Of course, this White Lady as never heard the reality.

I come form a working class family... first with a college degree. I'm in engneering, a fairly well-paid career. MANY of my colleagues come from a much more privileged background... military officers (my Dad was enlisted), from families of enegineers, country-club generational money kind of stuff. Even after decades, I STILL feel out of place at times... like I'm the kitchen urchin who snuck into the castle's great hall. I CONSTANTLY have to battle the idea that somehow I'm a fake, and they'll realize it any moment, and BACK TO THE SKULLERY for me.

I suspect Michele Obama was running in circles where the white men she met all came from privilege.

Who don’t take success for granted

what she was saying. I'm not sure where any confusion came from.

Rec

There are people reacting to this, as if she was talking about them. That would require them to have been included in one or more of those "powerful tables" that she was specifically speaking of. I can only speculate, but I am 100% certain that none of them were.

Or up there, anyway.

Lots of people sit at "powerful tables" in their own lives suffer with their own insecurities. No one is exempt. It isn't the context of her statement that is tone deaf, it is the content.

you believing that. She surely did sit at high tables. But I do not believe that a single person who has posted how offended they are ever sat at one of the tables that she was speaking specifically about. Do you think those expressing their insecurities on this OP/post were in the meetings she spoke of?

I don't want to give the impression I'm particularly aggrieved by this. Mrs. Obama usually expresses opinions with a particular sort of grace, and this particular point didn't work for me.

Like, I know what she means. It didn't vibe with me, and it doesn't have to.

I'll speculate that none of them were even waiters at one of them fancy collection at one of those meetings that she was specifically making referernce to. I would bet a dollar to a doughnut that she was speaking about individuals that are similar to those holding high positions in the current adfministration, rather than the DU community. But that's just me, and as I self-identify as Irish rather than white and somehow inferior to everything I have accomplished in life. Nor do I feel superior to anyone. That is the best balance, at least in my opinion, for enjoying life on Earth.

I think that Mrs. Obama is a wonderful person -- the complete opposite from the current president.

You choosing to self-identify as Irish rather than as white has some bearing on your feelings of confidence / ease in your own station?

There is a kernel there that is what troubles me about what Mrs. Obama said. I'm not able to fully articulate it...

I guess I would just say that you are using the words "superior" and "inferior" in a conversation about imposter syndrome, which is independent of actual technical superiority.

I don't know, I'm a mess on this.

I will estimate that in 47.6% of my posts over 20+ years on this forum, I have fit the sport of boxing in, even when it doesn't fit, because I am convinced all of life imitates the sport of boxing. I note that one of my good friend's brother-in-law, Jerry Quarry, despised being called "the white hope." When Jerry fought, he was always introduced as Irish Jerry Quarry, which he and his family liked.

Now, I boxed in many, many bouts. Just as when I fought on the undercard of Jerry's brother-in-law's upset victory over a fighter who would soon win a world title, I was always introduced as "Irish." Never once as white. Now, back in that era, there was racism in most all levels of the sport, starting in the locker rooms where different groups of fighters frequently were hostile to other groups. In recent times, when my son and nephew won Golden Gloves titles, I was pleased that this nonsense no longer existed. The fighters were almost all friendly and polite with other folks. I can't say that held for some of the old trainers, but for most.

Now, in each one of his fights, my son was introduced to the crowd as "Irish." Not white, nor was my nephew noted for being black. That is because there is a certain status in the boxing community's expectations of Irish fighters.

Now, I'm very old, surely one of the oldest people in human history, and happiest when I am annoyed by something. Since I love boxers, I will instead focus on the boxing community. Within it, I have noticed that a number of them do something that others, including many of those I otherwise like a great deal, will start a story with, "There was a black guy ...." I know this because, as I self-identify as "Irish," I am able to pass quietly through white society. Not that I am ever silent, of course. But they never start with, "There was a white guy." Now, I'm not suggesting that they are "bad" people, or would consider themselves to be racist. But I notice what words people use.

