Systems of Oppression, a Conversation

A friend posted this, and I answered that nobody is trying to hold anyone accountable for the things racists and slave owners did hundreds of years ago, but people who are still supporting those systems today are being held accountable for what they're doing in the present to perpetuate the problems.

I was asked what these systems are, and the rest of this is the conversation that ensued, lightly edited for the sake of readability. There’s a lot to read, but bear with me; it’s important for understanding the problem. I can back up everything I say with verifiable facts, and if you want a source for something that I don’t provide a link to, please let me know and I will post it for you. I’m going to post a limited number of links for now, also for the sake of readability.

As an extreme example of the concept in my OP, if your parents owned slaves, it's not your fault, but if you continue to own slaves, or support slavery, you are now part of the problem, so it is up to you to end the slavery, even though it wasn't your fault. To clarify, doing nothing is supporting the status quo, and if the status quo is harmful, you're perpetuating it through inaction or even being unknowingly actively supporting it.

People supporting systemic racism are a very clear example of the problem. There are many forms of oppression built into our society as a relic of slavery, Jim Crow, and modern racist policies. We've never dealt with the legacy of our country's history of slavery and genocide at all.

They misunderstood my response a little and asked, “My question to you is in this day and age how is somebody supporting slavery when it does not exist anymore or please shed light on this version of slavery you are referring to?” They got stuck on using slavery as the example.

Please read what I'm linking to, and know that I'm not trying to convince you that I'm right, I'm trying to introduce these concepts to you and give you the basic information and a starting point to do your own research. These are big problems, and I can point them out and try to explain them, but these really are big, complex topics. I'm confident that once you start really digging into this stuff, you'll agree with me, but I'm not asking you to take my word for it, all of the proof is out there.

So to start, slavery didn't end when the United States passed the 13th amendment in 1865. Chattel slavery actually persisted, illegally, until at least 1963. I'll get to the legacy of slavery a little later, but just try to accept for now that many systems that were built around slavery still benefit from the oppression of Black people today, and slavery is not ancient history.

https://www.livescience.com/61886-modern-slavery-united-states-antoinette-harrell.html?fbclid=IwAR3cm4YBDBjwv6fQ0VHDAQoD7Rcsw1cr0up6dM3L7e5FvQFk3Wydp14HaE4

Were you aware that the 13th amendment didn't actually end slavery? It just changed the rules of it.

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Slavery is still acceptable as long as someone has been convicted of a crime.

Because chattel slavery was no longer allowed, but slavery through imprisonment was, a whole industry developed around prison labor, and you know that where there's a profit motive, people will find a way to exploit the system.

https://time.com/5405158/the-true-history-of-americas-private-prison-industry/?fbclid=IwAR3pHSIIyjTz4XPeHTSbmmiljwp_94H0fPq8I5wc5gZdpOGOka3x--MOKZQ

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/10/origin-prison-slavery-shane-bauer-american-prison-excerpt.html?fbclid=IwAR3uDaAjM8hXJ2s75wE2mYyXMpxV8yIsT7PJUB8CyzJu5CL4VEPEIlucT3k

https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/capitalizing-on-mass-incarceration-u-s-growth-in-private-prisons/?fbclid=IwAR216YGptsRjkCKkkzTddcsoJTwoPf7TreDChODTYobHT3P4x7Awpxx3W1Q

People are not only profiting from imprisoning other people, they're selling the labor of the imprisoned people, for more profit, without fairly compensating the people doing the work (often just pennies an hour, while they charge for phone calls, soap, and other necessities) or having a say in the work they're doing or their own working conditions. That's modern day slavery. This doesn't just affect Black people, but it does disproportionately affect Black people.

"With the government paying private prison operators about $23,000 per year per inmate (keep in mind, the minimum wage is $15,000 per year), it’s a lucrative business. CoreCivic’s reported 2017 revenue was close to $1.8 billion, and a back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that with 80,000 beds supported by the government to the tune of $23,000 per inmate per year, it’s collecting about $1.8 billion annually from the government. Business is booming indeed – thanks to the American taxpayers."

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/the-cold-hard-facts-about-americas-private-prison-system?fbclid=IwAR0gNyZVdoFdtYKpoY6r-id5R1Vzb9FlWXIA9iO0HlsmkoN8i6LgN2P8dfw

https://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/?fbclid=IwAR3j4zvEOeIckhoiO3SV2tpgyIW282yruMRIatAEJvUrY5lK6BcowejRJX8

Knowing that a lot of how the modern prison system functions has replaced slavery, it's important to look at the systems that keep the US having 25% of the world's incarcerated despite being only 4% of the population.

