White men believe that greatness and prosperity are coming despite the realities of their financial situation or career, she says. This ideology serves as one of capitalism’s primary protections by convincing people to participate in the system, she says. “And the idea that anything would ask for more of our systems - let alone the people within these systems - becomes a threat to the status quo and to our systems of power.” “It's a system that protects mediocrity, that sets as the goal,” she says. White male mediocrity protects the belief that white men are perceived as stronger and more successful than women and people of color regardless of skill or achievements, she says.

Oluo defines white male mediocrity as “this idea that white men deserve political power and wealth and safety and security just because they're white men.” Author Ijeoma Oluo (Courtesy) The book takes readers through history to show how white supremacy and more specifically white male mediocrity have become this country’s core ideology. Oluo writes about this in her new book, ' Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America.' Writer Ijeoma Oluo says this quote is more than a pithy line about mediocre individuals given unlimited power - and instead, a system everyone plays a part in.

(Getty Images) This article is more than 2 years old.Ī few years ago, a tweet by writer Sarah Hagi spawned a slew of memes, t-shirts and tote bags that read: “Carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man.' A black and white portrait of a young white man.

Mediocre ijeoma