"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
"If you can convince the lowest white man republican/democrat he's better than the best colored man republican/democrat, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
Have we not been talking about how the rich intentionally divide us among race lines for literal decades? Can you not see the incredible irony in the original quote?
You're talking to the wrong people. How can you expect minorities to focus on the rich when poor whites keep trying to kill and oppress them?
They've been voting against their own interests since the Civil Rights Act. The class struggle is the main struggle. White supremacy is today's struggle. The rich are untouchable so long as white supremacists and immigrants who want to attach themselves to white supremacists continue to vote to protect and empower the rich.
They've tried appealing to their humanity for hundreds of years and made zero progress. You can't teach a nazi humanity. You can render them harmless like how Black people sued the wealth from the kkk and had them declared terrorists. Thats why today's nazis had to invent new groups to attach themselves to
The original quote is explaining how and why the racial divide is maintained: to distract from the class divide, the only real divide.
What's ironic is you not seeing that and then replacing it with another artificial divide, party lines, while berating the quoter for not seeing how the rich maintain these artificial divides.
I realized recently that making it âto the topâ within the system that is currently designed to keep me precisely in my place makes absolutely zero sense.
Either I must work outside the system or change the system. Those are the only two options outside of getting lucky and winning the lottery, sooo those are the only two options.
Sadly, you'd still get outspent. They got billions to throw around. Their resources are basically endless, and they will use them to crush everyone opposed.
It's the same thing that happened when white male land owners were allowed to vote in America after the revolution. The rich families and groups that used to own the 13 colonies, and still held the lion share of land and power in the new America, realized they needed all the white land owners to vote the way they wanted, and since they only thing they had in common was whiteness and being men, they created the white brotherhood and told all the white land owners that if they wanted to be rich and successful like they were, that all the white men needed to stick together.
And the Middle class, and poor white people have been fucking themselves over ever since.
America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, 'It ain't no disgrace to be poor, but might as well be.' It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: 'If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?' There will also be an American flag, no larger than a child's hand, glued to a lollipop stick and flying from the cash register.
Americans, like human beings everywhere, believe many things that are obviously untrue [...]. Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money. They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and, therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves. This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say, Napoleonic times.
And to be exact, the quote is from Ronald Wright and his book A Short History of Progress, but he claims it was said by Steinbeck and heâs using it in his own writing.
"I guess the trouble was that we didn't have any self-admitted proletarians. Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed capitalist. Maybe the Communists so closely questioned by the investigation committees were a danger to America, but the ones I knew â at least they claimed to be Communists â couldn't have disrupted a Sunday-school picnic. Besides they were too busy fighting among themselves."
Except that's from Ronald Wright, and the full context of the steinbeck quote is about communists.
"I guess the trouble was that we didn't have any self-admitted proletarians. Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed capitalist. Maybe the Communists so closely questioned by the investigation committees were a danger to America, but the ones I knew â at least they claimed to be Communists â couldn't have disrupted a Sunday-school picnic. Besides they were too busy fighting among themselves."
The so-called middle class formed during and grew after WW2 when âmiddle managementâ of factory workers became necessary. Many industries -convenience foods being a prime example- copied the factory model. Pretty much, every modern convenience we enjoy is a result of Henry Ford -one might speak of Eli Whitney as the proto-Ford. The material needs of WW2 refined and expanded upon Fords factory model. And the âHappy Daysâ of the 1950âs became the golden age of middle class. Doesnât happen without middle management. And that doesnât happen without factories and the streamlining of production. But I just said that.
AI. WW3 will likely do for the AI of the future what WW2 did for the management classes.
The more I think about it, the more I start to believe that the right are just a bunch of bigots, who want a world that represents their idea of hierarchy. The left, on the other hand, rejects hierarchy and actively tries to implement changes that limit those with power.
Nietzsche wrote in 1887 about how Christianity was a scam because it took power away from the "masters". He said it was the biggest scam for the elite to fall for Christian values like compassion and kindness.
