and i agree...to an extent.

but in the peculiar case of america, chattel slavery and its aftereffects makes this an almost impossible concept to work from, imo.

it is going to be exceedingly difficult to get white "workers" to understand these concepts because, in the euro-american model of race relations, poor white is better than ANYTHING black.

there have been times in history where white & black workers banded together. but in the end, the white workers were lulled away from these collaborations thru the mechanisms of white privilege. they couldn't stand up to the pressure, and, when faced with the ability to support their families, i can't say i blame them. but it is what it is.

there's an image problem here. a mental block. white folks have come up with every theory, reasoning, and "scientific" explanation possible to dehumanize blacks and other people of color (see: japanese during wwII, iraqis now, etc.).

yes, i understand the economic reasons behind slavery and all that, but if they had remained *purely* economic, then america would probably look more like, say, south america, where miscegnation was more of a class issue vs. a "purity" issue.

poverty and wealth didn't create two americas in the same way racism has. not by a long shot.

once race entered the picture--call it an artificial construct or whatever u like--the game changed.

ignoring that or trying to skip past it to resolve the class issue first (which isn't going anywhere unless capitalism does) leads to band aid solutions and underdeveloped thinking.

i'm not saying you're doing this personally, but i've heard a lot of white and blk people talk this way who tend to don blinders when it comes to the pervasiveness of racism.


~~~~
5/19/1925-2/21/1965

~~~~
http://omidele.blogspot.com/
http://rahareiki.tumblr.com/
http://seatofbliss.blogspot.com/