In my obsessive quest to read anything and everything “health care reform” (health insurance reform?) over the weekend, I came across a powerful post from Maxwell Reddick at soulbrother v.2. He tells the story of black farmers and white farmers in the late nineteenth century, who were both servants to rich landowners and commodity brokers:
For a brief moment in this nation’s history, poor blacks and poor whites recognized in one another a common circumstance and destiny and pulled together in a spirit of solidarity to improve their lot in life. And for a brief moment, the movement began to gain momentum.
But then, he goes on to explain, the landowners and commodity brokers offered the white farmers the elevated status of whiteness, as long as they ended their coalition with the black farmers. In exchange for recognition as white people (i.e. privilege) and a few extra cents, the white farmers voted against their best interests, and their lives did not improve.
Good white people participating in the mobs protesting healthcare reform—this is how they played you then. This is how they are playing you now. Wake up!
I thought they’d wake up after eight years of George W. Bush. But history is repeating itself yet again. From pundits like Glenn Beck to Senators like Republican Charles Grassley of Iowa to anti-reform lobbying groups, the ruling class has working class whites wrapped around its collective finger. With the other hand, it’s holding another finger up to all Americans.
The way that the right holds poor white people’s (especially men’s) privileges over them is disgusting, but not as disgusting as the way that they play along. Pandagon has a great post up about gun nuts and how they’re fueled by insecurity in their masculinity, prompted by the news that someone brought an assault rifle to Obama’s latest rally. I think it’s a combination of whiteness and masculinity that’s at play here — the right is convincing these schmucks that not only do they not need the government’s help (because men never ask for help, especially not from the big bad government) but I bet there’s a lot of dog whistling going on about just who stands to benefit most from a public option for health care. We all know what these people hear when their pundits say “the unemployed, the underemployed, those working minimum-wage jobs without benefits” — that’s if they don’t just come straight out with it and say “welfare queens”. Even though a lot of these people would benefit greatly from public health care, they absolutely won’t support it because then they’d be paying for health care for people of color, and that would be the very worst thing in the world.
Yes, Katy “I’m a dumbass” Abram, the “goodness of people” will provide! In fact, there is a system to allow the goodness of people to provide for others that aren’t as well off. That system is called socialism.
Grumble grumble grumble. The health care debate makes me very grumpy indeed.
@baraqiel Pandagon has a great post up about gun nuts and how they’re fueled by insecurity in their masculinity
This thought goes very well with the idea of pandering to poor white people’s privilege. Good one.
Oh, this makes me livid. The Dems knew exactly how the right would play this and they fell for it anyhow. If you believe that only have one advantage in life, which is the color of your skin, you’re going to be very susceptible to appeals based on that. The white right is just as aware of privilege as we are-but they think it’s a good and desirable thing.
Baraqiel, did you hear Glenn Beck call the public option “a reparations plan”? Doesn’t get much more explicit than that, does it? The white right isn’t even dog-whistling. It’s yelling for everyone to hear. We’re the dogs-cowering under the table with our tails between our legs.
@mischiefmanager – Oh god, I forgot about that. You’re totally right. Well, Beck’s getting a little comeuppance lately. I’m sure his viewers could care less about the Geico Gecko, but when Walmart pulls its ads from your “Real America” program, you’re in trouble.
I just can’t believe this keeps happening every few decades. As you mentioned, SarahMC, with farmers in the 1800s. The same happened with the labor movement in the 1910s-20s: white workers were convinced not to form unions with black workers and the unions were significantly weakened as a result. And it’s not just racial; poor Christians are often convinced to vote against their own interests because the GOP waves the specter of the GLBT community in front of them. Played like a fiddle, every time.
So how does the left fight it?
I wish I knew, Mischiefmanager. We don’t have the noise machine they do. And even if we did, I don’t think progressives would get whipped up into a frenzy like the right does. We can write as many brilliant op-eds as we like, Obama can myth-bust ’til the cows come home, but the right doesn’t fight that way. When one side is willing to blatantly lie to achieve its ends, and the other is not, there’s no competition, IMO. I don’t know what to do. I’m gonna try to go to a town hall next week but my reps are liberal and support a public option anyway.