The Great Divide

 

The Great Divide

by C.A. Matthews   

 

Imagine, if you will, a Great Divide so wide and so deep that it takes hours—if not days—to cross on foot. To get from one side to the other, you must carefully climb down the first wall, taking care not to start a fatal rock slide, until you reach the canyon floor.   

 

Once on the plain, you hike several miles until you get to a river, a whitewater, fast-flowing stream with no way to get around it except to swim through it. If you survive the river crossing, then you face several miles of canyon floor to cross in order to reach and scale the steep precipice of the far-side wall.

 

Did I forget to tell that you have no tools save your bare hands to climb to the top of this near vertical jagged rock cliff? That’s the situation, but still you struggle and strain and slowly inch your way to the top. You’re not going to let the Great Divide defeat you. You keep working harder and harder...

At last! You’ve made it to the top where you are left panting in exhaustion with only a few cuts, bruises, gnashes, and muscle pulls to show for your exertions. There’s no celebration of your achievement or even a cold drink of water waiting for you, sorry. A sign commands you on pain of death to turn around and do it all again. And again. Because. 

 

Now, imagine that same Great Divide you just traversed with a long, high bridge crossing it. No, you don’t get to use the bridge to cross the second time. The bridge is not for the likes of you. Only those deemed worthy to take the bridge will be ferried across the gorge in comfortable luxury vehicles driven by chauffeurs. They don’t even notice ant-sized persons like you crawling up and down the walls, hiking across the plains, and swimming through the churning river below. They just swoosh past you, sipping champagne in their posh rides, leaving you choking on their exhaust fumes.

 

While it takes you long hours to cross the Great Divide, those being driven across will cross it in a matter of minutes. What awaits them on the other side is far better, too. They’re greeted by a cheering crowd of friends and family at a party where cocktails and hors d’oeuvres are served by good-looking hosts and hostesses. They are given a choice whether or not they wish to cross over again on the bridge, too. Choice, comfort, recognition...they deserve it. Why? Because they were born with the correct last name.

 

Fair enough, right?

If you’re starting to question this corrupt socioeconomic system most Western countries live under, you’ll probably have a few choice words to give those who zoomed by and left you suffering in their wake. Why do only certain persons get to take the shortcut? Why do they get to take the easy route and even employ others to do the actual hard work like driving for them? What besides sheer dumb luck of where and when and to whom you were born to determines which path across the Great Divide you’re allowed to take? 

It’s difficult for many working class Americans to grasp just how great that Great Divide is between those just scraping by and those whose total net worth is larger than some countries’ Gross National Products. A recent study done by Oxfam tells us that for every $1 you earn as a worker, a billionaire makes $1.7 million. This isn’t an exaggeration. Let's say you make $10 an hour working. In that same time period a billionaire sipping champagne makes $17 million an hour—and he doesn’t even risk getting his hands dirty!  

The super rich have been growing wealthier over the past three years of the pandemic, growing wealthier than ever in history. While millions suffered from COVID-19, Long COVID, and the deaths of loved ones due to COVID, the billionaire class and their wealth have kept growing and growing and growing… We the workers can take comfort in the fact that the actual number of billionaires on the planet is actually still quite small—only about two thousand in total. But these two thousand individuals own most of all wealth in the world, leaving a small portion for the remaining eight billion of us to share. 

 

According to Oxfam, an international humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting poverty and hunger, in their report Survival of the Richest the wealthiest 1% of the world’s population took nearly two-thirds of all new wealth, six times greater than the wealth made by the poorest 90% of workers. Simply put, billionaires are getting richer while overall global poverty is increasing. Oxfam warns:

• Since 2020, the richest 1% have captured almost two-thirds of all new wealth – nearly twice as much money as the bottom 99% of the world’s population.

• Billionaire fortunes are increasing by $2.7 billion a day, even as inflation outpaces the wages of at least 1.7 billion workers, more than the population of India.

