It seems to me, as a person who grew up in a multi-racial, very poor and very working class environment in Britain, Liverpool to be precise, that there are quite a lot of complex reasons for racism, class-prejudice and so on, and economic, social, racial, religious prejudices and disparities of all kinds. Some people are rich, so it stands that some people will be poor. And those who can, exploit, and those who can’t, are either exploited or choose to stay unemployed and drift into a vacuum of either drinking, drug abuse, drifting etc etc. The average white person, and the average black person, in both the US and Britain, have far more in common socially, politically, economically and even ethnically than probably any other two groups of communities. If the poor whites and blacks pulled together, and put away their differences, the political and social power they would wield would be irrestible, and would eventually be a force to be reckoned with.

Most white people are sickened, saddened, and even slightly amused, by the so-called white power groups, who, more often than not, are fronted by people who cannot even spell properly or articulate a simple argument; and these are supposed to be a ‘master race’?! No, we are all equal in the eyes of God, and though the world is racist, classist, divided in a million and one ways, the word to the wise is that those who are interested in being just, will treat others as they would wish to be treated themselves.

Finally, there may be many white people who are privileged etc, but there are many white people who are one or two steps away from many black and disadvantaged communities and individuals. Part of the action must be community-led, and part must be as individuals, who in their own space and time, challenge very personal problems in their lives. Simplistic, but it works for me. Have a goal, have a vision, and every mountain crumbles and every crooked road is straightened.

Timbo

Covering blacks and unification; I believe that’s something that has been tried many a time and generally black people will unite for a good cause. However, history will show that everytime unification takes place simply put, someone is murdered. Again; at the hands of another race. At this point I believe the community as a collective is tired of dealing with racism and simply don’t care. It’s really interesting to observe from a social perspective because by not caring I’ve noticed that it’s made the majority stronger and not only stronger but indepedent of any other community. If this current trend keeps up however I forsee segregation and not on part of the white community but the black community. It’s really easy to have extreme fundamentals when a community supports your ideals and fear this is happenning in my own community. During the Civil Rights Movement there were a large number of blacks that were peaceful, sadly, it won’t be that next time around. Really, i’m not sure if I can blame them.

Perhaps we need to learn from the Asians instead, at the end of the day they are making all the smart moves in the UK. Let’s give and receive support with people of any race who empathise with our cause. But now allow ourselves to be drawn into race hate issues. I fear some blacks are joining the whites in some race hate stuff in England, yeah we have got a share of immigrants, freeloaders, terrorists etc. Britain signed the Genevas Convention so.

Asians in Britain are the largest and most successful minority; financially, maritally and academically, their success is envied by all and I often hear whites and even a few blacks jealously calling them “Pakis”.

I never took much notice of what Asians do but now I find myself wondering if I could adopt their “system” and enjoy some prosperity for a change. My cousins do not want to unite and are too busy pursuing personal interests that are not helping them or their offspring, however for the ones of us that can unite, let’s do it.

My local library and university is full of Asians, they study for professions like law or medicine, many are self-employed and only answer to their customers or the taxman.

I am mixed-race,having black and Portuguese roots am constantly mistaken for a whole load of races, seen as a threat etc and the joke of it is I’m not successful, compared to some blacks I’m seen as an under acheiver but some Brits won’t let up, they want to know where I’m from, how much of me is negro and how much is white; Britain is obsessed with ethnic origins, accents and class.

Race hate is growing with riots in towns where Asians and new foreigners are dominant.

I visited some Nationalist web-sites to see how some Britains view it’s ethnic folk and it was quite scary; ethnic folks are seen as degenerates who are a threat to the purity of their race and economy. The joke is that the whites who put that trash together cannot even spell properly and they are supposed to represent the whites interests in the next election.

Call me a softie but I would prefer to see sme harmony here, life is too short for all of us so let us use what we have instead of spreading some destructive hate, Let’s try and follow some positive and friendly ways to improve our lot without getting into issues with some ignorant haters, otherwise you afro-americans are going to see an influx of British whites and blacks to your shores trying to pursue the American dream instead of knuckling down in Britain and trying something good here.

I know whites who have almost given up with England and want to live abroad to get away from foreigners. Race hate talks are abound on some web-sites I am sad to see this waste of time. “Divide and Rule and the “colour of intelligence issues”.

I prefer to take the stance of compassion and positive focus.

This is at least one approach to adopt when the job scene gets tough. British jobs are unstable right now with loads of redundancies around. In Britain I’ve had to change jobs loads of times, even completely switch careers, suffer major drops in income and move countries to survive, what the heck, maybe that will help to make us stronger.