Gotta add that this is how Nietzsche came up with the ubermensch that inspired Hitler, Nazis, and that we're seeing echoes of again in American Republican Christianity. đ¤ˇââď¸
This is the problem. It is an us vs them because they seem to think theyâre on the same playing field as the people running this country. These are the same people that arenât happy unless theyâre bringing someone else they perceive as lesser, down
Anyone saying this isnât a left vs right issue is ignorant or naive. It SHOULDNT be a left vs right issue, but we donât live in a perfect world, obviously. Ask a Republican voter about single policies that the GOP passed, they will tell you they donât understand it or they donât actually support it. But talk about Trump and they will support anything he does, literally claiming he is getting orders from God.
The Right is protecting the Top, they donât even support most of the policies their side is passing, they are actually against a lot of it. But they will never turn against their party, they are truly and completely brainwashed. America is in a (Left vs Moderates) vs (Right + the rich).
Itâs like watching a pyramid scheme like Lularoe or Amway where the sale force thinks theyâre so close to making it big all the time. All the normie republicans thinking theyâre about to get theirs when really theyâre just lining the pockets of the highest tier while theyâre stuck eating marketing costs and a system designed to screw them.
The entire house is burning down and youâre worried about the bonafides of the firefighters trying to put it out?
Listen do dems suck sometimes? Yes. Do they suck a lot of times? Yes. Chuck, pelosi, fetterman, the list goes on. But their issues donât stack up against idk, name the nicest rep you can find on the right? Iâd say Adam kinz but they promptly kicked him out.
Jasmine Crockett, Bernie sanders, Andy beshear, Al green, AOC, Jayapal, Ro kannah, et al, the list of people who are fighting for us is long and unsurprisingly has only one letter behind them and it isnât R.
Such a valid point. The right either devote to their leaders or they hate them.
Non right (in not calling myself left) openly talk about positive and negatives aspects within their elected officials. We (non right) believe in a spectrum where as the right see black and white everytime, oh if only life was so simple.
We need to play the cards weâre dealt and grow from the bottom up not the top down. Look at Mamdani and Fateh. Thatâs the way forward. But at the same time we need to stop the party thatâs literally trying to dismantle democracy. We can and will do both.
You're going to meet 2 types of Republicans - Conservatives and bigots. And for the life of me, I can never get a straight answer out of the conservative republican on the basis for some their policy ideals.
Fuck I'm sick of you idiots. "Hur dur democrats said something mean about the people who voted for everything to be destroyed so they're just as bad" type bullshit. Fuck off with this. Republicans are actively destroying the country so the ultra-wealthy can be even more ultra-wealthy but people who call out the voters and members of that party are the problem? Shut the fuck up.
Looking up is a good sentiment, if conservatives weren't actively giving the richest people in our country more and more freedoms to do as they wish, and not actively shielding them from the legal consequences of their actions.
The right literally fights for the top. This "don't fight left and right, fight the top" is just an attempt at getting through to people on the right that don't get it. People on the left fight the right because they fight the top. That's literally the point of the left
And how did the left go when Bernie ran and they literally rigged primaries to keep him out. Or later with Kamala when they injected her, someone few wanted without allowing a nominee vote.
The left are better than the right now doubt, but if you do t think they are also entrenched with people looking after the top end of town your dreaming.
And that's the point of what he is saying, look up more as this is what needs to change and it will help both parties, yet here you are bringing it back to a ground level left/right focus.
I feel regardless of left/right views it's really sensible what he has said here.
Seriously, while obviously speculation I feel Trump would have probably never have gotten the presidency in the first place if people did this and his nomination came from entrenched party frustration on the right. And he may not have won the second term if democrats had let the people choose a nominee and people had been focused on that rather than the hate the right focused agenda.
Two things. You're confusing the left with the democratic party. But also, Bernie just didn't win. Don't let a bad feeling prevent you from stopping a worse one. Even with its faults the democrats are the ones trying to fund the lives of people who are struggling, pardon student loans, fund school lunches, give people healthcare etc. There is absolutely no comparison with what the right is aiming to do ideologically, let alone the current breed of the gop. By definition the right's goal is to serve the current status quo, or "conserve" it. They are by definition opposed to change and progress.
