CLASSIST, NOT RACIST
(Posted 2005-09-08 21:10:11 by Ray Lopez)
Some of the anger directed at the Bush administration for the big mess in
New Orleans has focused on the fact that most of the people who were
stranded in the aftermath of Katrina were black. Many black entertainers
and politicians have come out in protest of how these poor people were
treated, with cries of racism.
The problem is that what happened in New Orleans was less due to racism and
more due to _classism_. There is of course is very strong link between
being a racial minority and being poor in the US. And of course that fact
alone does illustrate the complex nature of race and class in the US.
However, there really isn't a lot of evidence to support the claim that the
US goverment ignored the people stranded in New Orleans simply because they
were black. George Bush is a wretched excuse for a leader, but he's no
racist. But he is a classist of the worst kind. Katrina was, in the words
of another conservative jackass, William Bennett, a moment of moral
clarity. It starkly revealed to us just what horrid shape our society is
in, with increasing numbers of poor amongst the suburbs, the shopping
centers, the SUVs, and the sprawling tracts of McMansions.
The politicos and entertainers who are rightfully outraged about how the
victims of Hurricane Katrina have been treated would do well to focus less
on race and more on the divide between the haves and have nots. We need to
show the world that we're united across race, and don't care for the way
our fellow humans are being treated by the present administration.
--------
There are no comments on this post.
To submit a comment on this post, email
[email protected] or visit us on the web
[
http://ratthing.com ].
