Such an evocative meme.
The Petting Zoo Bourgeoisie, Part V.
“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket.
Hell, give him someone to look down on and he’ll pick his pockets for you.”
— President Lyndon Baines Johnson
We’re approaching the sixtieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, folks. On July 2, 1964, LBJ signed the bill into law. And on August 20, he signed the Economic Opportunity Act, part of the War on Poverty.
I won’t say that White America flipped their lids over equality immediately after these laws were created because their minds were never right about the idea in the first place. Not like the grandparents of Fox News viewers were pondering a racism- and poverty-free future, then suddenly changed course after the government enacted legislation to put the country on such a path. Nope. They were pissed off for a long time beforehand. Good on LBJ and the rest of the country for pushing forward despite vicious opposition.
Six decades after the CRA became law, key sections of it are under attack by white supremacists who are buying Bibles from Donald Trump to help pay his legal bills.
I agree with those who say that MAGA is in on the racist charade. As much as they like playing dumb, they understand that Bonespurs is not a good Christian. They lie about Donald Trump’s religion like they are Erin Hawley lying about the Christian Right’s views on mifepristone. (Weird to think: she has kids with the guy who gave Capitol rioters a victory salute on January 6th while also booking for the limo that would wheel him away from danger. The Hawleys need a parenting guide.)
They demean themselves because RWT like Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson are peddling a racist fantasy and its buyers know it. Being full of shit puts an Einsatzgruppen-smirk on a bro’s face.
But what don’t these people love…more like downright hate? The meme I posted at the top of the page. This bit of truth kills their cheeky-grinned master-raciness quicker than you can say, “Democracy is in danger, make sure everyone is registered to vote.”
If you want to get a feel for the Petting Zoo Bourgeoisie value system, post this meme in the response section of any post about income inequality or systemic racism. Chances are, within a few postings you will trigger people who use the word “triggered” as a slur. The scabs who cross picket lines for free hate thinking that they might have more in common with a homeless person than a billionaire.
Go ahead and steal it, post it. It’s like a poor-man’s sociology experiment. You’ll get lots of ‘likes’ and ‘thumbs-ups’ and whatever…and also drum up butt-hurtedness. That speak-to-the-manager tone-of-voice…this meme can summon it from the ether. The white men built this country crowd gets their armband in a twist over it, but truth needs to be said.
I saw this Gore Vidal quote recently, from 1961:
“Ayn Rand’s ‘philosophy’ is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society. Moral values are in flux. The muddy depths are being stirred by new monsters and witches from the deep. Trolls walk the American night. Caesars are stirring in the Forum. There are storm warnings ahead.”
The people who Vidal was talking about hate thinking they have something in common with poor people. They also know that the wealthy hate them.
Petting Zoo Bourgeoisie. Part II. Part III. Part IV. Earlier posts:
• Discover how miserable America’s top earners are. Self-publish.
• Operation Week Off.
• A hypothetical experiment:
• NYC vacay. May, 2003.
• A gigantic thank you, from me to Rush Limbaugh.
• Open letter to a selfie of my drunk-ass self, taken on August 11th, 2001.
I also write fiction. I have two dark comedies available, Fearkiller (Volume 1) and Notes from Trillionaire Island: Fearkiller (Volume 2), as well as Revolutionizer Alpha, the first book in a sci-fi series. I also wrote a story about God. It was weird, but then I decided to make the story and its sequel free. And all of the sudden, it didn’t seem as weird. Writing about God is much less weird when you write about God without charging money for it.
