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JAMES' PERSONAL WRITINGS: SLOVING
JAMES' MOST STRATEGIC POSTS: *****
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8.04.2016

***** To a young activist worthy of the name, musing over several outlets she is considering now: Not that you asked, but I think it is more important how we do, than what we do. The only true Revolution is the Absolute, Total, every breath, embodiment of the spirit........

***** To a young activist worthy of the name,  musing over several outlets she is considering now: Not that you asked, but I think it is more important how we do, than what we do. The only true Revolution is the Absolute, Total, every breath, embodiment of the spirit of unconditional loving by whatever words or none at all. I find almost none of that anywhere including in Progressive actions whose ideas I support but whose spirit I do not. Bernie has the spirit, I see it in few of his supporters.  Those on the 10 day March from Philly to DC had the spirit, and then lost it almost immediately upon arrival.  That spirit is all hope. There is no hope besides that spirit. Everything we detest is symptom of the spirit of unconditional loving, serving from the soul in solidarity, being missing. James

8.03.2016

More on my Presidential election quandary: recently I concluded that we humans have lived the illusion that our selfishness somehow......

More on my Presidential election quandary: recently I concluded that we humans have lived the illusion that our selfishness somehow gets absorbed in a world of great tolerance and flexibility. My conclusion was that that is as incorrect as to say that one's heart has lots of latitude on when to beat, how fast, when to stop beating.... This delusion has brought the body of humanity and all creation to death's door. I see a vote for Hillary or a vote for Trump to be a vote for this delusion on steroids. Or, do I view a vote for Hillary as a vote against the more malignant Trump , buying us a little bit more time? I don't know how this will play out for me.

August priorities for James. Issues: 1. Interfere with the American Israeli extermination of Palestinians. 2. Stand for the Human rights of Americans who are black, especially in Washington DC where I reside. (Although.....

August priorities for James.

Issues:

1. Interfere with the American Israeli extermination of Palestinians.

2. Stand for the Human rights of Americans who are black, especially in Washington DC where I reside. (Although this has been, is, and will always be a major priority of mine, I'm disappointed to find that rarely can I stand with organized actions as I find them little more than Tantrums which can only hurt the cause.)

3. Maintain currency on strategic Global issues.

Expectations of James for August:

1. Research and outline the housing,  income and job situation and Prospects for Americans who are black and or poor in the Washington DC region,  to inform my ongoing advocacy work and possibly to inform the work of others.

1b. Provide written input on Washington's Consolidated plan.

2. Keep visible the violation of Palestinian human rights around Washington DC primarily by positioning the free Palestine vehicle in the public eye in strategic locations, and secondarily by a low level of republishing informed articles and such..

3. Maintain and upgrade the free Palestine vehicle.

4. Re-establish personally living fully in solidarity with the global neediest. Improve my ability to maintain longer work hours and reduce physical and psychological fatigue.

5. Basic but substantially reduced currency in strategic Global moral issues utilizing Facebook, Google Alert, and blogger.

***** After all these years I think I figured out how to offer a way that I don't waste people's time. For those who find a deep Envy for the quality of life of a Martin Luther King jr., a Gandhi, Malala, Jesus..., and yearn for such a quality of life for themselves and those who they love, I think I have ideas and example to offer. For those who do not feel such deep Envy for the quality of life of the likes of these I think I have nothing of value to share.

***** After all these years I think I figured out how to offer a way that I don't waste people's time. For those who find a deep Envy for the quality of life of a Martin Luther King jr., a Gandhi, Malala,  Jesus..., and yearn for such a quality of life for themselves and those who they love, I think I have ideas and example to offer. For those who do not feel such deep Envy for the quality of life of the likes of these I think I have nothing of value to share.

8.02.2016

A confession and a warning: I no longer live in solidarity with the global neediest. For years I have been, in my soul, and to a large degree in material reality. I realized today that in recent weeks........

