There’s an excerpt:

The study’s researchers reviewed over 800 local and national news pieces published or aired between January 2015 and December 2016, sampling major networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC as well as major print publications such as The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune.

The study — conducted by  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign communications professor Travis L. Dixon — found that national news outlets were more likely to show black families as broken and dysfunctional while white families were depicted as possessing social stability. 

These images are not only distorted, but contradict government data.

Dixon found that black families represented 59 percent of poor people portrayed in media, but actually only make up of 27 percent of Americans living in poverty. In contrast, white families only make up 17 percent of the poor representated in media, but make up 66 percent in reality. As far as criminal depictions go, black criminals represented 37 percent of the media’s criminals while only 26 percent of those arrested on criminal charges are black in real life. White criminals represented 28 percent the criminals portrayed in the media, but make up 77 percent of real life’s crime suspects.

The report argues that constant depictions of black people living in poor, welfare-dependent and broken homes due to absentee fathers has created a negative image of black families in general.

“This leaves people with the opinion that black people are plagued with self-imposed dysfunction that creates family instability and therefore, all their problems,” said Dixon.

If you want to read the entire article, click here.

Again, this observation has been an examined and discussed for years. TheGuardian writes about how negative media portrayals of black men have real world consequences.  The Huffington Post highlights racist stereotypes of black men in popular media.

The successes and accomplishments of black women have been eclipsed by many disparaging and disheartening images of black women in the media. It has prompt black women to combat these images as they too have to struggle in a world that listens to a racist and sexist media landscape as opposed to actually meeting and talking to real black women.

The funny thing is that whenever a black person reveals something so blatantly obvious, the racism in Western media being just one example, a study has to be done. Black folks are never listened to or believed when it comes to matters of racism and discrimination unless it goes along with whiteness and its many, many defenses. A study has to be conducted to see if we’re right if it’s not what a white person says.

Black people are always assumed that we’re wrong in the case of racism. I’ve seen white-laced attitudes that reject or destroy any and everything a black person says whether it’s actual data and evidence to personal experiences. Black people try their hardest to prove the unfair case against them, but to no avail. They refuse to listen and understand. Whiteness gives them the arrogance to think they know more about racism than the actual victims of racism, the ignorance to shield them from much-needed differing views and the cruelty to insult and guilt trip them all in an effort to avoid the reality that only black people know.

So, even though this study solidifies what was said all along and when it’s evidenced by constant, uninterrupted TV viewing, the problem will still be thrown out in favor of a half-baked explanation not rooted in facts or reality concocted by a someone who claims white people are victims of racism.

The post New Study Finds News Outlets Promote False, Negative Portrayals Of Black Families appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Actors, CEOs and politicians have been ousted as sexual predators who preyed on (often young) women and men for years. The accusations started pouring in after Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was exposed as a serious serial sexual deviant. After news broke of his disturbing exploits, more men were unveiled. The latest is, or was, a respected Democratic senator who used to be on Saturday Night Live, Al Franken. 

CNN reports:

In her post, (Leeann) Tweeden (morning news anchor on TalkRadio 790 KABC in Los Angeles) says the harassment occurred as the two rehearsed for a USO skit written by Franken in which he was supposed to kiss her. She writes that Franken repeatedly insisted they rehearse the kissing scene despite her protests. When she relented, she says, Franken “put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth.”

“Senator Franken, you wrote the script,” Tweeden wrote. “But there’s nothing funny about sexual assault.”

She also included a photo in which Franken appears to grab her breast while she’s asleep.

“I couldn’t believe it. He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep,” Tweeden writes. “I felt violated all over again. Embarrassed. Belittled. Humiliated.

If you want to read her whole story, click here.

Understandably, this has let down a lot of people. Franken, to them, was thought to have been an actual righteous politician, one of the “good” ones. But this incident that occurred over 11 years ago shows that he’s not so righteous at all, and is fundamentally no different than the other fools accused of similar crimes and sins.