• Food and energy companies more than doubled their profits in 2022, paying out $257 billion to wealthy shareholders, while over 800 million people went to bed hungry.

• Only 4 cents in every dollar of tax revenue comes from wealth taxes, and half the world’s billionaires live in countries with no inheritance tax on money they give to their children.

• A tax of up to 5% on the world’s multi-millionaires and billionaires could raise $1.7 trillion a year, enough to lift 2 billion people out of poverty, and fund a global plan to end hunger. 

  You're probably catching on to how wide, deep, and treacherous the Great Divide is. And it’s not just about how horrible the distribution of material wealth is on Earth. The Great Divide is an analogy for how political and military/police power is distributed as well. The more money you have, the more power you wield and the more military/police might to back up your claim to that wealth and power you have. This is readily apparent at a yearly gathering of the super-wealthy and their sycophants in Davos, Switzerland.

 

The World Economic Forum in Davos is where our “betters” get to tell us, the struggling workers, what we should be doing. They'll toss a few nuggets of wisdom our way, like we all should stop purchasing gas stoves or we should simply stop being sick and get back to work whether we have access to health care or not. Those little patronizing gems are supposed to convince us that the elites actually care about those of us at the bottom of the pyramid of wealth accumulation. 

You know that COVID pandemic thing that’s “over” according to President Biden? The billionaires at Davos see the threat of the coronavirus in a completely different way: 

From The billionaires at Davos protect themselves from COVID-19, while declaring the pandemic “over” for working people

...State-of-the-art ventilation and HEPA air cleaners have been made available in common spaces and private rooms and the over 3,000 attendants will ensure these areas are cleaned and disinfected several times a day. Free access to N95s and respirators was provided because the participants, who have called such measures useless (for working people), know very well that they work. In fact, meeting organizers said that on “Forum-provided official transport,” the requirement is for “all drivers (chauffeurs) [to] wear masks at all times.”

And if this wasn’t enough, there have been reports that Upper Room Ultraviolet Disinfection systems and Far-UVC lights have been installed to disinfect the spaces and remove any virus that gains unauthorized access to the meeting.

The rich elites won't be missing any ski parties from coming down with a nasty virus, will they? 

 

Why does this handful of billionaires get to dictate terms to billions of other human beings? Why do they force workers back into the workplace when they themselves know that the pandemic is still raging, killing and crippling workers daily around the world? Why do they get to use the expressway over the Great Divide while the rest of us have to crawl through the dust on our bare hands and knees? Think about it. You know why.

Capitalism is the magic socioeconomic system that cures all ills, according to our masters at the WEF. Two thousand hoarders of wealth and power get to tell us, the other 8 billion inhabitants of Earth, what’s what. And the truth of the matter is that we of the bottom 8 billion don’t count in their big picture. We’re just here to provide them the wealth that our labors generate.  

The Great Divide is essential for capitalism to exist because if all of us had adequate food, shelter, and health care—or even an access to the “bridge”—then how would the billionaires ever “motivate” (read: frighten, scare, threaten) us into working for them in the first place?

Someone has got to drive the billionaires around, clean their toilets, cook their food, sew their designer clothes, manufacture their fancy cars, fly their private jets, perform their facelifts, etc. If we’re content simply to take care of ourselves and our neighbors, we’d never take care of those at the top, or so they fear. We might even ignore them until they become as poor as we workers are—and that can’t be allowed! (Read Why Are the Rich So Scared of Socialism for more answers.) 

So, what's the real reason why the rich can't become like the workers? Look at their last names again. That’s why. 

Because there’s no real reason why any human being should hoard wealth at the obscene rate these handful of billionaires (and their close friends the multi-millionaires) have done. We are all equals under the sun or in the eyes of God (if that’s your belief). Equals don't allow equals to starve just for the sake of showing off vast hoards of material wealth and flaunting their power over others. 

Capitalism as an socioeconomic system is a perversion of how to organize work and community for the benefit of all. It’s totally lacking in a sense of community for starters. Capitalists intentionally divide workers into different groups so these factions can be manipulated into spending time and energy hating other factions so much that they don’t have time to actually see it’s the capitalists who have forced them into this untenable situation in order to control them. 

