“This promise – that you will get more because they exist to get less – is woven throughout our entire society. Our politics, our education system, our infrastructure – anywhere there is a finite amount of power, influence, visibility, wealth, or opportunity. Anywhere in which someone might miss out. There the lure of that promise sustains racism.
White Supremacy is this nation’s oldest pyramid scheme. Even those who have lost everything to the scheme are still hanging in there, waiting for their turn to cash out.”
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I’m gonna leave this here and ask you to sit with it. Sit with the idea that in any situation where one person/group of people takes power there is a person/group of people who necessarily get less. Now think about who in this country has systemically been on the receiving end of less power, less influence, less visibility or wealth or opportunity. Yes, the poor. Think about what racial demographic makes up the greatest percentage of the poor in America.
Now move beyond academic thought about the concept and into the really uncomfortable personal work. If you’re white, how do you benefit from a society built on the promise that you will get more because they get less? We all benefit from it, and once you start questioning assumptions you’ll start to realize how each of these areas – politics, education, infrastructure – weave together into a system of White Supremacy.
I think we have kidded ourselves that the UK and US are modern multi cultural societies. Still not perfect not better than it was 20 years ago. The real position remained hidden. Then in the last few years we have seen our leaders and our soon to be leader use language which is awful. The cosy dream is over and the scope of the problem and discrimination has been exposed. No excuses now.
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And many people say bringing it out into the open is a necessary step. When everything was all touched up to look pretty we could point to the evil past as proof we’d moved beyond hate – seeing the ugliness with our own eyes demands we confront the truth about ourselves.
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I think we need to speak in terms of complete numbers , facts and solutions and not arbitrary blame. Poverty isnt caused by a skin color and color or tone of skin neither indicates goodness or evil, and poverty is indiscriminate. While the stats seem high for minorities, it’s based on percentage of the minority percentage on the whole. Women have the highest due to women being the highest percentage of population. Black vs white appears African American citizens suffer more poverty but actual numbers are this…. ( 2017 stats) 9 million African Americans fall below poverty level vs 17 million white citizens who fell below the poverty level. ..nearly twice the amount as African Americans.
2019 has seen the lowest unemployment rates for African Americans, women and Hispanics in like 50 years so there is huge progress.
“White Supremacy” is racist propaganda that is meant (agenda, manipulation, motived) to cause detrimental attitudes toward one another and division between us. What’s that purpose? A divided people are powerless to effect change and easier to control by those in power. So drink the koolaid!
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We use respectful language here. My blog welcomes discussion but not comments like drink the koolaid. I’m away & will research stats more once I’m at my laptop but I can’t let “White supremacy is racist propaganda” sit – if you’d stopped at white supremacy is racist, I’d agree. Our country uses systems built on white as the standard/default & that has real world consequences for people of color. I’d be happy to recommend some books if you’d like. We can’t heal division & create an equitable world until we acknowledge what’s actually in front of us. Peace.
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I’m so sorry if you felt I was being derogatory or dis respectful of you in any way. I wasn’t. I was merely stating that there are those in power who manipulate us into buying into their agenda to cause division between us all. If we trust them and begin to believe the lies they are feeding us, we are drinking the koolaid, so yo speak. We must be diligent in our belief and actions as a whole people and not allow them to keep us separate. We must not allow them to create nor feed racism and blame. We, the people must choose love and respect for one another, and care for All our brothers and sisters who suffer poverty. I’m so sorry if we had a misunderstand or if I had made you feel attacked in some way. It was not meant in that tone at all. There are of course crazy groups who are white Supremacists and absolutely they are racist! I’m merely cautioning that we must deter from using blanketed statements as if all white people are. This is what I’m contesting. That wouldn’t be fair nor accurate anymore than those who blame all African Americans or Hispanic for things that were experience by a few. I still believe in the goodness of us (humans) as a whole. My family is wildly diverse and I like to think that that is where healing and wholeness begins….with love.
Love and peace
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P.s. you may notice the double comment? It was actually because I couldn’t edit the firs . Which was supposed to say “Don’t drink the koolaid” aka dont let them divide us.
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Thank you for taking the time to explain. Yes, I deleted the second one — sometimes WordPress double submits the same comment. When I skimmed the two thirds of it and it matched up I decided it was a system glitch and didn’t catch the extra word. Apologies.
I agree that those in power manipulate people in a lot of ways for their own gain. I do not agree that they create racism. Racism exists, and to deny that is to deny the reality people live every day. Relegating white supremacy to crazy groups of people makes it possible for the rest of us to say *we’re* not part of the problem. But we are. Healing and wholeness can truly begin when we use our love and respect to start dismantling a system that disadvantages people based solely on their appearance.
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I’d absolutely agree that they dont create it…but they capitalize on it and fuel it. This is why I feel that it’s up to us, all of us to choose love, respect and understanding toward one another. It isn’t an overtly obvious thing in my ( personal) world. Maybe because I grew up the only white child on my block in Corpus Christi. All the other kids were Hispanic. We were all just kids, being kids, playing and the best if friends. We had absolutely no concept of “being different” in any way. The same was true when I was the only white child in an all black school. Being very young at the time, all the older kids looked after me, took care of me. Or maybe it was my second grade teach who was a black lady who treated me with so much care and love…love I didnt have at home…maybe it was these experiences that made me aware that racism and hate are not inherent, in fact, it’s unnatural. We don’t begin with it. Those who are racist were taught to be.
It’s something that had to have been taught. We must reject it, erase it, unlearn it throughout society on the whole. We must also reject those who fuel it for their own benefit. We, sister, are crusaders for the same cause.
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P.S. Thank you so much for giving me the chance to explain and apologize for any misunderstanding. I’m just really not that person. I’m a kind person who embraces a love for others.
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Good thought to put it out for people to think about!
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I’m still working my way through it.
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👍👌
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such a good thing to always remember and to consider that implications.
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I think it’s easy to miss because we’ve lived in it so long.
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Yes, people get so used to it, sadly
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