It had been quite some time since the native-born Englishman had returned to the far-east end of Greater London. Nothing had changed. Dagenham was still a socialistic stronghold, a horror hole populated by the embittered and resentful members of Britain’s lower working class. The expatriate spotted an old acquaintance and started up a conversation.
We want to thank James Betti for this Contribution – Please direct yours to steve@GraniteGrok.com.
The acquaintance immediately noted his childhood buddy no longer spoke the barely decipherable cockney brogue. The acquaintance queried if the town was no longer good enough for him and wondered if the returnee was trying to get above his station in life. The Englishman artfully avoided the questions, but he knew the answers. It was not a question of being better than, it was simply a question of whether he wanted to elevate himself from a dead-end London borough, and the answer was a resounding yes.
Around the world there are (and always will be) powerless, educationally deprived pockets of poverty; stranded in caste and class systems with little hope of ever elevating themselves, exploited by elites, who push the politics of envy and victimhood.
The United States of America is a beacon for these people.
The great land of opportunity, where waves of legal immigrants {Irish, Italians, Polish, and more recently the Vietnamese/Asian Americans} all have come and used the same playbook to live a better life and assimilate into the melting pot of America. The nuclear family was the backbone, with each generation encouraging their children to work hard and do better than their parents. Most often, it was 2 to 3 generations before their offspring reached the brass ring, with a grandchild becoming a successful doctor, lawyer, or businessman, but it happened.
Except, this did not happen for African Americans and Native Americans (the Native American story is for another time).
The post-slavery African American population was subjected to horrible “Jim Crow” discrimination, but in the late 1950s/60s, things were improving, and MLK’s colorblind society seemed reachable. There was one cautionary note. In 1965, Patrick Monahan published the famous Monahan Report that highlighted the breaking down of the black nuclear family. The report has proved to be prophetic. Over 70% of black families are headed by a single parent, and that parent is most often a female.
MLK was assassinated, and the black culture moved away from assimilating into a color-blind, united American society. The LBJ Great Society ushered in the era of welfare, and affirmative action sent the message that the color of a person’s skin was more important than character, hard work, and merit. These realities, combined with an almost total breakdown of the nuclear African-American family, put into play all the variables required for a destructive culture to develop, and that is exactly what happened (think inner-city crime/drugs, vile rap music, failing public schools, high unemployment. and inability to achieve merit-based success). In other countries, African Americans would be left to their own self-destruction, but in America, the black culture has something the Democrats desperately need: their vote.
The Democratic Party receives over 90% of the black vote, and if this dropped to 80% the party would be nonviable. The Democrat power brokers know this and will do “anything” to make sure that it never happens.
Conniving Democrat imp operatives, figuratively perched on the shoulders of African Americans, whisper self-serving lies. The black economic situation had nothing to do with them because they were being held down by systemic white racism. The developing black culture should be embraced and celebrated. Generations had this imbued into their psyche.
All the while, things worsened.
The black-on-black crime was epidemic, and future-destroying drugs were everywhere. Black children were failing in school, and unemployment {especially among black men} skyrocketed. In New York City, 50% of all black pregnancies ended in abortion. However, the conniving imp assured the minority population that progressive elites would fight for them and make sure the government supplied them with all their needs. The only thing the black community needed to do was every 2 years check the candidate’s box with a D next to their name.
Things continue pretty much the same until the Trump presidency. During this time, the economy was on fire, and black Americans were working. A significant portion, especially black men, began to question the imp on their shoulders.
Panic started to spread among Democratic power brokers.
If the trend continued, they would not survive. Then, George Floyd died while in the custody of a white policeman. Even though the actual rate of white policemen killing black suspects during felonies was extremely low, Black Lives Matter became the mantra (their manifesto even endorsed fatherless households). Progressive-fueled riots spread across America with no accountability for the violence or damage. Joe Biden was elected president, and progressive Democrat politicians pushed affirmative action on steroids. Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DEI) were put ahead of character, hard work, and merit. George Soros-backed prosecutors were elected in major progressive cities, and crime was no longer punished. And the black culture continued its downward spiral.
It may be too late for the progressive-run cities because many individuals who would have fought to turn the cities around have elected to leave, and the majority that remains still have conniving progressive imps whispering into their ears, telling them they are victims, telling them they are losers because of white supremacy.
In order to turn things around, the first thing that needs to happen is to brush off the conniving imps. Once this pernicious influence is gone, the minority communities’ minds could clear, and they would finally understand the need to start voting for individuals who can build up the minority communities instead of keeping them down. The streets need to be made safe and drug-free. It is not an impossible challenge. Rudy Giuliani did it, and once the streets are safe, children can be given school choices so they can escape the failed teacher union-controlled public schools. In this safe environment, black male role models could step up, and pastors/priests could work on the community’s spiritual needs.
Affirmative Action has been declared unconstitutional, and DEI will soon suffer the same fate.
That does not mean society cannot offer minority communities a helping hand. Affirmative Access {help based on economic status, not skin color} could open the door to state and community colleges. Appropriate funding based on need would make the opportunity real, and if minority students take advantage of the opportunity, the American Dream will follow.
Despite being born into the intellectually stultifying lower-class English caste system, the Englishman made it to the United States and lived the American Dream. He worked hard, married, and had a daughter, who he watched graduate from law school. Perhaps the biggest difference between the Englishman and the failed black minority community was that he brushed off Britain’s figurative version of a conniving elite imp. An imp who was always whispering, you are no good and you should stay in your place.
It is time for America’s black community to do the same, brush off the conniving progressive imp, clear its mind, and vote for its own self-interest. The American dream is through that door. All it would take is to walk over the threshold.