The US is the most heavily incarcerated country in the world, and a lot of that is due to a profit motive. Since this is related to crime, it's important to look at the primary cause of crime, which is poverty. We have an economic system designed to keep people in poverty, an education system that doesn't provide equal opportunities for everyone, and a justice system that has gradually criminalized more and more of everyday life, while implementing harsh sentencing standards designed to punish and keep people imprisoned as opposed to rehabilitating them.

https://psmag.com/social-justice/taking-freedom-modern-day-slavery?fbclid=IwAR04yXPlfZbaLTA8-9fZQ6vfVafhxBmcXXeG-d_qHnq_cN6I4BpCYa2_YeQ

When we look at all of those other systems, you'll see that it isn't just Black people being oppressed. We all suffer because of systems that were designed by rich people to benefit from the labor of poor people, and that Black people are disproportionately affected by all of them. There are racial disparities in the criminal justice system, poverty, wealth, income, education and educational opportunity, leadership in private industry, and a lot more, and the roots of the inequality all trace back to slavery and the oppressive systems that were built around it.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/unequal-opportunity-race-and-education/?fbclid=IwAR3YqspcUS268QFQDzGj8sH3ecxfPRV7R4WrRDct-R-BUatrHmSPq3IE6A8

https://apps.urban.org/features/wealth-inequality-charts/?fbclid=IwAR0s9XLarqLpB9ZyoXqu0BoHfpyKbuUM9YmwZJrYV9DtuBqytY8UHFZoI-w

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/02/27/examining-the-black-white-wealth-gap/?fbclid=IwAR0gNyZVdoFdtYKpoY6r-id5R1Vzb9FlWXIA9iO0HlsmkoN8i6LgN2P8dfw

https://inequality.org/facts/racial-inequality/?fbclid=IwAR3cm4YBDBjwv6fQ0VHDAQoD7Rcsw1cr0up6dM3L7e5FvQFk3Wydp14HaE4

https://hbr.org/cover-story/2019/11/toward-a-racially-just-workplace

So, getting back to my original point, we live in a society that was built around slavery. We ended chattel slavery, but never addressed the rest of the things in our society that we didn't change. People from 200 years ago didn't build a perfect system. They gave us a good foundational document, but they were also rich white people who built a society that would benefit them, specifically, at the expense of other people. We've never, as a country, really examined the effects of that or done anything to change it. Those systems that were designed to help the white rich people still help the white rich people at the expense of everyone else, including poor white people, but disproportionately affects Black people.

It's not our fault that we were born into this situation, but what we do with it is definitely our responsibility. If we perpetuate these systems of oppression, then we're complicit. Loving this country means we should all want to make it better for everyone who lives here, and that starts by recognizing that we're not all treated equally, and that there are systemic problems because many of these systems were designed 200 years ago by imperfect people and there's a lot of room for improvement.

They thanked me for the links and asked, “My question to you is how is the average American citizen contributing to slavery (or this inequality you seem to have a hard time articulating) can you give me Some day to day examples? In my profession we have quotas for females and people of color, So if you’re a white male you’re at a disadvantage, I would like to know if and how going about my daily life is affecting someone in a negative way?”

Stopping supporting politicians who support the for-profit prison industry, or corporations using prison labor, is a good way to start. Pressuring politicians to end that system is something we can all do, same goes for trying to not give business to companies like Sprint (prison labor is used in call centers), Victoria's Secret (prison labor for sewing), or WalMart (prison labor to strip bar codes off of products so they can be resold). So you can go about your daily life and just choose to spend your money with companies that don't use prison labor, and not vote for politicians who support the for-profit prison system. This particular issue is a problem on the left and right because lobbyists donate a lot of money on both sides to get the politicians to support it, and it results in the very real oppression and exploitation of Americans. It doesn't require major changes in your life, or to take drastic action; even small changes make a difference as long as everyone makes small changes.

Fighting inequality (and it's not that I can't articulate it, it's just a big topic with a lot to talk about, and I was trying to give a big picture overview instead of just focusing on one small thing) is hard because it's built into society. The main thing that we can do is understand it, and push our politicians to change it. For things like the disparity in pay for women or Black people, it's important for companies to review the pay of their employees to see if they're paying people unfairly, and changing that if they do. Pressuring politicians to support legislation that mandates equal pay is important. Honestly, the best thing you can do to fight against inequality is make the effort to understand it and where it comes from. Making sure that everyone in this country has equal opportunities for success, and that everyone is treated fairly shouldn't be a political issue, and it sucks that people weaponize it for their political benefit.

They asked, “so just to clarify what you’re saying , systemic racism lies in the penal system that uses inmates as cheap labor and politicians that support their system, Do they only use African-American inmates or inmates of all races?”

Systemic racism exists elsewhere, too. They use inmates of all races, but Black people are disproportionately affected by it for a number of reasons; some of that is because law enforcement targets Black people more than white people, and Black people receive disproportionately longer sentences for the same crimes than white people. Black people make up 13% of the population, but nearly 40% of inmates. There's systemic racism in the systems that result in these disproportionate numbers. It would still be systemic oppression and exploitation of Americans even if the numbers were proportionate, it's just compounded by systemic racism.

In straight numbers, more white people are the victims of it, but as a percentage of population, Black people are more likely to be affected than white people, but it's still an atrocity that it's happening to anyone, and we have something like 2.2 million people incarcerated right now.

The conversation got derailed for a bit, but we resumed on a slight tangent.

Let me ask everyone in this conversation something that's not political at all. How well do you think you know American history; about the reasons the country was founded, and about the founding fathers?

They responded, “I grew up abroad and did not study American history so I welcome your education on how that affects the current situation, what do you think about the welfare system do you think that’s keeping African-Americans down or helping them?”

