The one thing we can say about social media is that it helps people who think alike find each other! That is the proverbial double-edged sword.
As I noted, the only time we really start seriously discussing race in America is when some event occurs: a white police officer kills an unarmed black citizen as a random scenario off the top of my head. That's immediately a problem for the discussion because of the emotional qualities and the heightened sense of injustice about how a case like that typically progresses.
If we intend to have that level-headed, clear-eyed view of race in America, it would need to happen when we aren't dealing with the next "shocking" case. Unfortunately, it seems like there's always another one, or we're remembering the anniversary of one, so that's just another speed bump in the road.
You raise an important point re: the white working class and their view of things. Certainly, they aren't doing well as far as being able to put away money for savings or retirement, and may well be living hand to mouth, a dangerous situation as they continue to age. That's not a "privileged" place to be.
The elements of racism definitely make it easy to find a scapegoat for that particular group's angst and misery. And through that, they can be controlled, manipulated, coerced into supporting a lot of these thoughts when, if logic were allowed to enter, it would be clear who is really pulling these strings.
Racism is totally top-down. The One Percenters want middle and lower class whites to blame all the minorities for their woes, while they squirrel their millions away in tax shelter locations, further hobbling our government and putting more pressure on those very groups.
It's through this emotional connection: thinking that minority citizens are responsible for these circumstances, we get a concept like "White Genocide" or other, similar, non-existent problems. But as long as there is an agenda pushing out these messages and a group of people seeking answers and willing to believe, it's going to be a tough climb out of this chasm.
Thanks again for reading along, for your responses and for being so supportive, Brooke!
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2016-08-12 08:58 pm (UTC)As I noted, the only time we really start seriously discussing race in America is when some event occurs: a white police officer kills an unarmed black citizen as a random scenario off the top of my head. That's immediately a problem for the discussion because of the emotional qualities and the heightened sense of injustice about how a case like that typically progresses.
If we intend to have that level-headed, clear-eyed view of race in America, it would need to happen when we aren't dealing with the next "shocking" case. Unfortunately, it seems like there's always another one, or we're remembering the anniversary of one, so that's just another speed bump in the road.
You raise an important point re: the white working class and their view of things. Certainly, they aren't doing well as far as being able to put away money for savings or retirement, and may well be living hand to mouth, a dangerous situation as they continue to age. That's not a "privileged" place to be.
The elements of racism definitely make it easy to find a scapegoat for that particular group's angst and misery. And through that, they can be controlled, manipulated, coerced into supporting a lot of these thoughts when, if logic were allowed to enter, it would be clear who is really pulling these strings.
Racism is totally top-down. The One Percenters want middle and lower class whites to blame all the minorities for their woes, while they squirrel their millions away in tax shelter locations, further hobbling our government and putting more pressure on those very groups.
It's through this emotional connection: thinking that minority citizens are responsible for these circumstances, we get a concept like "White Genocide" or other, similar, non-existent problems. But as long as there is an agenda pushing out these messages and a group of people seeking answers and willing to believe, it's going to be a tough climb out of this chasm.
Thanks again for reading along, for your responses and for being so supportive, Brooke!