Robyn Pennacchia at Wonkette expresses her disappointment:

Al Franken has done a lot of good over the years, both as a senator and before then. It is a goddamned shame that he could not have backed that up by being a decent person otherwise. I am mad about this. I am mad for the people he represents who trusted him and needed him to be a better person. I am mad for and at myself, because my first reaction to this was “please don’t let it be true.”

Franken’s revelation of his past cruelty shows that sexual harassment is not a party issue. As you know, Alabama politician Roy Moore, a republican seeking for a seat in the Senate when he was accused of sexually abusing several women during his younger years. As expected, he has his defenders, particularly those on the far right with supporting silence from Grab ’em by the p***y Trump. (I don’t like using or spelling the p-word even if it’s about cats.) Yet, the jackass-in-chief went to condemn Franken who seemed to have owned up to his shit while not saying a word about Moore or holding his own orange ass accountable.

If this is to be weighed out, why should Senator Franken go down for one act of harassment (as fas as we know) while we got an incompetent, emotionally fragile testicle still in office for a long list of abuse for which society seemed to have moved on from? This isn’t to not hold Franken accountable. But this is one of the things that makes you go hmmm.

If some people are shortsighted enough to make it a political issue, that’s part of the problem. Some things aren’t politically based. This is a human rights issue, the rights of women and men who are victims of unwanted advances from men who abuse their privileges.

The post You Too, Al Franken? Woman Claims Politician Sexually Assaulted Her appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Slim palm trees stretch outward like fingers, but those, as spectacular as they are, aren’t what I’m interested in seeing. My tío has a banana tree that he harvests annually, and a special place packed with mysteries and natural wonders my tío chose to cultivate and preserve. At least, that’s what I’ve conjured whenever thinking about it. I’ve only seen it through photos; one with my nephew beaming with his straw jíbaro hat on as he prepared to discover the secrets locked within it for himself.

I remember dreaming about finally visiting them, seeing the majesty of El Yunque, hearing the melodic songs of the coquí that are almost indistinguishable from birds, seeing the shores of Puerto Mosquito glow brighter than neon lights while an ocean of stars shimmers above it every night in reciprocation. I feel my skin tingle as the tides tickle my feet, the first time I’ve ever touched water in years since the onset of my Epilepsy. I have no fear of drowning from a seizure as I swim through the currents, for I’m one with them; I become a mermaid, a child of Yemaya Herself, returning to my home.

I remember dreaming about the air’s stickiness, a mist that permeates it in the rainforests like a curtain, and waterfalls pouring through walls of moss-covered stone that towers above me in the shape of a cul-de-sac; foliage peppers its mountains and I imagine it’s an Impressionist painting. Then, I notice something moving in the trees, but it’s just a small gang of parrots with feathers evergreen like the canopy they’re perched within. My eyes never grow tired of seeing them.

I remember dreaming about visiting Cabo Rojo and Las Salinas with my cousins; giant dunes of salt are taller than any buildings dotted around them. There are lagoons there with rosy, crystalline water that reflects the clouds hovering above; the sky bleeds into its surface. I hear thousands of birds travel here, feasting upon shrimp in its mangrove swamps, and make it a point to observe them for myself. Fuck the gentrified tourist resorts; these natural wonders are the true marvels.

I remember dreaming about Loíza; there’s a building there painted in the likeness of the Puerto Rican flag, and countless others in barrios with murals on them. A sea of Black faces in myriad shades abounds here. Vejigantes in brilliant, dynamic costumes with intimidating trickster masks are present at a festival taking place. If my health ever improves and my Meniere’s diminishes, I’ve often thought about trying to become one. As an Afrolatin@, this place is especially important to me, because it, like many places in Puerto Rico, proclaims that our nation is just as Black as it is “Brown”.

