Carl,
OK. So let's substitute the word tribalism for racism and lets leave the
contemporary American scene behind. In 1986, I visited Kenya. By then, the
English Colonials were gone. The country was ruled by one party. That party was
composed of the people from one of the two dominant tribes in Kenya. There had
always been different tribes there, way before any English arrived, way before
western civilization raised its ugly head. And there were people of the Muslim
faith who had migrated from the Middle East. It wasn't white people who
captured black people and brought them to the African coast for transport to
the new world. African tribes had been fighting each other forever and
enslaving each other. Now there was a monetary incentive. But the point is
that the population was divided and the divisions had nothing to do with
Capitalism or class structure. The same thing was true on our continent. The
natives were divided into tribes and many of them fought each other and the
victors often enslaved the vanquished. This business of banding with one's kind
and seeing people outside of one's band as other, as the enemy, as less than
human, this tendency didn't begin with Feudalism or the Industrial Revolution.
The ruling classes in western societies may have used this human tendency to
despise people who are different, to their own advantage. But the tendency is
sitting there in our human biology. One can set up a society to discourage It
or to encourage it. But it's there along with the tendency to love and nurture
and the tendency to rape and pillage.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2017 11:16 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: more from the Eleanor Roosevelt book
Miriam,
It looks like we have a standoff. I am convinced that Class Distinction is at
the root of our racism. But whether it is or not, racism is still alive and
going strong in America today. But here is where I see it. Racism was built
into the new Constitution. That document was written by the Ruling Class of
the day. Blacks, Indians, Women, and most Working Class people were not
included among those permitted to vote. For this reason I claim that this new
government was an Oligarchy. The families of those privileged people continue
to be members of the present Ruling Class. Even though we have modified the
constitution by amending it to include those people originally excluded. But
the Ruling Class and those people who benefit from holding hands with the
Ruling Class, have taken measures to continue holding control. Look at today's
voter restrictions and the manipulation of election ballots, and
Gerrymandering. All of that activity is directly a result of the Ruling
Classes effort to hold onto their control.
While I understand what FDR faced back in the 30's and 40's, and certainly he
could not have accomplished any social improvements without securing the votes,
which meant bringing on board the White Racists(the Dixicrats) and allowing
them to continue to persecute Blacks and other minorities such as Jews and
Indians.
In fact, I am not criticizing Roosevelt for doing what he felt was necessary to
secure what changes he did accomplish. But as we can see through the ensuing
80 plus years, embracing the Dixicrats has enabled racists to continue with
their oppression of non white Americans.
But I don't find that Roosevelt believed that all Americans were equal under
the Law. Look at his method of handling the fear of American Citizens of
Japanese parentage.
Did he order Americans to include their Japanese fellow Americans when
defending our shores?
Did he even once send troops into the Solid South in order to protect our Black
Citizens? Roosevelt, for all the good he did, continued to be a Citizen in
Good Standing in the American Oligarchy. He may have had compassion for the
plight of those less fortunate than himself, but his first order of business
was to save the Ruling Class from a pending revolution.
Today we still fight to include Black Americans, Spanish Americans, and Jewish
Americans as full Citizens. And women are barely accepted, with only a few
exceptions, at the top.
Of course, when the Democrats did put pressure on the Dixicrats, they took
their marbles and became Republicans. For the most part these New Republicans
make up the Solid Right Wing Block.
Although we are in denial, the United States is a Class Society. We think that
just because a few individuals rise up financially, that moving into the Ruling
Class is easy? In order to become a new member, a person must first announce
that they support the beliefs of the Ruling Class. If they don't, it makes no
difference how many billions they gather, they are not accepted. Look at our
friendly Bill Gates. Raised in an Upper Middle Class home, he came to embrace
the values of the Ruling Class, and has been embraced. Does this mean that
Bill Gates doesn't support "good works"? Of course he does, through the Bill
and Malinda Gates Foundation. And this is true of the foundations of other
Billionaires. The question is, are their good works improving the lives of
working class Americans? Or are their good works actually supporting their
Ruling Class values? Bill Gates, a man who never attended public elementary or
high schools, strongly promotes privatizing public education. Even if most
Americans support better funding of public education, Donald Trump demonstrated
his own membership in the Ruling Class by who he selected to be his Secretary
of Education.
