I am so tired of folks blaming people stuck in poverty for being the cause of their poverty. An honest study of our economy suggests that poverty is systematically structured into our economy, it is not a product of in opportunistic people. Let me use this analogy. You are born in quicksand and racism and poor education are anchors tied to each foot. So even as you try to pull yourself youre being pulled back down by forces you did not create. Some folks are strong enough to get out but most arent and you then blame the ones who didnt for not working harder to get out of the quicksand. But you never take into consideration the enormous reservoirs of strength and resourcefulness it takes just to stay alive in the quicksand. Talking to Africans about personal responsibility without situating that first in the dynamic of structural racism and white supremacy is like criticizing Jews in the concentration camps for having bad hygiene without acknowledging the concentration camps or xenophobia-- it completely ignores the context that is responsible for the behavior. It confuses effect for cause, placing the burden on Africans for solving a host of problems they did not create, while exonerating the very culprits that are responsible- structural racism, white cultural misanthropy and white privilege.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 08:52:17 +0000
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