Bitter Tales from the Massive White Underclass in Joe Bageant's "Redneck" Memoir

[marmar]

via AlterNet:




Portobello Books / By Joe Bageant

Bitter Tales from the Massive White Underclass in Joe Bageant's "Redneck" Memoir
"Economic, political, and social culture in America is staggering under the sheer weight of its white underclass, which now numbers some sixty million."

September 20, 2010 |


The following is an excerpt from the introduction of Joe Bageant's new book Rainbow Pie: A Redneck Memoir (Portobello Press, 2010).

The United States has always maintained a white underclass -- citizens whose role in the greater scheme of things has been to cushion national economic shocks through the disposability of their labor, with occasional time off to serve as bullet magnets in defense of the Empire. Until the post-World War II era, the existence of such an underclass was widely acknowledged. During the U.S. Civil War, for instance, many northern abolitionists also called for the liberation of 'four million miserable white southerners held in bondage by the wealthy planter class'. Planter elites, who often held several large plantations which, together, constituted much or most of a county's economy, saw to it that poor whites got no schools, money, or political power. Poll taxes and literacy requirements kept white subsistence farmers and poor laborers from entering voting booths. Often accounting for up to 70 per cent of many deep-southern counties, they could not vote, and thus could never challenge the status quo.

Today, almost nobody in the social sciences seems willing to touch the subject of America's large white underclass; or, being firmly placed in the true middle class themselves, can even agree that such a thing exists. Apparently, you can't smell the rabble from the putting green.

Public discussion of this class remains off limits, deemed hyperbole and the stuff of dangerous radical leftists. And besides, as everyone agrees, white people cannot be an underclass. We're the majority, dammit. You must be at least one shade darker than a paper bag to officially qualify as a member of any underclass. The middle and upper classes generally agree, openly or tacitly, that white Americans have always had an advantage (which has certainly been the middle- and upper-class experience). Thus, in politically correct circles, either liberal or conservative, the term 'white underclass' is an oxymoron. Sure, there are working-poor whites, but not that many, and definitely not enough to be called a white underclass, much less an American peasantry. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/books/148237/bitter_tales_from_the_massive_white_underclass_in_joe_bageant%27s_%22redneck%22_memoir/

[newtothegame]

1. Unfortunately true. You're more likely to get a legup from your skin color than your lack of income

There are unfortunately programs here in America where affirmative action gives preference to a rich racial minority over a dirt-poor racial majority, and that's just sad.

Question to ponder: You have 2 candidates for a job. 1) A dirt-poor, but qualified, white male or 2) Michael Jordan.

WHO NEEDS THIS JOB MORE?

[Igel]

3. In grad school I attended many administration meetings.

The anti-affirmative-action proposition had just passed in California, where my school was.

The immediate response was to use socio-economic status. After all, blacks are far more disadvantaged than whites.

A year later I was still on some of the committees and the administrators were in shock. Blacks, statistically speaking, were more disadvantaged than whites; but there were far, far more disadvantaged whites than there were disadvantaged blacks.

"Who knew?" was the general attitude. They seemed to assume that the freeways through poor areas went exclusively through 100% black neighborhoods; that all the disadvantaged were so because of racial discrimination.

They kept trying to tweak admission criteria to "model" the effects of affirmative action--life stories, parental education, family income. It went very badly. Geography was a winner, but not as good as they had hoped. They finally decided that essays that showed overcoming discrimination were more "valuable" than essays showing that the applicants overcame family violence, drunkenness, etc.

[newtothegame]

4. Wow, isn't that sad?

What a sad commentary on the American mindset and obsession with race.

[billlll]

2. Edit for clarity

Someone pls edit the piece for looping sentences, unclear antecedents etc.

Important ideas in it

Just needs editor