In her brilliant new book, "The Sum of Us," a Black social scientist demonstrates how some whites have been suckered into thinking so, and proves they are wrong.
i have not read this article but i will read it and the book. i am white. i am a worker. until i competed in a market place where people of color were selected and hired because it was easier to exploit them and treat them with disparity, i had not realized that racism hurts all of us who labor. Many white people who benefit from exploitation and the disparity that comes with it, attempt to deny me as a white man (and one with a college degree) the right to complain about low pay and lack of benefits and worker protections given to people of color on job sites in this city where we live and they often tell me, "you are not underprivileged" as if i have to be in poverty to complain. but wait, in 2001 I fell at work and sustained an injury that could have left me unable to walk. thankfully for modern worker protections i had surgery but i still suffer pain and related arthritis. Had i not had that protection, i would be living in abject poverty right now. so the mere idea that someone who labors is competing in a system where others are exploited by who they are makes it enough that a white man has a right to complain about racism. let's see the push back the rich white liberals give me on that statement.
keep pushing white guys like me over to the right where we can be dismissed as bigots and racists and keep us divided from those of color who labor like we do and guess what, we all lose and they win. as a white man, i am as tired of the lies and charade as any person of color. college did not do it for me. i had to work in it and compete alongside people of color to understand.
so i read part of the article. Not all people will benefit if white workers allied with workers of color or others in a particular socio-economic bracket. the white workers and the uneducated white workers in menial jobs will benefit along with workers of color because we would coalesce and demand that the people who control the system and do the hiring - and this can be people on the left or right; it does not matter their political persuasion, it is more about that people with money spend that money in ways that supports human dignity for all - but most especially people of color because people of color are often the target of exploitation and disparity through racial hiring practices (and this hurts all workers because it lowers the expected wage and worker protections and benefits). I see liberals using race as a factor when seeking people to exploit through crappy jobs all the time in NYC and I frequently have to explain this liberal "variety" of racism this way: "it is ok to deny workers their dignity and a fair and safe work place so long as we do not use the "n" word or other derogatory terms". Sorry folks, i have long watched what people do as opposed to listening to what they say or do not say to understand who they really are; stories abound about "nice" slave owners who thought of themselves as good Christians; i am sorry, they were still racists.
If people wish to understand how the system works in this country, read Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. All the capitalist needs is some group at the bottom to exploit - today it is the immigrant and more so the undocumented immigrant - and once they have their target, they make it difficult for all of us who work with our hands. Add to it, some buffoon who comes along and convinces so many men who look like me that the immigrant is the problem and turns us on people of color and their supporters on the far left so we cannot coalesce with them and demand something for all workers in america. The wealthy on the left and right win. Welcome to the great American Caste.
i have not read this article but i will read it and the book. i am white. i am a worker. until i competed in a market place where people of color were selected and hired because it was easier to exploit them and treat them with disparity, i had not realized that racism hurts all of us who labor. Many white people who benefit from exploitation and the disparity that comes with it, attempt to deny me as a white man (and one with a college degree) the right to complain about low pay and lack of benefits and worker protections given to people of color on job sites in this city where we live and they often tell me, "you are not underprivileged" as if i have to be in poverty to complain. but wait, in 2001 I fell at work and sustained an injury that could have left me unable to walk. thankfully for modern worker protections i had surgery but i still suffer pain and related arthritis. Had i not had that protection, i would be living in abject poverty right now. so the mere idea that someone who labors is competing in a system where others are exploited by who they are makes it enough that a white man has a right to complain about racism. let's see the push back the rich white liberals give me on that statement.
keep pushing white guys like me over to the right where we can be dismissed as bigots and racists and keep us divided from those of color who labor like we do and guess what, we all lose and they win. as a white man, i am as tired of the lies and charade as any person of color. college did not do it for me. i had to work in it and compete alongside people of color to understand.
so i read part of the article. Not all people will benefit if white workers allied with workers of color or others in a particular socio-economic bracket. the white workers and the uneducated white workers in menial jobs will benefit along with workers of color because we would coalesce and demand that the people who control the system and do the hiring - and this can be people on the left or right; it does not matter their political persuasion, it is more about that people with money spend that money in ways that supports human dignity for all - but most especially people of color because people of color are often the target of exploitation and disparity through racial hiring practices (and this hurts all workers because it lowers the expected wage and worker protections and benefits). I see liberals using race as a factor when seeking people to exploit through crappy jobs all the time in NYC and I frequently have to explain this liberal "variety" of racism this way: "it is ok to deny workers their dignity and a fair and safe work place so long as we do not use the "n" word or other derogatory terms". Sorry folks, i have long watched what people do as opposed to listening to what they say or do not say to understand who they really are; stories abound about "nice" slave owners who thought of themselves as good Christians; i am sorry, they were still racists.
If people wish to understand how the system works in this country, read Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. All the capitalist needs is some group at the bottom to exploit - today it is the immigrant and more so the undocumented immigrant - and once they have their target, they make it difficult for all of us who work with our hands. Add to it, some buffoon who comes along and convinces so many men who look like me that the immigrant is the problem and turns us on people of color and their supporters on the far left so we cannot coalesce with them and demand something for all workers in america. The wealthy on the left and right win. Welcome to the great American Caste.
i am ordering Mcgee's book now.
Thank you for your comments and for reading "Words for the Wise."