I been saying this for a minute and will most likely do a show on this later this week. But as the economy worsens and the gap between the Have and Have Nots widens we are going to have some serious problems. One disturbing note is that an estimated 75% of the people do not trust the government. That’s playing out with the rise of militias, increasing threats by Tim McVeigh like domestic terrorists and just an overall overt disrespect for anyone in office. A lot of anger has been directed at President Obama, but increasingly more and more ire is being turned toward anyone in office.
Part of what has driven this is the nagging perception is that the those in office work for the rich and powerful and not for the people. There’s a lot of media middleman efforts seemingly designed to keep people’s anger directed at politicians and not the rich and powerful figures behind the scenes who are driving policy. It’s only a matter of time before folks come to realize that no real changes are gonna take place until the proverbial Wall Street fat cats are put in place. Sadly they seem to realize this as well.
Now once upon a time the Aristocratic class and Land Barons who ran this country realized it was just a matter of time before their African slaves and white (European) indentured servants would come to realize as they were working side by side on the fields they were being smashed on by the same person. They feared these lower class folks would rise up and turn on the rich and so these Aristocrats did a couple of things. First they elevated the status of the indentured servant. They were granted more privileges than their African counterparts and were literally told they were better. Many were given overseer status. Their job was to keep everyone especially the African slaves in check and basically protect the rich land owners.The overseers became the first police officers.
The original concern from our founding fathers was to protect the rich and powerful from the poor they were exploiting
Next they put laws in place that would protect them from the ‘Tyranny of the majority’. This is one of the basis for the Federalist Papers put forth by early president James Madison. As Professor and fellow radio host Dr Jared Ball once explained to me…The ‘tyranny of the majority’ the Aristocratic class was afraid of was the poor and desperate who were being oppressed yet vastly outnumbered the ruling class. If they should ever get into power the fear was they would start redistributing the wealth and might start returning the harsh oppressive favors they levied on everyone else. Because of that fear, in a nutshell the game plan was to find ways to protect the interests and property of the rich and powerful and with each passing year and generation different scenarios, tactics and schemes have been thought up. It might’ve been saying slaves were only 3/5th human and not allowing them to vote. It might’ve been making women property and denying them the right to vote. It might have been concocting the ‘American dream’ narrative and leaving a whole lot of poor whites under the illusion that with a bit of hard work, elbow grease and determination they to could one day become rich and powerful.
For decades the rich and powerful were able to keep things moving because they had a buffer class that kept the misery of the poor from smashing on the oppressive nature of the rich. They were the Middle class. For the overwhelming majority of people in this country getting a nice house and a white picket fence was the goal. Forget being a land baron, just give me a small piece of the pie and I’m straight is how most people thought. Become Middle Class and issues of inequality, injustice and the existence of an underclass would be swept under the rug. We saw this with poor whites who became working class and would show a disdain for Blacks and Browns shooting for the same goals. It was the outspoken voices of the so-called working and Middle class who shitted on things like affirmative action and welfare. We even saw this amongst Middle class Blacks and Browns who would buy into what has often been described as the illusion of inclusion. The need to continue to struggle for total freedom and equality was abandoned by many ‘who got theirs’ who would then turn around and arrogantly chastise those who didn’t make it..
But as we can see that illusion has all but crumbled and those who were happy being middle class the reality has sunk in that they to are not only poor, but they may now be a part of this expanded permanent underclass. This realization is setting on for many as they’ve seen their 401ks tank, their credit completely ruined, overwhelming mounting debt that they can’t get rid of thanks to new and more stringent bankruptcy laws designed to protect the rich, sky-high school tuitions and jobs permanently gone while more and more workers are being told they are too old or too irrelevant for today’s youthful and politically dumbed down job market. Today in 2010 we’ve seen a collapse of the Middle Class. It’s either your rich or poor. Very very few are in between. Those who are holding on desperately and willing to do whatever it takes to avoid the plight of those around them. Enter the new Middle class.
Private 'security' outfits like Blackwater are increasingly being used to be a buffer between the rich and poor.