A confession and a warning: I no longer live in solidarity with the global neediest. For years I have been, in my soul, and to a large degree in material reality. I realized today that in recent weeks that has stopped being true for me spiritually, and to a degree in material reality. What caused me to be alert to this realization is the psychic pain that I have been in for the last week. I have felt depressed and adrift. Without bearings, without points of reference. Deliberately living each breath in solidarity with my neediest sisters and brothers has been my point of reference, my mooring, my bearings for years now. Feelings of guilt are in no way associated with this, nowhere in me. I'm doing the best I know from moment to moment. Because I walk my path alone, not in community, what I do is a metal high-wire act although it is one that generally I am unconsciously competent at and unaware of the extreme difficulty of staying on The Wire. Recent external opportunities and factors have caused me to lose my focus and fall off the wire. The pain of that has gotten my attention and caused me to wake up. Can I get back on The Wire? I hope so. We'll see. This was my third long trip on the free Palestine vehicle. This was my third and fourth long trip on the elf, the third going up last Thursday a week ago and the 4th coming back the last two days. Going up and coming back for the first time I stayed in the lowest cost possible Motel. The other times to conserve what limited dollars I have for donations to the global neediest I stayed in Walmart or Home Depot parking lots. I was aware of this new Choice, unsettled about it, but I went with it. In no way at the time did I understand it as a manifestation of having left full saladarity lived with the neediest. Again, guilt plays no role in this for me. Greed for total peace of heart, meaning, sense of moral clarity, Joy, is what I'm concerned with. The Quest for comfort crowded out these Within Me. Will be interesting to see what happens now. James

8.01.2016

### The ice that I skate on seems to be even much thinner than I had realized. For the last 2 weeks I have radically moved from my routine here in DC to exhausting travel involved with the Philadelphia Convention and then return. In the process I gained a horrifying close.......

### The ice that I skate on seems to be even much thinner than I had realized. For the last 2 weeks I have radically moved from my routine here in DC to exhausting travel involved with the Philadelphia Convention and then return. In the process I gained a horrifying close encounter with the fear, loathing, hatred among older whites for any easy target, Muslims, blacks. It really knocked me off my pins. I'm okay. But my horror at the world is even so much deeper than I had realized. I skate very close to Absolute despair. It is fortunate for me that I can see it. Therefore I can deal with it. My task is to fully return my energies to the work I can do and I anticipate that happening quickly.

7.31.2016

Hillary and Donald are two fatal poisons. They are both egomaniacs. All they want is power. If they realize that enough of us will not vote for them.........

Hillary and Donald are two fatal poisons. They are both egomaniacs. All they want is power. If they realize that enough of us will not vote for them maybe one of them will have a conversion away from being poison in time for the election. I will not choose either of the poisons. If one of them totally reconstitutes that's a different matter.

### " you have arrived!" If you have ever let Google guide your trip with voice prompts you know what I'm referring to. So far, I'm easily amused, I laugh..........

### " you have arrived!" If you have ever let Google guide your trip with voice prompts you know what I'm referring to. So far, I'm easily amused, I laugh every time. As I pull up to this flea-bitten Motel, you have arrived, as though I've just driven up to the Trump Towers. Hysterical. Yes, indeed, I have arrived. I'm getting smarter, less stupid, about the free Palestine vehicle. More expert in terms of managing my speed for efficiency and Aesthetics and stamina. I'm finally getting quite good at it which is satisfying. Also good at managing my panels. There's really quite a lot to it. I have two panels. If one is in the shade either from my caution Flags or because the vehicle is shadowing it on the trailer from the Sun it drops the other panel to the same level all the way down to zero. But if I detatch that panel that's in the shades and I no longer lose the panel in the Sun. Boring I know but I find it quite interesting and satisfying to optimize the vehicle. I had a rude surprise, a battery failed much earlier than I thought it would to zero power. I later discovered to my satisfaction that it was in fact a broken cable which I have at least temporarily repaired. Tomorrow at 10 o'clock the graphics place in Columbia Maryland will replace the solar signage on the left hand side of the vehicle with the loving is Jesus religion, wagers of loving the only Revolutionaries, motif that is my primary offering to the world. And then barring any disasters back to DC by tomorrow night. Listened to dozens of articles on my way here today. And will spend several hours now stocking up on more articles to listen to in the six hours or so of travel that I have left. Aside from quite a bit of solar power despite the clouds, my fuel was about a gallon of chocolate milk and a gallon of sweet tea. Dinner will probably be some similar combination. Being tired and with goals to meet in terms of time my patience was pretty low with a, is it pedal-powered, does it have a motor, how fast does it go, does it have doors????? I'm not proud of it but my patience was pretty short. The world is on fire and all we have is meaningless questions. It surprises me, and I think it is something quite new, it surprises me the number of folks that say, good job for free Palestine. When I get comments it's that. Virtually no negative comments. Two years ago it would have been quite different. Midday beautiful gaggle of kids in a family we're getting out of their vehicle as I pulled up in the space next to it at a convenience store to get some chocolate milk. They were so appropriately thrilled with the vehicle the dad had on his yarmulke as did one or two of the older young boys. It seems unlikely that they did not notice the freeze Palestine on my hat and on the vehicle. I certainly didn't direct attention to it and they didn't bring it up. They parents were relaxed and the kids just enjoyed the heck out of the vehicle and of course I enjoyed finding their enthusiasm. Inside I mention to the mom who was quite tiny herself what a beautiful family she had such a life children. She said, alive, what a perfect word. Thank you. Early this morning in the Magnificent Brandywine Valley back roads, an hour and a half after I departed, before the sun had really risen in the sky, my first battery died on schedule. I pulled in at the top of an opulent driveway to change the battery. Within moments of fella in shorts and a t-shirt came out from his yard across the road, hi, what a wonderful vehicle, can I ask you about it. I stifled my inclination to say, bud, I've got a 90 Mile Drive ahead of me, and smiled sincerely and warmly and we spoke for probably half an hour. He's a scientist probably at Dupont or someplace. Made it known quickly that he's Jewish after seeing the free Palestine signage which he was very happy with. Said, boy the Holocaust really screwed up the Jews. I immediately corrected him, some Jews, and others it has brought out their incredible godliness. He readily agreed. We spoke for some time and he was very interested in My Views. He made it clear that his relatives are Jewish and his stance for Palestinian human rights has cost him significantly for which he has no regrets. James