I remember dreaming of Museo El Cemi in Jayuya, rife with histories and narratives preserved within a building carved like the idols of its namesake; Taíno hieroglyphs chiseled into la piedra escrita; portraits hewn in stone that remind me of the people whose presence is indelible in this space. It’s even named after a Cacique, like many of our nation’s places were: Hayuya. They, however, are not the only ones whose presence is felt in this municipality; a bombing occurred here. A revolution that could’ve been is woven into every street corner. Yet, there are some, it seems, who’ve forgotten it.

I remember dreaming of San Cristobal in Old San Juan, a fort centuries old that overlooks the sea. An old, ivory church is also found here, although I’d never visit beyond the sentimental. Instead, I find myself traveling past colonial walls and obscured pathways into La Perla while I sip juice from a coconut. This place has history as well; freedmen and other non-whites were once forced to live here, segregated from the rest of the city, and that legacy shows. It took a music video beloved internationally for people to actually care about it, and even then their interest is questionable. But that’s another story.

I remember my prima showing us an aerial photo of La Parguera in Lajas, covered in greenery that buried the town adjacent it. Then, I remember Maria, that wraith of a hurricane that stripped the region bare. All I saw were demolished trees amongst the soil and a town pummeled by it; nothing was spared.

I remember hearing that Aguadilla was “destruida”; wondering if my relatives in Caguas and other places were okay, many of which were flooded; homes without roofs being subjected to seemingly endless rain; ICUs failing in hospitals, many of which, like the rest of the island, lost power; nights without the Coquí­ to comfort us with their songs. The military and FEMA neglectingour people, despite claims otherwise; mothers without milk to feed their children; disaster Capitalism rearing its head.

Of course, there was also the legion of outraged articles written by people that claimed to care about Puerto Ricans, but did not care for our brethren in the rest of the Carib. They were amazed by diet-Underwood’s indifference, but we’d long known him to be despicable. They claimed to care about the Jones Act, but did not care about the people holding our infrastructure hostage. But these are their stories, not ours. This was not my dream.

My tía and tío have a home in Aguadilla. I’ve often dreamt about it since my childhood. In my dream it has finally been restored — we’ve even planted new banana trees — although it is forever changed. All of the island is. We reported, reimagined, and revived our community. We refused to allow our oppressors to tell our narratives for us. We survived, like we always do.

I walk beaches barefooted for the first time in many years, cherishing every grain of sand that sticks to them. They will not be privatized; they will always be free. I admire the sound of the coquí in the forests at night, the timeless music and voice of the Eggún heard in Ifa drumming sessions; the looks of approval my relatives give when eating my handmade pasteles and arroz con gandules — not to forget the recaíto I made just for them. I may or may not be enjoying my prima’s coquito.

The Union’s military will never have a presence here again, and any aid they offer will be at our discretion. A board of robber barons we did not elect will no longer close down our schools or slash healthcare and the minimum wage for the employed; the police will not operate like a mob in low-income, predominantly Black communities, more will accept those like me who are LGBT, and the politicians obsessed with assimilating to further their destructive Capitalist interests will no longer have a chokehold in the political conversation.

I remember dreaming that this place will not be a colony, a “Commonwealth”, nor a state. It will not even be Puerto Rico. It will be the nation it was meant to be, with a name its people once gave it. It will be the Land of the Noble and Valiant. It will be Borikén.

– Mwatuangi

The post This Is Not a Thinkpiece About Puerto Rico appeared first on Madness & Reality.

I’m sure you heard this bullshit before by local news or word-of-mouth. Some of you may have even witnessed it, have been victims yourself or knows someone who is or was. But it doesn’t get any easier no matter how many times it occurs, where it happens or how many people are shot and killed.

On the first Sunday evening of October 1st, Stephen Paddock unleashed a hell-storm of firepower on a crowd of concertgoers in Las Vegas killing at least 58 people and wounding over 200 more. Media outlets would christen this as the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

I’m going to skip all the usual liberal observations. I’m not going to talk about how this was another tragic incident of white men with guns. I’m not going to talk about the privileges attached such as him being described as a mentally unstable lone wolf that doesn’t represent the entire whole. And I won’t bring up any double standards and what if scenarios if he was nonwhite. It’s not that I don’t cosign with such analyses. It’s just that I’m tired of the whole broken record.

