It's Their Economy (Not Yours), Stupid!

Great article. I disagree that the majority of white Southerners aren't to blame for voting for their own misfortune, but other than that, aces. ~ Blaque Swan (@No1_BSwan)

Slave States vs. Free States, 2012

. . .

Protecting the prerogatives of the Southern economic elite and the politicians it owns from external interference is the rationale for the defense of states’ rights, in the 21st century as in the 19th and 20th.  While they demonize “the federal government” as though it were some external force, Southern conservatives are actually afraid of democracy — national democracy.  They are afraid of their fellow Americans outside of the region they control.  They are afraid that national majorities will impose unwelcome reform on the South, at the expense of their profits and privileges, as national majorities did during Reconstruction, the New Deal and the civil rights revolution.

. . .

I can't very well copy/paste the entire article. So here's the rest of it here.

Now, the "Man" Is Coming for You, too, Wh*tey!

And to make a point that hard-working white Americans need to hear: the people who saw nothing wrong with loan officers lying both to the client and to the underwriter so the cost of the loan will be higher leading to higher profits for the company and higher bonuses for the loan officer also see nothing wrong with the exorbitant bonuses received by the executives who brought down the global economy. Mark my words chumpy: when shit gets to flying, everybody gets hit. Instead of listening to the idiots who propagate the lie the affirmative action is "reverse" racism, you should be listening to those of us tell you that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

That's one of my better quotes. Although I'll add here, for the love of all that's good and holy, quit equating white women and people of color to animals and/or fetuses. It's insulting, and it does more harm than good.

Has Columbus Just Discovered Injustice, Too?

Yes, it could be that I've spent too much time discussing global capitalism's reliance on racism and the oppression and exploitation of people of color. Organizations and people who advocate for people of color and the poor, like ACORN, have been dismantled, disparaged, and dismissed. The Rev. Jesse Jackson led a march on Wall St as early as December 2007. (Boy, has it catch on!)

But now that the shit has hit the fan, and white unemployment is as high now, during this economic crisis, as black unemployment was low in 2007, you see fit to organize and Occupy Wall St. Now that even you, average white American, can be knocked around - but not shot and killed while handcuffed - by the police, you want to protest police brutality.

Extra, Extra! It's Not So Bad When White People Do It

Here what you need to know:

Upper classes are marrying late, while poorer women are deciding that they’re better off single.

You can read the article analyzing a recent Census report yourself.  But the basic gist is this: due to a changing economy, middle- and upper-class individuals are marrying later than before while working- and lower-class singles may not marry at all.

It's good that people are marrying later, and indeed, the divorce rate has gone down. These are people who're taking the time to establish themselves financially before marriage and children.

The changes of the last quarter century indicate that marriage is increasingly becoming a marker of class — the delayed marriages of the middle class produce steadily lower divorce rates, very few non-marital births, and substantial resources to invest in a falling number of children. For the rest of the country, the statistics may simply confirm a greater move away from marriage altogether.

What about everybody else? The working- and lower-classes?

Working class women, however, have become more likely to have children without marrying. If the father is chronically unemployed, uncommitted to the relationship, immature or simply unreliable, young mothers may decide that they are better off on their own.

Homie Don't Play That!

h/t racismreview, 24 members of the Congressional black caucus voted against the tax-cut compromise.

Let's be clear. I have made a distinction between white progressives and progressives of color. I feel people of color have more reason to be upset because the worst is happening to us. To be sure, it’s not all Obama’s fault, and he's not the only one they've taken issue with.

The black caucus has been more consistently critical of Obama in a substantive way. They were equally as critical of W Bush and Republicans. And when it comes to blacks fighting for justice in general . . . how many white people did you see at the Jena 6 protests?

So on to another point in terms of race in the US . . . why haven’t we heard more on this than we've heard on the “woe is us” whining from the white left?

What Else Does Racism Look Like?

Setting aside the ridiculous belief by some that President Obama has done too much for the black communitiy, the unemployment rate for African American teenagers is 50%. The unemployment rate for black adults is a little more than 16%. Notwithstanding that job opportunities have left many black communities; and, schools in these communities suck; and, white convicts have an equal or better chance of getting a job black men with no criminal record; and, of course, Fox; notwithstanding all that, people will find a reason to blame the black community for all this.

