RANT

[JmOz]

I ask forgiveness if this triggers anyone

 

The problem in this country is not racism (It still struggles with it, but it is a minor issue)

 

It is Economic classism

 

However, when you look at the economic situation you find that...It really should be #poorlivesmatter

 

I am just so sick of it.  Until we deal with THOSE issues, and frame them AS SUCH we ain't gaining an inch

[Pariah]

You're not wrong in your assessment, methinks.

 

The two phenomena are not mutually exclusive, of course.

[Badger]

Well, blacks do have a higher rate of poverty. But, if you look at many rural areas, white trash gets treated just as shoddily. Except nobody cares. I had friends who grew up such, and seen it firsthand

 

I am not going who or what group has what worst. Just an observation, that class  probably does need more discussion.

 

I do think a lot though of course not all need the most is some educational support in their childhood.

[Old Man]

I don't think economic inequality is the root of the problem, but it's a very important and underreported issue.  Thanks JmOz.

[Cancer]

Actually, it is one root of the problem.  There are others, of course.

[Bazza]

Economic inequality means that in America, corruption is not only legal but mandated, it is the status quo. Since the 1980s a peer reviewed science study found that the average Americans as 0% affect on democracy - that is getting laws made that benefit them. I'll repeat, ZERO percent. Those who can splash the cash, dictate the laws. This corruption goes back 40 years, at least, so it is don't go and blame just the current government. Those who have the gold makes the rules.
 

Basically, the political system is favoured against the average American. It is no-win, unless as in the case of the democratic activism that got the bills SOPA & PIPA scuttled. 

Opposing "the system" is the only way things will really change. To do that, you need to dig and see where this wealth is generated from and who has directing it, and where it is being directed.  

Corruption is Legal in America (Study is linked to below))
 

 

 

Wealth Inequality in America

 

 

 

The Deep State Hiding in Plain Sight (interview with person who popularised the term, telling you what its original meaning is)

 

 

Essay: Anatomy of the Deep State (2014) by Mike Lofgren
 

Study #1
Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens
Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page
Link #1 (Princeton, pdf)

Link #2 (Cambridge)

News article:
Scholar Behind Viral 'Oligarchy' Study Tells You What It Means

Study #2
Original research published in a peer review journal

News article Revealed – the capitalist network that runs the world (new scientist)

Other articles of potential interest:

• Jimmy Carter: The U.S. Is an “Oligarchy With Unlimited Political Bribery”
• Jimmy Carter Is Correct That the U.S. Is No Longer a Democracy
• The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats By NICK HANAUER
• The Military-Industrial Complex: It's Much Later Than You Think (2008)

#followTheMoney

#humbleAussie 

[JmOz]

In Prestidigitation (Stage magic) the first thing you do is draw attention to what you are NOT doing.  That is what I feel that racism is being used for, note not saying it does not exist, saying if we focus on it then we are not focusing on fixint the real problem of a lower ecconomic class getting more and more shod upon

...

[Lord Liaden]

JmOz, there's much validity in what you say, and it's an issue that needs to be addressed. But never forget, a poor white person can put on nice clothes and most of society won't give them a second glance. Many people will never see past a black person's skin, no matter what they wear. In fact black people in nice clothes or driving a quality car often attract more suspicion, not less.

 

Economic classicism and racism are two sides of the same coin, and focusing only on either will solve nothing.

[JmOz]

I don't think they are as linked as people want.  If anything what we call racism is more often a subclass of Economic Classism.  There is another part to racism, which comparatively is minor.  

 

The problem is that class also effects behavior.  We want to think that are behavior should not affect how things happen.  Middle class individuals are taught to handle things in a more submissive attitude.  Individuals from poverty get confrontational.     When statistics are looked at that compare wealth levels we see similar numbers across wealth (except for Hispanics for some reason, not sure why) regarding violence.  I can't find statistics on police brutality by race & Economic class.

 

Now one issue I do agree is that people get  suspicious.  However I keep feeling (and I have 0 proof) that a lot of that comes from us focusing on race instead of class.  This is one time where as we try to cure racisim we may be making the problem worse.  Note, not saying it does not exist, just that our tactic of combating it is not working and we should look at changing the tactics we use (Concentrate on similarities instead of differences)

[DShomshak]

3 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

JIn fact black people in nice clothes or driving a quality car often attract more suspicion, not less.

 

Huh. Just yesterday, KUOW re-ran rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot's account of being stopped by police for driving a Lamborghini while black. You can probably Google it.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Pattern Ghost]

2 hours ago, DShomshak said:

You can probably Google it.

 

https://kuow.org/stories/black-man-white-city-its-unnecessarily-stressful/

[assault]

It's a "yes, but" situation.

 

First, American capitalism, and capitalism in general, was to a very great degree based on racist phenomena. (I'll talk about racist ideology in a moment.)

 

The first thing is that it is built on an Indian Burial Ground, in the most literal sense. Without the dispossession of the indigenous populations, the US wouldn't exist.

Second, it was built, economically, on a base of slavery and indentured labour: the first group obviously being mostly drawn from Africa, the latter from various sources, including Europe. Over time, of course, its economy has shifted to being based on waged, notionally free, labour. I say "notionally free", because those who participate in it largely have no other choice except to starve. Yes, there are and always have been small farmers and other small businesses, but the big money doesn't come from them.

 

So historically separating American capital from racism is impossible.

 

On to ideology. Obviously, when you have social segregation, you have a powerful tool of social control. Those at the top of the (in this case) racial heap can often be convinced to side with a society's rulers against those they see as inferior. Some times that can break down, and it's clear that a degree of this breakdown is in play at the moment. It's also never universal - there have always been white anti-racists, for example - but usually a majority have gone along with what they have been told.

 

And here we run into the intersection of social inequality and racism. Essentially, the latter is a powerful instrument in distracting attention from the former, and justifying it.

Badger is perfectly correct to point out the plight of poor whites. The problem is that racism sets them against poor black people, Latinos and whoever. While it is impossible to unite across such divisions, none of them can address the fundamental issue.

 

So action against racism is necessary in order to deal with economic inequality.

I'll add, too, that even addressing the latter doesn't mean that racism will go away. It would have to be consciously fought even in an economically ideal situation, where the social and economic roots of racism have been dealt with.

Similar arguments apply about sexism, homophobia and the whole laundry list of other negative phenomena.

OK, I think that's my main argument done with. I may not have always used the latest Academically Correct terms, but it's a pretty standard, deeply unoriginal, position.

[Ragitsu]

17 minutes ago, assault said:

And here we run into the intersection of social inequality and racism. Essentially, the latter is a powerful instrument in distracting attention from the former, and justifying it.

Badger is perfectly correct to point out the plight of poor whites. The problem is that racism sets them against poor black people, Latinos and whoever. While it is impossible to unite across such divisions, none of them can address the fundamental issue.

 

“If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”

― Lyndon B. Johnson

 

--- --- ---

 

What Johnson said was true back then and it remains true today. All you have to do is surf enough alt-right/men's rights movement channels on Youtube; the people who receive the most money are crafty in how they package their racist ideologies.