It's helping them, and the rest of the poor people in this country. Sure, you get a few people who abuse it, but mostly, it's very necessary. There's greater inequality right now than at the beginnings of the great depression or French Revolution. There are 40 million Americans living in poverty, and that's only the "official" determination of poverty. Functionally, many millions more are. The economy is designed to siphon wealth away from the lower classes and accumulate at the top. There's ample study data showing that strong social programs improve health, happiness, and the economy. They improve educational opportunity, and create jobs, if done right. We're already paying taxes that are used to subsidize corporations, and we pay more toward corporate subsidies and tax cuts for the wealth than we do for social programs. We have our national priorities wrong; the economy should work for the benefit of everyone, not just shareholders.

We have a self perpetuating system of legalized corruption in our lobbying industry, and it's a bipartisan problem. Whoever can bribe the politicians the most, wins, so they buy both sides. We let them donate nearly unlimited amounts to campaigns. In case it wasn't clear, "them" or “they” in this discussion are the corporate lobbyists, billionaires, and other people in power (and I’m not talking about elected officials being in power). At this point, they're so entrenched they're actually writing legislation. The history of the labor movement in America is fascinating and almost completely omitted from our primary educations, so people take for granted how hard people fought for even the scraps that we're given now. Many people have literally fought and died against corporate profiteers to get us the protections we have today, and the same corporate interests are fighting to weaken those protections. Poverty isn't an accident nor is it a moral failing of people, it's engineered.

So there's a huge class war happening, but the people controlling the narrative (the politicians being paid by corporate interests to protect their interests) spread false narratives to keep us divided, which makes us easier to control. Unless you're born into wealth, it's very difficult to attain wealth. It isn't impossible, which is why we still have this myth about this being the land of opportunity. It's literally like winning the lottery. You see lottery winners every day, but you know how unlikely it is to do that. With people escaping poverty, they see the ones who have, but think they have a good chance, not realizing what the chances actually are. The systemic racism means that Black people are hit even harder by it than white people. Black people are calling attention to the systemic racism that comes in many forms, including police brutality, but the entrenched power structures spread division by saying that the racial disparities aren't real. Black people are just asking to be treated as equals, which is something we should all want, but it's politicized and weaponized, and used to divide us. They also make us think the poor people are the problem by demonizing people on welfare, which distracts from the rampant looting (by the rich) that's happening, stealing our wealth, and our futures.

It's all about power and control. People who can't afford to take a few days off of work are much less likely to risk their livelihoods to protest or fight back against you. Right now, more than 50% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, nearly 40% would be unable to come up with $400 in case of an emergency. People in that situation are just scraping to get by. I bet you know plenty of people like that. I do, and I've been there. I still mostly, but not always, live paycheck to paycheck despite having a pretty good income, just because the cost of living is so high. People in a situation like that have no power, and when you turn them against each other, they're easy to control.

Patriotism is used as a shield to deflect from addressing the issues. Legitimate criticism is met with accusations of hating the country. The reason people in power don't want everyone looking at the history of this country is because we then have to reckon with it. This country was literally built on genocide and slavery, but in our primary education we're taught an inaccurate, whitewashed version of history. I care about the country, and want to help the country be better, we should always be striving to be better. That's something even [my friend] will agree with, even with as much shit as he likes to give me. Part of being better is understanding the injustices we have committed so that we can try to make them right, and making this a better place than we were given. No matter how good you think you are, you always try to do better for the people you care about, and you should care about everyone in your country. "I only care about mine" is a recipe for failure in a society. Average people fighting against positive change are being misled by the power structures, and they don't realize they're fighting against their own self interests. I'm not sure if you've heard the phrase "a rising tide lifts all boats," but when we all do better, it's just that.

Scarcity of resources, labor, or productivity are not the problem. The wealthy are doing better than ever. Our productivity is off the charts, but wages have not increased to keep up with production. We have ample available labor. The accumulation of wealth at the very top is the problem, and it's been happening since the inception of the country. Systemic racism also was instrumental in the inception of the country. I know that was a lot, but to understand the conversation around poverty you have to understand where it comes from and how it's used as a weapon against us.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/theminewars-labor-wars-us/?fbclid=IwAR28jtrZcATYXUlISP2nKYjnPLv2nSdShEeGkrDPXOkD3iSixDgtKGQMLls

https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/11/11/243973620/when-lobbyists-literally-write-the-bill?fbclid=IwAR3VmymeoI12PTX431YomIiOBMFbSc7RzpP9t-4IKXW1RPYphBVf1PVH2R0

https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/asbestos-sharia-law-model-bills-lobbyists-special-interests-influence-state-laws/?fbclid=IwAR1I1Zzf5MgE7dU21HyG9QD9bcuMb11A1N_jvgl4CkeBZIw4fXh-sAlnNG0

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/07/6-facts-about-economic-inequality-in-the-u-s/?fbclid=IwAR3Pt8WTfAn-l6nLszN2oEMBG6W7CJKC01W8uQJAFfMmcQWp0MUAwGslVls

For a very clear-eyed view of the founding of this country, and the founding fathers, this is some excellent history. Everything is 100% correct and verifiable. It's about 45 minutes, and starts out a little dry but gets very interesting. It starts as a discussion of confederate monuments and the objections to removing them, but it's really just an excellent history lesson, and well worth watching. It'll give you a better understanding of the starting point for everything that we have today.