Some afro-caribbeans have a sound education and are encouraging other blacks to strive for an education and I love that, I don’t see that in the British Blacks though, they are so divided and when I say to my cousins, “let’s try and pool our money and do something” they say no. They settle for low paid jobs and life infront of the Playstation with their KFC.

Since I returned home to England I have been displaced to a degree by new foreigners and even school leavers, I am having to rethink my moves and am having to operate closer with my Mum and brother to support each other in these tough times. Let us unite and support each other to build more secure futures if we can.

I hope you find your solutions, keep the door open let the ideas flood in.

Who or what is that typical of, exactly?

As for complaining, how did I complain? I posted the text of a NYT article which says that blacks are being hurt by this bad economy disproportionately. Unless you think the NYT is a black institution — which is absurd — then I fail to see who is complaining here.

And my reluctance to provide a solution means …nothing at all. These are super complex issues which do not admit of easy or glib solutions. You’re yammering about “complaining instead of solving” is just flak.

Yes, I understood the gist of your blog. All it did is re-state the fact that there is racism in the country.

In case you haven’t been paying attention, that is a disputed notion today (as always). Most of the moves to dismantle affirmative action are predicated on “the end of racism”.

Further, the point of this site is different, namely, to show that the point of racist structures is to benefit and privilege white people. (Which is an even more uniformly disputed claim than the claim about there being racist individuals and institutions still in the US.) Being less hurt by a bad economy is one such privilege, as is being able to withstand a bad economy more easily because of generational wealth disparities, which are owed in part to the historical legacy of slavery and apartheid.

Here is a solution: Why don’t blacks pool their resources together and help other blacks strive? Don’t think it doesn’t work? Check out the Cubans in South Florida or any Asian communities across the country.

Not only is that not a solution, it’s just a way to further stigmatize African Americans by contrast to “model minorities” like Asians and Cubans. First, what makes you think African Americans aren’t doing that or haven’t been doing it forever? Second, there are substantial differences in these cases, including the fact that neither Asians nor Cubans face a 300 year history of institutionalized oppression. (Which is not to say that Hispanics and Asians haven’t or don’t face discrimination at the hands of whites and white institutions.) Third, the semi-nationalist, Garveyite “solution” to which you very obliquely (and ignorantly, I suspect) refer is something African Americans have been doing and talking about for a long time, since at least the end of the Civil War, if not before. Whatever one view of that as a strategy, the mainstream liberal promise of white America’s response to civil rights was integration, the ongoing differential failure of which is precisely the problem the NYT piece highlights.

You don’t seem to have thought about or researched these issues very carefully.

Typical…you rather complain about the problem instead of coming up with a solution.

Yes, I understood the gist of your blog. All it did is re-state the fact that there is racism in the country.

Here is a solution: Why don’t blacks pool their resources together and help other blacks strive? Don’t think it doesn’t work? Check out the Cubans in South Florida or any Asian communities across the country.

Uh… I’m supposed to solve this problem, by myself, in a weblog post? Sheesh.

What is happening is capitalism at work. Corporations are in the business of maximizing profits. Moving overseas operations is just the latest trend to maximize profits.

Uh, no. You must not have read the article very carefully, if at all. What is it about capitalism per se which explains the differential between white and black unemployment rates? (While there were deep historical connections between racism and the rise of capitalism, that’s a conceptually distinct issue.)

Nothing you’ve said here even addresses, much less explains why this bad economy is hurting blacks disproportionately. *That’s* the point of the story, after all. (The other serious flaw in your response is that the US economy isn’t really capitalist at all. But that’s a bigger, slightly tangential issue…)

As a capitalist I understand the reasoning behind it even though I will be out of work.

That’s a helpfully compliant, subservient attitude. Capital is always happy to find such workers.

What is the solution? Adapt to the situation. Pick up a new skill. Start your own business. Change your career.

These are hard to do in the ideal case, right? Vastly harder when you face barriers to educational access, capital investiture, and employment generally.

I know for some people it is easier said than done but in rapid changing times workers need to be one step ahead of the curve.

This is vague… Who are these “some people” and why is it harder for them than for others? Out and out racism is one such reason, but that’s not a reason I’m willing to dismiss as “simply capitalism at work”.

What is happening is capitalism at work. Corporations are in the business of maximizing profits. Moving overseas operations is just the latest trend to maximize profits. It is not only happening to blue collar jobs, it is also happening to white collar jobs such as software development. I should know. I have been laid off twice in two years and most likely be laid off in the near future once my company shifts my job duties to India.

As a capitalist I understand the reasoning behind it even though I will be out of work. What is the solution? Adapt to the situation. Pick up a new skill. Start your own business. Change your career. I know for some people it is easier said than done but in rapid changing times workers need to be one step ahead of the curve.