Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America

by Ijeoma Oluo

When setting out for a national run in 1968, Wallace recognized that the same anger that had motivated Alabama voters was widespread among white working-class men across the country—especially in places that were adjusting to an influx of Black industrial workers, and especially among white Southern migrants up north. Wallace revised his language to broaden his audience, but if you listened closely the message was still the same. “The dangers of integration” was replaced with more respectable stand-ins like “a need for law and order” and “fighting school busing.” “Evil commies and civil rights activists” became “evil commies and hippies.” “Northern aggressors” became “Washington elites” and “the liberal, know-nothing press.”