BLACK UP!
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about us, ‘The Race’ as a people, all that I’ve observed, all that I hear, and all that those around me experience but most importantly all that I’ve lived. And what I know to be true is that, many of us with the exception of Donald Trump don’t really speak what we think rather we express some watered down version of what it is that we really want to say for fear that it will come back to bite us, or we are conscientious about filtering our words; being politically correct, gender correct, . . . in general an avoidance of expressions or actions that can be perceived to exclude, marginalize or insult people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated.
This transcends politics and is applied to social correctness as well. It is seen as a form of protectionism. This American trend of “political correctness,” failed in penetrating European common sense barriers yet, the long-old-way of European politicians and bureaucrats form the essence of an increasingly vocal cutting edge of the socially correct. This is not new to Europe but America born out of rebellion to the old principal tenet that it is no longer acceptable to carry on liberal trade relations with counties failing to provide its workers with “adequate social protection,” has now become the very enemy it fought. America stood on the foundation of “No taxation without representation.
However over the years we have seen presidents, governors, mayors and more push to end unions that were created to protect the interests (wages, hours worked, insurance, sick days, vacation time and hiring, firing processes) and well being of the social underdog. More and more corporate leaders, men and women of wealth out of touch with the general populace have come forward to enter the race for a position of social service. The problem is that these wealthy men and women have different priorities and their focus is not on the welfare of the people or the country but rather upon themselves and their cronies. While stated as a matter of higher principle, the concept of social/political correctness is disguised to demonstrate concern for worker rights; rights of women, children, the disabled and all other marginalized people. The truth is that those who fall into that category are pitted against each as well as the middle class and thus seen as a burden carried on the backs of taxpayers.
This attitude is used to ultimately decrease the wages, opportunities and benefits of the marginalized, decrease the company’s/owner’s production cost, while raising the competitor’s production cost. The idea to export social policy to neutralize a competitor advantage is not new. This is the secret of America. Capitalism is fueled by this hoax. The propaganda is that in a country where voters are free to elect governments that will provide them with a level of social protection, they are therein empowered. That is true only when you have an intelligent constituency that is informed and understands how the law works.
Currently we are witnessing the destruction of the public school system being replaced by proprietary schools that train workers rather than thinkers and definitely not independent thinkers. Management has become nothing more than overseers to the computer mainframe, which carries about the interests of the owners. The rights of Blacks, women, and children are co-mingled in all of this social protection conversation. The 5 percenters have influenced people to believe that those without jobs are low life, shiftless, lazy, thieves, rapists, ignorant, seeking to live off of the tax dollars of the rich and or middle class and therefore do not deserve any special opportunities inherent in the system. We know better.
This of course does exclude the set of advantages and immunities that white people benefit from on a daily basis beyond those common to all others. Now the majority of whites who benefit from this aren’t aware because white privilege can exist without white people’s conscious knowledge of its presence and this helps to maintain the racial hierarchy in this country.
The point is that men like Trump, Romney, Rauner and the likes may not necessarily be racists but they are elitists and their mission is to eliminate the bottom feeders/ lower social economic class of people and to lift up the upper class, and maintain a working class which will perpetuate their wealth. Blacks had made major strides. Affirmative action helped tremendously to level the playing field. It was not a gift. It was an opportunity otherwise not available.
Now is the time for ‘The Race‘ to step up and speak out against police brutality, failed educational opportunities, desert neighborhoods, the lack of parity in business building opportunities, the disproportion of Blacks incarcerated.
Non-Hispanic Blacks comprise the largest portion of male inmates (37%), whites (32%) and Hispanic (22%) under Federal jurisdiction in 2013. The fact that privatized prisons use inmates as free labor, a modern day slave plantation. Prisoners of these facilities mainly in the suburbs are counted, as citizens for the Census money yet cannot vote. These and so many more factors that create the status of socially disadvantaged must be addressed and changed.