I've been a dead weight the last 4 days. I don't know if it was exhaustion, depression over the candidates, and Sanders being criminally eliminated, a combination.... Could be just the horror of the world situation and Outlook.

I've been a dead weight the last 4 days.  I don't know if it was exhaustion, depression over the candidates,  and Sanders being criminally eliminated, a combination.... Could be just the horror of the world situation and Outlook.

7.27.2016

I believe that it is the last moments when we can turn from the Dark Side. That's why I will not be voting for Hillary Clinton no matter what, I'm quite sure. And certainly not Donald Trump. I will vote for Jill Stein I'm quite sure. If enough of us do likewise may be enough of the Democrats will come over to the Force and leave the dark side. If not, that is not my responsibility. My job is to align with the force, and yours too.

I believe that it is the last moments when we can turn from the Dark Side. That's why I will not be voting for Hillary Clinton no matter what, I'm quite sure. And certainly not Donald Trump. I will vote for Jill Stein I'm quite sure. If enough of us do likewise may be enough of the Democrats will come over to the Force and leave the dark side. If not, that is not my responsibility. My job is to align with the force, and yours too.

7.20.2016

We're drowning in hate dear. The Liberals are every bit as hateful as are Trump and his supporters. They just hate a different group. And they are much less sophisticated at hiding it. They........

We're drowning in hate dear. The Liberals are every bit as hateful as are Trump and his supporters. They just hate a different group. And they are much less sophisticated at hiding it. They use Force, they just don't carry the guns themselves, they hide behind the Army and the police. It is not the Trump supporters that are destroying all life on Earth, and developing the technology without which America could be trampling all the poor around the world. Objectively the liberals do infinitely more damage.

7.19.2016

America has never been a country of morals and ethics. Not the left, not the right. I'm not........

America has never been a country of morals and ethics. Not the left, not the right. I'm not being mean, I'm just speaking the truth now that I get past the illusion. We have always been of, by, and for the most ruthless and the rest be damned. The Trump supporters are no better or worse than the rest of  with few exceptions. The Liberals beat up on the right with their education, hiding behind the so-called legal system,  the right with physical Force. Violence,  coercion , force, either way. Trump is just a way for the right to get physical Force. The left hides behind the police. How else did Wall Street pull off that Heist in 2009, How else did Obama and his gang get away with it without being murdered?

7.18.2016

### Had an absolutely horrible experience yesterday. Attended a gigantic meeting at Washington National Cathedral, on the topic of what the white church needs to do for black lives matter. There were hundreds........