Fast forward to current events in America today ...... there is a racist fuck in the White House. Lots of them in the administration. By no coincidence, most are white. More, most maga are white. Most racist hate gangs, such as the one that attacked one of my high school nephews, leaving him with life-threatening injuries, were white. The judge that said in open court that he did not think the gang members calling my nephew a "stupid ni___er" indicated race was a factor in the violent crime was white. The white christian nationalists are almost exclusively white, are they not?

So I self-identify as being different than white. One person here called it "white privilege" for me to do this. I call it an obligation as a citizen of the United States that has long been opposed to the racism of white folks. But, again, that's just me. I will add that I live in a house with photographs of my ancestors, both in Ireland and the U.S., who uses the tools my father gave me that his father gave him, who has furniture that my ancestors used, and who has a large labyrinth/garden that literally every visitor has commented "is so Irish. I prepare Irish meals, and find our society's St. Patrick's Day traditions offensive.

Although I might be dull-witted, I have long studied sociology and psychology. My employment has been in both fields. Thus, I am fascinated in various cultures' history and traditions.

Whatever works for you is fine by me.

It was in my grandfather's middle adulthood that the Irish Catholics were deemed "white" by WASP society. It was in my lifetime that there was anti-Irish Catholics in the area where I grew up. And I have heard similar echoes of that aimed at parts of my family, who are black, brown, yellow, and red.

There is some degree of privilege in my status. If I get pulled over for speeding, I am confident the police will approach and treat me differently than they would the black and brown nephews I have. When I was young, I had another privilege: as they were first generation, a significant number of my father's 13 siblings were in law enforcement or intelligence. Hence, as when I was young was the only time when I ever drove fast, when pulled over, I had an advantage. After looking at my license, most cops would say, "Are you ________'s son?" I'd say, "Oh, you know Dad?" I would get scolded for speeding, and it would disappoint Dad should he find out. I've never been at risk for being shot due to skin pigment.

I am in frequent contact with my relatives in Ireland. I have real concerns about some of the news coming from the Old Sod. There is a lot of hate being focused on non-white immigrant communities, including from some family members. It is as if they have forgotten our relatives killed in The Troubles. Learn to appreciate and respect people who are different than you are. Things go better that way, for in violent times, everyone suffers.

I've never cared how anyone else self-identifies. Whatever works for them. Nor have I ever cared about what people who don't know me catagories me as. I will say that, with nothing to do with how you identify, much less than how others do, I think you are a good person. And that's all that counts.

and you know this how?

Her gardening and healthy choices programs were pretty good

She could of said “ one percenters” and we would of known what she meant but they aren’t all white.

But she didn't say that. And I hope we can agree that making up a quote and applying to someone else is a sure way to fail in an 8th grade social studies debate. I hope that isn't going to become a habit among Democrats, picked up by our opposition.

She was, of course, absolutely specific about those involved in such "meetings" (first sentence, second paragraph), and noted there there were wide varieties of people attending them. I don't take that to mean they were diverse in the field of economics, but rather meant there were non-white people included. Hence, she notes that in her experience, it was only white people who she was making reference to in the part that has some people upset.

in the OP where it quotes her as saying she headed the meeting.

as a White woman, alas, I have met White men who WERE imposters.

I've seen a lot of the Peter principle with people promoted to the level of their incompetence.

I have never seen imposter syndrome on those folks who are truly imposters.

I see it in the worker bees. People like me.

My first task at my current job was to hire a bunch of high notoriety consultants for an expert panel. "I'm just a schmoeburger, why would they respond to me?"

Boss said the email address will get a reply. They will want to work with us.

I was amazed at the responses that I got from some of the most notable people in my field. I knew a ton and did not feel like an imposter based on knowldge -- but certainly based on notoriety and reputation as 20 years of my life was spent in a classroom teaching 14-18 year olds.

Single women (and married ones) have a social take on this, apart from the workplace.

A woman alone, or even out with women friends in a social setting, is/are likely to be approached by some imposters who have some remarkable lines.

I want to acknowledge that despite my imposter syndrome, I have certainly benefited from privilege over the years. but there's privilege and PRIVILEGE if you know what I mean.