Let’s be honest, mass shootings in America are more common than we would like to believe. Each time, a heavily armed terrorist, a white male most of the time, would unload gunfire into a group of unsuspecting people taking out as much of them as possible. Each time, the news would report on the incident and dig up as much about the shooter, particularly any history about his mental history. And we are urged by politicians to pray for the victims and their families and friends affected by the tragedy.

Yes, praying is always the go-to solution for gun violence. While I’m not against prayer or anyone who practices it – hell, I do it too – what has praying done so far, and what exactly are we praying for?

We live in a nation obsessed with guns and gun safety. We’re fed the same spoonfuls of NRA bullshit that having weapons will make us safer. We’re told that having a gun will protect us from, ironically, a “bad guy with a gun.” We’re even told what those “bad guys” look like. And we’re told that it’s your unalienable right to use it. Protect your life while snuffing out others is the American way.

Only the neverending stream of mass shootings and gun violence in general just proves how quick this nation plays fast and loose with firearms when men with burning hatred can obtain a gun and decides who lives and who dies. The hollowed pleas for mourning and prayer masquerade the compliance of leaders not to act and instead, heed those who profit the most not to impose stricter gun laws. And after days, weeks and even months of grieving, we will move on with our lives, until history repeats itself with another shooter in another place taking out more lives.

I live in an area where gun violence has happened and will likely occur. I remember one such incident where there was a drive-by shooting outside a club around the corner from my home. That club has long since been closed, and in its place, a church is installed. But I still remember hearing those gunshots as if it happened yesterday.

People in poor neighborhoods struggle to stop the violence. In low-income black communities, there have been movements and groups committed to ending the killing of their residents no matter who the killers are. Those people are familiar with the crisis that guns present. It doesn’t matter if they’re in the hands of “good guys” or “bad guys.” All that they know is that they’re in the hands of guys. Period. And any guy with enough rage in his heart and a loaded gun in his hand will make sure someone suffers. Whether they’re good or evil doesn’t matter. All that matters is that lives are being snuffed out as if they’re worth nothing.

Close to 60 lives were taken in one night by one man hellbent on taking out more. But don’t think this is isolated. As stated earlier, gun violence is frighteningly familiar in the U.S. As you read this, lives are being erased, and more lives will follow suit. Soon, another mass shooting will occur. Mourn. Pray. Move on. Repeat.

The post I Can’t Think of a Clever Title for this Article, Because Writing About Gun Violence is Draining appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Jemele Hill Does It for the Culture

Enters Jemele Hill to call out the president for all of his contribution to the chaos. Not one to cower to white tears and mayo-splaining, Hill kept things quite honest. She noted the singular issue that most people have with Donald Trump: he is a white supremacist president. She made it known that Trump was the most “ignorant, offensive president” of her lifetime and that his rise was a direct result of white supremacy. In all, Jemele Hill reflected on the thoughts of millions of other U.S. citizens.

However, ESPN wasn’t having it. So, she apologized. ESPN accepted the apology. And life is moving on.

The malarkey doesn’t stop there. Beyond the fact that Hill had to apologize for giving accurate information, the president’s press secretary called for Hill’s dismissal. You read it right: Sarah Huckabee Sanders called for Jemele Hill to be fired for her commentary. After she wasn’t fired, Trump still feels he is owed an apology. It is 2017: anyone that questions and criticizes Trump should face the consequences. I mean, let us be real here: how more unpatriotic can one be?

The answer: as unpatriotic as being punished for giving a realistic, and critical, assessment of a president that has shifted an entire nation towards the negative.

Jemele Hill Indirectly Pulled Trump’s Skirt

I’m not about to reference ESPN in this situation. ESPN took on the role of the big wig company. They have the issue of worrying about their brand. So, that is that.

