Post ASJB5UXxpl8sHbvk5g by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
(DIR) More posts by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
(DIR) Post #ASJ9SiiZ73AazApzAu by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T15:55:46Z
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Happy #BlackHistoryMonth !I'm still not ready to talk about Black history. I still want to talk about white US history.Q: Why do Black people see racism in everything?A: A few years ago, European tech entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky asked some very good questions in good faith. He asked why San Francisco and Madrid were different in so many confusing and awful ways. I answered each of his questions. Please verify each and every answer with a skeptic's keen eye.Here we go...#BlackMastodon
(DIR) Post #ASJ9SjKqohnKtukYqm by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:05:15Z
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Q: Why are homeless people so rare in Madrid and so common in San Francisco when here GDP per capita is half?A: Racism.Of the homeless folk in the USA, 45% have mental health challenges and 40% are Black, even though only 13% of the pop is Black. In SF, less than 5% of the population is Black, but 37% of the homeless population is Black.In the 80s, when Reagan killed mental health facility funding and Black homelessness exploded, no one cared. 🤷🏿♂️
(DIR) Post #ASJ9SmNnUCvyLv9SMK by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:09:37Z
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But... most homeless US folk are still white? Facts. Unaffordable housing combined with a lack of social programs or safety net lead to homelessness in the US in general. Because in the US, most white people will oppose social safety nets if they believe that Black people will benefit, or if you remind them of "changing demographics." Because racism.https://academic.oup.com/sf/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/sf/soy046/5002999Convince a racist white US citizen that "Black people receive welfare!" and they'll oppose their own benefits🙃
(DIR) Post #ASJ9Ss4WKn4zzsB996 by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:17:19Z
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Q: Why is the murder rate 500% higher in California than Spain?A: Racism.Despite (and because of) racist over-policing, law enforcement in the USA is fantastically inept at catching killers that murder Black folk. Including Black folk.Black citizens (wisely) don't call the cops. So murderers rack up astronomical body counts.Less than 1 in 2 US murders is solved. That clearance rate is *lowest* in neighborhoods where cops brutalize innocent Black folk the most.🙂🙃https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/01/12/as-murders-spiked-police-solved-about-half-in-2020
(DIR) Post #ASJ9Suekj3Fa0p96tk by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:23:25Z
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But is this correlation or causation? It seems almost like Black folk are suggesting that police activity *causes* more murders to happen?We can test this (and we have!) by seeing what happens if you go into a neighborhood with a lot of murders, and get police to stop brutalizing innocent Black people, and focus only on stopping murders.Result: You can end a murder wave in a city by getting cops to focus on murders instead of being evil.Operation Ceasefire works.https://www.npr.org/2011/11/01/141803766/interrupting-violence-with-the-message-dont-shoot
(DIR) Post #ASJB5QUcuE5zi6L1Ki by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:26:20Z
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Q: Why is health care free even for tourists in Spain paid for by Spanish taxpayers as a human right and so incredibly expensive and cumbersome in California? Our son fell in the bathtub and we had a $12k bill for a few stitches at Stanford ER.A: Racism. People hate Obama's Blackness so much, that their opinion of whether universal healthcare is good or bad depends on if you call it Obamacare.Racist folk with terminal diseases and no insurance, will vote against free healthcare. Cuz Obama.
(DIR) Post #ASJB5R6YdCR9bk5JSK by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:33:06Z
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People oppose "Affordable Care Act" more if you call it "Obamacare." 🤡https://www.cnbc.com/2013/09/26/whats-in-a-name-lots-when-it-comes-to-obamacareaca.htmlhttps://www.businessinsider.com/poll-obamacare-affordable-care-act-name-2017-2Congress spent 8 years opposing Obama's plan, without any plan of their own. Their whole plan was "I hate you, and I hate your plan!"The Affordable Care Act was Obama's big win. So they needed to destroy it. It really is that petty.US opposing to clear public goods like affordable housing, public transportation, and affordable healthcare, is inextricably tied to racism.
(DIR) Post #ASJB5Rmk6MBHiZp0D2 by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:35:39Z
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Q: Why are universities in Spain free and there is no student debt while in the USA there is more student debt than the GDP of Spain?A: Surprisingly, also racism!College in the US is too expensive, so loans.Black kids are on average, lower income than white kids. Most college drop outs leave not due to poor grades, but for financial hardship. Poor kids very often don't graduate. 😢Drop out without a degree, you still owe a huge debt.
(DIR) Post #ASJB5ScUzva6J62Ksi by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:36:42Z
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Even if you graduate, you have a huge debt. But... Black kids are less likely to be hired than white kids. And if hired, are given lower starting salaries.Deck stacked against you: Deeper in debt, and harder to climb out.Black kids owe $7.5K more than white kids at graduation. But within 3 years, black kids owe $25K more than white kids.