https://youtu.be/OwUIDNYwZRY

https://www.mobilitypartnership.org/publications/escaping-poverty?fbclid=IwAR1JrL5H5ww5CBxuU3yg2HEg2gzxrtx7ff04JrG-51Zx9qVc8fDFnXAJ3j8

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/09/12/behind-the-numbers-millions-seeking-a-path-out-of-poverty/?fbclid=IwAR3cm4YBDBjwv6fQ0VHDAQoD7Rcsw1cr0up6dM3L7e5FvQFk3Wydp14HaE4

Trump, a billionaire, gave huge tax breaks to other billionaires, making promises about what they would do. Trump didn't create the problem, but he accelerated it.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2019/09/26/475083/trumps-corporate-tax-cut-not-trickling/?fbclid=IwAR1-loit7p3wPaq8thrkRip61C0H42pwPFJVsEtjhepxZUuH1jwRvISxadE

https://www.forbes.com/sites/camilomaldonado/2019/10/10/trump-tax-cuts-helped-billionaires-pay-less-taxes-than-the-working-class-in-2018/?fbclid=IwAR3pHSIIyjTz4XPeHTSbmmiljwp_94H0fPq8I5wc5gZdpOGOka3x--MOKZQ#3c56f0663128

https://publicintegrity.org/topics/inequality-poverty-opportunity/taxes/trumps-tax-cuts/?fbclid=IwAR1BZAYJrN6NUKXtiU_cTeblUdWQGXwcZKIqjdLBJ4ct4a5eA5OrBOydFuU

Self perpetuating systems of corruption, with poverty and division used to suppress dissent. Under all of this is systemic racism, which is just one of the overlapping systems of oppression that we face. The Black Lives Matter movement raises awareness of the systemic racism, but also the economic oppression and labor exploitation. It threatens the people profiting from these things so they try to make the civil rights protesters the enemy. Same thing happened during the civil rights movement of the 1960's. They criticize looters and rioters in an effort to delegitimize the protests, and justify state violence against them. When we address the economic oppression, and spending our own tax dollars to benefit working people instead of benefiting the rich, they call it socialism (attacks they used against social security and medicaid, which are some of the most successful, popular programs in government history). What we have now is "socialism" but for the benefit of the rich, but they demonize the poor to make the people with no power seem like the enemy.

And just so I'm clear, this isn't just a Trump problem, the system was built long before he got here, he's just very good at using the framework that he was given. He has a lot of working people fooled into thinking he's working on their behalf, but he isn't, just like the vast majority of politicians aren't. People think Nancy Pelosi is working in their best interests, but she's not. She takes a ton of money to fight against legislation that helps people, too.

I’m not trying to draw an equivalency between Trump, a white supremacist who is openly corrupt and has made a mockery of the rule of law, and Pelosi, who is just your run of the mill legally corrupt politician, other than neither are truly working in your best interest, no matter what they’re telling you.

There are many systems of oppression, and they overlap. This conversation only focuses on a few of the many structural issues. People devote their lives to studying these systems; I just hope I’ve been able to give you some additional perspective and resources to do your own research, and really start to understand the big picture.

Trump is a White Supremacist, Here are the Receipts

Trump is a white supremacist, and he's trying very hard to help fascism take hold in the United States. Don't believe me? Read until the end, then decide for yourself, and bear in mind that while I'm only providing one or two links to support each statement, I could provide hundreds more to prove my point.

About a week after the Trump campaign airs 88 identical ads featuring a Nazi symbol (A Nazi concentration camp badge for political prisoners), and a first sentence with 14 words (please read about the significance of 14 88 for white supremacists)...

He does more marketing using Nazi dog whistles.

He shares a video of one of his supporters yelling "white power."

Stephen Miller, Trump's senior policy advisor, is a white nationalist.

Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist, is a white nationalist who gave white supremacists “the platform of the alt-right,” in Breitbart.

The KKK ran a front page ad in their official paper endorsing Trump, and it took him nearly a year to denounce them, despite constant questioning about it. He also uses a campaign slogan that has been used for a long time by the KKK.

Trump has made racist comments from the beginning.

Trump has explicitly called for taking away people's 2nd and 5th amendment rights.

Trump has repeatedly tried to strip people's first amendment rights; The Freedom of the press, and the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

He's even called for depriving people of due process, in stripping of people's 2nd Amendment rights, and immediate deportation for undocumented immigrants.

Trump refused to condemn Steve King's explicitly white supremacist comments.

And has on several times referred to white supremacists as very fine people, even after they murdered Heather Heyer in broad daylight, and has defended Confederate icons.

Trump used intentional cruelty as a deterrent by tearing apart migrant families at the border.

He stripped away transgender rights during pride month

And tried to throw a rally on Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the site of one of the worst incidents of racial violence in the country's history.

Trump is a white supremacist, actively and aggressively stripping Americans of their rights while dismantling our government and installing a loyalist, fascist rule, where he has literally claimed in court that he's above the law as long as he remains in office.

He has talked repeatedly about staying in office well beyond term limits.

And threatened violence and imprisonment against his political foes, even going so far as offering to pay the legal bills if his supporters commit violence on his behalf.