The next time someone tells you that certain people (Gays, Muslims, Blacks, Asians, etc.) are "inferior" to you stop and think. Who told me to hate people from this group? What reasons do they have to make me hate others? What control do they exert over me? 

We the workers must get past the “othering” we’ve been brainwashed into doing. There's no time for it. Our planet is in the grips of a climate emergency:

Over the longer term, the greatest existential risk the world faces is climate breakdown. The last eight years were the hottest ever recorded, with 2016 being the warmest. Extreme weather events that once took place every several hundred years are now taking place annually.

We have already started to approach the tipping points that will rapidly and unpredictably accelerate the processes causing the climate breakdown. The oceans are becoming acidified, arctic ice and permafrost are melting, and forests are being lost at a devastating rate. (...)

The greatest risk the world faces comes from the class currently assembled at Davos. If they really wanted to save the world, they’d hand over their wealth and power to their workers—the only class with the ability and the incentive to deal with the challenges the world currently faces. --From Davos Elites Can’t Solve The Problems They Create 

 

If it’s freedom to choose the bridge over the Great Divide you’re looking for, then look no further than a system such as socialism that rewards the workers for their labor and gives them an equal vote in deciding how to run things. Americans in particular have been duped to think “capitalism equals democracy” when, in fact, it’s the opposite. Capitalism equals rich people telling working people what to do, how to do it, and when to do it, punishing us when we the workers don’t or can’t do it. That isn't democracy. It's oligarchy.

Why are we of the 8 billion strong allowing a handful of capitalists rule over us? It’s time for us to organize and fight back. A new organization forming called Workers Strike Back could help lead the way in the US. American workers should check them out. 

Remember: We the workers have the power. We certainly have the numbers. Now is the time for us to take control of our future. Our children and our planet are counting on us.

Related Links:

 

Workers Strike Back https://www.workersstrikeback.org/ 

 

Survival of the Richest (Oxfam report) https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/survival-richest   

The Billionaires at Davos Protect Themselves from COVID-19, While Declaring the Pandemic "Over" for Working People https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/01/21/gkzt-j21.html 

 

Davos Elites Can't Solve the Problems They Create https://popularresistance.org/davos-elites-cant-solve-the-problems 

 

Why Are the Rich So Scared of Socialism? https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2020/01/why-are-rich-so-scared-of-socialism.html

 

Over 1 MILLION Protest in France Against Macron’s Pension Plan https://youtu.be/H4gqRU94v6U

 

Political crisis emerges within leadership of Democratic Socialists of America https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/01/20/dsac-j20.html

Share of Workers in Unions Hit Low in 2022, But Number of Unionized Workers Grew https://truthout.org/articles/share-of-workers-in-unions-hit-low-in-2022-but-number-of-unionized-workers-grew/

 

Solving The Debt Crisis The American Way https://popularresistance.org/solving-the-debt-crisis-the-american-way/

 

The WEF's Diabolical Plans To Control Your Life (video)

https://youtu.be/rz84hnZu4U

 

World Economic Forum’s global risk report: A devastating picture of the capitalist crisis https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/01/19/gwug-j19.html

 

How Title Lenders Trap Poor Americans in Debt With Triple-Digit Interest Rates  https://www.propublica.org/article/title-lenders-trap-georgia-residents-in-debt

Richest 1% Took 2/3rds of Global Wealth Since 2020 – Twice as Much as 99% of Population Earned  https://scheerpost.com/2023/01/19/richest-1-took-2-3rds-of-global-wealth-since-2020-twice-as-much-as-99-of-population-earned/

True Priorities of the Global Elite https://popular.info/p/the-true-priorities-of-the-global

Oxfam report documents “explosion of inequality” during pandemic  https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/01/17/mufg-j17.html

Oxfam: Social inequality and poverty soaring in Australia

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/01/17/vske-j17.html

 

As Income Inequality Skyrockets, the Rich Are Paying Less Into Social Security  https://truthout.org/articles/as-income-inequality-skyrockets-the-rich-are-paying-less-into-social-security

 

Economic Justice Coalition Launches ‘Full Employment For All’ Campaign https://popularresistance.org/economic-justice-coalition-launches-full-employment-for-all-campaign-on-mlk-day/

 

 * * *

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Why All The Hate For Haiti?