None of that is new, even to wouldn't blame racism for all those disparities. So this is very important: racism is never satisfied.



It's not enough to be a child prodigy and enter college when you're only 16. It's not enough to choose a college based on location, the amount of money offered, or the quality of the major you want to study. Nope. None of that's enough. So long as you choose an HBCU over, say Harvard, people will decide you're awfully dumb to be so smart.

I Wasn't Going to Comment on the Sherrod Story

But if you haven't read this, you really should. ~ No1KState

THE REAL STORY OF RACISM AT THE USDA

By Chris Kromm

Facing South - A New Voice for a Changing South The Online
Magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies

July 22, 2010

http://www.southernstudies.org/2010/07/the-real-story-of-racism-at-usda.html

Right now, if you do a web search of the words "racism" and
"USDA," the majority of links will steer you to coverage of
this week's Shirley Sherrod affair, in which the African-
American U.S. Department of Agriculture staffer based in
Georgia resigned after a conservative website reversed the
meaning of a speech she gave last year to imply she would
deny farm loans to whites.

It's an astonishing development given the history of race
relations at the USDA, an agency whose own Commission on
Small Farms admitted in 1998 that "the history of
discrimination at the U.S. Department of Agriculture ... is
well-documented" -- not against white farmers, but African-
American, Native American and other minorities who were
pushed off their land by decades of racially-biased laws and
practices.

The Result of Conservative and Neoliberal Economic Policies

Let's get this drilled into our collective consciences: the economy we're experiencing today started in 1981 (or thereabouts) with the election of Ronald Reagan as president. The crazies who call the unemployed "lazy" and unemployment benefits, that the unemployed have paid into mind you, a disincentive to seeking work - they're just saying what conservatives have said for decades.

And trust me, when trouble starts knocking at your door, you won't mind someone with a "bleeding heart" coming along to help you.

22 Statistics That Prove The Middle Class Is Being Systematically Wiped Out Of Existence In America

We Don't Need No Water, Let the Mutha F*er Burn!!

Burn, burn . . . OH!

Sorry, people. I got carried away there for a minute. I've been away, but I had to post this.

I also intended to start cutting the tea idiots some slack: we all suffer from confirmation bias. (Maybe more on that later. Hopefully, right?)

But then I came across this and wanted to find just any random white person and . . . Let's move on.

There're actually two articles about the same study. Here's one over at guardian.co.uk. The other one follows below:

New study finds racial wealth gap quadrupled since mid-1980s
National data reveal the effects of policies that benefit the wealthiest, persistent discrimination in housing, credit and labor markets

Advice for Blue-Collar Whites

Don’t worry, white Americans. I’m not about to launch into an anti-racism tirade. Even though anti-racism is sort of my “specialty” – having been a history major, what do you want? – my chief goal and hope is for overall justice, equality, and fairness. And I think some lessons have been learned by African Americans that will serve white blue-collar workers well. I’m going to have to explain black high school socio-politics, but bare with me, you’ll get the point.


One thing that’s held against African American students is our detestation for “acting white.” In high school, it plays out like this:

First, there is a list of standards you must meet to be considered appropriately black –
-Dress “black”
-Speak black English vernacular
-Act “black”
-Don’t be so quick to get on any white person’s, teacher, student, principal, good side
-Demonstrate sufficient athleticism and/or music ability
-Only date other black students or white students who act sufficiently black
-Don’t be a class stand-out
-Know the latest R&B, Hip-Hop, and Rap hits and artists.

I think the list goes a little something like that. Failure to meet any one or more of these standards immediately puts your “blackness” in question. You may even end up ostracize from the black students at-large. High school students usually do this to their own detriment. Either the best and brightest and prevented from leading the group; or, the leaders, who probably are exceptionally bright, are prevented from demonstrating their intelligence. This not only hurts the individual students; it hurts them as a group.
See, what black students are actually struggling against in the anti-black racism that’s ingrained into our educational systems. They can accomplish more as a collect group than any number of individuals acting alone can accomplish. Maintaining these standards for in-group membership often holds the larger group back, keeping them in a vicious cycle of underachievement and low expectations. Right? If the best and brightest were allowed to be honor students and maintain leadership of the group, maybe that would change the perception others have of the group at-large, thus leading to better education for all. Right? That’s fair?