He has encouraged police to use excessive force.

And has lied more than 19,000 times while in office

Trump is trying to classify a nonexistent organization, AntiFa, which literally just means anti-fascist, as terrorists. He's trying to make fighting against fascism equivalent to terrorism. Read that again slowly.

Trump's own former Secretary of Defense, Marine General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, became the only SECDEF in history to resign in protest, and recently said that Trump is a direct threat to the Constitution, and compared Trump's tactics to those the Nazis used to divide Germany.

Don't let party politics blind you to what's happening here.

Be Excellent to Each Other

Warren dropped out of the race, and a lot of people have feelings about it. There’s a lot of hostility flying around, and I want to address it directly. The core of this is that we can’t have productive discourse without understanding, and so much of the vitriol is just trying to silence people without listening to what they’re saying; this is as true of the angry Sanders supporters as it is of the angry Warren supporters. I don’t condone any of the negative behavior, but I understand where it’s coming from, and I want to help other people understand so we can move forward toward common goals, because we are on the same side. Please try to remember that there’s been a massive Russian intelligence psyops operation happening since 2014. It is still ongoing, with a mission to divide us. People are still responsible for their actions, but a lot of people are being manipulated.

Elizabeth Warren was a great candidate. She didn’t make it through a combination of sexism, bad strategic decisions, and other factors. She would undoubtedly have been the best president of my lifetime thus far. She was always my close second choice behind Sanders, and after Castro dropped out, nobody was a close third. My preference for Sanders is that he wants to entirely change the system, while Warren wants to fix it. Either of them have a far superior vision for this country than the one we currently live in. Warren’s supporters are sad and righteously angry that a brilliant, capable, progressive woman didn’t fare better, and that’s valid. I have criticisms of Warren, but I have criticisms of every candidate, including Sanders. I have fewer criticisms of Warren than almost anyone. I admire her evolution from being a Republican to someone fighting to protect working people, and working ceaselessly to eradicate the corruption that plagues our government; it speaks very highly of her character.

The anger that we’re seeing directed at each other isn’t about Warren. It isn’t about Sanders, either.

There's a lot of valid, righteous anger about the oppressive system in which we live, and there's a lot of power trying to actively silence it or weaponize it, so it manifests in unproductive ways. The presumption that any opposition to a progressive candidate is crooked, corrupt, or in bad faith is obviously false, but when someone sees a system that is demonstrably rigged against them, they often see any opposition to dismantling that system as a personal assault against them (they shouldn't, and it's a very shortsighted view). Frequently, that comes in support of a status quo politician who benefits from a crooked system, so they see support of that establishment candidate as crooked, too. This has been reinforced for many people’s entire lives. Even as a Xennial, I experienced a *lot* more security in my life than people born 10-15 years after me. This isn’t to say that I’ve had it easy, because I haven’t at all. I just recognize the privilege of growing up in a system that had not been eroded as much. Americans have reliably watched as moderate after moderate promised change and to fight for them, but the only change was to benefit corporate America at the expense of the marginalized. Many of them see Biden as a death sentence because he literally promised billionaires that nothing would change. If nothing changes, we really are doomed. They don’t trust Biden to fight for the issues that are literally life and death for them; he’s just another existential threat to them, and far too many people with a lot more privilege don’t seem to grasp that.

“I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” - Martin Luther King, Jr. - Letter from a Birmingham jail

The income inequality in this country is at the highest point since before the great depression. 40% of this country can’t come up with $400 if an emergency happened. Many people are one missed paycheck away from poverty. People are dying because they can’t afford insulin, and the little wealth the 99% has is being systematically siphoned away from them, while social support programs are being cut. We’re watching the effects of climate change ravage the planet, threatening the prospects for future generations, while the government eases regulations. There are a lot of people who live with a constant existential fear, and it is very rational and well justified fear.

Marginalized people are disproportionately affected by these issues. This is an intersectional fight, so we have to be intersectional in the way we approach the campaigns. Understanding privilege is critically important, as is recognizing that oppression comes in many forms. The sexism that people are rightfully angry about is one form.

Sanders speaks directly and honestly to people about the power structures that are causing these socioeconomic woes, they look at his very long history of fighting this fight, and trust him to be an ally. Then, just as he’s poised for a big win on Super Tuesday, Biden wins SC (a state he was always expected to win), and between a very friendly, if exaggerated, narrative about his win from corporate media (who have been demonstrably biased against Sanders), and a sudden slew of last-minute endorsements from the corporate-backed Democratic establishment, rallying together to defeat the largest grassroots movement in my lifetime. Sure, the poor performance of Sanders’s outreach to the black community in SC had a lot to do with it, but he was never expected to win there. This is after Democratic leaders and superdelegates said they would be willing to damage the party to stop Sanders. The message that the establishment is trying to stop Sanders has been very real to his supporters since 2016, and the party has cemented that belief this year. They are righteously angry at the system that is trying to prevent real progress.

There is no debating that Warren and Sanders split the progressive vote; that’s just math. It wasn’t stealing from one or the other, there were just two good, progressive candidates, and people have varying opinions about which one is better, so they voted accordingly.