### Had an absolutely horrible experience yesterday. Attended a gigantic meeting at  Washington National Cathedral, on the topic of what the white church needs to do for black lives matter. There were hundreds of people there including many clergy who had been invited. Everyone loved it, I walked out after 45 minutes being unable to stand it. The five people on stage were just revolting examples of white  privilege even though two of them were of color. They will do whatever it takes for justice for people of color as long as it doesn't cost them one dime, one bit of personal risk, one second of their time, one drop of sweat .  Their words were of solidarity, their behavior was a complete and utter divorce. It was a horror. It was a nightmare. They were droids, they were zombies.

7.17.2016

***** Why we have never, probably will never, eliminate White (or any) Privilege: nearly all of those who have privilege, nearly all of we who have privilege, want peace and Justice in the world, want the best for our underprivileged sisters and brothers. We are simply unwilling to personally pay the price for that. If I have.......

Why we have never, probably will never, eliminate White (or any) Privilege: nearly  all of those who have privilege, nearly all of we who have privilege,  want peace and Justice in the world, want the best for our  underprivileged sisters and brothers.  We are simply unwilling to personally pay the price for that. If I have a loaf of bread because I stole the resources for it from my neighbor I have incited violence in the world in two ways by having that loaf of bread. 1. I have stolen what is his. 2. I have what he needs for himself and his family in truth or at least psychologically. Had it been done to me I would be incited to rage and violence, and so would you be. Even if in no way did I physically steal the resources from my neighbor that still leaves the incitement that my hoarding what he needs for himself and his family for a decent life rightly incites, rage and violence. White Privilege, all privilege, is, equals, superior material power. Superior economic power. Those in power, we in power, all of us that have resources that billions of people on Earth do not have, we are those of privilege. It is not the 1% in America, or the .1%, as we try and convince ourselves.  It is at least the top 20-50%  or more of us in America  that are grotesquely over privileged. It is we that are making certain that the Earth becomes more and more violent. All of us that have  the resources that billions on Earth are craving  are the rich young man that Jesus spoke of.  And we turn from his example  and lie to ourselves for 2000 years now that he did not mean that we,  each and every one of us, were to give all that we had,  all that we have, to the poor, so that we all were materially equal, exactly as we would expect every group of well brought-up toddlers to be. But we  refused to heed Jesus Direction,  to be like a toddler. Are you okay with that? Is your privilege worth the price to you of a world in Unstoppable violence and death spiral? Not me. Used to be, no more. Injustice, no peace. More than a chance, a rule of nature. Injustice, no peace. Injustice, no peace. Injustice, no peace.

When I was a child Hornets built a nest in the slide in our backyard. They never bothered me until I went poking them, assaulting them, with........

When I was a child Hornets built a nest in the slide in our backyard. They never bothered me until I went poking them, assaulting them, with a broom one day. They stung the hell out of me. I have never faulted the Hornets for that. I thought they were invading my property. The reverse was true. Our house adjoined a many Hundred Acre Nature Preserve. I was the invader. I was the colonizer. I built my life on the privilege that I took from them.

### To those of us confronted by our sisters and brothers in uniform: We have a 100x greater Duty incite, to encourage, to applaud any decent, to express appreciation for any humane, dignified behavior on their part, then we do to antiviolently place our selves in the way of any bad behavior. Morally, there........

### To those of us confronted by our sisters and brothers in uniform: We have a 100x greater Duty incite, to encourage, to applaud any decent,  to express appreciation for any humane,  dignified behavior on their part, then we do to antiviolently place our selves in the way of any bad behavior. Morally, there is nothing they can do that stops them being our beloved sister or brother actively in our soul, unless and until we become the violence,  ignorance and hatred that we purport to stand against. Strategically, anti violent struggle throughout history, as rigorously studied by Erica Chenoweth, does not succeed until the people in uniform come on to the side of the revolutionaries. For the sake of all creation now, think. Is our priority on throwing a righteous tantrum, or on maybe securing a slightly better future for everything?

7.16.2016

Sorry conservatives, new research from Harvard shows a profound amount of racism by police…not less of it

http://www.salon.com/2016/07/14/sorry_conservatives_new_research_from_harvard_shows_a_profound_amount_of_racism_by_policenot_less_of_it/

??? I don't know if everybody feels this way, or if I'm the only one. My suspicion is the latter. In any case, Jesus, and people like him, Gandhi, King... Those are the people I wanted to be like when I grew up. They're still......