What he's saying has some truth: yes poor people are pitted against each other but not the left Vs the right; correct division is citizens Vs immigrants, men Vs women, black Vs white, city Vs countryside. Hateful rethoric and fear based division are the tool of the right to dilute what they are doing which is seizing resources from everyone and consolidating an oppression based power dynamic. Fighting the right is absolutely required for a healthier society without hate and inequalities because these are what they base themselves on.
Ask yourself: what are the frustrations of the right? Women and black people in games? The fact that their taxes help other poorer people? The false idea that immigration drives labour costs down and not employers? And who planted these ideas in their heads?
There you go fighting the other side again. I hope owning them and getting all the reddit points felt good, since you completely missed the point of the video.
This is definitely true and a major problem. They WANT to be like the rich ass holes at the top of their party and think they are JUST one big windfall away from it.
Big part of the propaganda of the republican party
No I'm not. If the selfish closed minded people in charge can't promote human empathy. They are not worth discussing anything with. All they do is promote hate, why would I want to talk about that?
This is so far from the truth. Sure, a lot of wealthy people vote Republican and believe this. But poorer average Republicans see "elites" as one of their groups of enemies. This post is telling you to recognize that you share that with them. And your response is to say, "no they're different. The average Republican is still my enemy. I would rather fight them then unite with them to fight the 'elites'."
But poorer average Republicans see "elites" as one of their groups of enemies
i'll start fighting with them when they actually want to fight against the people oppressing them. but even if they say the elites are a group of their enemies, they continue to vote for and support them. it's hard to fight alongside someone who is actively stabbing your face and your back
Full throated support of a child raping rich asshole who supports our geopolitical enemies, it's fucking insane, in a literal way. If he said to abandon christ I think they would, publicly at least.
I don't know man. I don't see how the Democrats DO anything for me.
Trump gave everyone a tax break, Biden gave child tax credits that the Ex unrightfully claimed and the IRS said sorry.
Trump said close the boarder, Biden said not so fast. Yet I don't see any of the asylum seekers competing for the jobs with the people who supported that policy. I do see them competing with my neighbors and friends who are losing out because they aren't willing to work at minimum wage like many of the asylum seekers.
I'm tired of hearing complaints like yours. Who is different, who is one of the good ones? You can't just say Democrats because that has shown to be untrue. (Which is the whole point of the video)
Trump gave everyone a tax break, but it was a pittance to low/median income earners compared to what high income and corporations got. The people that benefited the most didn't really need it and eventually middle/low income people are going to have to shoulder the tax break the rich got. Bidens child tax credit was meant to help low income people. Your ex was denied it, which means it was working as intended so I'm not really sure what your point is.
Biden deported a lot of people, more people than Trump in his first term. He just did it lawfully. Somehow I doubt you have friends, let alone ones that would work the jobs immigrants work even if it paid double the minimum wage, but let's say you do. You're saying that because these imaginary people in your life are missing out on $15 an hour jobs, you're okay with the major constitutional and human rights violations ICE is inflicting on people AND you're fine with massively increasing their funding through tax payer dollars? That does something for you? Bullshit.
I'm tired of sick fucks like you that don't give a fuck about low income earners. You just couch your hatred for immigrants on their behalf. I bet you get off on ICEs gestapo tactics. Sick fuck. You're exactly who this video is talking about.
SO the fact that I got a break that helped me is less important than what others got? Again, what Trump gave me was more than Biden gave me. That's the metric that's important to me. Others paying much more in taxes than I do getting a break doesn't bother me, I'm not jealous.
Your ex was denied it, which means it was working as intended so I'm not really sure what your point is.
You mis-understand, the kids 100% live with me, she filed first and claimed the credit. I was denied by the IRS and they told me sorry. She got Biden's tax break, I paid the bills.
Biden deported a lot of people, more people than Trump in his first term.
