Being Poor, Ignorant and Desperate is Not About Race Its About Class

Michael Bernstein popped me an IM after reading my article, The Culture of “Acting White” Anti-Intellectualism Will Kill America, with a link to Cosby, Race and Escaping The Downside, which reveals America’s dirty secret, “in America, being poor, ignorant, desperate and unable to escape your situation has absolutely nothing to do with the color of your skin. It is universal.”

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Comments (4)

  1. Hi, Well thats really a nice thought.. Actually its universal..A time in life comes when one feels like being everything mentioned.. and then sudeenly you feel you cant even do a thing about it..

    Nice post..

    Friday, May 11, 2007 at 6:25 am #
  2. Michael wrote:

    Its about “class” as in social class” not “lack of class.” We, as Americans, are extremely reluctant to even acknowledge the existence of social classes. We prefer to view socioeconomic categories as being so fluid as to be without importance. The truth is most people will remain in the social class they are born. If they marry, they will likely marry someone from the same economic class. Society and class structure tend to perpetuate themselves, with each generation. The impoverished classes likely will remain so along with their children. In my estimation, our fixation on race distracts from deeper causes of inequality and lack of socioeconomic mobility.

    Thursday, May 24, 2007 at 12:03 pm #
  3. “In my estimation, our fixation on race distracts from deeper causes of inequality and lack of socioeconomic mobility.”

    Never a truer thing said.

    Also, I add to that the concept of “unlimited upward mobility,” the “American Dream fetish, the true belief that anyone can become President, and the obsession with “rugged individualism” instead of a healthy focus on family and community.

    Thursday, May 24, 2007 at 12:28 pm #
  4. The deep, conditioned, worldwide belief in lack, there not being enough for everyone, supports the continuation of poverty and systems that maintain it.

    Distractions, personal and societal, must fade.. billions in poverty with all that entails, cannot continue with only a few enjoying benefits that all have a right to.

    When we all get it that it’s not about nation, religion, sex, class.. all that serves to separate/distinguish one from the other, but about each being intrinsically linked/bound together, all such convenient walls will melt away and we’ll creatively reorganise our collective Earth resources, free from fear of lack…

    Wednesday, August 1, 2007 at 10:56 am #