Some blacks believe that racism was at work during the case of George Zimmerman. Because if a black male would shoot a white teenage boy, we all know who will be blamed. The right-wing media and George Zimmerman fans claimed that Trayvon Martin was a street criminal, that he was just another black thug. On Fox News this story is told at lot of times. The Fox News propaganda machine will be very happy that Zimmerman was found not guilty. Now they and the mighty National Rifle Association will use this victory to attack leftism and opponents of guns!
But in the end a 17 year old boy is death, shot to death by a man who cased him. Yet the US Justice think Zimmerman acted in self defence and they spoke him free of murder. This will only fuel the right-wing propaganda machine and their racist attacks on black people and workers. How many black kids are save now from people with guns? George Zimmerman proofed that it is legal to case a black boy and to shoot him if you think he is a danger to you!
But even win out this latest case, racism is still very strong in the USA. Racism started when slaves were brought to the American colonies of Great Britain. Millions of black workers were sold into slavery to white farmers who saw them as inferior people. The USA was founded in 1776, after 13 British colonies declared their independence from the United Kingdom. After the American Revolutionary Wars, the USA became an independent nation!
Unlike many nations of the world at that time, the USA was the first ''democracy'' since the time of the Greeks and Romans. But this so called free democracy was only a democracy for white males. Black slaves and females were not allowed to vote. Black people were still slaves to their white masters and they remain that until 1863. Racism was part of the American way of life and because of that, the early USA was no genuine democracy. It was a democracy for whites only, male whites only!
The American Civil War was partly a war about racism. The northern states wanted to abolish slavery by 1860. But the southern states were depended on slave work and needed blacks as slaves. So they opposed the abolishment of slavery. Yet slavery was not the only reason for the civil war to start. Political differences also arose between the north and the south. Northern states were supportive of the Republican Party, while the conservatives in the south supported the Democratic Party. Unlike today, the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln was not radical right-wing and could be called progressive at that time. The Democratic Party in 1860 was dominated by white supremacists, who opposed free trade between states. Southern Democrats supported protectionism and were mostly Catholics, while the north was Protestant Christian.
So the American Civil War started because of racism, religion, politics and economics. In 1860 the southern US states left the union and created the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Finis Davis became the first and only president of the CSA in 1861. After four years of bloody conflict the American Civil War ended in a victory for the USA, the CSA was defeated and forced back into the union. White farmers lost their black slaves and this angered them. Even today many whites in the south still have racist views on black people!
After the collapse of the CSA, the USA wanted to re-educate the southern states. Teachers and political idealists were send to the south, but they soon were confronted with racism and deep hatred. Many white farmers could not survive win out slaves, many of them went out of business fuelling racism and deep hatred. One group created by that racism was the Ku Klux Klan, or KKK. This racist group started to attack free slaves and soon put fear into the minds of many blacks.
In the south the KKK became a organisation many whites supported. But the government of the USA responded fast and the first Klan was defeated in 1870. But this did not ended racism in the south. Racist Democrats soon won the elections in all southern states. The first KKK supported the racist Democratic Party and tried to intimidate black voters who voted Republican. Yet by 1870 the first KKK was gone, but racist groups would still dominate the former CSA!
After 40 years the second KKK was founded in 1915. This second KKK grew very fast, with the support from anticommunists and the fear of socialism, the KKK grew to 3.000.000 members after the end of the first world war. Many supporters were white protestants and the new KKK opposed the Roman Catholic Church. Also they hated immigrants who came to the USA from Europe. The Klan opposed people who came to the USA and wanted to give priority to white protestant Christian Americans.
Anticommunism became a new tool for racists in the USA. After the Russian Revolutions in 1917, the ruling class feared the Socialist Party of America. That is why the New York Police arrested five socialist members of the New York Assemble. Also the leader of the Socialist Party of America was jailed for opposing World War One!
