Sunday, January 19, 2020

The Race Question


The Race Question
An Interview with Wolf Larsen
from the book Capitalism Sucks


Question: So what do you think of race in America?
Answer: Well, it doesn't matter what color a man is because white, black, or brown all men are ugly.  It doesn't matter what color a woman is after you turn off the light.  And it doesn't matter what color the President is because all these politicians stink the same.  (Laughs) However, more seriously, race in America is bizarre.  I don't even know where to begin!

Q. What do you think of black politicians?
A.  They do all the same rotten things that the white politicians do.  The main differences is that black politicians foster illusions in the capitalist system.  But basically these black politicians carry out the bidding of the rich and powerful just like the white politicians.

Q. What do you think of the black experience?
A.  Well, anyone who has read their history knows that it's been brutal.  Black people in the United States have experienced four centuries of brutal racist oppression!  Anyone with eyes can see that black people continue to suffer oppression under this racist system – or at least most black people continue to be oppressed under this racist system.  The fact that black people continue to be oppressed today can be traced back to the fact that the Democratic Party ended Reconstruction.  Had the Democrats not ended Reconstruction black people might have achieved economic and political equality with white people in the 19th century!  So you can blame the Democrats for the fact that black people continue to be oppressed today.

Q. But isn't it true that many whites are oppressed as well?
A.  That's very true.  At this very moment many white people are losing their jobs and being evicted out into the street with all these foreclosures.  Many white people are working for minimum wage.  Many whites cannot afford their copayments and therefore have to do without medical care.  Things are very difficult for many white people in the United States of America, whether people realize it or not.  However, things are even more difficult for the majority of blacks.  Under capitalism the working class and poor whites suffer – the working class and poor blacks suffer even more.

Q. You point out that black people have had a very difficult history in the United States.  But isn't it true that many working-class whites have also had a difficult history in the United States?
A.  Undoubtably both working class whites and blacks have had a very difficult experience in the capitalist United States of America.  The cotton that was picked by black sharecroppers in the South was put on trains and brought up to New England where some of my ancestors worked in the textile mills.  My great-grand-uncle began working in the textile mills when he was nine years old.  My great-grand-uncle at the age of nine was working in the textile mills 12 hours a day six days a week.  Another case in point is the Irish.  When the slave trade was banned the ships that had been used for slavery were sent to Ireland where they picked up the Irish immigrants.  One out of every seven of those immigrants died in the passage.  The Anglo-Saxon landowners back in Ireland exported food from Ireland while the Irish Catholic people were starving.  When the Irish Catholics came here to America they were viciously discriminated against by many of the Anglo-Saxons here.  It's ironic that many people blame the Jews for everything, when in fact our country is being run mostly by a bunch of Anglo-Saxons.  However, for every pillage and plunder rich Anglo-Saxon on Wall Street there's many many more Anglo-Saxons making minimum wage.  So you have to keep it all in perspective.  All working-class people of all colors and backgrounds are victims of the capitalist system.  But however horrible the experience of working-class white Americans has been in the United States the black experience has been much worse.  Our ancestors may have come here because they were starving to death.  However, we must remember that the Africans who were forced to come here were not starving to death back in the old world – they were brought here in chains.  And for centuries they were not even paid for their work!  It is important to understand that black people – or most black people – in this country have suffered and continue to suffer a double oppression.  As workers they suffer oppression, all of the same oppression that white workers suffer.  But in addition to all that blacks suffer the oppression of the racist American color cast system.  That system may not be written into laws anymore, but it still exists in many ways.  It's important that white workers understand this and always stand united with the black worker against all aspects of racial oppression.  It's also very important that black workers understand that white workers have many of the same concerns that black workers have – concerns like unemployment, quality affordable housing, quality public schools for their children, etc. Black workers must understand that the people who benefited from the slave trade and slavery were a privileged elite of whites.  For example, the first time many northern whites ever saw black people was when they walked onto the plantations of the South in Union Civil War uniforms and said, "You're free".  In the South the slave system was beneficial only to a small minority of white people who enriched themselves at the expense of black free labor.  Most whites in the South were actually hurt by slavery.  How can you demand better wages from your employer when you might be replaced with a slave who works for free?  The slave owners manipulated the rest of the Southern whites against the black people in order to continue slavery and later sharecropping.  The fact is most whites in the South had nothing to gain and everything to lose if slavery had continued.  For this reason the Union victory in the Civil War was not only beneficial to blacks, but it was also beneficial to most southern whites, whether they realized it or not.  After all, how are you supposed to compete with free slave labor?!

Q. So how do we end the racial oppression of black people?
A.  First, black people have to realize that the capitalist system has nothing to offer them except more misery and racism.  This government was founded by slaveholders and slave traders.  This government will always keep most black people down.  And if some black faces crawl up to high places (like they become politicians and judges and CEOs of big corporations) those black faces in high places will become collaborators in the racist system.  Those black faces in high places will help keep most black people down, just like the white faces in high places.  The only solution is to throw the whole racist capitalist system in the garbage can!  The only solution is to smash the racist bourgeois government, and replace it with a workers government.  A workers government will institute socialism.  Under socialism everyone will have the right to a job.  The minimum wage will be doubled.  Everyone will have the right to free quality child care, affordable decent housing, free medical care, etc. This will be beneficial to white workers and black workers.  This will be beneficial to white poor people and black poor people.  Under socialism no one will be poor unless they're too lazy to work.  There will be no billionaires or multimillionaires.  This will be great for most black people.  Everyone will have the right to a free quality education.  Education spending per student will be equal in all schools across the nation.  That is, black students will receive the same quality education as white students.  Everyone, white or black will have the same chance in life.  Under socialism, if you are smart and hard-working you will be able to achieve great things.  Nobody will face the kind of obstacles that both poor whites and blacks face today.  College education will be free for all.   