I grew up on welfare in the 60's with no dad in an otherwise well-to-do town, and for many years, mostly in business environments, I felt like an imposter. It's not exclusive to women and minorities.

White Engineer with some level of imposter concern

No doubt that women and minorities have it ten times worse but I definitely feel like I am faking sometimes.

But honestly all engineers need to feel that way. Arrogance gets people hurt. A certain amount of humble keeps you focused and constantly checking yourself.

Every day I wake up with imposter syndrome. Every night I go to bed with imposter syndrome.

Everyone I work with is so much more accomplished and so much smarter than I.

Every day I learn how narrow and short my view is, how clever I'm am not... and hope I can return something passable to the real brains that I work with. Still, not bad for a BA in Sociology though. Gen X is nothing, if not adaptable.

Just another dumb white guy hoping no one who matters figures out I'm probably not supposed to be here.

I just enough a lot about mosquito brains.

I predict a lot of MAGA but hurt about it.

solidarity and push-back within a community of liberals.

If only language, and the world, were as easy as jamming a thumb in your enemy's eye.

I have heard it many times

Barack Obama talks about race in America with more skill and nuance than most can muster.

From most others, (like this) It often comes off as broad generalizations that are easily dismissed by one’s lived experience. It’s why the right is so good at weaponising anything perceived as racial politics, even though they practice it themselves.

Comes naturally to those raised to feel entitled to a place at the table.

As opposed to those struggling for admittance to the room, let alone a place at the table.

I liken the situation to what Denzel Washington's "Equalizer 3" character faced in Italy, when asked by a kind doctor who treated his wounds:

"Are you a good man?"

"I don't know."

We knew. He knew. But he showed the doctor by his actions he is a good man.

It's interesting how many of our friends here immediated concluded she was talking about people like them. Reading comprehension is an essential for understanding.

There are plenty of white men who suffer from imposter syndrome. It’s talked about all the time by successful people. Hell, Tom Hanks says he has it.

I myself have often felt it when I’m put in charge of construction projects with millions of dollars on the line. I’ve often asked myself “How the Hell did I end up in this spot? I’ve been faking my way through this trade my whole career.”

And you work your way through it.

This isn’t a great statement by Michelle.

/jk

But then again, I remember watching that show and later thinking wait, how does the guy from bosom buddies become a star?

Same as how did Vinny from welcome back kotter become a superstar?

I'm going to be as gracious as I can be and assume she's just pandering to her audience who like hearing things like this to reinforce their own biases.

I'm more than a little disappointed.

i don't think i'm alone.

My parents raised me to be humble.

So - despite my Dartmouth College chemistry PhD, 25 years in big pharma, author of 2 successful books, wonderful wife of 46 years, 2 great daughters - I've always felt inferior to my co- students and workers.

What I feel is very lucky in so many ways. But - imposter syndrome. This 70 year old white guy has it big time.

I suffer from imposter syndrome. I'm a white, straight, cisgender male in his 50's. By that demographic, I should be a MAGAt. But I'm not. Because I have intelligence, logic, reason, compassion, and empathy. For this reason, I became a Physician Assistant. I practice clinical medicine. I have good days and not-so-good days. But hardly a day goes by that I don't wonder why the State of Washington granted me a license to practice medicine. It makes for recurrent anxiety. But I never want it to go away. As long as I can feel like I need to improve, to get better at what I do, and to wonder if, at my current skill level, I have what it takes to be a good medical provider, I know I'm on the right path.

are all SURE they belong there. They know they are the smartest and the hardest working, and they deserve the position they are in. Morons. The Dunning Kruger administration.

Wait, there are many you say. Thinking this syndrome is more common than some think. The others are on drugs.

Alas, I can't be on it all the time, so the insecurities sneak in. But the prozac helps nicely for that.

enough, rich enough, loved enough, powerful enough, etc, etc.

letting him in. He does not suffer from imposter syndrome.
Despite being a low life, racist, woman-hating ill mannered uncouth criminal and a fascist, he thinks he belongs.
Indeed he thinks he’s the best of the best.
That is what she was addressing folks.