??? I don't know if everybody feels this way, or if I'm the only one. My suspicion is the latter. In any case, Jesus, and people like him, Gandhi, King... Those are the people I wanted to be like when I grew up. They're still the people I want to be like. It has nothing to do with whether anyone would know. I don't care if anyone knows that I like fresh blueberries, I just like them. People like Jesus, King, Gandhi, my biological father, those are the kind of people I always wanted to become. That remains the case. There's no other kind of person I want to be. I don't know why. But that's how it's always been for me. It seems that that's profoundly odd.

It seems to me the Millennials have had it. It seems to me they realize that voting for b*******, can't eliminate a future of more b*******.

It seems to me the Millennials have had it. It seems to me they realize that voting for b*******, can't eliminate a future of more b*******.

Somebody please clue me in. I mean, why the hell would non Highly Educated whites (substantially employable at decent wages) not, I repeat, not, want Trump? He's a straight-out fascist. He's a white supremacist. He.....

Somebody please clue me in. I mean, why the hell would non Highly Educated whites (substantially employable at decent wages)  not,  I repeat, not, want Trump? He's a straight-out fascist. He's a white supremacist. He addresses them like they are the most important, whereas the Liberals have made it clear they are the least important for decades now, they think he will change the game to give them power. He will. What's not to understand?

***** None of the world’s top industries would be profitable if they paid for the natural capital they use

http://grist.org/business-technology/none-of-the-worlds-top-industries-would-be-profitable-if-they-paid-for-the-natural-capital-they-use/

7.15.2016

Sunday’s police riot in Baton Rouge: Anti-brutality protests met with brutality

http://www.salon.com/2016/07/15/disgrace_in_baton_rouge_police_respond_to_brutality_protests_with_brutality/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

### "As recently as two years ago, Wiesel called Israel’s attacks on Gaza, which killed hundreds of children, entirely the fault of Hamas, who were practising “child sacrifice” and “barbarism.” His inevitably lofty moral justifications for these actions rang ... dubiously... It’s interesting that pro-Israel (or at least not anti-Israel) critics of Israel, such as American Jews Peter Beinart or Max Blumenthal, didn’t hesitate to critique........

### "As recently as two years ago, Wiesel called Israel’s attacks on Gaza, which killed hundreds of children, entirely the fault of Hamas, who were practising “child sacrifice” and “barbarism.” His inevitably lofty moral justifications for these actions rang ... dubiously... It’s interesting that pro-Israel (or at least not anti-Israel) critics of Israel, such as American Jews Peter Beinart or Max Blumenthal, didn’t hesitate to critique Wiesel even moments after his death. They objected to his refusal to raise questions about anything done by Israel’s governments (“I must identify with whatever Israel does — even with her errors”) and about his full-throated support for U.S. wars endorsed by Israel against Iraq or Libya, and his opposition to a U.S. peace with Iran."  https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/07/15/elie-wiesel-was-the-beacon-who-lost-his-way-salutin.html

### In case you would like to understand how I am investing my life these days. This rough submission at this link, rather lengthy, has been turned into a two-part article in an........

### In case you would like to understand how I am investing my life these days. This rough submission at this link, rather lengthy, has been turned into a two-part article in an extremely admirable local publication called Streetsense which is a vehicle for raising issues of the poor and homeless in the DC region and providing ethical source of income for the homeless who sell the papers after buying them at a hefty discount.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jxl9xoHVT-o4d0qkONPJ1cIh3vefxD1fNyHMugw6HOE/edit?usp=drive_web

7.13.2016

### My current sense is I will work for and vote for Jill Stein. I have thought it a virtue to compromise for the greater good, my entire life. I have to face that this is similar to compromising with a less virulent form of cancer. I need to stand with health. I need to stand with goodness and virtue. Don't you too?

### my current sense is I will work for and vote for Jill Stein. I have thought it a virtue to compromise for the greater good, my entire life. I have to face that this is similar to compromising with a less virulent form of cancer. I need to stand with health. I need to stand with goodness and virtue. Don't you too?

7.11.2016

Revolutions do not succeed until the men and women in uniform join the revolutionaries. We deserve the suicide we are headed toward if we ignore that.

Revolutions do not succeed until the men and women in uniform join the revolutionaries. We deserve the suicide we are headed toward if we ignore that.

### Part of an article I submitted to a local paper: 2008 was just a mere symptom, the tip of the iceberg, to a much more immense problem that began in the eighties if not before. For 30 plus years now America, by every objective measure, has become a country that supports the dreams and needs of a smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller elite group. Our region, our City, our country is no longer for all of us, just for the few, and fewer every month. We.......

