Re: [Marxism] Anglos (aka whites, gringos, gabachos, Americans)

["Sayan Bhattacharyya" <ok.president+marxmail@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 8/18/06, Mike Friedman <mikedf@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Les is absolutely right, on many counts. We have been focused on the
> situation in the Middle East not merely to the neglect of the "war at
> home," but to the extent of buying into some of the haze generated by the
> rulers -- i.e., that working people are "comfortable" or "contented" or
> stupid or whatever. While Joaquin (with the late Ted Allen) is correct in
> noting that white-skin privilege provides the matrix that immobilizes us,
> I think there is an explanation at another level:  I think Sayan hit close
> to the mark in an earlier post, in which he responded to the question of
> why most people aren't in the streets, why they are complacent.

> From today's New York Times:

"A Pew Research Center poll (conducted the week after Hurricane
Katrina) found that two-thirds of black Americans and three-quarters
of white Americans believe that too many poor people are overly
dependent on government aid."

What to make of this astonishing finding, given that what  safety net
existed has actually been mostly eroded away? Okay, I can understand
how 75% of white Americans might believe this. But how is it that  66%
of black Americans believe this? What is the explanation for this kind
of "false consciousness" (especially when studies also show widespread
skepticism among black Americans about govenment, the media, etc,
which would mean that they are likely to not be overly susceptible to
propaganda)?

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