With that in mind, let’s consider the demographics of Warren and Sanders supporters. These are not criticisms, just data. We’re all on the same side, the candidates just had stronger appeal to different segments, and clearly better outreach was needed by both campaigns. Warren supporters are largely white, college educated, working professionals, 30-64 years old. Sanders supporters are overwhelmingly 44 and younger, nonwhite, non-college educated, and lower-income. He also has the highest support in the LGBTQ community. There are distinct disparities in the privilege that these groups have, and that cannot be overlooked in the discussion.

Warren supporters are righteously angry at the outcome of the election thus far and the actions of some Sanders supporters. Sanders supporters are righteously angry at an oppressive establishment, and some have misplaced their anger in targeting Warren and her supporters because they saw things that she did as beneficial to the establishment candidate, and betraying the progressive cause (right or wrong, this is how it looks to them). For them, it’s an existential issue, so they take it very personally. The offending Sanders supporters are not listening to the very valid reasons that Warren supporters are upset. They often don’t see that this is interpreted by Warren supporters as sexism, which is very real and has taken a heavy toll, or as juvenile hostility. Warren supporters who are attacking Sanders supporters are not listening to the very valid reasons Sanders supporters are angry (even if the anger is sometimes aimed in the wrong direction). Now, let’s look at that from a demographics perspective; a large, young, diverse group of marginalized people are seeing a group of largely older, white, college educated professionals telling them that because some people were mean to them online that they’re going to vote against the interests of the marginalized people. I know this is not the intent of the Warren supporters who are lashing out, but in engenders distrust and anger, largely because of the disparity in privilege and economic power.  None of this is to say that Warren supporters aren't angry at or fighting the same system. Again, we’re on the same side, and the anger is misplaced. Other Americans are not our enemy.

Some Sanders supporters see people supporting moderate candidates who aren't promising any real change as the enemy because it’s literally life and death for them. They think that people voting for moderates are more concerned with maintaining the status quo than the survival of marginalized, vulnerable people. The voters are not doing it with that intent, of course; the anger is valid but misplaced, but they also are not understanding that maintaining the status quo is maintaining a system that is hostile to the very existence of many Sanders supporters (and many supporters of all candidates, Sanders just happens to represent a lot of very vulnerable people).

We need a huge coalition to win this. Please, in your interactions with people, consider that everyone is facing a struggle with some power structure in this country. Be kind. It might not be the exact same fight that you’re fighting, but it’s connected. Try to understand privilege and how it relates to the people with whom you’re dealing. Try to understand how these systems of oppression overlap and reinforce each other. We need to work to build understanding, not attack each other. Keeping us divided is what the establishment needs to retain power. That’s why unions are under attack, it’s why grassroots movements are under attack, and it’s why the free press is under attack. Especially if you’re coming from a place of more privilege, try to understand that voting against the interests of marginalized people is seen as active oppression, and if you believe in a progressive agenda, take the time to listen to the most vulnerable people and understand what they’re saying. Remember that you cannot say that you’re an ally to someone and then vote for something that will harm them.

Everyone talks about unity until someone is an asshole to them. We’re better than that. Be patient. Be understanding. Most importantly, be kind. Build a bigger tent, talk to the most vulnerable people you know, and vote in their best interests. If you’re vulnerable, try to help your friends and family understand the direct impact these policies have on your lives. If you have more privilege, recognize it and use it. We all have to fight against a common enemy, and 99% of Americans are not it.

Be excellent to each other - Bill and Ted

What it Means When Someone Refers to "The Establishment"

Setting aside any policy specifics, I want to clear up a term that’s thrown around a lot without a ton of explanation.

“The establishment.”

The political struggle in this country is usually framed as left vs right, or Democrat vs Republican, but the truth is much more insidious. Both parties are bankrolled by the same people for the same goals. The parties may be ideologically different, but they frequently work toward the same goal, such as opposing universal healthcare, or fighting against a radical change in our energy infrastructure. Leadership of both parties are fully opposed to Medicare for All, but it’s not because they have a deep-seated belief that it’s bad for their constituents; it’s because they take a ton of money from the health insurance industry to hold that position. Sure, the Republicans are trying to strip all healthcare away, and Democrats are fighting to bolster the ACA, but they’re both fighting against universal healthcare because it would destroy health insurance profits. WalMart and Amazon donate huge sums of money to fight against increasing minimum wage and unionizing efforts. Same goes for basically every industry that’s harming the planet or oppressing 99% of us for profit.

We have to look at the power structures that are maintaining the status quo, and it’s bigger than political parties; they’re just the tools. We do live in a capitalist society, but people misunderstand what that means. I’m not a capitalist, and if you’re reading this, you’re almost definitely not a capitalist. You might think you are, but what you really are is a consumer and worker in false class solidarity with capitalists. Capitalists are the ones who can seize your possessions if you don’t pay your bills. Capitalists are the ones who can set the rates you earn on your investments. Capitalists are the ones who lead the industries. Capitalists are the ones who can crash the world economy with no repercussions. Capitalists are the 1%. We’re not even playing the same game. Capitalism is one form of power structure fighting to maintain the status quo.

