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Stuff white people like


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White people have specific tastes, interests, and patterns according to a new blog that has quickly reached national prominence. ABC News reports:

"Three months ago, Christian Lander was nothing more than an anonymous Internet copywriter living in Los Angeles. Today, his blog "Stuff White People Like" is a heavily-trafficked, much-discussed site that last week netted him a book deal."

Lander, a white man, has stumbled into creating a online experience for people to openly mock, investigate, and pursue what it means to be white in America. "This is a scientific approach to highlight and explain stuff white people like. They are pretty predictable," he writes.

The site's most read post is about "Asian girls" and why white people (specifically men, in this case), love them. The post got more than 1,700 comments. Among the first list of post regarding what white people like:

#25 David Sedaris

#24 Wine

#23 Microbreweries

#22 Having Two Last Names

#21 Writers Workshops

#20 Being an expert on YOUR culture

#19 Traveling

#18 Awareness

#17 Hating their Parents

#16 Gifted Children

#15 Yoga

#14 Having Black Friends

#13 Tea

#12 Non-Profit Organizations

#11 Asian Girls

#10 Wes Anderson Movies

#9 Making you feel bad about not going outside

#8 Barack Obama

#7 Diversity

#6 Organic Food

#5 Farmer's Markets

#4 Assists

#3 Film Festivals

#2 Religions their parents don't belong to

#1 Coffee

Since Landers is white, critics have resisted the charge of racism. But what is interesting is some people's concern that this is more than satire. Of course, it is rarely considered "racist" if someone critiques trends within one's own race. (Chris Rock, for example, frequently criticizes ghetto culture.)

Other recent posts about what white people like include outdoor performance clothes (North Face, REI, Mountain Equipment Co-Op, Columbia Sportswear, and Patagonia), Whole Foods and Food Co-ops, wearing shorts as much as possible, soccer, recycling, public radio, and more.

Since whites are the dominant culture, "stuff white people like" drives the marketplace. For racial minorities, however, this list may indicate the kinds of issues and topics one may need to appropriate to assimilate into the dominant culture's social and professional settings.

The domain for "stuff evangelicals like" has already been registered with Word Press, a blog hosting site. In the satirical and self-critical spirit of Lander's blog, what types of things could be listed on such a list for evangelicals? If asked, I would submit that evangelicals like throwing rocks at the big, bad Goliath called "the culture." What else?


Anthony Bradley Anthony is associate professor of religious studies at The King's College in New York and a research fellow at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty.

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