 

US Border Patrol deports Haitians like rustling cattle

Why All The Hate For Haiti?

by Coast Watcher

Act 1: Once Upon a Time...

Toussaint Louveture and the Haitian Revolution inspired millions of free and enslaved people of African descent to seek freedom and equality throughout the Atlantic world.  ~Slavery and Remembrance Organization.

Inspired by the American and French revolutions, in 1791 the enslaved population of what was then called Saint Domingue rose up in the world’s first successful slave revolt. Toussaint Louveture came to command the former slaves’ army and eventually his new nation. He proved himself to be an outstanding military leader, one who expelled the colonial powers of France, Spain, and Britain from the island in a series of brilliant campaigns. His power was such that Britain entered into negotiations with him whereby concessions were made in exchange for which the newly independent Haitians would not invade other British possessions in the Caribbean.

Louveture later allied with France because the Revolutionary government abolished slavery, while Britain would not do so until 1809. Tragically, he was betrayed and captured by France while negotiating a new treaty, eventually dying in a French prison in 1803. In spite of this, Haiti gained full independence from France the following year.

The one thing the 18th and 19th century white capitalists feared above all else was an armed slave insurrection. To have an entire island of self-emancipated slaves in the middle of one of the most lucrative economic areas in the world filled the colonial powers with utter horror. American President Thomas Jefferson worked hard to quarantine Haiti, both diplomatically and economically. Due to the development of the cotton gin, slavery was becoming a highly lucrative business in the United States. The last thing an American president wanted was the slaves at home gaining inspiration from a successful uprising. This official attitude didn’t change until the Civil War. The United States didn’t officially recognize Haiti as a nation until 1862 when the American institution of slavery began to be abolished.

The US government's interest in the island continued throughout the latter half of the 19th century. In 1868, President Andrew Johnson suggested American annexation of the island to secure a defensive and economic stake in the West Indies. From 1889 to 1891, Secretary of State James Blaine unsuccessfully sought a lease of Mole-Saint Nicolas, a city on Haiti's northern coast strategically located for a naval base. President William Howard Taft tried to be fair to the Haitians. In 1910 he granted Haiti a large loan in hopes that the country could pay off its international debt and thus lessen foreign influence. The attempt proved futile, however,  due to the sheer scale of the debt and the internal instability of the country.

Act 2: Your Money or Your Life...

As the former colonial power, France took even more extreme action. In July 1825, the French King Charles X sent a fleet of warships to Haiti. In exchange for recognizing Haiti’s independence, he demanded a payment of 150 million francs as "compensation" to French plantation owners for loss of their assets in the shape of enslaved laborers and land during the Haitian revolution. As a guide to the enormity of the sum, 150 million francs was ten times the amount paid by the United States to France for the Louisiana Purchase.

Haiti had little choice but to give in to the outrageous demand. Unable to make payment through its own economy, the Haitian government was forced to take out loans from a French bank at crippling rates of interest. Over the following 122 years, Haiti paid French former slaveholders and their descendants sums equivalent to  $20 to $30 billion by today’s values. 

Is there any wonder why Haiti’s economy failed to prosper, even for an island so rich in resources? But the greed of western capitalism didn’t stop there.

Restructuring of the Haitian national bank gave American banking interests access to lucrative areas for development both in Haiti and in the neighboring Dominican Republic. The world of international politics collided as German investments in Haiti came into collision with those of America. Unhappy as they were about Haiti's close connection to France, policymakers in the United States were more concerned about increased German activity and influence in the country.

