The great American grift part 2

By Barrington Martin II 

Racism is not dead, but it is on life support — kept alive by politicians, race hustlers and people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others as “racists.” – Thomas Sowell 

It’s been three months since we last opened this discussion. If you missed part one, please take the time to read it here. 

In part one, we discovered race is not only the greatest grift in our present-day society, but it’s also the most profitable. We learned that through media and the mass proliferation of race trauma porn, individuals in society have a misconstrued understanding of race relations within the nation. 

We also discussed various statistics showing how the beliefs of racism in this country do not correlate with the actuality of race relations in the nation. More notably, the facts and metrics proving fears of racism are overblown aren’t widely known or even as openly discussed as racism itself.  

Furthermore, those that believe racism is a problem often seek out media or news coverage that reaffirms the personal biases they have. Essentially, this notion continues to empower and enrich politicians, activists, intelligentsia, and race hustlers that continue to manipulate the masses with their rhetoric. 

Within part 2 of this series, we’ll continue to assess the facts and data of race within this nation. We’ll also look at the romanticization of the Civil Rights movement that promotes what I’d like to call “Civil Rights porn.” This continues to keep Black Americans on a proverbial treadmill, deceiving them by the constant embracing of the nostalgia of the Civil Rights Movement which has kept them moving in place.  

As I stated in part one, by no means am I advocating that racism doesn’t exist, because there are racist individuals of every race. However, in 2021, America is not a racist nation nor are systems in place meant to solely and exclusively subjugate Black Americans exclusively.  

In part one of this series, we learned that the salience of racial issues is one of the primary catalysts to how beliefs about racial issues are spread throughout society. This is because the more we care about an issue, the more we believe in its prevalence throughout society.  

Furthermore, this correlation is strengthened when the mainstream news media and other mediums is dominated by the content people care about most. We saw this last year with George Floyd and BLM dominating the news headlines, and the last four years with President Trump dominating the headlines. 

The mainstream news media has gaslighted the American public to oblivion, with Black Americans and leftists being the primary two demographics that have been affected the most.  

The clearest sign of this is seen within the topic of police shootings. For example, statistics show the likelihood of a young Black man dying from an automobile accident is considerably higher than him being killed by police. In fact, even within statistics dealing with deaths of young men of all races, police shootings represent an extremely small minority. 

However, within a Qualtrics survey taken in November and December of 2020, eight in ten Black Americans believed that young Black men are more likely to die by police shootings than car accidents; only one in ten disagreed. 

Among non-college graduates who took part in the survey, 78% believe that police shootings are more common than fatal car accidents. Interestingly enough, only 14% of college graduates contest this view. 

Furthermore, what researchers discovered is that politics is what shapes a person’s perceptions of social reality. For example, while 53% of the black Trump voters (64 individuals) believed police shootings are the leading cause of death for young black men, 81% of black Biden voters (597 individuals) did so as well. 

The researchers discovered that age, share of Blacks in a respondent’s neighborhood, and education made no significant difference in the way the respondents answered this question. Partisan perceptions of racial attitudes mattered most to the respondents. 

With politics mattering more than age or education, this shows how political ideology heavily impacts perception of how often young Black men are shot by police. But over half of Black Trump voters agreeing with the statement shows the belief is widespread and not a function of ideology. 

Researchers found this perspective isn’t exclusive to Black Americans either. Within the Prolific 4 survey done by the same researchers, out of 391 respondents, “70% of whites who “strongly agree” that “white Republicans are racist” also believed young black men are more likely to be shot to death by the police than to die in a car accident.” 

In comparison to the Qualtrics 2 survey, this figure is substantially higher than the 53% of Black Trump voters in the Qualtrics 2 survey and even higher than the 15% of White Trump voters within the Prolific 4 survey who also believe the sentiment. 

Nevertheless, Blacks are more likely than whites to believe young Black men are more at risk of being gunned down by the police than to die within a car accident. 

The obsession with racial ideology has given way for Black Americans to romanticize the Civil Rights movement. They’re looking back, not forward. Black political leadership within the nation continues to maintain rhetoric that Blacks are still fighting for rights they’ve had for decades now. 

For example, let’s take the current controversy surrounding voting rights within the country. Just months ago, the media and Democratic politicians said that Black Americans saved Biden and American democracy. 

Also, months ago, Black women were called the “backbone of American democracy,” and even the Washington Post shared this same sentiment. Now, months after the media praised Black women as the saviors of the country for voting, the same media and same Democratic politicians are now telling Blacks they must fight for voting rights. 

How could it be possible that Blacks saved America through voting, Black women are the saviors of democracy though voting, yet the fight (key buzzword here) for voting rights for Black Americans persists? It’s all a fraud. 

Black democratic leaders, working with the media, have kept Black political thought stagnant through rhetoric reminiscent of the Civil Rights movement. Despite notable changes in society and the multitude of social advances allowing Black Americans to enjoy equal protections under the law, Black leadership continues to gaslight Black Americans into believing in a boogieman that no longer exists. 

This is what I like to call, Civil Rights Porn. Take the arrest of Congressional Black Caucus Chair Joyce Beatty a few weeks ago. She was arrested for protesting for “voting rights,” but really, it’s Civil Rights porn. 

Or how about another member of the Black Caucus, Hank Johnson, also arrested protesting for voting rights legislation in the spirt of “good trouble” in the name of his dear friend John Lewis. Once again, it’s Civil Rights porn. 

Lastly, what about Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee marching to protest the Senate’s nonaction of voting rights? Yes, you know the answer. 

The commonality all these “leaders” share is that, as political leaders, they’ve failed to create the solutions for the people they claim to work for. In fact, their ilk seldom presents solutions. However, they’re very adept in producing a protest, march, or any other act of grandstanding that persuades people they are doing more than they are.  

Enough is enough. 

The dynamic duo of media and politics, aided by the race grift, continues to manipulate Black Americans. Even though there’s data proving race relations are substantially better than they’ve ever been, the media continues to persuade Black Americans into believing society is racist. 

Black political leaders take part in the grift of race because it continues to benefit them, while Black Americans remain on a hamster wheel toward progress.  

All these factors combine to create a perfect storm of self-pity that maintains a node of despair among Black Americans. This then creates a self-fulfilling prophecy regarding race in this nation. 

It’s time for Black Americans to divest from the media, divest from politics, and realize that the only one coming to save them is the person they see in the mirror.