Racism and Classism

[sheshe2]

***********Posted in The African American Group**************

This is Ben Carson at the Republican Convention.

Posted by Nancy LeTourneau

What follows is actually NOT a discussion of racism in this country - but a discussion about poverty, and what we should/shouldn't do about it (hint: same old Republican line about the failure of the war on poverty).

The reason this is so interesting is that within the scope of a few sentences, Carson makes the leap that far too many people do to avoid the topic of racism. By switching to a discussion of poverty, his prescriptions are all about what poor (i.e., black) people need to do to stop being poor. If you think that has anything to do with racism, you just put the whole onus of stopping it on poor black people. Here's how Carson does that:

The assumption that people are “poor” grounds them in a mentality that reduces agency and creates more dependency. And more tragically, it obscures the reality that there is an abundance of opportunity that is ready for people who want to avail themselves of it.

This is why it is so important for white progressives to get this right. The impetus for the Black Lives Matter movement is the killing of black people - often by police officers. I can't think of one of those deaths that was related to poverty. Many of the victims were actually middle class. It is the "mentality" of those who pulled the trigger (usually white men) that is the problem.

Read More http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2015/08/racism-and-classism.html

[guillaumeb]

1. recommended.

Especially:
... The impetus for the Black Lives Matter movement is the killing of black people - often by police officers. I can't think of one of those deaths that was related to poverty. Many of the victims were actually middle class. It is the "mentality" of those who pulled the trigger (usually white men) that is the problem.

Poverty has NOTHING to do with targeting people because of race.

[sheshe2]

3. Thank you guillaumeb.

[Warpy]

2. Classism and racism are intertwined

because no matter how well an AA person is dressed or how intelligently s/he speaks, the bigot will immediately assume they're part of the underclass: violent, poor, drug dealing/using, and a threat to his home and hearth.

I have watched this enormous leap of utter illogic my entire life and remain completely baffled by it because white folks take things like dress and speech into account when they assign each other to various classes. Having black skin seems to be a shortcut to being assigned to the thug life, no matter what else is going on.

I think this is one reason the police react the way they do and why they usually get away with it. I don't think you can overcome one without dealing with the other.

Yeah, I know what my opinion is worth. <plink, plink>

[blackspade]

4. K&R