Read It & You Will Weep.

I just started reading The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (published in 2010), and I can already tell that this book is going to put some rips in my heart and fry some of my brain cells. In fact, I can already feel the small stitches straining and the edges of neurons crisping, and part of me wants to stop it right now and not be dismayed at the abysmal behavior of my fellow man. But I think I've got to see it through.

Here's a taste of it if you want to see if it's something you need.

"The most ardent proponents of racial hierarchy have consistently succeeded in implementing new racial caste systems by triggering a collapse of resistance across the political spectrum. This feat has been achieved largely by appealing to the  racism and vulnerability of lower-class whites, a group of people who are understandably eager to ensure that they never find themselves trapped at the bottom of the American hierarchy. The emergence of each new system of control may seem sudden, but history shows that the seeds are planted long before each new institution begins to grow."

THE NEW JIM CROW 

by Michelle Alexander 

Oh, and by the way . . . in a totally unrelated story, I just found an article by Andrew Flowers (published November 11, 2016 at 1:43 pm) entitled "Where Trump Got His Edge" in which the writer asserts that "Donald Trump won Tuesday’s election by racking up big margins in counties that are, on average, older, whiter and less-educated than the rest of the U.S." 

Hmpf.

Well, at least that was the last we saw of that kind of thing.