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'Go back to Mexico': One woman's racist rant towards neighbor's landscaper ... Thanx to Washington Post
First of all, kudos/ credit to the people of Hong Kong, in their recent opposition to injustice by the Chinese government (CNN) ... great job in shutting down business too! Also credit to the people who fought back on the island of Puerto Rico recently, and the support from mainland U.S. they received (NBC) ... nice work! This posting will serve as Part 29 of "Human Morality" and Part 15 of "American Exceptionalism" series of this journal/ blog. What inspires the posting, is all that is recently going on from the treatment of Latino immigrants, some of which are citizens being illegally detained, to the latest inspiration for mass shootings ... in the El Paso case, specifically targeting Hispanics (CNN), with the sort of pep rally pump and jump hate rhetoric out of President Trump, and just an overall view of where America was in the past, and where it is today, and to look at some of the hypocrisy. Mexico borders U.S., just as Canada, and like Canadians and U.S. Americans, embrace the same western American values and lifestyles. The photo at the top of the posting, was the most fitting and appropriate photo I found for this posting ... the 8 words on the protest sign, sum up America perfectly, and the condition of past as well as present ... it's the same old trash in new packaging. I opened above with a short video clip, as an example of some of the whiny shit American's deal with daily. I call this the ununited shackles of America, because the system that we have, love, and embrace of this model of capitalism, is the same system that has bred racism, slavery, human trafficking, and exploitation of immigrants, and is today more entwined with classism ... today they try to criminalize poverty in America. In a way, anyone who is not very rich, are all in debt to the system, and bound in economic shackles and enslaved economically. The name of United States of America, was just a name for a new idea for democracy and some sort of freedom from the church and oligarchs.
This country, due to the system we actually have today, is getting more divided, instead of united, and going backwards by design and pre- paid legislation from oligarchs, corporations, banks. And one would have to be blind, or politically brainwashed, to not see the problems and hypocrisy with what they promote ... and yet, will say, this is the best we can do. Then you have the usual bunch in Washington and cities of their pre- paid flunkies/ political mouthpieces, that when people question and retaliate, they will give you "hope and prayers" ... tell them to take their "hope and prayers" and shove them up their ass. And as far as politics, both political parties are responsible for molding this system we have, and have molded years ago through their inaction to change, a system that created a President like Donald Trump, a billionaire game show celebrity, and systemic racism. And the establishment of both parties are in bed together when it comes to catering to most of the biggest money interests. I do vote for and am a registered Democrat, but only because it's the only strongest party we have now, to buck against the Republicans and President Trump, and their democratically inferior policies and agenda, which is influenced by big money, multinational corporations/ investment banks, and large establishment religious cults/ churches, without a fair amount of input from the majority of taxpayers, workers, military members/ families, and consumers. This vile culture and neoliberal policies, which needs many revisions and reforms, is dictated by the same money that promotes this now globally, with America as a sort of home base and template, after all, this is the Capitol of capital. I chose a couple links for good reads and video below, out of several I reviewed. This is my journal/ blog, so I have my own slant, and am sure, some disagree with me, and/ or may view me as anti- American ... but more from me at the bottom.