To protect themselves from the ‘Tyranny of the majority‘ we are now seeing the formation of a new buffer class made up of law enforcement. Police, prison guards, Border patrol, ICE, private security firms like Blackwater or whatever name they now go by, IRS agents etc…Those who are willing to smash on ‘their own’ are finding they can escape being apart of this permanent underclass by joining up. We’re hearing about the formation of more and more gated communities and private police forces being used to patrol them. We’re seeing this phenomenon in areas where gentrification is taking place and there is concern that newcomers may have to endure the anger of displaced residents.
We’re also hearing about how private police forces are being used to ‘supplement’ supposedly beleaguered police departments. Journalist Jeremy Scahill noted this a while back with Blackwater mercenaries who has been investigating. What took place in New Orleans during Katrina with them being them holding down empty hotels while poor people around them desperate for food and shelter were forced away seems to have just been a test run for what will soon be commonplace.
Adding to all this is the increasing number of egregious incidents of police brutality. First, many of these incidents seem to be more brazen. It doesn’t seem to matter that incidents are caught on film as is shown in the video below. Here we a police officer from a Chicago suburb ruthlessly clobber a driver over a dozen times. The passenger was already tasered.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8WCEAIcaT0
Such incidents also seem to be taking place beyond the confines of the hood where police suppression has been an everyday thing. What took place with innocent students many of them white during the G20 Summit at the University of Pittsburgh is one of the more glaring examples. Having experienced being tear gassed and seeing out of control police running into dorms whupping on students while pursuing ‘fictional’ anarchists was eye-opening. It suggested that it did not matter that students from this prestigious university who are generally heralded and cuddled by the city were gonna be shielded. Police came after them like there was no tomorrow and left many of us this is just the tip of the iceberg.. Look at what happened to students in California protesting fee hikes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etv8YEqaWgA
In this video notice the officers of color seem to be going off the most.. Also note how many people seem to cheer the cops on in the comment boxes. They praised the cops for samashing on students protesting 40% fee hikes at a time when everyone is losing jobs.. What sort of backward thinking is that? The type to prevent the ‘tyranny of the majority’.. Something to ponder..
-Davey D-
I expect this summer to be very very hot in america, and I don’t mean weather wise either.
This is a great post. I will watch out for the new class of police officers who bash peoples heads in repeatedly over, and over and over again. I will also keep a look out for the “oppressive nature” of rich people because like the poor, they are all monolithic and have the same “nature”.
ok…. I have to go to prison planet.com now and watch a new video on prison gangs who rape children and global bankers who eat live goat hearts.
bye
LOL… GLOBAL BANKERS DONT EAT GOAT HEARTS… get ur research correct
Great post man.
I was reminded me of this article ‘born poor’ from the Sante Fe Reporter back in February. It covers a lot of ground but in one part it refers to the buffer class you speak of as ‘guard labor’ and estimates that roughly 1 in 4 americans are already employed in protecting the rich from the growing underclass. And like you stated, they define guard labor as the police and private security but also bill/tax collectors and all the way to the corporate snitches who’s job it is to maintain productivity (you can choose your own historical version of this one). Overall its a good read and does a nice job of summing up some of the worse but not-often highlighted symptoms of operating a terribly unequal society. Oh, and my bad if this old news to yall, I think it made some blog rounds.
http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-5188-born-poor.html?current_page=3
I stumbled upon this now nearly two-year-old post while looking for a compelling thesis about why more police not only have not joined the Occupy Wall Street movement but also have been more than eager to conduct violent, late-night raids on the protesters as directed by their superiors. Common sense tells me that police, being part of the “99%,” should refuse to conduct such raids and should instead join with the protesters. But the point you make here about a longstanding “divide and conquer” tactic by the rich against the poor makes a lot of sense. Thanks for helping me to better understand. Now if we could just do something to help the cops understand…
normally i’d have alot to say but this article just said it for me…although there are so many heinous details to the industrial feudalism machine’s ways, a very thick manual in really really small print would only skim the suface….nice to know there are people with functioning brains out there.