(DIR) Post #ASJB5TGCcJLAIEc2lc by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:40:50Z
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77.7% of Black students borrow.50% default within 12 years.No one cares.https://www.brookings.edu/research/black-white-disparity-in-student-loan-debt-more-than-triples-after-graduation/Much of the $1.6 trillion debt is held by Black students. Yes, I said trillion. With a "T." And yes, I said "debt held by Black kids," who are hired less and paid less.The unspoken part of the US student loan forgiveness "debate," is racists thinking "I am fundamentally opposed to anything that would lower the suffering of Black people or prevent the siphoning of their wealth."
(DIR) Post #ASJB5TxS1Vw2SMqaB6 by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:42:41Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
Q: Why are there in the USA more people in jail/parole than there are inhabitants in Madrid the third largest city in Europe?A: This one's easy. Racism.The US arrests and convicts a lot of people. Most folk in jail, on probation, or on parole in the USA are there for 2 reasons:1) Non-violent drug offenses2) Are just awaiting trial, but are too poor to make bail.
(DIR) Post #ASJB5UXxpl8sHbvk5g by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:43:59Z
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For drugs, pretty much any methodology you use shows that white Americans use more drugs, more frequently, than Black Americans. It's not even close.* Surveys* Police blood tests per capita* Drugs found per traffic stop* OD fatalities per capitahttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/racial-disparity-drug-use_n_3941346
(DIR) Post #ASJDzuHlWai6EeNkqe by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:45:54Z
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But Black folk are disproportionately stopped, searched, charged, and arrested, tried, and convicted for drugs. On bail: If you are arrested while poor and Black, you may be in jail *over a year* before trial. 600K+ folk in jail today are pre-trial. 😢You will be locked up with folks my size. You will very likely be assaulted.Even if you are innocent... An officer will offer you a way out of your year of hell: just admit your "guilt" and get out today!
(DIR) Post #ASJDzumFhF63lCe6Mq by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:51:14Z
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You will take that deal and be on probation / parole.Even if innocent.Q: Why is inequality in the USA twice as high as that of Spain?A: Racism. My thread from yesterday explained the ways in which systemic racism is designed to siphon net welath from Black people, but I don't think folks appreciate the scale.Civil asset forfeiture alone steals more wealth than "all other forms of burglary combined."Black median net wealth is on trajectory to be zero by 2053.🤷🏿♂️https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/sep/13/median-wealth-of-black-americans-will-fall-to-zero-by-2053-warns-new-report
(DIR) Post #ASJDzvKHeiJpSkZHPc by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T16:54:21Z
2 likes, 1 repeats
The question shouldn't be "Why do Black folk see racism in everything?"The question should be "Why do white folk not see any of this?"The answer to the better question is of course, that there is an information delta between "what Black folk know about racism" and "what white folk know about racism."Racist people don't want you to know any of this stuff. Because some people, on reading this stuff, say, "Sounds bad. We should maybe change things to be less bad?"
(DIR) Post #ASJDzw1X3uuhcsnop6 by vwbusguy@mastodon.online
2023-02-03T17:11:25Z
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@mekkaokereke When we're taught about racism, it's often more about etiquette and not saying the n-word more than about addressing discrimination and equality. Since "racism is bad", there's basically a mental checklist of finding other ways it could possibly be interpreted before concluding racism is a factor at all. It's a collaborative defense mechanism against our shame and it keeps us from seeing what is happening right in front of us.
(DIR) Post #ASJDzyRq3591937r6W by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T17:05:11Z
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I love every question that Martin Varsavsky asked, and I believe that he was asking them in good faith. If anyone views this as a "dunk" or criticism of him then they are completely missing the point.Similarly, if anyone views this as me saying "All white people are bad!" They've also completely missed the point.The point is that we can't resolve any of these questions without understanding the systems that they operate in. That means understanding US racism, and how we all play a part in it
(DIR) Post #ASJE005vvUoKFgtOEq by vwbusguy@mastodon.online
2023-02-03T17:16:05Z
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@mekkaokereke It takes a lot of mental effort and humility to put down our guard and not get immediately defensive about things we were taught by family and peers that "aren't racist". IOW, white fragility when a post-racisr color-blindness perception is threatened. It's hard to discover, admit, and own that it's still a problem and that we're contributing to it. It's harder still to not cope with that by convert it into a white savior/guilt mentality.
(DIR) Post #ASJE01ufAMz3tJdPwu by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-03T17:12:29Z
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If I, as a Black dude, don't understand these systems (and their leverage points), even I can contribute to it and make it worse. Racism isn't "who called who the N-word."Consider these statements that I could make:"I value education because I'm Nigerian! Black Americans don't value education!""I believe in unpaid internships. Hustle and grind early in your career!""I would never hire someone with a criminal record!""Ugh! I'm not going there! That's the hood! Full of ghetto people!"
(DIR) Post #ASJEAU1TVdSly5o0X2 by cautionarytale@mastodon.world
2023-02-03T17:19:52Z
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@mekkaokereke there are days I wonder if we're gonna make it as a species..