...knows he is a total fraud. That's why he's so hypersensitive to even the slightest criticisms, and why he's so hell-bent on revenge against anyone who doesn't bow down and kiss his ass.

I was an English major who stumbled into data science, and did it for over 40 years. Not a day went by that I didn't have imposter syndrome. I always had to prove myself to computer science and math majors. Seriously, though, I'd love to meet her and not just to stop her from saying that. It would just be so awesome to meet her.

It is a giggle that so many of our friends did not read what she said. Reading comprehension is too often blotted out by the mere mention of race, preventing them from grasping exactly what she was saying. She wasn't talking about attending a picnic on your back lawn, and questioning if you really earned your degree or position at your job, folks.

As a white man who is hoping to get a scholarship for trying to get a GED, I know she was talking exclusively about me, damn it! My only option is to get out in the sun so I will get an Irish tan so common in upstate New York. I want to be prepared for when I'm called to one of them there highly important meetings, so that I can scream that I deserver a GED, even if I fail the test for the 12th time.

So we can knock off with the condescension for a start.

What you fail to grasp is that DU is not entirely composed of working class stiffs who just came in from the factory. Many here are either high level professionals themselves or move in professional circles with people well-regarded in their fields. I don't know why you're choosing to mock the poor and uneducated in this weird back-handed way. Maybe it's supposed to be funny?

Imposter syndrome is discussed at high levels. Among neurosurgeons and astronauts, stock brokers and business owners. It's a common condition among many different types of people from different backgrounds.

What's not great is pandering in this way racially. You know why it's posted here? Because it's a rich environment for "white men are bad, am I right?" as an applause line - precisely the same audience Michelle is speaking to.

But in real life, at every different level, we all know people, friends, family, or colleagues who express doubts about how high they've climbed. It's a real anxiety. People go to therapy for this stuff.

If we're being super, super generous - because why not - maybe Michelle is experiencing survivorship bias. At the most elite of elite levels - the kinds of places Presidents and First Ladies go - maybe the population there is tilted towards people with either enormous amounts of confidence or who are at least highly skilled at concealing that they are not. You don't typically meet a lot of CEOs running around shouting "I'm not sure I know what I'm doing!" This privileged anxiety may be catnip for light magazine articles, but you're not often going to find it in a boardroom full of serious people.

Say what you will of Barack Obama, but that man does not strike me as someone who wanders the earth with imposter syndrome. He has always exuded extreme surety of self.

It was just a dumb, idly racist thing to say. It's fine. Sometimes people we generally like say something really stupid to play to their audience.

We don't have to defend everything. Good grief.

and before anyone steps to me and my lived experience, I have managed people of all races and genders for more than 25 years and seen first-hand the anxieties of human beings trying to navigate life.

I'm about to be a nurse after a career change, and the amount of anxiety I feel that I will soon be released upon the world to make life and death decisions sometimes keeps me awake at night.

I speak well publicly, am generally unbothered on the surface, carry a 4.0, aced all my skills tests, and even have a Daisy Award already - as a student. I could be the most arrogant asshat in the class.

But instead it's like, "I dunno if this is a good idea . . ." Intellectually, I know it'll probably be fine. But there's definitely that irrational anxiety that maybe there other people more suited for it that should be in my place instead.

I wish you the absolute best and from my (admittedly limited) interactions with you, I find you well-informed and clear-headed.

Go get em.

Nurses are special. Healers.

I will agree, however, that sometimes people say really stupid things.

eom

In fact, if you don’t have some form of imposter syndrome there may be something wrong with you.

And having one’s presence being resented for joining

As a estuarine scientist with a bachelor’s degree, it was intimidating to sit in meetings populated by PhDs.
It took thirty years of experience to feel comfortable discussing issues with these groups…..and yes, the bias against the ‘lesser educated’ was evident. The lesson learned was that these scientists were great in their specialized area of expertise but ignorant in so many other aspects of life……they have their failings just as everyone else.