I almost fall on the floor with laughter when the Talking Heads begin pondering
as to whether or not Donald Trump will be impeached. Forget it. Just so long
as Donald Trump helps smooth the way to the National Treasury, these
billionaire profiteers will have his back...regardless of what they might say
to his face.
Talk is cheap. And these people know how to talk. But I can no longer hear
what they're saying because it has not changed in my lifetime. I choose to
listen to people who have the working classes needs, rather than money as their
bottom line. People who make sense.
Carl Jarvis
On 5/30/17, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Well, if we transport ourselves back to the 1930's, there was a very
strong wing of the Democratic party called the Dixicrats and they had
support, a lot of it, from white Southerners. Now you can repeat again
how white Southerners were manipulated into thinking as they did by
the ruling class, and that may or may not be true. After all, we have
seen the human propensity to mistrust those who are different. But
however the white southerners became what they were, they had
influence in the Democratic Party. And there were the Republicans who
were strongly opposed to all of FDR's economic measures. His measures
meant spending huge amounts of government money to employ people. So,
given the country as it existed, he did what he thought he needed to
do in order to get them instituted. I'll add that even within his
administration, there were many people who didn't feel that black
people should benefit from many of the demonstration projects or other
programs. They believed that since black people were accustomed to
privation and white people were not, the help should go to the white
people. I don't think that racism can be explained away by class theory.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2017 10:28 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: more from the Eleanor Roosevelt book
Miriam,
Yes, it's interesting. But rather than talk about what the Nazis
thought about FDR, I'd rather talk about why so many of his initial
good ideas never came to be. One of the things I have had to unlearn
is that our two party system, along with the division of power between
Judicial, Congress and the President, makes certain that we continue
to be free, and do not wander down a wrong road, ending in Tyranny.
What I now think is that compromise works to the advantage of the
Ruling Class. As we've seen, the Ruling Class can give a little when
it needs to, and can take it back when the opportunity is right.
During our nation's history, we've seen good times and we've seen bad times.
That is, "We" if we're among the Working Class. The members of the
Oligarchy, the Elite Ruling Class, seldom have "bad times".
I know I had some other profound thoughts to splatter across the page,
but after a break, I have no idea what they were. Our son and his
partner left
us(me) some Maple Nut Ice-Cream when they headed home.
James had plans to gobble it down on his way out, but Amy slapped his
hand and said, "naughty, naughty. Leave some for your Dear Old Dad."
What a girl! So I am headed for the freezer and then to watch Jeopardy.
Good night!
Carl Jarvis
On 5/29/17, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Here's a tidbit that I just heard on The Tel Aviv Review. This came
from an interview with a historian from, Harvard or Yale, can't
remember which, who has just completed a book about the American
concepts which the Nazis used in building their system for handling
citizens and those people who were unworthy of citizenship. Hitler
and his associates were very positively impressed with FDR because
they saw him as a strong leader who could become an effective
dictator if the situation permitted. They liked some of the federal
programs that were set up like the NRA because these programs were
set up without congressional approval and because they used effective
propaganda to convince the public to support them. Interesting, huh?
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl ;
Jarvis
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2017 6:47 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: more from the Eleanor Roosevelt book
William Randolph Hearst employed a fellow by the name of Francis
James Westbrook Pegler, who wrote under the name of Westbrook
Pegler(pronounced
Peggler) As the years passed, Pegler began to attack FDR and Eleanor
Roosevelt. I recall reading hateful articles by Pegler long after
FDR was dead.
" He denounced the civil rights movement and in the early 1960s wrote
for the John Birch Society, until he was invited to leave because of
his extreme views."(from Wikipedia)
In 1962 Pegler lost his contract with King Features Syndicate(owned
by Hearst), because of his attacks on Hearst Executives.
Westbrook Pegler was my "Go To Guy" anytime someone told me that the
American Press was Liberal.
Carl Jarvis
On 5/29/17, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The original plan was for universal social security. Everyone at
birth would be enrolled in the plan. There would be a federal
government contribution with funds coming from a sales tax. Henry
Morganthal, (secretary of the
treasury) and the Southern senators disagreed. They proposed a
system based only on contributions from employers and employees that
would omit poor black people. This funding system differed from all
the European social security systems. Also, FDR initially proposed
universal health care insurance which he quickly dropped under
pressure. 65 senators were in favor of the US joining the World
Court until Hearst propagandized against the plan in his papers and
told citizens to send telegrams to their senators and
representatives opposing it on the basis that the US would be giving
up its sovereignty.
Miriam