### Part of an article I submitted to a local paper:  2008 was just a mere symptom, the tip of the iceberg, to a much more immense problem that began in the eighties if not before. For 30 plus years now America, by every objective measure, has become a country that supports the dreams and needs of a smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller elite group.

Our region, our City, our country is no longer for all of us, just for the few, and fewer every month. We in the DC region have little if any time left to decide if we are going to let that stand or if we are going to immediately, aggressively, make our region with liberty and justice for all of our sisters and brothers, not just the fewer and fewer. All.

Baton Rouge, Minneapolis, and Dallas brought a terrifying Clarity to me Sunday, and to many many leading thinkers as well I see from their articles on Monday, that we have all but become a country that by policy, politics, economy and policing is a country of, by, and for the 20%, and functioning to pacify, control, defend against and contain the 80% of us. “Miniature police States,” Chris Hedges said many of our cities have become. When we allow ever dwindling living wage jobs, dwindling affordable housing, and dwindling environmental decency what else could they be or become?

I think this is by design of the wealthiest Among Us who lack the compassion to care for the majority,  just for themselves and the few around them. But more than that I think it is due to the triplets of racism,  materialism, and militarism Dr. King warned us 50 years ago were already destroying us. He said our “thing oriented Society” would not last. We have not repented, we have accelerated.

Whatever the cause, neither America nor our region are for many of us anymore but for an ever and ever smaller elite few.

Washington DC is the heart of our country. If we stand with courage and compassion and face this now, we might still be in time for the rest of the country to follow our lead.

Will we in Washington DC and the region any longer accept an America that is no longer of, by, and for all of the people? Will we individually and collectively find and live the Revolutionary courage to make it what it should be and to turn from, the ultimate disaster we are otherwise headed to?

***** Chris Hedges, the politics of Terror. ### I'm realizing this morning that things are probably decades more advanced than I had realized. For the poor and folks of color the cities are already mini police States. I just hadn't seen it that clearly. Chris Hedges today. The mega wealthy have been building their Elysiums for a long time.

http://m.truthdig.com/report/item/legalized_murder_and_the_politics_of_terror_20160710

Greenspan admits Iraq was about oil, as deaths put at 1.2m

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/sep/16/iraq.iraqtimeline

7.09.2016

How the World Fell Out of Love with ObamaIn countries key to the president’s legacy, people express profound disappointment in a man from whom they expected great things.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/barack-obama-world-popularity-cuba-egypt-ukraine-bbc-documentary-214032http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/barack-obama-world-popularity-cuba-egypt-ukraine-bbc-documentary-214032

Knocked out. My strength and stamina are so much better than they were several years ago. I couldn't believe that, as the doctors said, eventually my body would recover, but it seems to have done so. It still ...

### Knocked out. My strength and stamina are so much better than they were several years ago. I couldn't believe that, as the doctors said, eventually my body would recover, but it seems to have done so. It still has limits and it looks like three or four days in a row all day in near hundred degree effective heat pedaling a 200 pound bicycle plus me is one such limit. 15 plus hours sleeping so far today in a cool room. I can't complain but I sure detest losing the time from work.

Criminalizing the hustle: Policing poor people’s survival strategies from Eric Garner to Alton Sterling

http://www.salon.com/2016/07/08/criminalizing_the_hustle_policing_poor_peoples_survival_strategies_from_erin_garner_to_alton_sterling/

''The disappearance of jobs has sparked political anger, feeding opioid addiction, alcoholism and early death, and, among the commentariat, fomented bewildered discussion about the state of white working class people. But the disappearance of work hit black people first and hardest, decimating industries at the very moments when African-Americans, after centuries of marginalization, had only just got their foot in the door.

In the Baton Rouge area, says Spence, the minority male unemployment rate in 2014 was 2.7 times higher than for whites.....

The contemporary era of policing and mass incarceration emerged precisely to confront black people with limited or no access to formal work. As the sociologist Loïc Wacquant puts it, “in the wake of the race riots of the 1960s, the police, courts, and prison have been deployed to contain the urban dislocations wrought by economic deregulation and the implosion of the ghetto as ethnoracial container, and to impose the discipline of insecure employment at the bottom of the polarizing class structure.”''