Peace ☮️

Literally, I worked in Tampa Bay studying different aspects of estuarine processes. Sediment coring and analyses, water quality collections to determine primary production, and flora and fauna population assessments. After knowing almost nothing at the beginning, I retired as a respected expert on seagrass including novel concepts in recolonization. What a hell of a rewarding career. As mentioned by another DUer in this discussion, retirement (now 16 years) has done a lot to ease the ‘imposter syndrome’. I’ve never been more at ease……though having a responsible government would be icing on the cake.

Peace ☮️

those of us who worked our asses off very much feel like our retirement is deserved; no imposter syndrome there!

wow your work seemed very important.......that's one thing that always bugged me about IT work, it seemed to help corporations more than anyone else

and yes, I resent the government we have now, it's just not representative of WE THE PEOPLE at all, just the racist assholes

Fascinated specifically by the Gowanus canal, the industrial waste and sewage dump in NYC.

The learning curve was like being constantly in a classroom…..but with something that was truly fascinating.

Peace ☮️

I felt it often as a younger man.

With the deepest respect for Ms. Obama, a great American I disagree. I'm sure many people in her presence felt, but it's not something one expresses.

I recall my son's case very well, when after his freshman year he was sent to France on a NSF grant held by one of his professors, in part because he spoke French, and in part because a more advanced student declined to go.

I informed him when he expressed the point of being an imposter that he really didn't understand why he was there. It wasn't to make a scientific breakthrough on his own, but rather to see how international science works.

Many people feel like imposters when they are promoted to a higher level, particularly in new areas around people with lots of experience in a field. It takes a while to understand that it isn't unusual, even for those of us, white men, who are privileged by absurd convention.

Maybe she's suggesting that white men might have the same feelings that the rest of us have ... but the white men are different because they would never admit to it or talk about it.

The white men wouldn't let down their guard and acknowledge the feelings, because they don't want the rest of us to know. So Mrs. Obama believes it's part of their facade: "We're in charge and you're not."

But Michelle has made two significantly erroneous statements in her career:

1. This one. Virtually every sane individual whom I’ve ever known well who is in a successful position has confessed to the impostor phenomenon

2. When they go low, we (should) go high. Uh-uh. Sorry. When they go low, kick them in the nuts.

As a white male, nearing his 8 decade, I can honestly say I have had imposter syndrome. It was manifested in dreams of being in the wrong house and naked. I understood what it meant and worked my a** off to try to get rid of it.

of course, there is a HUGE difference in that (except for white gay men) they've never had the added stress of being historically excluded. because of gender and / or race

But, I'm sure they experience it, just like every white guy I ever met.

signed

-- a white guy


You fake it until you make it.

One day, you'll have been faking it for so long that you'll realize you now know the job, and are the best person for that job.

I could be misunderstanding what she's saying, but it seems kinda myopic and just plain wrong. Maybe she needs to hang out with a better, more introspective class of people.

...when the Dem Party needs more men and needs to promote racial unity to survive and thrive.

"....Michelle Obama, who said she had sat 'at every powerful table there is...'”

Powerful tables, as First Lady for eight+ years.

Powerful tables, not tables at Red Lobster or Hooters.

because white men with imposter syndrome probably don't want to talk about it. To speak of it is to confirm and worsen it. The same societal things which tell some people that they don't belong there also tell white men that they do belong there -- which makes the imposter syndrome feelings even more pronounced to any white men experiencing it. They already feel like frauds or unworthy of their achievements and position, and that feeling is worsened by the societal expectations that they be there, confident and competent.

While still acknowledging race and gender based inequalities that remain an issue, we should stop stereotyping groups of people.

Last edited Tue Jun 2, 2026, 10:53 PM - Edit history (1)

They may not say it but so much of being a white man in our culture involves going along to get along. I think most white men I know hide crucial parts of themselves on a daily basis.

In the quote I read, she didn't say, "No, white man has impostor syndrome." She said that she hasn't heard one talk about it.

Those are two different things.