Another form of an oppressive power structure is systemic racism. This country, and nearly every institution we rely on, were built by racists, and are intended to maintain minority rule. This shows in the electoral college and caucus systems where delegates are weighted to give disproportional representation to rural areas where white slave owners relied on slaves, and thus had less population for representation in elections. This shows in the design of cities where low-income people are geographically segregated from the economic centers and faced with transportation challenges, and have depressed property values that make it difficult to generate generational wealth. This shows in past practices like redlining and Jim Crow, and current policies like our criminal justice system that disproportionately incarcerates people of color. I could write an entire article about racist power structures.

There are many power structures in play that are bigger than political parties, but the obstacle to overcoming them is the same for almost all of them; money in politics. The people with money who corrupt our political system to work for their benefit.

When Sanders is talking about taking on “the establishment,” this is who he’s talking about. Sure, there’s the Democratic establishment; the corporate Democrats who are fighting to maintain the status quo, there’s the Republican establishment doing the same thing, but they all serve the same corporate donors. They’re all working toward the same overarching goal of profiting at all cost, no matter the harm to the people or the world at large. The only way we defeat them is by choosing politicians who reject that money and make decisions based on what’s good for the people.

When you hear corporate media pushing a narrative that Bernie Sanders is divisive, they’re not wrong, they’re just lying to you about who he’s dividing. He’s driving a wedge between the people and the entrenched power structures, not between Americans; that’s what the establishment is doing. A divided country is easy to control; one united in solidarity is not. Intersectionality is a topic for another post, but it’s rooted in the belief that no matter what your struggle with oppression, we’re all in this fight together. The Sanders campaign is intersectional; it’s bringing together people from every walk of life because we’re all fighting the same war. Make no mistake, we’ve been in a class war our entire lives, but the 1% has been winning. It’s time we changed that.

To showcase what I mean about the parties both serving the same corporate masters, take a look for yourself. Sure, in some cases an industry donates more to one party than the other, but they all donate to both parties, and often, in almost equal amounts. Always look at who's financing the opposition to policies that would benefit you.

Koch Industries
Pharmaceutical and health product industries
Fossil fuels
Health Insurance
NRA
Defense
Amazon
Google (Alphabet)
Apple
WalMart
Finance/Insurance
News Corp (Fox, WSJ, New York Post, Harper Collins)

The Claims of Media Bias Against Sanders

Many people still don't believe that the news media is biased against Sanders. MSNBC is the most-watched news network es, Fox gets more traffic, but they're not news), with almost twice the average viewership of CNN. They had a post-debate panel consisting of Joy Reid (MSNBC), Jason Johnson (the Root), A.B. Stoddard (Real Clear Politics), Brian Williams (MSNBC), and David Plouffe (Obama surrogate, and board member of ACRONYM). Two hours of post-debate commentary was an unending attack against Sanders, strategizing about how to stop him, and laments that he might be the nominee. Joy Reid, on her daily show, has been making arguments supporting Bloomberg, saying that the Democrats need their own Trump to beat Trump.

As it was two solid hours of nearly exclusive Bernie-bashing, I can't provide a full transcript, but here are some very representative quotes:

Williams: "Well, I thought it was a great night for Bernie Sanders. I thought it was a great night for Donald Trump. I thought it was a terrible night for the Democrats....Tonight was the night to knock down Bernie and the Democrats didn't do it. Buttigieg tried a few minutes but not effectively enough."

Johnson: "You know, it’s amazing America’s biggest socialist is a millionaire."

Johnson: [Sanders showed] “some of his weaknesses in communicating his message which we've seen before,” such as “[h]is inability to do anything other than gaslight America about some of the behavior of his own supporters when it comes to unions and organizations that don't fall in line with what he wants.”

Plouffe: “nobody laid a glove on Sanders” (Warren landed some solid hits)

Williams: “[t]he rap on the Democrats often is they're trying to punish success.”

Stoddard: "It's a very pure, far left-wing of the Democratic Party argument to sit on this campaign finance argument that Elizabeth and Bernie are so obsessed with. I think Democrats just want to win and that's why it was a strong moment for Bloomberg in an otherwise sad debate... Nevada is really important in terms of tonight's attack on Bernie. Tonight was the night to do it. Next week could be too late. He — they did not go after him. The moderators questioned him on his medical records and his transparency... They did not say this is an existential election in which we're letting a socialist lead our party while Trump is trampling the rule of law. There's plenty of recent examples from today, last several hours and the previous two weeks since he was acquitted. No one had their pants on fire. No one declared this an emergency. I think Nevada is really critical, and if Bernie is allowed to win it, I think they’re going to find they're in more trouble than they thought they were in."

Stoddard: "Health care is the most unifying issue in the Democratic Party. Well, it was until Bernie Sanders prominence as a potential soon-to-be nominee, delegate leader because of the argument of Medicare for All. Donald Trump has no health care argument. It’s the biggest liability for the Republicans and Donald Trump. Their health care plan is a Medicare for All nominee. If the Democrats nominate someone who has this ridiculous plan, and — and — and can be characterized as leading us into Venezuela, breaking the economy and taking — and ruining our health care system, then Donald Trump has a health care plan. So none of the — these are all gimme points that I just expected people to be making tonight in this very important moment because I believe that Nevada counts despite the early voting and I just don't think that this electability issue is being made enough effectively by them."