What I am going to do is point out the fact that the actions of the president and his constituents lead me to believe that they don’t believe in democracy. Sure, they should not agree with Jemele Hill’s sentiments. And that is understandable. However, to say that she should be fired for being critical of the president in a way that is blatantly true? That doesn’t give an air of democracy: that smells like a shitty form of tyrannical dictatorship.

One would have to be wholly ignorant to see that these actions by them fall short of any democratic sustenance. Democracy, in a nutshell,  is founded on the idea that the people are critical of their leaders. The PEOPLE pick the leaders. The LEADER works for the people. The people are NOT here to play lemmings and follow behind their president and walk quietly while they fall off a cliff. In a democracy, the people are critical of leadership because the leadership (supposedly) works for the people.

Plus, this type of act by Trump and Crew is tiptoeing around a 1^st Amendment violation. Just keep that in mind.

Jemele Hill Gets My Support

With all that is given, my support for Jemele Hill is expected. Thus, I will give my full backing by signing the petition by ColorofChange.org and spreading the word. I signed it already. Will you?

Sign right here!!!

The post Jemele Hill Once Again Proved Trump Aint Shit appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Here’s the problem with that, though. Trump’s son all but confirmed that his father is mentally unstable. Speaking in a radio interview, Eric Trump – yes, the son who looks like Frankenstein – talked about his father’s mental instability. According to Eric Trump, his father has no time for criticism because to do so would have him all in his feels. And apparently, criticism would drive his father into a depression and to commit suicide.

According to PoliticsUSA, this is what Eric Trump said: “It’s the media, the mainstream media, who does not want him to succeed. It’s government who does not want him to succeed. People who are very comfortable in their white marble offices in Washington, DC who he compromises and he threatens in some way, shape or form. ”

He continued, “They’ve never had to deal with somebody who’s an outsider who won’t put up with nonsense, and this is the result no matter what he does, he’s going to get hit and listen, I think you have to tune it out. You obviously have to be tuned into it because you have to know what’s being said, but at the same time you have to take it all with a grain of salt, and you know, if they weren’t talking about you, you wouldn’t be doing something right and it’s important to keep it in context, otherwise quite frankly you’d probably end up killing yourself out of depression.”

Anyone who has followed Trump closely can tell you that there’s something wrong with him. Braggadocio, self-aggrandizement, and a lack of personal responsibility aside, any armchair psychologist or ordinary person could tell you that he wants to be loved. If I had to guess, I’d say that his condition was developed in his childhood. It’s as though he has spent his entire life trying to live up to the expectations of his racist father, Fred Trump. This is what I think this is the root of Donald Trump’s personality disorder.

I think he’s a very sad man, and he has been this way his entire life.

While I detest Donald Trump, everything that he is, and everything he represents, I don’t wish death upon him. I just want him out of our lives. I’d prefer if his exit came by way of an impeachment, or being booted out of office in 2020. Unfortunately, in this case, you get what you pay for. And clearly this is what America wanted, so we all have to deal with it. Until then, I hope and pray that the erratic imbecile doesn’t accidentally launch any nukes in a fit of rage because of anything anyone in the media says about him. Yeah, that would suck. But hey, it’s not like we were not warned that Trump lacked the temperament for the job.

The post Mentally Unstable Trump May Commit Suicide appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Nothing about him suggests that he gives enough of a fuck about anyone in this nation unless there is something in it for him. Look how quick he was to walk back as much of his repudiation of neo-Nazis and such as he could to maintain what little support he has. Look at how he has majorities in all the main halls of government and, to date, has not one single legislative accomplishment. Look at how he has had more turnover in his cabinet than a fucking McDonald’s. Look at how he responds to even the mildest constructive criticism. Look at how he can’t even keep friends inside of his “own” (see above, he isn’t one of them, and they’re starting to see it) party.

