In a message dated Tue, 12 Dec 2000 4:25:33 AM Eastern Standard Time, Jeffrey Blankfort <jab@tucradio.org> writes: < Native Americans did not need to be told by "dewey- <eyed airhead liberals" or anyone else that their land <had been stolen, nor African-Americans, that their <ancestors had been enslaved. Whatever treatment the <descendants of those white identured servants received, <and we know how brutally exploitative the American <factory system was from the get go, it was always a <leg up from that experienced by Native Americans and <by African-Americans, as slaves before the civil war <and, in the Jim Crow South that followed the betrayal <of reconstruction in 1877 when the Federal troops were <withdrawn by Pres. Hayes. A "leg up," huh? Ah, I see. Common white folks, even though they were sometimes treated badly, always had a better deal than Black folks. Right. Standard liberal wisdom. And never mind that some of those Native Americans were also slave- owners. That don't count. Us white folks can't go to judgin people of color. On the question of who got better treatment, Goad makes an argument which I don't really expect you to appreciate, Mr. Blankfort, but I'll summarize it for the benefit of other list members. For purely economic reasons, it was in the interest of black slave owners to give their human property better treatment than that received by white slaves. The reason is that the black slave was to be with his master for life. The master had an interest in the long-term productivity of the slave. There- fore, he was interested in the slave's long-term health, and longevity. The slave had to be fed well, and not severely abused. White slaves, on the other hand, were to be released from servitude after seven years. The owners had no interest in keeping them healthy beyond this period. Many were raped, beaten, abused, and undernourished. Many died before the seven years expired. This is not to say that the owners of black slaves had better consciences. It was just different institutional arrangements leading to different forms of treatment. >As for denouncing you as a "white chauvinist," I had >already concluded you were that from your previous >posts. No problem. There are lot of you out there. When you have little of intellectual substance to offer, you can always try to elevate yourself with name-calling. It's also a nice way to make yourself feel morally superior. It must produce a really warm fuzzy glow inside after calling someone a "white chauvinist." That really ain't much different from calling me a white trash redneck. Goad has a few choice words for liberals who like to indulge in this kind of sport: "America's hate affair with white trash is, ultimately, self-hatred. Guilt projection. A convenient way for America to demonize itself, or, rather, to exorcise the demon and place it somewhere outside of itself. In giving fangs to rednecks, Americans have defanged all the white-barbarian tendencies they fear within themselves. "To the white elite, white trash must seem like a disease in remission inside all whites, one that might flare up again given the right circumstances. When white blue bloods are repulsed by white trash, they are uncomfortably reminded both of what they used to be and what they may yet become. They may also quietly sense a bit of guilt for their role in the trashmaking process. Scoffing at rednecks often masks a 'there but for the grace of God go I' uneasiness." Ever risked your life and liberty to rescue an African fugitive from oppression, Mr. Blankfort. I have. Wanna hear about it? Ever gone to prison for opposing the raining down of bombs and napalm on dark-skinned folks over in Asia, Mr. Blankfort. I have. Wanna hear about it? But unlike arrogant, pretentious liberals, I'm concerned about poor white folks also. In fact, due to the enormous reprisals inflicted on me for my efforts on behalf of dark folks, I spent my entire young adulthood being poor white folks myself. You can call me a white chauvinist all you want, pal. My conscience is clear. ~ Michael Wright Michael Wright wrote: > For list members who would like to see a very > politically incorrect book well worth reading, > I recommend The Redneck Manifesto by Jim Goad. > This hard-hitting book, a brilliant defense of > white trash, kicks the hell out of every liberal > illusion out there and gets down to the bare > naked truth I understood 35 years ago: what > we have in this country is primarily a problem > of class injustice, not race injustice. > > The dewey-eyed airhead liberals, no more than > servants of the capitalist ruling class, encourage > blacks to blame the common white man for everything > in order to keep the heat off the real enemy. > Rednecks, hillbillys, and trailer park white > trash have been set up as the new scapegoats. > I have known this for years, but Goad's book gives > me a lot more substance than I had before seeing > it. > > Goad makes the historical case that most white > Americans are little more than descendants of > Europe's social refuse who sent them to the New > World as a convenient dumping ground. For the > most part, our white ancestors weren't slave > owners and exploiters. On the contrary, most of > the white arrivals to the New World in the 1600s > and 1700s were themselves convicts or white > slaves ("indentured servants.") Yet blacks and > Indians are now being encouraged to hate the > common white man for "stealing our land" and > "enslaving our ancestors." Such rubbish of course > is just the same old divide-and-rule strategy the > true oppressors have used to stay in power since > the day one. > > Here's a good sample of Goad's hard-hitting > prose: > > Harriet Beecher Stowe, authoress of Uncle > Tom's Cabin, would have been a white liberal > were she alive today. Her problem wasn't that > she criticized black slavery in the South, it > was that she was a wealthy New England society > chippie who ignored all the mangled white > factory workers and bruised white kiddie laborers > huddled right outside the debutante ball. She > was a Northern aristocrat who scolded Southern > aristocrats for how they treated their under- > class, yet she defecated on the underclass in > her own hometown. > > Stowe toured Great Britain in 1853 and was > hosted by the Duchess of Sutherland, another > wickedly wealthy white salon lady who habitually > hoisted tea and crumpets on behalf of Negrowth > and Afrocharity. After her trip, Stowe called > the Sutherland family 'enlightened.' This must > be what she meant: Starting back in 1811, the > Southerlands had begun a systematic expulsion > of the Scottish peasantry who'd lived for > centuries on common lands. Out of a disputed > 800,000 acres, the Sutherlands claimed 794,000 > for themselves. They hired British police to > forcibly drive out the aboriginal Scots and > burn their homes. One elderly woman was torched > alive while still in her hut. Peasants were > being beaten and set adrift. Many starved to > death. The Sutherlands' brand of enlightenment > created fifteen thousand homeless people and > replaced them with sheep. It was very altruistic > for the Duchess of Sutherland to shed tears over > black slavery in the American South when she had > raped her own peasantry. She would have been a > white liberal, too. > > I'm sure that I'll be denounced as a "white > chauvinist" for this, but Goad's book ought to > be required reading for every airhead pseudo- > left politically correct pretentious Gore- > loving liberal in America -- including the ones > on this list ! > > ~ Michael Wright > Norman, Oklahoma
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