One of the most telling things about the so-called First World revolutionary potential is the divide between Black and White “workers”. If we were to take the First Worldists at their word, you would think that there is a common class identity across races in America. An uncritical look at their claims would make you think that revolution was right around the corner, they’re just waiting for a single spark to start the prairie fire. This is absolutely false. In fact there is a great divide when it comes to race, particularly with the history of racism there. In a lot of American society there is a deliberate attempt, by the “working class” itself to suppress the Black population. Unions have historical protected “White jobs” from being taken by Black people. Today many of them are virulently anti-immigrant. The racial divide is still very deep. In a county where FOX News is a gigantic trusted news source, can we be surprised that such a large percentage of the population doesn’t believe the police target Black people?

According to new studies, about half of the American public denies the systemic oppression of the Black population by the police.

“There’s plenty of polling data that reveals that white and black Americans view the justice system in starkly different terms. By and large, black Americans see a system that treats people unfairly by the color of their skin. Whites are far more divided, but much less likely to see race as a major factor in justice. Even as a stunning 95 percent of respondents in a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll said they expected more racial unrest over the summer, they were split on the causes: Six in 10 whites thought people in Baltimore were just looking for an excuse to loot, while six in 10 blacks saw the riots as anger over police actions boiling over.”[1]

Chart 1 [2]

“When The Washington Post and ABC asked a similar question in December, they got almost the opposite result. A slim majority of 51 percent said the deaths up until then were isolated incidents, while just 43 percent said they were part of a pattern. The overall 12-point drop is driven by a shift among white Americans, from 60 percent to 45 percent seeing the incidents as isolated. PRRI finds that three-quarters of blacks see a pattern.”[3]

Chart 2 [4]

Think about what this really says. About half the population of the United States doesn’t even believe that their own society’s police carry out oppression against the Black population. The history of police killings and racism could not be any more open. The marginalization of the Black population goes directly in the favour of the White “working class”. It keeps neighbourhoods gentrified, it has an effect of keeping certain jobs in favour of Whites, as well as access to education. Despite all this obviousness, almost half of all Americans deny its existence.

This privilege here is relatively small when we compare it to the global privilege that they enjoy. If these “workers” refuse to see the crimes carried out in their own country and act against them, how can we possibly expect them to do the same to crimes their government commit globally? They won’t even do self-defence let alone fight for the global poor. The “working class” people here can’t even achieve a class consciousness with their fellow “worker”, and we’re supposed to expect them to achieve a global one? First World “workers” cannot be expected to ally with the global proletariat given how much benefit they receive from imperialism.

* * * Sources: [1] Systemic Racism or Isolated Abuses? Americans Disagree, The Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/systemic-racism-or-isolated-abuse-americans-disagree/392570/ [2] U.S. Split Along Racial Lines on Backlash Against Police, Poll Finds, Wall Street Journal http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/05/03/u-s-split-along-racial-lines-on-backlash-against-police-poll-finds/ [3] Systemic Racism or Isolated Abuses? Americans Disagree, The Atlantic [4] Q: Do you think the recent killings of unarmed African American men by police in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City are (isolated incidents) or (a sign of broader problems in treatment of African Americans by police)?, Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/12/18/National-Politics/Polling/question_15215.xml