So as I’ve had my fair share of a lurking/grass-touching period and my brain being the 3 year old philosopher it is, I have collected questions overtime that I haven’t quite be able to fit in anywhere. As they would have no use to me wasting away in a notepad, I decided I would share them with you guys in order to develop opinions. You can answer any or none at all, just releasing the valve so my brain doesn’t explode.
-Even though the Scots-Irish are now culturally absorbed into American “Whiteness”, is there still a subconscious bias against them/colonial scars?; Of course not the “Irish” politicians and oligarchs, or someone refusing a Big Mac because it was made by a Paddy–the slur, not to be confused with the bun, which is reasonably rejected as that middle bun is but a cosmetic deviation from a McDouble to make you spend more and causes serious TMJ upon unhinging the jaw for consumption-- but the bias against the Scot-Irish in the guise of classism, with treatment of rednecks and “white trash”. Now I myself have never lived in the south, but I have my own experience of being poor and surrounded by rural fly over America. Forgetting the transference of ethnic prejudices into classist ones, the actual territory of predominately Scots-Irish aren’t known for their economic strength. Appalachia and the South are still deeply poverty stricken and lagging behind the rest of the States. I do not mean this blurb to be whining as an “irish american”(mutt) or anything, but more so an example for the colonized and marginalized of how being “accepted” by the state isn’t the same as empowered and liberated with reparations. The libs will just come up with new terms for stereotypes and ignore any real change.
Wasn’t much of a question was it hahaha. Sorta ties into second question (you’ll see)
-Does being blue collar or “working class” (American sense) tend to bring social bigotry itself, or has the state purposely planted seeds of bigotry into the minds of manual labourers knowing they posses a revolutionary character which would be in deadly combination with liberation groups for the marginalized? Frankenstein question, has the petite bourgeoisie and intelligentsia been “focused” on social change because it separates them from the working class? (In the image sense for their own classist reasons, but also in the political solidarity sense with pressure from the state). Why you find bigotry in areas heavy with the working class and poverty, regardless of the demographic make up there. Also the natural drag of the rural behind the urban.
This one is less of a theory question but more of a personal one.
-For you guys in the imperial core with me, do you ever wonder why it was us who happen to be the lucky few who have become Marxist Leninist and have managed to dodge all the propaganda, especially with the “left” bootlicking? Is this some weird destiny of being born in the Empire, Living through the empire’s death, and actually being able to see it while others around can’t. To be ahead of the tides as Imperialism turns inward. Why us be the seeds to plant and grow the resistance within the bloating belly of the beast before it bursts? I know it’s not using DiaMat, but it feels surreal. Not just in this weird destiny talk, but seriously what made us able to be radicalized materially? We are so few, but what was the common thread?
I think I was supposed to have more, but if I come across some I’ll let you know, feeling burnt out from this lol.
Edit: Knew I was forgetting something >:)
-How come the Far Right have enough emotional intelligence to parrot leftists talking points, or misconstrue them, while being absolute bigoted pieces of shit themselves?
I can answer some of these from my perspective.
The way I see it, it is impossible to ignore the contradictions of capital for the human psyche, so something must be used to explain them. Because of the lack of education, corporate funded media etc. etc., the blame falls on immigrants and poor people. Also because of the widespread notion of the “middle class” nobody really sees themselves as the lower class.
I am not born in the empire but i do live in it. And i really don’t like the exceptionalist attitude. Being ML doesn’t make you a “chosen one” or the lucky few. In terms of common thread, it’s material conditions necessary to be dissatisfied with status quo+ interest in history/politics.
I think at the moment being against the empire within the empire is kind of an outlier situation. Materially, most people benefit from imperialism (in the empire). But then there are areas where capitalism fails no matter the material conditions, even for the imperial core, like climate change or queer liberation. For me personally the gateway to marxism were queer studies. I think with the contradictions sharpening (i know, very cliche), there will be more gateway topics like these to use as anchors for further class consciousness, and with worsening material conditions there of course will be more questions towards the status quo.