Editorial:

Three Outrages in Four Days in AmeriKKKa

April 28, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Four days in April reveal how tightly white supremacy is woven into the essential fabric of AmeriKKKa.

On April 22, a Supreme Court ruling upheld a voter initiative in Michigan that banned affirmative action. Affirmative action takes into account the reality that Black people, Latinos, Native Americans, and other oppressed peoples have been and are LOCKED OUT of a wide range of fields of study and professions, and even access to basic education. Affirmative action programs have barely scratched the surface of discrimination in the U.S., but outlawing affirmative action means further LOCKING DOWN whole peoples in conditions of segregation, mass incarceration, and pariah (outcast) status in AmeriKKKa. The fact that this vicious attack on oppressed people was orchestrated through the medium of “the voters” in a state—a majority of whom were misinformed, prejudiced, or manipulated to rally around petty narrow interests, against the interests of humanity—only reveals the true nature of the vaunted American democracy of the capitalist-imperialist ruling class. That democracy serves the interests of exploiters and oppressors, and adds insult to injury by putting the stamp of “the will of the people” on oppression.

On April 24, “conservative”—no, make that FASCIST—“folk hero” rancher Cliven Bundy amplified an earlier racist rant reported in the New York Times, going on to claim that Black people were “better off as slaves.” For weeks fascist militias armed with semi-automatic weapons have mobilized behind Bundy’s demand to graze his cattle on public land without paying. And for weeks, the authorities have essentially stood by while these forces have flexed their muscles and declared to all that they are readying for a potential racist, fascist bloodbath in the name of standing up for and defending American values. Given the national stage, and invited to spew this fascist, white supremacist agenda, Bundy proclaimed that one reason Blacks were better off under slavery is that today—as opposed to when Black women were systematically raped by white slave owners and then condemned to be breeders against their will—“their daughters are having abortions.” This follows on the heels of Duck Dynasty “patriarch” Phil Robertson’s proclamations that under Jim Crow segregation Black people were “singing and happy." And, "They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues." (See “An observation by Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party.” ) Bundy and Robertson are given repeated and massive exposure in mainstream media to project their racist (and anti-woman) poison and to enlist whites behind their fascist agenda—an agenda given almost unlimited promotion and amplified by a “mass media” owned and controlled by and serving the capitalist-imperialist ruling class.

On April 25, news media released a recording of an obscene racist rant by Donald Sterling, owner of the LA Clippers in the NBA, telling a woman that he didn’t want her bringing Black people to Clippers games or being photographed with Black people like Magic Johnson. Sterling has an unbroken and “uncontested” record of running his team like a plantation, as well as vicious discrimination against Blacks, Latinos, and women with children in his vast real estate holdings. And he also has a long record of sexual abuse of women. Yet Donald Sterling has been allowed—enabled—by the powers-that-be to preside over an NBA team, running it like a Southern plantation for decades. What does that tell you about this society, where pro sports reflect and have a huge role in promoting (oppressive) values overall? In the face of growing protest among the players and throughout society, the powers-that-be in the NBA decided to ban Sterling for life from the NBA. We will continue to follow developments.

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These are not “isolated incidents.” They are not exceptions to “enormous strides” in overcoming “the vestiges of discrimination”—as Barack Obama claims. They are emblematic of the core nature of the United States of America TODAY. White supremacy has been deeply woven into the fabric of the United States since its establishment on the basis of genocide and the theft of land of the Native Americans and the enslavement of Black people. And IT STILL IS. These three outrages in one week in April are a reflection of how deeply this is still the case.

No just solution to the oppression of Black people and other oppressed people can come from this system. The only solution to the oppression of Black and other oppressed people, and to other foundational outrages in this society, is REAL REVOLUTION.

The Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America breaks down how a revolutionary society would uproot the oppression of Black and other people. The vision and strategy for that revolution is here at revcom.us. Get with it, share it, spread it!

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