In the beginning of the 20th century, Germany's presence in Haiti increased as German merchants began establishing trading branches in the country, quickly dominating commercial business in the area. The United States considered Germany its chief rival in the Caribbean then, and it feared German control of Haiti would give the Germans a powerful advantage in the area. Corruption and greed, as well as numerous deaths and assassinations of Haitian presidents and other officials, led to American banks—aided by US Marines—in seizing Haiti’s gold reserves in December 1914. Gold bullion to the tune of $500,000 was transported by a US Navy warship to New York.

In 1915, Haitian President Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam was assassinated—the seventh in as many years—and the domestic situation in the island deteriorated rapidly. In response President Woodrow Wilson sent US Marines to Haiti supposedly to prevent anarchy, but in reality the Marines were sent there to protect American assets and to prevent German influence spreading.

The American occupation lasted until 1929 when a series of strikes and uprisings forced a gradual withdrawal of American troops. In 1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor Policy" resulted in the official withdrawal of America from Haiti although the US retained economic connections.

Haiti suffered a US-backed dictatorship from 1957 to 1986. Two western-backed coup attempts were launched against progressive President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a military coup in 1991, and another in 2004. President Bill Clinton sent in more than 20,000 troops to restore Aristide to power in operation “Uphold Democracy” in 1994. When the second coup failed, the US launched yet another military intervention which lasted until 2017.

There are allegations against President Obama’s Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the effect that she colluded with US business interests to pressure the Haitian government into not raising the Haitian national minimum wage from 24 cents to 61 cents an hour. Documents obtained by Wikileaks implied that the US State Department helped block this pay raise. US embassy officials in Haiti clearly opposed the wage hike as well.

Act 3: No Time Like the Present…

The United States’ actions in and against Haiti for over a century is one of gross interference. Now we see yet another woeful chapter in the whole sordid tale as US Marines seize control of Toussaint Louveture Airport, and Canada lands military vehicles there, all with the active approval of the United Nations. The so-called targets of this UN operation are the gangs that have taken over large areas of the country—gangs which seem to have been primed and set going by American business interests.

How long this next go-around will last is anybody’s guess, but I doubt it’ll lead to any good. There are no "quick fixes" to centuries' old problems created by white European domination and colonialism in the Caribbean region. Rapid solutions to Haiti’s problems inserted from the outside will produce temporary results at best with no long-lasting effects. The key to resolving the Haitian issue should be placed in the hands of the Haitian people themselves.

Learn more about Haiti:
https://slaveryandremembrance.org/people/person/?id=PP052

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Toussaint-Louverture

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/10/05/1042518732/-the-greatest-heist-in-history-how-haiti-was-forced-to-pay-reparations-for-freed

https://haitiliberte.com/how-the-u-s-came-to-dominate-haiti-seizing-the-gold/

https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwi/88275.htm

Bio: Coast Watcher is our resident armchair historian and observer of the human condition. The more the West says things are changing for the worse in Haiti, the more the West seems apt to invade and pocket Haiti's wealth and resources. Maybe that was the plan all along?

Related Articles:

The Last Thing Haiti Needs is Another Military Intervention https://scheerpost.com/2022/10/20/the-last-thing-haiti-needs-is-another-military-intervention/  

Haiti Invasion is a Testing Ground for US Imperialism's Conduct in the Age of Climate Collapse  https://rainershea.substack.com/p/haiti-invasion-is-a-testing-ground

Nations Consider Sending Troops to Haiti, Despite Troubled Past Foreign Intervention  https://www.rsn.org/001/nations-consider-sending-troops-to-haiti-despite-troubled-past-foreign-intervention.html 

China Wary of International Troop Deployment in Haiti https://popularresistance.org/china-wary-of-international-troop-deployment-in-haiti/

More Foreign Intervention Won't Solve Haiti's Crises. Decolonization Will  https://truthout.org/articles/more-foreign-intervention-wont-solve-haitis-crises-decolonization-will/

Haiti: US Manufactures Crisis to Justify Repression of Popular Movement  https://popularresistance.org/haiti-us-manufactures-crisis-to-justify-repression-of-popular-movement/

Who is This "Haiti" That's Appealing for Intervention? https://scheerpost.com/2022/10/26/who-is-this-haiti-thats-appealing-for-intervention/

Seen on Twitter:

Haiti is a profit center for the Clinton Foundation; there's no telling what else we could find underneath that rock were we to actually look there; it’s just that the Clintons were so brazen in their corruption and theft of Haitian resources!! Just like Ukraine is for ol' Joe.