***** DEMOCRACY NOW | IBRAM X. KENDI: How to Be an Antiracist: Ibram X. Kendi on Why We Need to Fight Racism the Way We Fight Cancer ... (video/ transcript)
***** TRUTHOUT | WILLIAM RIVERS PITT: Capitalism, Politics and Immigration: A Tale of Profitable Suffering ... (article)
***** PACIFIC STANDARD | THOR BENSON: White Liberals Share Some of the Same Racist Fears as Trump's Biggest Supporters | The Dirty Truth About White Liberal Racism ... (newsread/ article)
The symbols of systemic racism- and how to take away their power | Paul Rucker ... Thanx to TED
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***** PD/ RCJ: "HUMAN MORALITY" ... PART'S 28 THRU 1
***** PD/ RCJ: "AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM" ... PART'S 14 THRU 1
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Thomas Hudson Pickering/ Ranch Chimp (1982 photo)
First of all, concerning President Trump, and is he racist or not? ... what he talks about in his speeches, does fan the flames of racism, I mean, he knows that there's that element of society, and he capitalizes on it ... it may be hard to prove in a court of law that he's racist and intentional, but he does it, and folks react to it, and it makes racist's feel more empowered, and to come out in the open with their attacks on people that they were basically taught/ programmed to attack. We're talking about a U.S. President, not some common blogger online that trashes people, in many cases anonymously hiding. He has millions of followers, and is supposed to try to unite folks, be flexible and understanding, and importantly represent some sort of democracy, and a very diverse population ... he does not do his job in an acceptable way. And frankly, I wouldn't have said this 2 or 3 years ago, only in fairness to give him the benefit of doubt ... but the way he acts and what he pushes, historically leads to becoming a fascist dictator, no doubt in my mind about it now, it's obviously clear from his actions over the last few years. Adolf Hitler is one of the most well known racists and fascist dictators of recent history ... look at his background and how it all started in Germany to become the Nazi Empire, and the type of racist rhetoric of the times, and how Hitler used the failures of the economy to push his agenda. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say Trump is like Hitler, at all ... Hitler comes from a much more common background, even was poor, and a war hero ... Trump was born with wealth at his finger tips and was a military draft dodger.
But the methods Trump uses to gain popularity are similar, and could easily lead to becoming a dictator, instead of a President, and promote fascism, which neoliberalism of today helps too. The President is also a compulsive liar, and will say anything for political power, on top of the power he also has in the private sector. And like some other pre- paid politicians in our system, past and present, cater to the demands of the richest people only. I'm sure the President has friends/ associates of colour, and you can bet, none of them are average working class people, and they are all financially well off. Many politicians who talk about the "American people" in their talk, don't even have any clear idea of the experiences and hardships of most Americans, and are so out of touch with everything ... which makes it that much more importante for the majority of American people to keep pressure on them. But none of Trump's talk is politically exclusive to this President, he's just openly saying things, that some other politicians may have thought/ think in part ... America is racist by design, it's not accidental. Racism itself is not natural or accidental in my view, it is specifically designed to be used when it serves the interest of those with the most money and power ... or by other nefarious groups with a variety of interests/ agendas. This is all an attack, and to use people of colour or poverty, as a type scapegoat to cover our own incompetence, by leaders and big money interests, to justify/ support the private immigration detentions, to privatized mass incarceration ... and the way to challenge it, is to attack back. For those whites that talk about reverse racism or discrimination, when those of colour fight back ... who started and sustained our racist system?, and for what reason? Folks of colour didn't come to America and enslave and persecute whites.
The reason I say that racism is not natural, and is programmed and taught to people, usually by adults to children, is from my experience. I first experienced racism, without knowing the word or what it meant, at a young age. This is before I came to Texas, I lived in Buffalo and Brooklyn/ NYC for some time as a kid ... many neighbourhoods were very segregated, blue collar neighbourhoods where the white people/ property owners would not even rent to blacks or hispanics, and they would tell you straight up they wouldn't, period. I also first started noticing at a young age the friction between whites and folks of colour in these 2 particular New York cities, as well as police violence on people of colour, it really stood out. So the idea that only the south was racist and segregated, and the north was all liberated and desegregated, is all false, it was very racist and segregated in the state of New York. What first opened my eyes to it, was at around age 12, when I became buddies with a kid in school named Leroy, who was black, I noticed how folks in the neighbourhood felt uncomfortable about me bringing this kid around, the neighbourhood was basically white, and blue collar type for the most part ... and many from immigrant family backgrounds, such as, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Polish, German ... quite a bit of Italian and Jewish culture and language too. I mean, Leroy and I were just kids and buddies, we got along fine, he was into boxing training, to be a boxer like his dad, and even taught me how to box, after I took an asswhipping in a after school fight me and this other kid had, Leroy telling me my jabs and swings were all wrong. It was some others I noticed, that were uncomfortable with us being friends, and those "others" were white folks ... which made me wonder, what in Hell is wrong?