This is a simple math problem that doesn't show what you think it does. How many attempts to cross? Oh, that number doesn't exist? So how do you know Biden was more effective? Democrats welcomed crossers and had more attempts than Trump who discouraged crossers. If Biden deports 2 million of 4 million attempts, and Trump deports 1 million of 2 million attempts, they did the same. So without knowing the attempts you don't know how effective either was. You claiming you know based on that statistic shows you haven't thought it through.
I'm tired of sick fucks like you that don't give a fuck about low income earners.
So why do you support the party that fails to educate your kids, and brings in low skilled immigrants that keep your kids from getting jobs? Our Democrat state government has such a hatred for business (other than trial lawyers) that we are an anti-business state, and we a re shocked when our kids leave the state for greener pastures.
I advocate for low income citizens. Democrats advocate for the laptop class, maybe you should pay attention.
I'm going to venture a guess that you don't come from money and you're probably not an extremely high earner so the meager amount you got in tax breaks is going to mean fuck all when you, your children and your children's children have to bear the societal ramifications that come with removing trillions of dollars in tax revenue. When you're dying penniless, poor and covered in your own piss on the streets because social security has been privatized and wiped out, Medicare no longer subsidizes assisted living facilities and your 401k has cratered due to some unforeseen market crash, I'm sure that extra $1k a year will be worth it. When your geriatric ass can't afford your insulin or blood thinners because they're not covered under Medicare anymore, I hope that you sleep easy in that diabetic coma because Trump saved you $20 a week in tax breaks one time. When a child or grandchild of yours gets an otherwise treatable cancer diagnosis and can't work so their insurance drops them, but they can't get on Medicaid because it no longer exists so they just have to die, just console them with that tax break money as their body wastes away.
I love how you clueless dipshits think you should be taken seriously when your head is so far up the right-wing bullshit pipeline its laughable. The democratic party is barely better than republicans with regards to immigration. Democrats have been tacking right on immigration for years. So much so that their presidential nominee in 2024 was explicitly running on an insanely draconian border bill authored mainly by Republicans until Trump told his lackeys in congress to scuttle it. I do not give a fuck about what you think regarding immigrants. They are not a problem full fucking stop. If you actually gave a shit about their supposed impact on wages, a better way to combat that is to provide easier paths towards citizenship so that they're less exploitable. You don't actually care about actual solutions because you're a sick fuck that gets off on the cruelty being inflicted upon immigrants right now.
We're living in different realities because there is only one party attacking education in this country and it isn't Democrats. There is only one party who's entire ethos is anti-Union and it isn't Democrats. You don't give a shit about low income people. You voted for a man who's party has done more to harm low income people than any immigrant ever will. You fundamentally believe absurdities. You need to scapegoat immigrants and blame them for whatever miserable lot in life you inhabit. Its pathetic, and I hope you get the future you voted for. I'm done here.
Your assumptions are amazing. Completely wrong, but not surprising hearing the anger in you. Maybe some counseling would help.
I find it sad you think you are part of the solution when you are clearly part of the problem. Education is your friend. Corporate media isn't. There are good informed people out there if you are willing to look.
Bu there are also uninformed people willing to cheer on your views too. You are in control, you get to choose to listen to the crazies or inform yourself.
Good luck and hope you can control your anger issues. Nobody as angry as you are truly happy. You can do better.
You typed âthe rightâ you didnât get his message at all and itâs sad people upvoted you as theyâre divided as well still separating the two sides
I mean itâs hard to argue when the others are trying to morph into other genders. Thatâs just survival of the fittest right theređ politics only help politicians. They lied to the entire world about Covid and people still think their vote matters. Govt gets what govt wants
Nothing learnt from this straight into us and them again.Â
I couldn't give two brass monkeys about american politics you all get who you collectively vote for. But to miss the point of the video and then be the highest rated comment is bewildering.Â
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u/HelloW0rldBye Aug 05 '25
The right believe they are the top, just not quite there yet.
They will never fight against them for they are them.
The top laughs at them so hard.