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passiveporcupine

(8,175 posts)
35. I agree that racism needs to be addressed as an issue but
Sat Aug 22, 2015, 10:10 PM
Aug 2015
Arguing about which is more important—class or race—completely misses the point. Racism is an economic problem, yes, but it’s a deeper and more nuanced problem than that, one that a single-payer health plan and an increased minimum wage won’t solve."


One of the things that happened in the days of separate but equal, is that many blacks, living in poverty, and going to black only schools that were also very poor, grew up thinking whites where better than them. You'd think that by now everyone would know better, but I believe (I might be wrong) that many blacks living in poverty today, with no hope of getting out, still feel that same way. And that is partly what is keeping them where they are; along with institutional racism where many whites feel the same way.

I was 18 when I started working for GTE in California. I worked in production (union) and the only thing I had to do to get hired was to take a two week, paid, training electronics assembly course, and pass the test at the end. Anyone who could pass that test would be hired. Because of that, I worked with mostly older white ladies (earning a 2nd income for their family) and many younger POC. I had two white young women friends, but all the rest of my friends were black, Hispanic, Puerto Rican, Filipino, or Asian. All the manufacturing supervisors were white men and women who first worked in assembly and worked their way up. After working there about ten years, in different capacities, and on different shifts, I decided to apply for a job in the office area (non-union). I was hired as a clerk in an engineering group. I worked there for another five years, and worked my way up to assistant engineer. The office areas were separate from the manufacturing areas, near by, but it was like a whole different world. The one thing that was really noticeable was the fact that there were almost no POC working in the offices. Not in engineering. Not in Materials Scheduling or Accounting, or Marketing. Not in any department other than manufacturing. My first supervisor in the engineering office happened to be Hispanic, and I still wonder how he landed that job. Our receptionist was Hawaiian. Everyone else was white with a few Asians mixed in for flavor.

Why? Why did no people of color work in the offices, when so many worked in assembly? Was it because nobody would hire them, or was it because they didn't even think it was possible, so never even applied?

I had no college degree when I was hired as a clerk. I was going to junior college then, but in a totally different field from what I was hired for. In the fifteen years I worked there, I never saw any people of color hired into the office jobs.

I also don't remember seeing POC in my junior college classes (and I attended classes at three different junior colleges in the area, over the course of ten years). One of my friends from one of my classes was black, but I don't remember any others. Why?

Was it because they were raised to believe that college was beyond them? If I could afford it on my wages, so could they. College was really cheap then. Was it social conditioning and they didn't know how to break out of the mold they were stuck in?

This was from 1968 to 1983. Things are different now. There are a lot of blacks in colleges now and in various jobs...but there are still huge pockets of blacks who live in fairly poor, segregated neighborhoods and burbs. I wonder how many of them cannot get out of their situations because of social conditioning from their environment, on top of institutional racism from whites.

This is where I think the economic and educational systems need to change, to provide poor black neighborhoods with more opportunities to teach kids from pre-school on up that they can succeed (if given the right education and opportunities).

There was a thread on here recently that talked about some really bad segregated schools of predominantly black kids in Florida, where they couldn't get teachers to stay and the kids were out of control and grades and learning were way below par. The school board seemed oblivious, but I wonder if many of the parents were too. Why were so many kids unruly? Is it because even at home they weren't taught that they have a chance to succeed...that they are stuck in a rut and school is meaningless?

If I am right in thinking this may be part of the problem, stopping "racism" (changing hearts) isn't going to help enough because the kids growing up in these conditions still don't know how to change their perspective on life. Nor do their parents. Not without jobs and opportunities that right now they just don't see in their futures.

This is what years of generational poverty and hopelessness and oppression can do to entire neighborhoods.

Without some of the changes Bernie is suggesting, to provide more jobs to youth of color and to raise wages and give more educational opportunities (starting from pre-school on up) just changing hearts or fighting for a better prison system and stopping racial profiling, isn't going to bring people out of their social ruts. It's going to take all of the above to make big changes. And it's big changes that are needed today.

It's also going to take concerted grass roots protesting to raise social awareness, and hopefully change some hearts and minds of all colors.
Yep. nt daredtowork Aug 2015 #1
We all need both, racial justice and economic justice. merrily Aug 2015 #2
i cannot disagree noiretextatique Aug 2015 #3
I hear you, too. I always have--and it's been my privilege. merrily Aug 2015 #4
Thanks, merrily noiretextatique Aug 2015 #10
Thank you. merrily Aug 2015 #11
Institutional racism Spacedog1973 Aug 2015 #5
Thank you. I know Bernie did not coin that phrase. merrily Aug 2015 #6
It is partly individual, though. Lots of people being "just a little bit racist" - consciously or no nomorenomore08 Aug 2015 #8
True, but government can deal with institutional racism better than it can deal with merrily Aug 2015 #12
Thats simply racism Spacedog1973 Aug 2015 #13
Individual racism is institutional when backed by a system noiretextatique Aug 2015 #16
Agreed. This is all far more powerful and pervasive than individual fear or hate could ever be. n/t nomorenomore08 Aug 2015 #17
Yes...it is noiretextatique Aug 2015 #23
Well said. n/t OneGrassRoot Aug 2015 #20
Thank you everything you said here is very true azurnoir Aug 2015 #7
Wise words, if I may say so. Joe Chi Minh Aug 2015 #9
In this 1% Age, MOST Lives Don't Matter! Demeter Aug 2015 #14
Economic justice is a unifying message noiretextatique Aug 2015 #15
Nobody wants to be excluded from equity Spacedog1973 Aug 2015 #31
yeah, i know, since i am black noiretextatique Aug 2015 #32
K&R.... daleanime Aug 2015 #18
Here is a quote which addresses this well, to me... OneGrassRoot Aug 2015 #19
I cannot disagree...however noiretextatique Aug 2015 #22
I completely agree... OneGrassRoot Aug 2015 #24
I am in total agreement with that aporoach noiretextatique Aug 2015 #25
I've noticed similar things since Seattle... OneGrassRoot Aug 2015 #28
It seems it was almost the intent noiretextatique Aug 2015 #29
I agree that racism needs to be addressed as an issue but passiveporcupine Aug 2015 #35
I agree... OneGrassRoot Aug 2015 #36
K&R nt 99th_Monkey Aug 2015 #21
K&R Waiting For Everyman Aug 2015 #26
Poverty Kills. aikoaiko Aug 2015 #27
yes, it does noiretextatique Aug 2015 #30
Kicked and highly recommended! n/t Catherina Aug 2015 #33
K & R historylovr Aug 2015 #34
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