Society continues to be
perplexed by the constant dysfunctionality of economic instability,
miseducation, and political propaganda spreading throughout the world like some
deadly infectious disease. As the world continues to juggle the myriad of inherited frustrations
and social ills one thing remains clear, nothing is by chance or coincidence. It is much easier to allow
the distractions of social media and digital manipulation modules to sedate us
into a zombi like condition, laboring aimlessly concentrating on isolated events while overlooking the interconnected
causes that lead to the continuous cycle of devastation that swallows up the
majority of society everyday. We’ve ignored the plethora of
red flags that history has afforded us time and time again. The Great
depressions, Slavery, Land grabbing, great dividers like race- and class,
Economic bubbles, political corruption, advocates of greed over humanity,
destruction of natural resources, military force, and immoral war crimes just
to name a few. The questions we should be asking are why do we continue to
allow these crimes against humanity to proceed? And who are the benefactors of
this ongoing saga of destroy and rebuild?
There is a grey economy among
us, a society that exist outside of what appears to be a government for the
citizens and by the citizens. If the country is truely for the people and by
the people, then who are those people honestly? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, a scholar,
or a genus to figure out that what we are witnessing is not by accident. Every
war, crisis, bubble bursting, and political mishap just might be a product of a
deliberate result.
Why sure we could continue to
buy into the rhetoric that the mass media, economic elite, and political
puppets force feed our conscious or we could look beyond the surface and
confront the grey. We need more dialogue, marches, mobilization, and organized
action. Waiting on your local politician, leader, superman or any other hero is
no longer an option.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A grey market or gray market, now
known as the "Open Market" or parallel market,[1] is the trade of a commodity through
distribution channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or
unintended by the original manufacturer. The term gray economy, however,
refers to workers being paid under the table, without
paying income taxes or contributing to such public services as Social Security
and Medicare.[2] It is sometimes referred to as the underground economy
or "hidden economy."
The two main types of open markets are those of
imported manufactured goods that would normally be unavailable or more
expensive in a certain country and unissued securities that are not yet traded
in official markets. Sometimes the term dark market is used to describe
secretive, unregulated (though often technically legal) trading in commodity futures, notably
crude oil in 2008.[3] This can be
considered a third type of "open market" since it is legal, yet
unregulated, and probably not intended or explicitly authorized by oil producers.
Divide and Conquer: The New Model Minority
ByThe fix is in, as they say. The announcement has been made. The ideological royal guard of racial stratification is standing at attention. There is a change of the guard in terms of the covenant title, (insert the sound of trumpets please), “Model Minority.” Previously I was swayed by the weight of a 2008 Journal of African American Studies article, “Race, Gender and Progress: Are Black American Women the New Model Minority?” by Amadu Jacky Kaba. This scholar asserts that Black females, despite the effects of slavery, gender discrimination, and racial oppression were slowly becoming the new model minority. Black females were described as replacing Eastern and Southern Asians upon the white pedestal for other minority groups to be in awe of.
Many do not know the term “model minority” was coined by sociologist William Peterson in a 1966 New York Times magazine essay entitled, “Success Story: Japanese American Style.” The piece made the argument that despite their experiences with historical marginalization, Asian Americans have attained “success” (whatever that means in this country), due to strong families, respect for education, and work ethic. In later years the media provided an array of articles and coverage that exhibited this point. In essence they were all nationally and internationally stressing the strength of the poignant question—“Why can’t Blacks get their act together?” The term by many is viewed as both racist and divisive. It was created by the White elite to serve as a way to downplay the effects of racism on Blacks while publicly blaming Blacks, the victim, for their own political, economic, and social status.
In my research, I have seen the trends of Black female graduation (high school, bachelors, and advanced degrees) increase while Black males have dropped. I have noticed the increase of Black females attaining corporate, medical, and legal jobs. I have also noticed the declining number of Black males entering the educational programs needed to attain these positions. I have seen the young Black male faces entering into a prison system that is plastered wall to wall with their image. The health and suicide rates fare no better. When taking this into account, I was not so sure the predicted change of guard would occur.
This was not until I became aware of the emerging research by Dudley Poston at Texas A&M, that points to China, which replaces Mexico (Mexican immigrants) as the new U.S. source for low wage workers coming to the US. He goes on to assert that the sentiment, legal maneuvers, and overall disdain targeting Mexican workers we have witnessed in the past few years will possibly be refocused on the replacing low-wage Asian worker. Due to this I feel that the outlook on Asians as the supposed “model” will cease to exist. They too will be blamed for the same issues Mexican workers are blamed for today. This will give way to a new champ to be elected in order to continue the divide between people of color, and at the same time sustaining the existing racist oppressive conditions that keep Blacks and Latinos down.
Unlike the application of the frame of Asian Americans, I feel that the ramifications of promoting Black females as the new model minority will not only negatively impact race relations, but the social relationship between Black males and females. What can we do? We know the social and psychological damage the previous model has done to world. Therefore there is no excuse. I challenge you as a scholar and/or citizen of social justice to push back. We have to point out what this divisive tactic is to the world—destructive.


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