I didn’t vote for him, but that isn’t why I say he is “not my president.” I mean he is not my president because he has not made one single action since taking his oath of office that would or has make my life one iota better. For that reason, even if you voted for or somehow otherwise support him, he is not your president either. Sure, there are people who pretend to tow the company line, even copying his approach to sniping the lowest hanging fruit to excuse his behavior. His surrogates go out to the media to repeat already dispelled non-truths and repeat them louder when called on it.

“Well at least he is not Hillary,” they say, but never actually offer any of the substance that the eleven million spent on Benghazi investigations HAD to have unearthed.

Wait… Nothing was ever found there either?

He can blame a “do-nothing Congress,” but they were fresh off of several years obstructing the last president in wait for someone in their party to be a waiting ink pen on the other end of their agenda. It seems more like an unhinged wannabe dictator attached to said pen is the actual problem here.

Hillary is not the president. After 7 months, it is not about sore losers as much as it is about one sore winner who can’t seem to actually do the job he has found himself in and is looking HARD to figure out who he will blame before Congress in the party he claims decides to quit on him like they did Nixon.

Russia investigations and Grand Juries are still a thing. The sooner Congress realizes that it will be their OWN asses in the grease for continuing – the few who still do – to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, the sooner 45 will get a visit similar to when Barry Goldwater, John Rhodes, and Hugh Scott made an infamous 08/07/1974 visit.

There isn’t enough cooked-up controversy to POSSIBLY draw attention away from these things when every single new fire burns just as hot as the previous one.

He’s not my president.

He’s not your president.

At the rate he is headed, his days of being his president are numbered.

You know who is doing a bang up job of keeping his nose clean in all of this? Paul Ryan.

“How?” you ask? Ryan is letting major conflicts go down between the executive and the Senate, not the House. He is quick to speak when 45 says some fuck shit. He has been on the right side of most discussions while remaining on the larger party message overall.
Should the president manage not to get himself impeached or otherwise resign as he sees his businesses hemorrhaging money, I FULLY expect Paul Ryan to primary him in 2020.
… and he’ll beat him too!

The post He’s Not My President, Nor Your President Either appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Things went so bad for the college boys that a very nice white young lady who didn’t appreciate their anger was killed. This, of course, had the country appalled and forced numerous politicians to scold the college boys over the weekend. The governor of Virginia was so upset, he held a press conference to deliver a message to the college boys. Unlike Trump, his message was direct and clear. He basically told them to “get the fuck out.”

We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2017

All the while this was happening, everyone waited with bated breath to hear what if anything President Trump would say to or about the college boys. After all, the angry college boys were all supporters of Trump. And as David Duke, their Dean of Admissions put it in one of his many tweets in response to Trump via Twitter. I suppose he chose Twitter and didn’t call directly since his back-channel phone line was down.

I would recommend you take a good look in the mirror & remember it was White Americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists. https://t.co/Rkfs7O2Ykr

— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) August 12, 2017

Duke called the rally a “turning point,” saying that the college boys would fulfill the promises of Trump’s candidacy. Because, as he tweeted above, Trump owes his white supremacist base bigly. Nonetheless, in spite of a little pushback from his minions, Trump decided to bite the bullet and issue a full-throated condemnation of his terrorist friends. You know, the white freedom-fighters in his base?

The only problem with that is that it was not Trump who delivered those remarks. Like I said, it was a ventriloquist dummy. He looked like Trump, but it definitely wasn’t Trump. Now, I couldn’t see the actual ventriloquist with the hand up the ass of the dummy as they do. Whatever they did to hide him, it worked.

Yet and still, the ventriloquist was able to give more life to the inanimate dummy and make him just a little bit more human-like. Moreso than the orange turd who plays idiot-in-chief.

“Racism is evil — and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans,” said the dummy in response to the attacks. Funny how he has ignored the uptick in hate crimes.

“Those who spread violence in the name of bigotry strike at the very core of America,” the ventriloquist dummy added. “To anyone who acted criminally in this weekend’s racist violence, you will be held fully accountable,” he said. “Justice will be delivered. ” Yeah, I’m pretty sure even Kim Jung-Un laughed at that.

