"The Peace Sign 'Gave Way to "the Finger"'"

"This view dominated conceptions of race relations throughout the 1970s and 80s, eliminating the possibility of an 'American culture' and replacing it with several. As previously noted, Schulman's exploration of disco’s ability to draw the ire of both black nationalists and white bigots provides a useful example regarding the rejection of integration. 'Disco acknowledged dancers' solidarity across racial and cultural lines,' Schulman writes. 'It held out the allure of integration. Disco artists fused black, gay, and Latin strands and found a huge, mass audience.' (73) Suburban white kids thought disco 'feminine, too gay, too black. But its hybrid form mocked ethnic nationalists dedicated to preserving distinct Black and Latino cultural identities.' (74) Of course, benefits arose from this new multiculturalism, as a cultural vibrancy arose in various venues such as art museums, music clubs, classrooms, and the street itself. Obviously, the Nuge would not agree. However, politically Schulman argues 'the demise of liberal universalism and the celebration of diversity exacerbated the political crisis of the 1970s. Politics always revolves around citizenship–around defining the "we" marking out an "us" against "them" Everyone desires good schools, good housing, roads, and health care for "us"; few wish to spend their hard earned dollars on "them."'"

In a 2011 Topics of Meta article, Ryan Reft considers the cultural politics of Ted Nugent.