Plouffe: Sanders’s opponents haven’t made clear they want to defeat him with a “moment” that paints the socialist as “a liability.”

There is a very real corporate media assault against Sanders. There is a very real Democratic establishment assault against Sanders. There is a very real assault against Sanders from the pharma, insurance, and military industrial lobbies. There is a very real assault against Sanders from Republicans. Even in the face of such strong opposition, he has no billionaire donors, and is winning because he's backed by the most diverse coalition of supporters in the race, who understand that this is an existential fight, and that Sanders is the best chance for salvaging our future.

Respect The Troops

This is addressed to every veteran, active member of the armed forces, and every family member of those who served.

Respect the troops, they say.
Respect the troops, they say, while they use the troops as political pawns.
Respect the troops, they say, until the troops are homeless and begging for change.
Respect the troops, they say, until 17 troops commit suicide every day because they can't get mental health care.
Respect the troops, they say, until the troops come home from war, broken, and are forgotten by the country they served.
Respect the troops, they say, while they debase every value troops have fought, bled, and died for.

If you don't know, I proudly served in the Marine infantry. I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Everyone who has served in the military swore the same oath. A month after I came off of active duty, my unit deployed to Iraq again, and fought in the Battle of Ramadi, the bloodiest battle of the war. 34 Marines and 1 sailor died in that battle alone. 12 of them were personal friends of mine, and they were all my brothers; some of them I trained. They made the ultimate sacrifice because of the oath they swore. This is very personal for me, and as a veteran, active member of the military, or family of someone who served, it should be for you, too. I respect the sacrifices made by everyone who serves, and I believe it is important that we do everything we can to uphold the values for which we all sacrificed. This isn't about politics, it's about honoring the oath we took.

Donald Trump, a draft dodger, called parts of the Constitution, that we all swore to defend, "phony." Whether you agree with him politically or not, this is an affront to everything we're supposed to stand for. It's a violation of his oath of office, and in opposition to the oath we swore. Trump, a draft dodger, insulted POWs. Trump, a draft dodger, compared military service to dodging STIs in college. Trump, a draft dodger, repeatedly attacked Gold Star families, who have suffered the ultimate sacrifice. Trump, a draft dodger, abused a charity for veterans for his own personal gain. Trump, a draft dodger, continues to use the troops as political pawns while debasing the Constitution and the sacrifices we've all made.

Even if you agree with every single thing he's done politically, he should have lost your support the minute he called the Constitution phony, even if you can overlook everything else he's done. If he calls the Constitution phony, and you support him, you are in direct violation of the oath you swore; you're an oath breaker. This isn't about politics at all, it's about basic integrity. Donald Trump, a draft dodger who called the Constitution phony, is the most un-American president we've ever had, and every minute he's in office is an insult to my service, and all of yours. Donald Trump, a draft dodger, doesn't respect the troops, he uses them for his political gain and nothing else.

If you never served, and you support Donald Trump, a draft dodger who called the Constitution phony, miss me with your fake "respect the troops" bullshit.

http://battlerattle.marinecorpstimes.com/2014/03/07/2nd-battalion-4th-marines-to-commemorate-deadly-2004-battle-of-ramadi/ 

I'm Angry; the Question is, Why Aren't You?

I'm angry. I'm angry almost all of the time. I'm angry because we have a fascist liar in the White House systematically dismantling civil rights protections, dismantling environmental protections, enshrining increasing inequality into law, enacting tariffs that hurt Americans, increasing our defense budget while slashing social safety net programs, normalising and praising dictators and autocrats around the world, and abusing the power of the presidency to cheat in the next election, while undermining our national security and Constitution in the process. I'm angry that we have an entire party that has wholesale sold out their ethics and morality to protect the most criminally corrupt, dishonest president the country has ever had. I'm angry that there's a neo-Nazi writing policy for the president and there were only minimal demands to remove him. I'm angry that there isn't a single Republican left in the party who is willing to put country above party. I'm angry that the Democrats have yet to realize they need to be an opposition party, and are led by people more interested in protecting their own seats and maintaining the status quo than they are in fighting against Trump. I'm angry that Democratic leadership has fought harder against progressives and progressive policy than they have against a president trying to be a dictator and the party supporting him. I'm angry that the Democratic party is so afraid of a progressive winning the presidential election that they're willing to risk another 4 years of Trump to stop it. I'm angry that there are so many Americans willing to accept the lies and hateful rhetoric that go against every value we're supposed to stand for. I'm angry that so many friends that I previously had respect for are unwilling to even engage with me about their support for Trump, and have sacrificed their integrity to support him. I'm angry that there are so many Americans who don't accept the lies and hate but are unwilling to stand up against it. I'm angry and disappointed that we don't have mass protests on the scale of Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, and Chile.

Since the Civil War there hasn't been a time more critical to take a stand against the corruption of our government, white supremacy, and fascism. We're at a critical moment, staring down an impending collapse of the rule of law, environmental disaster, and worldwide stability. You know I'm angry; why aren't you? If you're angry, why are you not in the streets protesting? Are you doing everything you can to stop us from going down the path we're currently on? The only way we do that is by standing strong together against the forces trying to destroy us from within. Take a stand before it's too late.