— Cynthia McKinney PhD (@cynthiamckinney) October 21, 2022

If truth is the first casualty of war, humanity is the second. It is depressing to witness how readily people—and states—embrace the cultivation of ethnic and nationalist hatreds for political advantage. Rather than hastening peace, these strategies forbid it.

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) October 24, 2022

It’s official. The United States is invading Haiti. https://t.co/hKYqTTzUcs

— rotating villain (@ComradeDJs) October 23, 2022

Shouldn't everyone who so vocally protested Putin's invasion of Ukraine now also protest, with equal voracity, the coming US invasion of Haiti?

— vryfokkenou (@vryfokkenou) October 24, 2022

* * *

Protests have intensified across Haiti after the government of Ariel Henry, facing popular opposition to his rule, sent a request to the United Nations for international military support.

The United States, Canada, and the Organization of American States are now mobilizing towards intervention to prop up Henry's illegitimate government, which was installed after the assassination of president Jovenel Moïse by US-trained Colombian mercenaries. This is another brazen attempt to deny the Haitian people their right to self-determination.

Hands off Haiti! Add your name to the statement.

In response, the Cabinet of the Progressive International published a statement on Saturday calling for an end to foreign intervention in the country:

"The crisis in Haiti can only be repaired by following the basic demands of the Haitian people: an end to foreign meddling, an end to the brutal foreign-imposed austerity policies that sustain hunger and destitution, and support for Haiti’s full self-determination. The Haitian people have done nothing more, and nothing less, than resist an unjust colonial order built on their oppression."

Over two centuries ago, the people of Haiti defeated European colonialism, abolished slavery, and established the world’s first Black republic. In the process, they gave life to the political project of internationalism. From Ethiopia to Gran Colombia, Haiti helped the colonized, oppressed, and enslaved around the world in their struggles.

In the coming weeks, international solidarity will be critical as the Haitian people continue their long struggle for freedom. Join me in honoring that struggle, defending Haiti’s sovereignty, and supporting its people’s right to determine their own future.

Sign the statement today.

For more information about the situation, read this piece by PI Council member Vijay Prashad, which explains the context behind the protests that have swept across the country.

In solidarity,

Pawel Wargan
Progressive International Secretariat

 

All I Want For The Holidays Is...

 All I Want For The Holidays Is...

         by C.A. Matthews

All I Want For The Holidays Is…

…Peace on Earth.

Seriously. The US spending trillions of dollars on death, destruction and mayhem over the last decades doesn't fit into my--or anyone else's--definition of peace. I don't believe for a moment that the war in Afghanistan is over since our mercenaries and weapons are still pouring into that beleaguered country. I don't believe for a moment Biden won't start a conflict with Russia and/or China over Ukraine and/or Taiwan. Our military-industrial complex can't stand to be left out of the action when there's so much money to be made. We won't have peace on Earth until every single last military contractor is shut down--permanently.

And for the planet and all its inhabitants--human and otherwise--to be at peace we need to start treating it respectfully and reverently. This means an end to fossil fuel production and use. It means we outlaw concentrated animal feedlots (CAFOs) and other polluters of drinking water. It means we stop chopping/burning/disintegrating forests, jungles, plains, savannas, wetlands, and other wildlife habitats. It means we pick up and recycle all the kajillions of plastic bottles, wrappers, and other worthless jetsam contaminating our oceans and lands. 

