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It has occurred to me finally that racist behavior is nearly all about money, and maybe it always has been, and I feel very stupid
Highly disparate economic outcomes aren& #39;t a side effect or a reinforcing factor. They are the method and the goal.
I literally thought that hatred of "otherness" was the problem, and I didn& #39;t get it. "Otherness" is just a shortcut to dehumanize, hoard, deprive and rationalize the outcome.
I guess I use "money" to mean any limited useful thing, but to be honest I don& #39;t understand power very well, so pardon my shorthand.
I feel so stupid, and also betrayed. Like, why did slave traders trade slaves? "The promise of a better life [at somebody else& #39;s expense]." To make a buck. Why did colonizers colonize? Why did oppressors oppress?
None of the history I learned as a kid started with, "so, Columbus wanted to get rich," or, "it was quickly clear that Bolshevism wasn& #39;t going to be keeping them in the style to which they had become accustomed." Motivation matters.
Corollary: I have no practical suggestion to disincentivize people who strive to work the levers that increase inequality.
I feel gross.