(DIR) Post #ASJLy30MvzlQKerxiK by xerz@fedi.xerz.one
2023-02-03T18:47:14.414496Z
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@mekkaokereke (small remark: I have to pay over 1k€ a year for public university here in Spain, it's not exactly "free" but rather "barely affordable")
(DIR) Post #ASJMIwSqRp0a7z9UOG by xerz@fedi.xerz.one
2023-02-03T18:51:00.296697Z
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@mekkaokereke on this regard, Cañada Real is the biggest shantytown of Europe – things might start improving now that they're being offered housing, although some already had a home there which they didn't want to leave
(DIR) Post #ASJN7IBPyI6dy10efY by xerz@fedi.xerz.one
2023-02-03T19:00:06.078813Z
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@mekkaokereke worth noticing as well: healthcare for anything other than emergencies is superslow and there's been protests last year over terrible mismanagement of healthcare (including emergencies) particularly at Madrid last October
(DIR) Post #ASJNH7OwudmrQL1YoK by xerz@fedi.xerz.one
2023-02-03T19:01:54.229839Z
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@mekkaokereke overall, it's weird as hell and confusing to me that Spain is being shown as a role model against the US, although I feel things are actually starting to get better here starting last year… there's racism (although our ethnical and cultural drama is absolutely unlike the US) and generally a lot of inaction until the very last moment, but at least it's not active, systematic cleansing like it used to beand trying to understand what's going on over the Atlantic has been quite an adventure…
(DIR) Post #ASLp0b7wKHRXj4tmdc by NinaWilson@home.social
2023-02-04T18:29:39Z
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@mekkaokereke The difference here is the Spanish government decided to invest in their youth and make education free. It seems the differences for a lot of things you're bringing up are that the US is incredibly capitalist and Spain is generally much more left wing, having socialist governments from time to time.I'm not denying that racism is a huge problem in the US, but the differences seem to be more that US culture favors the rich staying rich and spurns the idea of helping the poor.
(DIR) Post #ASLp0bYsi6zh4dVIdE by mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
2023-02-04T18:50:59Z
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@NinaWilson That would be a fair observation, but it goes deeper. The people that made the US so "capitalist" are on record saying:* We hate Black people.* This extreme capitalism will make us rich, while harming mostly Black people* We understand this, and like this.For example: Here is Richard Nixon deciding that he likes HMOs now, because he understands that they provide less care, and make more money for capitalists the less service they provide.https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PA3kETvUXJg
(DIR) Post #ASLp0c1wy2FKWn6VwO by atyh@pleroma.atyh.cc
2023-02-04T23:22:01.680912Z
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@mekkaokereke @NinaWilson Ive wondered for a while now how black supremacist hide their open racism in plain sight. Reading the stuff you say helped me understand that its done the same way the Nazis did it. Sell yourself as a victim. The Nazis sold the German people on the idea that they were victims of the Jews. Its what enabled them to do the atrocious things they did. In the same way, the crazy white supremacists make themselves out to be a minority victims, with other "races" out to get them. And now I see black supremacists do professional victim the same way. And under it all, its all a quest for power over others using alternating mantras of "justice" and "destiny".Ill choose a different way if you dont mind. There is only one race. The human race. And all life matters.
(DIR) Post #ASMMrjKdqe4z0ZmcEK by patriciajhawkins@mastodon.art
2023-02-04T22:42:27Z
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@mekkaokereke Couple of categories not in conviction statistics databases: Racial disparities in deals offered by plea bargains: https://eji.org/news/research-finds-racial-disparities-in-plea-deals/And convictions due to wrongful charges from police malfeasance. Which, when they lead to group exonerations, don't show up in "wrongful convictions databases" -- but which is typical of bogus charges in minority communities. https://www.criminallegalnews.org/news/2020/may/15/racism-and-wrongful-convictions/So our stats on exonerations are racially skewed -and also of those still wrongfully jailed.
(DIR) Post #ASMMrjz3QOPD1ugtDk by inthehands@hachyderm.io
2023-02-04T22:50:07Z
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@patriciajhawkins @mekkaokereke The plea bargain racial disparities — and the racial disparities in felony charges that lead to plea bargains — really come in to focus when you realize that felony convictions disenfranchise voters.Slap a felony charge on a Black person. Offer a plea deal they’d be a fool not to accept (even if they’re innocent). Congratulations: you’ve nixed a voter!Right now, ~20% of voting age Black people in Florida cannot vote. For example.https://www.sentencingproject.org/app/uploads/2022/08/6-Million-Lost-Voters.pdf
(DIR) Post #ASMMrl7xAn7OZnrVjM by patriciajhawkins@mastodon.art
2023-02-04T22:56:19Z
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@mekkaokereke I see elsewhere you dealt w/ plea bargains. this stuff is SO endless.