If we continue to allow the Earth to be treated like a toilet to house all our messes, the temperatures will rise, the oceans will rise, and the threat of war and civil unrest will rise. We can't have peace without a planet and vice versa. Get it?

All I Want For The Holidays Is... Goodwill Towards Humankind.

 My idea of goodwill means that all human beings have a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs, health care when they're in need of it (both mental and physical health care), and to be freed from the suffocation of massive debt owed to billionaire capitalists who try to squeeze the last drop of blood out of the working classes and those trying to better themselves through education. Access to free education for all from Pre-K through college and access to health care and food and shelter should be a right--not a privilege. 

Goodwill also means that we no longer protect make-believe lines in the sand and call them "our borders" and tell people that they're not welcome on our side of the make-believe line because we're prejudiced against their race, religion, ethnicity or class. This should be true of communities both large and small. This may sound crazy, but I believe equal rights should be distributed equally to all.

No longer should the US tell refugees and asylum seekers to go away under the guise of Title 42, a directive in direct violation of the 1967 UN Protocol on Refugees that we signed. No longer should we force those seeking a better life for the families to "Remain in Mexico" where they're preyed upon by kidnappers and drug cartels.

Goodwill is just that--good, not evil and selfish. Any questions?

All I Want For The Holidays Is… The Right to be Treated with Dignity and Respect.

If this statement needs further explanation, this must mean you've lived in a "golden bubble" all your life. You are one of the few that have never been hungry, homeless, or harassed simply because of your race, age, gender, gender identity, or perceived economic class. It's hard to explain to rich dickheads how demeaning and cruel it is to be on the receiving end of their bigotry. We really should do them all a favor and return their callous treatment of others unlike themselves. Maybe then they'll get a clue. 

If you don't have the empathy to walk a mile in another person's moccasins and experience the pain they feel when they're not treated respectfully and understand where they're coming from, then just shut the f*** up. I also recommend giving all your money away to charitable organizations before we roll the guillotine up to your front door and ask you to step out for a close shave.

All I Want For The Holidays Is… For The Means of Production to Be in the Hands of the Working Classes.

This is a related statement that explains itself. The workers should profit from the fruits of their labor. They aren't wage slaves who exist solely to be exploited by billionaires and other capitalists who leech off their workers' labor. 

As money is the root of all kinds of evil, perhaps it is time to eliminate the filthy lucre and replace it with a society based on plenty for all instead of artificial scarcity that forces cash into the hands of the relatively few. Read up on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) if you don't understand how the US can afford a $780 billion plus military budget year after year but somehow can't give everyone free health care which costs less.

All I Want For The Holidays Is… For People to Actually Read This Blog and Have Intelligent Discussions with Their Friends, Family, and Neighbors.

And to donate a couple of bucks toward keeping the blog going for another six and half years. Or until the fascists come and cart us off to jail--whichever happens first. The choice is up to you. Which will it be? You can donate at:

http://paypal.me/camatthews

Happy Holidays! May you have a happy and healthy New Year. And as always: Workers of the World Unite!

 

Also read (and watch the video): How Capitalism Stole Christmas and Killed the Planet Along the Way https://www.rsn.org/001/how-capitalism-stole-christmas-and-killed-the-planet-along-the-way.html 

***

We cannot – and will not – let him off the hook.

President Biden campaigned on seeking justice for families separated by Trump’s cruel Zero Tolerance policy, but his administration just walked away from providing victims with the resources they desperately need to heal.

We can’t let Biden go back on one of his central campaign promises by sweeping the consequences of one of the cruelest, most inhumane policies under a rug. Take action today: email the White House NOW to demand immediate justice for separated families.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Even President Biden himself has publicly called family separation under Trump “criminal behavior” and “a historic moral stain on our country."

He’s now going back on his word with this decision and inaction. He’s walking away from the more than *5,500 children* separated from their families at the US-Mexico border. He’s walking away from the babies, as young as 6-months-old, stolen from parents who had no idea where they were going or if they would see them again.

