When you try to stick it to the poor, they eventually rebel

ENGLAND: RIOTS SPREADING DAILY

This is not how people in civilized, democratic societies are supposed to get their leaders to listen to their voices, but - well - it can be pretty damn effective, and the United States and the Democratic Party better pay close attention to what is going on in England.  From a WaPost editorial today:

"...the rampaging youths in London have aimed at stealing televisions and clothes and setting cars and buildings on fire. Arab protest leaders speak with Jeffersonian passion of building a new democratic order, while the British rioters’ ideology seemed to be summed up by two young women who told the BBC that they meant to show the police and “the rich” that “we can do whatever we want.” ...

The common factors include high unemployment, resentment toward a prosperous and seemingly impenetrable upper class, and hatred of the police. In Britain’s case, as in some Arab countries, the trouble is further fueled by racial and ethnic tensions."

Earlier news reports have explained that Great Britain's conservative government has embarked on a massive austerity program that hits the poor especially hard (sound familiar?).  Now, you may hate the poor, you may rant and rave about how the poor should take advantage of our public schools, study hard, get a job, and become good citizens like the rest of us (you know, like all those politicians who keep getting caught doing bad things, and the Bernie Madoffs, and all those white collar, highly educated bankers who wrecked our economy), but it will do no good.  There will always be an underclass in every society.  You can either accept it and work hard to give them hope and a better life at great monetary cost to society, or you can try to grind them down with your boot heal, in which case they will eventually rebel and burn your cities down because they have so much less to lose than you do and they know it.

The U.S. is headed in the second direction.  Republicans assume that if you make life hard enough on the poor they will wise up, reluctantly get jobs and join the rest of us.  That's mean and stupid.  There are no jobs for the underclass in America.  McDonalds? Pizza Hut?  Are you serious?  You can survive living with your parents with jobs like that, but those jobs go nowhere and everyone knows it. 

I'm surprised we haven't seen the kind of riots England is experiencing yet, but you can bet they're on the horizon and we might even find former middle class Americans joining in.  EVERYONE in America knows our government is run by the wealthy, for the benefit of the wealthy only.  Over 60% of Americans say creating jobs should be the government's #1 priority right now.  Have you seen ANY serious attempts by the Republicans or Democrats to put large numbers of people back to work?  Hell NO! 

I blame the Democrats the most.  Their number 1 goal is to hang onto their jobs and get re-elected by pandering and kowtowing to the corporate-run right.  At some point I hope liberals and progressives will leave the party in disgust and start a new movement.   We cannot be part of this cowardly, ineffective political party and look at ourselves in the mirror.

--Trakker

 

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"political-journalistic complex" - Richard Stein

Sad truth about it

When a young man was asked by a reporter, if he thought rioting was the correct way to express discontent, he answered with

"Yes," said the young man. "You wouldn't be talking to me now if we didn't riot, would you?"

The TV reporter from Britain's ITV had no response. So the young man pressed his advantage. "Two months ago we marched to Scotland Yard, more than 2,000 of us, all blacks, and it was peaceful and calm and you know what? Not a word in the press. Last night a bit of rioting and looting and look around you."