Watch the video:

I guess this is what pressure will do to a man who never admits to any wrong doing. which is interesting, because on TV this morning, Jeff Sessions said that Trump absolutely should condemn his neo-Nazis supporters…  because, well, reasons. When the man once deemed too racist to be a federal judge who probably still owns slaves in Alabama says “you’re more racist than me, sir,” that’s when you’ve lost. Like, lost real mad bigly, son. Again, even Jeff Sessions was of the opinion that his remarks weren’t sufficient.

I’m disappointed in Trump’s latest statement on the event in Charlottesville, though. I expected to hear him say that he’d cover the legal fees of any of the white nationalists arrested by the FBI. But, unfortunately, he didn’t. If there’s any doubt that the words read at the White House today were written by Trump, stop. Not only were they not written by Trump, they weren’t read by Trump. So, if you’re still not satisfied with what you heard, trust me, it’s all the fault of the ventriloquist. Yes, blame it on the dummy and not Trump.

Remember, you can learn a lot from a dummy.

The post Ventriloquist Dummy Condemns Charlottesville White Supremacists appeared first on Madness & Reality.

They’re violent and are deadly serious about their intentions. In a battle with anti racist protesters, one member of the Industrial Workers of the World was killed when a car plunged into the counterdemonstrators. Reports have also come across about the injuries of two members of the Democratic Socialists of America as well.

Today signals a culmination of a few factors. A large part of it being the stoking of racist sentiments by President Donald Trump. As usual, when right-wingers go on the offensive, the police are giving them free reign. Thus, it will embolden them to take more such actions in the future.

It should be noted that a sizeable number of white nationalists participating in these riots today are in their 20s and 30s. So much for the notion that the racists will just die off. Wishful thinking is of no service here.

August 12th will be remembered as a jarring day for many, and it signifies that a right-wing resurgence is no laughing matter for anyone in this country who isn’t white. Torch lit rallies, hateful chants, and violence are the hallmarks of a budding proto-fascist movement. With the far right mobilizing and the far left/progressive forces marginalized and disorganized, these are really dangerous times.

The post White Supremacists Go On Rampage in Charlottesville, Virginia appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Ever notice that nobody ever highlights the fact that the fastest-growing racial demographic in America is Asian? The Asian population is growing faster than the Latino population. Yes, it really is. Even more interesting is that you never hear the anti-immigration crowd argue that we need to cut legal immigration because Asians are stealing jobs from Black people. What they do is propose racist immigration policies and argue that said policies are in the interest of Black people. You know, because if your racist policy “helps Black people,” there’s no way that said immigration policy is racist. How then can it be racist if it helps Black people, right?  See how that works? Notice how they never insert white folks into the equation?

This is what Trump and Republican anti-immigration hardliners are currently doing. Last week they introduced a proposal to reduce LEGAL immigration by 50%. By requiring applicants for permanent residency be English-speaking and we’ll off financially, the door of opportunity will be closed to the perceived undesirables. Think about what this means, people. If you buy into this line of thinking, you’re either racist or an enabler of racism. Which either way, really ain’t a good look at all.

Nonetheless, this type of policy is to be expected. Yes, it’s racist. But look at who is beating the drum for said policy. That would be, they guy who loves taco bowls but not Mexicans. Well, not all Mexicans – only the “bad hombre” types. You know, the ones who have made New Hampshire the “drug-infested den,” that it is currently. Yes, that guy. The perpetual train-wreck currently pretending to be President of the United States.

Immigration Is The “Go To” Play

It might be shocking to some that he is now targeting legal immigrants and not “illegal immigrants” as he has campaigned to do. For me, however, this isn’t shocking. Trump’s disdain for every racial and ethnic minority group is well documented. Besides, this is the same asshole who has surrounded himself with white nationalists like Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, at the White House. Plus, with Trump’s approval rating at 33% and, his support from white voters plummeting – white men, in particular – it’s expected.

