Monday, September 27, 2010

Tea Party Activists, White Like Me

Contemplating the popularity of the Tea Party with a friend, I watched again this penetrating 2009 analysis from Tim Wise on how the economically elite divide and conquer the underclass, getting poor and middle class white folks to fight their battles. In so doing, the non-elite, directly harm themselves at least economically if not, well, spiritually.


Can we as white people talk, really talk, with each other, those firmly advocating or even screaming to get rid of Medicare, privatize social security, etc under the conceptual ruse of "smaller government?" Let us not call anyone a racist, for that just plays into the divide. We can start by appealing to our own vastly overlapping economic self interest and build from there. Let me find a way to deeply listen and truly share regarding our common experiences and needs.