[Peace-discuss] [Discuss] [sf-core] Fwd: yesterday's article on massive racial inequality in wealth

Fri May 21 11:25:25 CDT 2010

Are you *denying* that "US society is much less racist - and much more unequal - 
than it was 40 years ago"?

Defenders of the administration (and its filthy war) are eager to brand its 
critics as racists. If they all aren't racists, then their complaints that Obama 
is working against the popular interest and for an economic elite - on the war, 
on healthcare, on the banks, etc. - might not be able to be dismissed so easily.

On 5/21/10 10:53 AM, Marti Wilkinson wrote:
> "US society is much less racist - and much more unequal - than it was 40
> years ago"
>
> http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/a-critique-of-walter-benn-michaels/
>
>  I really think a lot of white intellectuals like Walter Benn Michaels are
> truly out of touch with the way things are in this culture today. While we do
> have a black president, we also have a tea party and birther movement that
> reflects the ingrained racism that is still prevalent today. The problem with
> focusing on class differences alone is it gives white self-described liberals
> a free pass to avoid looking at how their own whiteness (and privilege),
> plays a role here.
>
>
>
> On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 10:36 AM, C. G. ESTABROOK <cge at shout.net
> <mailto:cge at shout.net>> wrote:
>
> US society is much less racist - and much more unequal - than it was 40 years
> ago.
>
> In 1970 the election of a black president was unthinkable, but in that year
> the distribution of wealth (Gini index) was at its least unequal in the 20th
> century. Today it's back to where it was in the late 1920s, and the
> concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands is not only continuing but
> accelerating.
>
> "...anti-racism today performs at least one of the same functions that racism
> used to — it gives us a vision of our society as organized racially instead
> of economically — while adding another function — it insists that racism is
> the great enemy to be overcome. But all the anti-racism in the world won't
> take any money away from the rich and won't give any of it to the poor."
> [Walter Benn Michaels]
>
>
>
> On 5/21/10 9:47 AM, Ricky Baldwin wrote:
>
>
>
> Very interesting article. Good points. It's always good for Americans to see
> this kind of discussion and realize we don't do too well when it comes to
> this kind of basic economic "fairness," no matter how much the blowhards talk
> about the "land of opportunity." Our system just doesn't serve most people
> too well - but then, we know that. It's just good to have the numbers.
>
> On the numbers, I have to take issue with the "typical" white/black family
> stats, though - and not just to be picky with words. I think it gives a false
> impression.
>
> The article doesn't say, but if what's meant is "average" (mean) then it
> isn't "typical" at all in an economy with vast inequalities like the kind
> described in the article. We can, and do (as the article points out), have a
> small number of extremely wealthy people and a huge number of people
> essentially left out of that massive accumulation. What that amounts to is
> the "average" (mean) is skewed upwards - making it look like more people are
> better off than we are.
>
> "Typical" here could also be median, a.k.a. the middle number if you arrange
> all the wealth from highest to lowest, but I doubt it. It seems too high
> given the inequality the article describes. Even if so, I'd argue that if the
> range of wealth is very wide, then the median isn't very "typical" either.
>
> Maybe I'm missing something. I'm not 100% awake yet.
>
> Ricky
>
> "Speak your mind even if your voice shakes." - Maggie Kuhn
>
> --- On *Thu, 5/20/10, Belden Fields /<a-fields at uiuc.edu
> <mailto:a-fields at uiuc.edu>>/* wrote:
>
>
> From: Belden Fields <a-fields at uiuc.edu <mailto:a-fields at uiuc.edu>> Subject:
> [sf-core] Fwd: yesterday's article on massive racial inequality in wealth To:
> discuss at communitycourtwatch.org <mailto:discuss at communitycourtwatch.org> Cc:
> "SFcore" <sf-core at yahoogroups.com <mailto:sf-core at yahoogroups.com>> Date:
> Thursday, May 20, 2010, 4:09 PM
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> *From: *Lou Kushnick <loukushnick at mac.com <mailto:loukushnick at mac.com>
> </mc/compose?to=loukushnick at mac.com <mailto:loukushnick at mac.com>>>
>
> *Date: *May 20, 2010 2:01:25 AM CDT *To: *Arthur Paris
> <AEParis at maxwell.syr.edu <mailto:AEParis at maxwell.syr.edu>
> </mc/compose?to=AEParis at maxwell.syr.edu <mailto:AEParis at maxwell.syr.edu>>>,
> Melanie Bush
>
> <melanie.e.l.bush at gmail.com <mailto:melanie.e.l.bush at gmail.com>
> </mc/compose?to=melanie.e.l.bush at gmail.com
> <mailto:melanie.e.l.bush at gmail.com>>>, "Bowser, Ben"
> <Benjamin.bowser at csueastbay.edu <mailto:Benjamin.bowser at csueastbay.edu>
> </mc/compose?to=Benjamin.bowser at csueastbay.edu
> <mailto:Benjamin.bowser at csueastbay.edu>>>, Belden Fields <a-fields at uiuc.edu
> <mailto:a-fields at uiuc.edu> </mc/compose?to=a-fields at uiuc.edu
> <mailto:a-fields at uiuc.edu>>>, Marta Cruz Janzen <cruzjanz at fau.edu
> <mailto:cruzjanz at fau.edu> </mc/compose?to=cruzjanz at fau.edu
> <mailto:cruzjanz at fau.edu>>>, Gail Dines <gdines at wheelock.edu
> <mailto:gdines at wheelock.edu> </mc/compose?to=gdines at wheelock.edu
> <mailto:gdines at wheelock.edu>>>,
>
> Valerie Bristor <bristor at fau.! edu </mc/compose?to=bristor at fau.edu
> <mailto:bristor at fau.edu>>>, Bonnie Muirhead <bmuirhead at ccc.edu
> <mailto:bmuirhead at ccc.edu> </mc/compose?to=bmuirhead at ccc.edu
> <mailto:bmuirhead at ccc.edu>>>
>
> *Subject: **yesterday's article on massive racial inequality in wealth*
>
>
>
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