Act 2: So, I’m Just Making This Up?

Small Acts of Racism

#smallactsofracism

Act 2: I had a hard time deciding which incident to share today, but have decided to talk about the responses that I received that ranged from concern (thank you) to dismissive regarding Act 1: I Know You See Me!

Why would one consider responses of concern or someone being dismissive, racist? First, I don’t consider concern a necessarily racist response, so let’s get that out of the way. Let’s start with the stereotype that underlies the responses of being dismissive when trying to explain the actions of the people who ignored me while I was being helped.

The Stereotype: Black people held in slavery were considered “infantile” and could not be trusted to accurately relay their own experiences as slaves. They needed white people to translate their experiences for them, thus was born the image of the benevolent slave owner and the happy slave. As you can imagine, this helped maintain The American Institution of Slavery and continues to uphold The American Institution of Racism. Why would anyone want to end slavery if slaves are happy and well taken care of? (Slave narratives helped change this perception.) After slavery, this morphed into what I talked about the other day: when white people define racism, it absolves them of all guilt. Why? Because instead of trusting people of color to accurately describe their experiences with racism, there are all kinds of white folk, some well-meaning, to come behind you and whitesplain “what really happened” as though the person whom it happened to needs help in understanding their own life-experiences. (BTW, who does that?)

Why is this a problem? Whitesplainig maintains a power structure that lends itself to systematic racism. Now, I know a good portion white people who will read this know come from families who couldn’t afford a slave prior to the Civil War, but have you ever considered how poor and working class white people helped maintain The American Institution of Slavery? Have you ever considered how poor and working class white people help maintain a fundamentally racist society? I would actually like to hear your responses to these questions.

“Given the choice between modernity and barbarism, prosperity and poverty, lawfulness and cruelty, democracy and totalitarianism, America chose all of the above.” ~Mark Desmond

The New York Times released The 1619 Project soon after I began writing my posts. The 1619 Project is an examination of the impact of slavery on the current state of America. One article entitled, “In Order to Understand the Brutality of American Capitalism, You Have to Start on the Plantation.” The article draws a direct link between the Institution of Slavery and the unfair practices of the American economy today. My father was an Economist and one thing he used to state often is “there is always an underclass.” My understanding of the underclass in American capitalism, derived from the context he often made the statement, was that there was always one group of people being taken advantage of in the US economic system. They did not count as the impoverished living with the aid of welfare, the poor or the working class. They were the silent foundation of the American system that often went unpaid or paid in cash under the table. They were the basis on which all other classes of people stood. In the beginning, this was slavery. The way in which poor and working class whites benefited from slavery and continue to benefit from “the underclass” in American society today is they have always been given the benefit of the doubt and considered, at least, one step above whatever the current underclass is: The Overseers. I often marvel when I walk into a fast food restaurant and the workers and/or customers are primarily black or of color, but the manager and assistant manager are white. It brings to mind images of slavery. There’s just no horses and whips, but verbal threats, write-ups and firing for minor issues. 

During slavery, free labor was the funnel to untold riches by plantation owners primarily in the South. Right now, that underclass is immigrants from South of the Border. Those who picked fruit and worked in hotels for low wages, often paid in cash. Unfortunately, without those willing to do such work, the American economy is being affected because native-born Americans are often unwilling to do such work. Without a permanent underclass, the powers that be are going to have to make some decisions. However, it currently looks like we are heading toward recession due to the haphazard economic decisions of the current administration.

I, by no means, am supporting the existence of a permanent underclass in the US. It is inherently racist. I am merely stating the outcomes of the lack of an underclass. The bottom line is the 1% who control 40% of the wealth of this country are not going to be willing to give up that control. It is in their best interest to pit the poor and working class against the underclass of the day. When that happens, no one is  worried about what they’re doing to the economy. 

Below is the link to Mark Desmond’s article:

#smallactsofracism

#yourcolorisyourpower