I was one of them kids that had a few troubles, being locked up in detention centers and stuff, a little on the edge, the kind of kid that parents and teachers worry about. I left home and school at around 14, so I had to become an adult kind of quick running the streets, and couldn't wait to turn 16, so I could brag that I was an adult {:-) I also ran across this with a kid I befriended from the South Bronx/ NYC, but born in Puerto Rico, his name was Angel ... I mean, some folks acted weird, when you had friends of colour, I couldn't help noticing this, after it happened time and again, even without any knowledge of what racism really was. Also experiencing these things and attitudes from one of the first girls I dated, who was a Puerto Rican girl named Mary ... again, the same vibes and sneers, that start to become frequent. For example, when I dated a blonde girl from a white family, Cookie, there was no reaction whatsoever. Then a bit later as a street kid, and in trouble with the law, it was a black man, probably 40-ish (?), named Harmon Loft (folks on the street called him "Red"), out of Harlem, that had a billiards/ pool hall, and front for an illegal gambling business, he helped me out after shining his shoes one day, allowing me to set up a stand in his pool hall to shine shoes (wiseguys/ gangsters, macks/ pimps were your best tippers) ... the guy (Harmon) just seen a kid in trouble, and decided to help me out. If blacks and latinos were so against white folks, like some people would tell you in white neighbourhoods as a kid ... why are all these folks of colour so good to me? ... so as you can see, I had many questions about who is actually racist?
The hypocrisy over the so called illegal immigration is so blown out of whack ... "illegal"? ... why are all these Americans, especially white American business owners hiring them?, I mean, you can barely even supply the demand for them ... go figure. Historically, they alwayz looked for those immigrant workers, even back in the old dayz with the white European immigrants, many illegals too, look at the Irish immigrants back then, for example, and the slave wages and labour they had. And this model of capitalism and dirt cheap immigrant labour, is promoted and used the same, in all of our other so called developed industrialized countries around the globe, including our closest foreign business allies ... again, it's capitalism that drives it. Despite all the good that came from capitalism, you can't fix it, without acknowledging the problems in it as is ... that is also why I support a strong people's government, as well as expanding social programmes, such as SNAP/ food stamps, for low income workers and the poor, and for good reason here ... and it's good for business ... don't tell me that it's freeloading ... these goddamn over- profited corporations freeload out the ass, and are our largest welfare recipients. In the City of Dallas, and some of the surburban cities that are considered politically conservative, they actually have city/ town (unofficially, not in written law) approved day labour pick up sites, for business owners, and homeowners that make good incomes, to shop and select illegals/ immigrants for work in their businesses, and to clean their yards, rain gutters, pools, gardens, or whatever service you need, and it's on a cash basis ... and police are told to not interfere.
When the immigration crackdown word hit the street in Dallas, all your entertainment and dining districts panicked, because they depend on immigrant workers to serve the high- spending yuppies and hipsters in areas they like to frequent. As far as the latinos taking over the country, taking away our white privileges or whatever ... we all are servants to this establishment, regardless of race, it's us vs. them, the rich vs. the wage earners. I live in Northwest Dallas, it has a large amount of latinos, many immigrants. My particular neighbourhood and complex, is probably 75% latino, I been here for 21 years, when I first moved in this complex, it was probably 75% white, and several Eastern European immigrants. It's a working class community, it's not a poverty stricken community, some even own their units (you can buy or lease our units). I have never felt like I was being targeted with racism by them, or had any of my privileges or space jeopardized. Someone was on my patio knocking on my door when I was out, my neighbour, Bill, who was born in Puerto Rico and raised in South Bronx/ NYC, called me to tell me with description. One neighbour, Jose, from Mexico, called me one night to tell me I left a window down on my vehicle, I can go on and on about how many of my latino and immigrant neighbours looked out for me time and again, as I would for them ... even bringing me homemade tamales during the Christmas/ New Years season, which is tradition with them. I also know folks in various parts of the city that I frequent weekly, some areas are all black, or all latino, or a mix, some poverty stricken, and the same stands are far as relations. So, as you can see, I have many questions, concerning all the negative rhetoric I hear about them.
Word Out ....
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***** RANCH CHIMP JOURNAL "WELCOME" POST
***** RCJ MUSIC/ ART'S HONOUR ROLL SOCIETY (my hand- selected music/ arts picks)
***** "THE RESISTANCE | PERILS OF THE POWER POSSE" ... ( a 2 part futuristic Ranch Chimp Journal dream to dream on )
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