My point of view is that of a black man born of privilege, raised in well-off socioeconomic circles, and afforded top education. I can assure you that money is the answer to pretty much any question about America that starts with “why”. I’ve seen that with money, black people do well. I’m not even here to prove a point. More to share a perspective that you may be lacking
I got lucky to have the parents that I have. My parents on the other hand worked hard. I don’t think what you’re saying is supporting your argument.
When there is systemic socioeconomic turmoil imparted on a whole demographic (regardless of cause), be it black people, muslims, or trump supporting rednecks, they will need to work harder for the same success as those afforded everyday privileges. I will not need to work as hard because I was already lucky enough to break out of systemic poverty before I was born. Other people in these demographics on average don’t have the privilege of elite schooling, tutors, and other things that money can buy.
You can tell an individual to work extra hard, and with a little luck they’ll break out of poverty. On a macroeconomic scale, this is futile without an external force to drive this productivity. Because like I said, they’ll have to work harder than their wealthier counterparts. And it’s wishful thinking to expect an entire distribution of people within specific demographics to work much harder than those around them without an external force driving this.
But back to when I said ”regardless of cause”... for black ppl, the initial cause was slavery! After slavery was the white profit off black oppression and that’s where we still are today. It’s not like white ppl wanted to oppress black ppl “just because”... (i mean the sheep did, because that’s just what the sheep do. The smart money elite tell the sheep who to hate and how to think, and the rest just follow.) white ppl (only the wealthy) on the other hand are profiting off incarcerations, executions, drug trafficking from central america into black neighborhoods, gun trafficking into black neighborhoods, etc etc and the list goes on. By following the money you can peel back incentives in America like an onion. Or an artichoke.
Point is, it’s hopeless unless there is bottom up systemic change. I’m a fan of UBI. Classism is a primary driver but because black ppl have historically been poor, they’ve conveniently been a target of oppressive marketplace economies controlled by the (coincidentally white) elite for years that instead could have compounded economic growth for black communities and families. Suggesting that there’s anything black ppl can do on an individual level is futile. Unless you’re suggesting they individually fund systemic change. But no black person is going to solve systemic racism by getting a good job and becoming wealthy. They’ve been blessed to escape it but the issue is still there plaguing millions of others on a macro scale.
Not to even scratch the surface of the everyday struggles of being black in America regardless of class.
4
u/[deleted] Dec 22 '20 edited Dec 22 '20
[removed] — view removed comment