Is there a benefit to racism?

[Benton]

(08-14-2018, 09:01 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: Yes. Throughout history it has been advantageous for the wealthy to foster racial divisions in order for the poor to not come together against them. Every time there has been an organized movement to advance the cause of the lower and lower-middle class people in this country by bringing together poor white people and poor people of color, there has been a strong effort by corporations and wealthy individuals in power to squash those efforts. Not to get too conspiracy theorist, here, but do we think there is any coincidence that MLK was assassinated after beginning his efforts for the Poor People's Campaign? He was moving from racial justice to economic justice, bringing people together, and then he was murdered.

If poor white people and poor people of color were to come together it could be very bad for those with the money and power, so stoking those racist flames is to their benefit.

Agreed.

It's not so much that some people benefit off racism, they just it as a tool to divide people. Because division keeps everyone insulated from other ideas.

The last time poor people came together en masse and supported lawmakers who were making changes to help the poor was the New Deal. That turned out to be the laundry list of things businesses would love to do away with: repealing prohibition (business needs a sober workforce), minimum wage, child labor prohibitions, crop insurance, 44 hour (now 40) work week, etc. Pro-business complain about SS and things that developed out of the New Deal, but those really were never the issue, it was the cost of saying businesses have to at least meet a minimum of working conditions.