So why aren’t the standards set aside? Well, the group wants to be sure that every individual is loyal to the group. This loyalty entails relating to and not being ashamed of other members in the group whose English may not meet what’s known as American Standard English. Some members of the group aren’t particularly academically gifted, though this by no means implies that they are “exception children.” At the end of the day, the group at-large needs to know that each individual is with them in the struggle against the prejudice and bias they face everyday. The aforementioned standards are simply a quick and easy way of finding out whether someone is for you or against you. In general, a student’s meeting these standards tells you a lot about where they are. But the standards, quick and easy though they may be, can be misleading, right? Cause anyone who holds too tightly may find him/herself graduating one day without a future.


I’m beginning to see it’s the same for white blue-collar workers, even during presidential elections. You want to know if the person who’ll be leading you can relate to your daily struggle and doesn’t look down on you for things they might not be into. (Just like a hip-hop fan doesn’t want to be looked down upon for not enjoying blues-jazz.) And so, you have a list of the standards a leader must maintain that looks something like this:
-Grow-up in an “all-American” type family
-Be a person of faith, preferably (fundamental) Christian
-Be a hunter
-Drink coffee at the diner in the morning, beer at the bar in the afternoon
-Dress “blue collar”
-Talk and sound “blue collar”
-Love, and I mean L-O-V-E love, America
-Hate anything, and I mean A-N-Y-thing, un-American

Just like with black high school students, what you really want to know is if this person is “one of us,” right? Cause a person who’s one of you is most likely to know and sympathize with your everyday struggle. That list is just a quick and easy way of finding out whether someone is for you or against you. But, holding too strictly to that list has gotten you into some trouble, right? In the most recent elections, holding too strictly to this list has gotten us into a war and an occupation of another country; all the while, the people we really want to get go free. The economy is heading into, if it’s not there already, recession. The housing bubble has burst. Health care costs are ridiculous, right? Sure, they doctors can get rid of the cancer, but it’ll cost you an arm and a leg! Manufacturing jobs are going away, and not enough good-paying jobs are coming to replace them. The price of gas and heating oil is sky rocketing. And your struggle seems to be getting worse. Your faith sustains you.
But, wait. What does abortions and same-sex marriages have to do with you? Now, I can blog about either one or both on another day. For the sake of this post, just keep in mind that the gays ain’t the ones giving your kids poisoned toys.
See, what you really wanna know is whether or not your leader, or rather, our President, is someone who fights with you in the cause for economic fairness and justice. This person may not be able to bowl. This person may not enjoy hunting. This doesn’t mean that s/he doesn’t feel your pain and wants to change things to give you the fair shot you’ve earned.

I mean. Take it from me. All my high school teachers and principals loved me! I graduated at the top of my class and had one of the highest SAT scores. I didn’t dress “black.” I couldn’t dance well. My mother wouldn’t let me play sports. And because I had been a transfer student and my parents didn’t see the need to buy me a car, I couldn’t hang out with everyone else. I had to walk a tight rope in middle and high school, but now I’m able to use what I’ve gained by “acting white” AND my classmates know that I’m with them in the struggle.

So, just because someone doesn’t mean all your standards doesn’t mean they don’t care. It could mean that they’re being their authentic selves. Yes, they dress and different way and may act a different way, but they care about economic fairness and justice, they care about your struggle, just as much, maybe even more, as you do.
My advice to you? Don’t judge a book by its cover. At least read the inside folding first!

Or simply put, don’t dismiss Barack Obama just because he can’t bowl to save his life . . . or he doesn’t wear a lapel pin that’s made in China. If you’re going to vote against him, let it be because you prefer a health insurance mandate. Let it be because you don’t like his ideas about keep Social Security solvent. Just don’t let it be a few ill-spoken words. Just don’t let it be the fact that he keeps being himself and won’t mock you by playing at being you.