQ+ crusader, resigned as Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, calls from LGBTQ+ youth in the state to the national crisis hotline dropped by 36%. Let that sink in.

I never use the word “fair” when I’m talking about or challenging systems, institutions, and policies rooted in the myth of white male supremacy. Because “fairness” isn’t an objective concept. It’s a weapon. One that’s been sharpened and refined over centuries to maintain control while pretending to offer balance. “Fair” only works when those already in power get to define it. “Fair” only applies when it reinforces the comfort and dominance of those who built the system.

Once again, we’re watching the myth of white male supremacy play out in real time but this time through “innovation” that’s neither new nor transformative. According to The Verge, “Grokipedia abruptly veers into right-wing talking points, factual inaccuracies, critiques of mainstream media, and unfounded conspiracy theories. At times, Grokipedia is overtly racist and transphobic.”