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This is one of the most well written and sobering op-ed pieces I've read by a celebrity. I only posted the parts that seemed relevant before it got tl;dr.
It's not that we don't want to get it right, it's that we don't know how to frame the problem correctly, due to certain unsavory aspects about our society that could lead to a solution.
This is also endemic of a wider problem with the displeasure of the current governing system, similar to the civil protests and counter-culture of the 1960's. These situations could continue to spread and become more common (hope not), as the class/race/cultural distinctions become more disparaging.
ps. If I don't respond, it's because my PC is down and I'm on an old laptop that barely functions.
It's not that we don't want to get it right, it's that we don't know how to frame the problem correctly, due to certain unsavory aspects about our society that could lead to a solution.
This is also endemic of a wider problem with the displeasure of the current governing system, similar to the civil protests and counter-culture of the 1960's. These situations could continue to spread and become more common (hope not), as the class/race/cultural distinctions become more disparaging.
Ferguson is not just about systemic racism — it's about class warfare, and how America's poor are held back. Will the recent rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, be a tipping point in the struggle against racial injustice, or will it be a minor footnote in the future?
And, unless we want the Ferguson atrocity to also be swallowed and become nothing more than an intestinal irritant to history, we have to address the situation not just as another act of systemic racism, but as what else it is: class warfare. By focusing on just the racial aspect, the discussion becomes about whether Michael Brown’s death—or that of the other three unarmed black men who were killed by police in the U.S. within that month—is about discrimination or about police justification. Then we’ll argue about whether there isn’t just as much black-against-white racism in the U.S. as there is white-against-black. (Yes, there is. But, in general, white-against-black economically impacts the future of the black community. Black-against-white has almost no measurable social impact.)
This fist-shaking of everyone’s racial agenda distracts America from the larger issue that the targets of police overreaction are based less on skin color and more on an even worse Ebola-level affliction: being poor. Of course, to many in America, being a person of color is synonymous with being poor, and being poor is synonymous with being a criminal. Yes, I’m aware that it is unfair to paint the wealthiest with such broad strokes. There are a number of super-rich people who are also super-supportive of their community. Humbled by their own success, they reach out to help others. But that’s not the case with the multitude of millionaires and billionaires who lobby to reduce Food Stamps, give no relief to the burden of student debt on our young, and kill extensions of unemployment benefits. With each of these shootings/chokehold deaths/stand-your-ground atrocities, police and the judicial system are seen as enforcers of an unjust status quo. Our anger rises, and riots demanding justice ensue. The news channels interview everyone and pundits assign blame. Then what?
By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Ferguson: The Coming Race War Won
ps. If I don't respond, it's because my PC is down and I'm on an old laptop that barely functions.
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