Sweeping this bigotry under a rug is a disgrace. Every single person in this movement, and in this country, should be appalled. Dropping the plans to get the support families need to heal sends the clear message that the Biden administration thinks family separation is okay. 

We cannot let that happen. 

Send the White House a message right now to demand they give separated families the support they deserve to heal from the traumas our government caused them.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Trump’s “zero-tolerance” scarred toddlers, children, and families that were forcibly separated for life. It’s egregious that the Biden administration is now defending officials culpable for tearing babies from mothers’ arms. President Biden promised to address the emotional and physical abuse families experienced due to negligence, torture, and crimes against humanity, and we’re seeing everything but that. We need to stop playing politics with people’s lives.

We cannot stop fighting until all families are reunited and receive the justice they deserve. 

President Biden must keep the campaign promises he made us and deliver justice to families. This cruelty ends by all of us taking action right now:

TAKE ACTION NOW

Today, almost four years after being separated, over 270 children are STILL separated from their parents. If you had asked me years ago if this is where we would be today I never would have imagined it, but we will not rest until every last child is reunited.

There will be no justice until every child is reunited with their family, until we right the wrongs of Trump’s four cruel and racist years, and until we build a system that stops this inhumanity for good.

Thanks for all you do,
Paola Luisi, Director
Families Belong Together

***

The 2022 Indigenous Futures Survey is now live! Native peoples are invited to participate in the survey before January 31, 2022.

Native Organizers Alliance (NOA), IllumiNative, and Research for Indigenous Social Action and Equity (RISE) have launched the second annual Indigenous Futures Survey (IFS), a Native-led research project designed to highlight the authentic experiences, systemic challenges, and priority issues of Native peoples today.

Take the Survey

The inaugural Indigenous Futures Survey was the largest and most comprehensive study ever conducted in Indian Country.

Native and Indigenous peoples all across the United States are invited again to participate in the survey and voice their perspectives and opinions on critical issues our communities face.

Data gathered from the IFS is being used to make policy changes by elected and tribal leaders. The 2021 reports and research data were shared broadly across Indian Country and were used to inform Congress on the impacts of COVID on Indigenous communities and on a broad spectrum of issues including civic engagement, identity, and culture.

The 2022 IFS will continue to be a tool for social change.

“Native and Indigenous peoples deserve to be seen and heard,” said Crystal Echo Hawk (Pawnee), founder and executive director of IllumiNative. “For so long, we have been forgotten or worse, deliberately excluded from research and data collection. But we have taken back the power to control our own visibility and future through the Indigenous Futures Survey.”

“The 2020 survey was the first opportunity for Native peoples and communities to share the challenges they face with a national audience,” said Judith LeBlanc (Caddo), director of Native Organizers Alliance. “The results gave us a platform to advocate for change at all levels of government. We were able to take a step towards reclaiming our collective voice, showing that Native people are politically engaged and actively challenging the narrative. We proved that our voices matter and that we will organize for meaningful change.”

"For too long data, or lack thereof, has been used to silence and render Indigenous Peoples and experiences invisible. The majority of scientific research omits Indigenous Peoples, including research on bias, prejudice, and discrimination. In the rare cases when Indigenous Peoples are included, our data is most often owned by and interpreted through the lens of non-Native researchers. Ultimately, this keeps people from understanding who we are and seeing us as fully human,” said Dr. Stephanie Fryberg (Tulalip), director of Research for Indigenous Social Action and Equity (RISE) Center.

Amber Torres, Chairman of the Walker River Paiute Tribe said, “This also showed our strengths and weaknesses, and where we can continue to build for the next seven generations. The results in 2022 are very important for the fact that we need to see if we have made a dent in any of the issues that were brought up and where we need to continue to advocate for. Native voices have to be at the table.”

Our non-Native relatives, please help spread the word about the survey by sharing on social media and lift up the importance of Native-led data collection.

To learn more, please visit: https://indigenousfutures.org.

Take the Survey
Thank you. Hawwih.

Judith LeBlanc

Director