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so. some of the most conservative people i& #39;ve ever met are in the homeless/housing insecure groups that i am part of. like. i would guess more people are conservative and deeply so at that than not. which was hugely hugely shocking to me.
but as i& #39;ve gotten to know folks and situations better, it actually makes a ton of sense to me. folks living on the streets are fighting harder than anybody else on the chain for survival. when ur at that level, u need to make other groups & #39;the enemy.& #39;
and non-profits and churches feed the FUCK into this. when u have to prove you are deserving and worth the help ur getting, that sets it up so that there are other people who aren& #39;t.
that is: i& #39;m not like THAT person. i& #39;m a GOOD person. I deserve this can of food. THAT person doesn& #39;t.
where a middle class liberal may do the platitudes of & #39;anti-racism& #39; with their & #39;it doesn& #39;t matter if ur black white green or purple!& #39;--folks fighting for survival have to be like THEY are the bad people u should kick out of center or whose tent u shld confiscate.
which is not to say--you know poor folk are only racist/hateful bcz they& #39;re fighting for survival! i don& #39;t doubt for a second that the asshole that just stood and complained to me about & #39;teh mexkins& #39; for the last twenty minutes is a full of shit white supremacist.
but it IS to say. i need all the folks that spent 90 billion pounds of ink waxing poetic about the & #39;economic anxiety& #39; of the dude that um, has an actual job and a house to live in, to spend some time contemplating what it means-
to be actually poor. and to actually have to fight for resources while sitting under the powerful thumb of Deserving or Not Deserving narrative.
to contemplate & #39;white supremacy& #39; when the person spewing it *actually* gets to eat or not eat based on actual white supremacy. (illegals don& #39;t get social services! they dont like it, go back to where they came from!)
contemplate & #39;solidarity& #39; when it means you may or may not eat. i will tell you right now, i will cut a bitch without a second thought if it means my child is not going hungry or not living on the streets.
homeless/housing insecure people are human beings. there& #39;s going to be racist and vile hateful people in every population of human beings u get around. but. survival--that brings out the fight or flight instincts in everybody.
and ur most committed to loving black white or purple people will ALSO cut a bitch in a heart beat if it means being able to eat for first time in a two days.
which says to me. if we are going to end white supremacy? if we are going to end racism? we HAVE to take a good long hard look at the system of resource distribution. & #39;civility& #39; is a bullshit distraction. & #39;being nice& #39; is a bullshit distraction.
bcz when it& #39;s a question of survival? u will fight. period. and u will use any methods at ur disposal to fight.
so the question is. how do we survive. how do create a system of survival. which nurtures and develops cooperation *even if you can& #39;t stand the person ur with*. that nurtures and develops community *even if you literally vomit at the sound of ur neighbor& #39;s voice*.
i am not interested in making people like each other. i AM interested in making sure that everybody has food and a warm spot to stay during the polar vortex.
somebody tell me how to make capitalism do that.