Q. What do you think of affirmative action?
A.  I favor affirmative action under certain circumstances, but not all.  I think there will probably be a certain amount of affirmative action under socialism until blacks have economic parity with whites, and women have economic parity with men.  However, hard work, personal abilities, and seniority will be very important factors in determining who receives promotions under socialism.  When promotions are based on seniority and skills more black people rise to high positions.  However, when promotion is decided by some capitalist boss or manager it seems that black people remain behind.  This is what I have noticed from my own employment experience.  When there is a strong powerful union there are more black faces in high positions.  Having a strong powerful union makes it more difficult for some boss to discriminate against blacks.  Basing promotions on seniority is good for women workers too, because it helps eliminate gender discrimination.  Basing promotions on seniority makes many white male workers happy as well, because they don't have to worry about some back-stabbing ass-kisser being promoted to a better job before them.

Q. So it seems like you're in favor of some mixture of seniority and affirmative action – am I correct?
A.  Yes.  But let's remember that President Richard Nixon was at least at one point in favor of affirmative action.  Richard Nixon liked affirmative action not because he liked black people, but because he wanted to undermine unions and because in union jobs there was often a strong emphasis on seniority as a means of promotion.  Richard Nixon was no dummy, and in supporting affirmative action part of his game was to drive a wedge between minorities and organized labor.  And as I just pointed out basing promotion on seniority is an excellent way to make sure that the playing field is equal for blacks.  Seniority as a means of advancement is an excellent way to make sure there's no discrimination against blacks in giving out work and promotions.  However, if two persons have roughly equal amounts of seniority then I favor affirmative action.  But if someone has been on the job for two years and somebody else has been on the job for two months obviously the promotion should go to the person who's been on the job longer, as long as they are competent and have a good work ethic.  Seniority is good.  Where seniority is a strong factor in advancement black people are more likely to get their fair share of the good jobs.  As far as affirmative action in education is concerned affirmative action should not be an issue, because all colleges should have open admissions.  That means anybody white or black who finishes high school should be allowed to go to college.  If someone needs to take remedial classes than they need to take remedial classes.  But everyone should be allowed to go to any college they choose, except for perhaps a medical college where there may be special criteria besides just finishing high school or getting a GED.

Q. But wouldn't the quality of education go down if there were open admissions?
A.  No.  My alma mater is CCNY or City College of New York.  CCNY has open admissions.  CCNY has had more Noble Prize winners among its alumni than all of the Ivy League colleges on the East Coast combined.

Q. What do you think of black nationalism?
A.  I would have to say that today's black nationalists fill me with disgust.  At times they seem to act like Nazi storm troopers outside of Korean grocery stores.  I have seen black nationalists act like fascistic thugs when they encounter interracial couples.  I have been witness to the bullying thuggish behavior of groups of young men influenced by black nationalism and white supremacy.  It seems like these black nationalists and white supremacist thugs need to be in groups in order to beat up one man.  They are truly pathetic.  However, I do not equate black nationalism with fascism.  However, it is disgusting the way that thugs influenced by black nationalism act out in a manner similar to white supremacist fascists.  But again I'm not saying that the black nationalists are fascists.  However, both whites and blacks must have the right to defend themselves against these black nationalist and white supremacist thugs.  I realize that not all black nationalists are thugs, perhaps most of them are not.  But much of their race hate speech seems to influence the behavior of thugs.  It seems like not since the Black Panthers and Malcolm X has there been a decent black nationalist.  The Black Panthers were courageous defenders of the Second Amendment and the right of blacks to defend themselves against the racist violence of the bourgeois government.  Malcolm X often told the truth about some things – like the nature of politicians.  Malcolm X had nothing good to say about any politician white or black.  And Malcolm X said, "When you vote Democrat you vote Dixiecrat!"  I guess they don't make black nationalists like they used to.  Anyway, within black nationalism there are inherent problems.  Black people are now the third largest group in this country – after Latinos.  If black workers do not unite with white and Latino workers then the black workers will be weaker.  Either the white and black and Latino workers unite together, or divided the white and black and Latino workers will continue to be oppressed by the bourgeoisie.  If black workers are sick and tired of a racist capitalist system of unemployment, low wages, inferior housing, inferior education than they are simply going to have to throw capitalism in the garbage can.  In order to do that they have to unite with all workers of all colors.  Black nationalism – like white supremacy – is against white, black, and Latino workers being united. When black, white, and Latino workers unite and do things together we can accomplish a lot.  Maybe one day workers of all races united together will throw capitalism in the garbage can and replace it with socialism.

My video White, Black, and Brown Workers Unite!" from my YouTube channel SucksCapitalism.



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