I finally figured out why Republicans will not help people of color

[randr]

They would then be forced to help the white folk they have been ignoring for decades

[Skittles]

1. Lyndon Johnson nailed that one

“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket.”

[zentrum]

2. Great quote. Thanks.

[Caliman73]

3. Second part of the quote is equally powerful

"Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”

That is how it has been since we needed, as a nation, to justify Slavery. Rich White people despise poor White people. All of the names like "cracker" and "hillbilly" were not names that Black people bestowed on White people to fight back against the N word. They were slurs that rich Whites gave to poor Whites. As the problem of Slave rebellion grew however, rich Whites needed a buffer and protection so they told poor whites, "Hey, at least you aren't as bad as those bastards". They started giving them jobs as overseers and slave patrols, then poor Whites had someone they could exploit and look down on.

Divisions in race, gender, religion, etc... have definitely been a tool of the wealthy to keep us at each other's throats. That doesn't mean that the distinctions need to be put away and forgotten though. It means that we all need to realize that those differences have been exploited as a means to allow Wealthy White people to keep stealing the benefits of ALL our labor.

[The Wizard]

6. "And if you give his someone to look down on

he'll empty his pockets for you. "

[czarjak]

4. Bircherism...

Poor Whites are JUST collateral damage. Ask one. No comfort, credit or quarter. Period!

[JI7]

5. Poor whites also vote against helping people of color.

[cachukis]

8. Because they are led to believe they can become rich, too.

[czarjak]

9. Icing for the rich?

[jrthin]

7. It's not their racist and white supremacy beliefs?

[ecstatic]

10. An even playing field is a terrifying prospect for them.

[lame54]

11. They see it as ALL their money...

Why should they give away their money

To anyone

[Buckeye_Democrat]

12. I think Noam Chomsky nailed it.

Their politicians are mostly focused on preserving established wealth.

And they're following in the footsteps of politicians like James Madison, who believed that democracy must be limited to prevent the possibility of the poor masses from voting for a share of it.

Aristotle had similar concerns about democracy in ancient Greece, but his solution was to give the poor a greater share of the wealth to dissuade them from simply seizing it, collectively.