“This legislation will not only restore our competitive edge in the 21st century, but it will restore the sacred bonds of trust between America and its citizens,” Trump said as he appeared with the bill’s authors, Republican Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue.

When Trump said that the legislation would “restore our competitive edge in the 21st. century,” the “our” to whom he refers, are white folks. The idea is that by reducing the number of legal immigrants, there will be less competition and an increase in wages. The trouble with that is that many leading economists oppose the proposal. Surprised? No, because everything Trump says is a lie.

This from FiveThirtyEight:

Many critics of the merit-based approach see it as un-American. On Wednesday, CNN reporter Jim Acosta got into a heated argument with White House adviser Stephen Miller over whether the proposal violated the Statue of Liberty’s promise that the U.S. welcomes “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” But the idea also has its defenders, including some economists, who argue that it makes sense to give preference to immigrants who have skills that employers need and who are less likely to rely on government benefits. They note that other countries, including Canada and Australia, already use merit-based systems. (Other economists argue the U.S. needs both high- and low-skilled immigrants, and note that less-educated immigrants have high rates of entrepreneurship.)

There is far less disagreement among economists about the RAISE Act’s other big proposal, which halves the number of green cards issued each year. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s analytics, called the move a “grave mistake” in an interview with The Washington Post. Zandi is hardly alone: In April, nearly 1,500 economists from across the political spectrum signed a letter to Trump and congressional leaders extolling the economic benefits of immigration. They noted immigrants’ high rate of entrepreneurship, a key issue at a time when Americans are starting fewer companies, and emphasized the importance of bringing new workers to the U.S. to fill the hole left by retiring baby boomers.

Research also shows that immigration has a positive impact on the wages of native-born workers. This has been highlighted by the think tank, the Center for American Progress:

Research shows that immigration will positively affect U.S. workers’ wages and employment. How can that be? While overly simplistic views of economic theory might suggest that wages will decline in the short run as the supply of labor increases, this is not the case with immigration […]

[…] immigrants generally do not have a direct negative impact on the earnings of native-born workers, as native-born workers and immigrant workers generally complement each other rather than compete for the same job. Native-born workers and immigrants tend to have different skill sets and therefore seek different types of jobs. Thus, immigrants are not increasing the labor market competition for native-born workers and therefore do not negatively affect American workers’ earnings.

To be sure, there are some instances when immigrants and the native born are similarly skilled and substitutable for similar jobs. Recent research has found, however, that firms respond to an increase in the supply of labor by expanding their business. Thus, an increased supply of labor as a result of immigration is easily absorbed into the labor market as a result of increased demand for labor, without lowering the wages of native-born workers.

Second, research finds small but positive impacts on native-born workers because of the indirect effects that immigrants have on the labor market and economy. As economists Michael Clemens and Robert Lynch explain in The New Republic, “In some areas of the economy, lesser skilled immigrants have kept entire industries alive.” This not only helps native-born workers within the industries but also native-born workers whose jobs are associated or closely connected to those industries.

Immigration Isn’t The Problem

It’s no surprise watching Trump introduce a racist immigration proposal – much like his Muslim Ban – to serve as “red meat” for his decrepit base. After all, surveys show that Trump’s white voters feel like they’re losing ground in America. Enter his proposed attack on affirmative action, and now, the reduction of legal immigrants.  In their eyes, making America white again is what greatness is about. What they don’t know, however, is that such a policy is detrimental to the economy. But hey, who cares when there will be less black, brown, and yellow people breathing all that God-given American oxygen, right?

As an immigrant and someone who has written about immigration, I can tell you that immigration isn’t a problem. Immigrants aren’t stealing jobs; and, we damn sure aren’t living on welfare. Like myself, many of us are tax-paying entrepreneurs and homeowners who positively contribute to the economy. The problem isn’t immigration, folks. Inarguably, the protection of the unearned privilege of whiteness, that is the problem.

The post Immigration: Let’s Make America White Again, Because Why Not? appeared first on Madness & Reality.