Racists found a new ally in their fight against blacks and leftists. The USA government, once an enemy of the racists turned out to be very cooperative. Since the opposition to racism and apartheid came mostly from leftist people, the US government choose to support right-wing people. After the Second World War, the US government started their witch hunt against leftists and anti-racists. People who opposed racism and apartheid were called ''Marxists'' or ''Communist infiltrators''. A famous victim of the Red Scare was Charlie Caplin who fled to Switzerland, knowing that the anticommunist paranoia in the USA, would attack him too!
But the anti-racists fought back. After 1968 many youth joined their ranks to fight apartheid in the USA. The government called them ''traitors'' and ''anti-patriots'' because almost all opposed the Vietnam-War. But racism did not die after 68. It became stronger as the United States of America started to decline in the 80's. The Republican Party, once the party that abolished slavery, turned massive to the right-wing. In a surprise move the former racist Democratic Party turned liberal and started to support black people in their fight for equal rights!
By 1990, the Republican Party was the main conservative party, while the Democrats became the liberal party of the USA. 23 years later in 2013, things have changed again but only for the worse. The Republican Party has become almost as racist as the former Democratic Party was. Republicans work very hard to oppose black people, sure they have some black conservatives but their political agenda favours the white ruling class. The Democratic Party with president Barack Obama has become conservative liberal, they differ only a little with the Republican Party when it comes to supporting capitalism!
Almost all racists in the USA support the Republican Party now. It is ironic that the south of the USA, that once supported the Democratic Party, now puts their faith in the party that abolished slavery in 1863. But with today's Republicans, we can argue that Abraham Lincoln would not have joined the ''Grand Old Party''. Today's Republican Party is far away from the moderate Republican Party that existed before the rise of anticommunism!
The United States of America remains the most racist nation in the world. Hatred towards blacks, latino's and immigrants is still strong among many. Anticommunism, American nationalism and a declining economy has made racism strong again. The ruling class has also done good work at brainwashing the American working class. With a false picture of socialism and communism in their minds, most Americans would never vote for a person who supports workers rule and democratic socialism. Most Americans follow the line of the Republicans and Democrats. Why? Because that is what they see in the media. Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and other US media networks only broadcast the propaganda of these two parties. Very little propaganda from third parties are shown, limiting the American democracy!
That is why revolutionary socialists fight racism, nationalism and capitalism. Racism is part of capitalism and used by the ruling class to split the workers. There is no American people, the USA was founded as a white British colony, it brutally conquered the rest of North America and by 1860 it controlled 9,826,675 km2. Native Americans ( Indians ) were discriminated against, like blacks and latino's, they were seen as inferior to the white race. Many native Americans lost their lands as new US states were founded. But the racist claim that whites are the true Americans is bullshit. Today's Americans are a mixture of British, Dutch, Germans, Irish, Spanish, native Americans and people brought as slaves from Africa!
Many think that the USA as overcome its racist past. But that is a lie, racism is still strong and it is growing. That is why American workers must unite and rise up against those who spread hatred. But racism cannot be destroyed win-out destroying capitalism. Its is the greedy system of capitalism that is fueling racism They did it in the south in 1860, they also did it during the Red Scares. Win out the support from the ruling class, the racists would be nothing, they need support from mighty people. The Tea Party was created by mighty right-wing Republicans to oppose Obama, only because he is coloured. This conservative racist group claimed that Barack Obama was not American and that he was born in Kenya. Most members of the Tea Party are white workers, who after a life time of anticommunism strongly believe that Obama is a Marxist.
Revolutionary socialists must oppose the racism that rules our western world. We must destroy it and not stop until it is destroyed for good. Fox News will try to stop us and claim that we are the enemies of ''democracy''. But their democracy is based on racism. Just like the original USA in 1776. When only white males were allowed to vote, when females had no voting rights and blacks were still slaves to the white race. That is the USA, Fox News loves!
Help wanted, white only
Very common in the USA
between 1776 and 1968!
