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12.08.2003
Let's Play, Connect the Dots! We'll start at Abercrombie and Fitch and finish with the "Fundamantal Truth about the Society we Live in". Sound fun? CBS 4 Denver: The Look Of Abercrombie & Fitch: So, is there a thread that ties much of the inequity we see in society? Race, Class, and Gender preferences? Among others? Sure there is, and if you don't think so, you're either in denial or you benefit so much that you can't see it. "'’We're sorry. We can't rehire you because we already have too many Filipinos working at this store,’' recalls Ocampo. “Too many Filipinos. That was her exact words … I was speechless. I didn't really know what to say. I've never seen racism that explicit prior to that.” " Sounds like quotas, of the unspoken kind. The kind that get enforced in oh so subtle ways. You might not even notice them if they never effect you. Like a force of nature. A gentle current that brings some of us ashore or an undertow that drags us out to sea. “There have been cases in which defendants have said, ‘We wanna prefer whites. Because our customers are happier.’ And the courts have said, ‘Absolutely not,’” says Lee. Making the customer's happy. Because the good customers they want are the white ones. Ones that have benefited from years of institutionalized racism and have a disproportionate share of the society's wealth at their disposal. They are not desired just because they are white, but they are more likely to be wealthy because of preferential hiring or familial wealth. The true color of racism is green. “I was sick of getting my schedule back every week with lines through names,” says Mandrick. “I can't look the people that work for me, that wanna be there, in the eye and say, ‘You know, lie to them and say, ‘Oh, we don't have hours.’ When really it's because they weren't pretty enough.” So its not just enough to be white. You have to good looking as well. So double damn you if you just happen to be ugly and ethnic. The gates are slammed right on your ugly face even before you get started. You know your place? The people that worked in the stockroom, where nobody sees them, were mostly Asian American, Filipino, Mexican, Latino.” Do you think the pay is better in the stockrooms? Do you think the working conditions are better in the stockroom? We know there exists an inner workplace strata. You ability to ascend through that medium depends to a large degree on how useful you'll be to the company. Whether or not you will make them more or less money than another person. That’s not racism, says Elder, that’s capitalism: “This is about a business deciding pursuant to its own best interests, rightly or wrongly, that a particular kind of salesperson is more likely to generate more dollars … It’s all about the bottom line.” Its capitalism. That's right. That's the real reason we can't shake these problems that seem destined to plague us. Because they are essential ingredients. Prejudice is part of the whole process. Recently I heard a NPR interview with Matt Miller, who wrote a book called The Two Percent Solution. I listened in awe. He either just didn't get it or was too pragmatic to notice. He outlined a set of solutions to many of today's problems; health care, education, living wages, and campaign finance. Ways that we could tackle and solve these vexing problems. All fine and good. But we don't actually want to solve those problems. That's why they are still around. Its not for lack of a solution. We could fix things if that's what we wanted. But we don't! Because the fundamental nature of our society would break apart if we did. There's a reason we don't make inner city poor schools better and its not because we don't want to help the kids. Who doesn't want to help kids, with their sad eyes and frayed backpacks? But at the heart of the matter, hiding behind the Rich W. Guy Recreational Center lies a bitter truth. The more we help those poor kids, the more they will compete with the rich kids for jobs, wealth and power. That's completely undesirable from the perspective of a parent wanting to use their wealth to give their kid a fast track to a good life. What could be better than making sure little Johnny walks into a job interview with a top notch education? Well, making sure the other applicants can barely write their name for one. Capitalism is a system based on a core prejudice. The more money you have the more desirable you become. To gain or maintain that preferred status you will take advantage of other prejudices. Racism persists in part because it helps maintain class separation. Your hope of escaping from the depths of the impoverished class stems from taking advatage of whatever prejudices work in your favor, so it is no small suprise that this confers a sense of legitimacy for those that use them to rise to the top. There are two levels of commitment to making the world a better, more equal and livable place. One level that means paying lip service to fundamantal root problems by giving toys to poor kids, or holding fancy dinners to give a few coins back to the serfs. And another level where you would be willing to accept a loss of power, influence and priviledge in exchange for a better world. For there is no rich without poor. No benefit to wealth if it doesn't confer to you the ability to make others spend a large amount of time catering to your needs and not their own. I want us to be as honest as this statement: “This is about a business deciding pursuant to its own best interests, rightly or wrongly, that a particular kind of salesperson is more likely to generate more dollars … It’s all about the bottom line.” You either think inequality is a good thing or you don't. If you think it is then you should be prepared to stand on the wrong side of that line. By simple logic we have to conclude that there will be more of us on this side than on that side. And we stand here, with our overwhelming numbers, hoping for the chance to cross over. For our chance to hold the reigns, and to screw the rest of us for a little while. I don't want it. | |
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