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Since I was a teenager, I've been hearing eccentric people say that there's a conspiracy afoot--that there are people who want to keep us ignorant and docile, unhealthy and unable to think of pay attention. They want to exploit our labor and what little buying power we have, for their own gains. The people we pay to make our lives better don't give one single rat's ass about us. As much as I question the moon landing and am a hardcore Oxfordian, this was a conspiracy theory on the level of tin foil hats. People are basically good, right? And we're certainly not stupid enough to elect people who hate us, right?
Nope. I look around and see exactly what those people were talking about. Let me see if I can sum it up:
Health: Rich people fight health care for poor people at all costs. This is especially true of any health care that might give women autonomy over their own bodies. They want people overwhelmed with their own lives and without the time, energy, or resources needed to fight back.
The most affordable foods are the most unhealthy, devoid of nutrition, loaded with fake shit. Now there are foods with their own defense mechanism (yes, you read that right, the food defends itself against pests--which presumably include people trying to eat it) and the companies that produce them are fighting any laws that say they have to tell us if we're buying/eating food that might fight back. The cows and chickens are too deformed to fight back, but dammit, that Monsanto corn with fuck your shit up!
Education: Public schools have a wide variance. Rich kids get better schools than poor kids. Now there's a magical voucher program that leads to taxpayer money going to schools that teach hate, refuse to teach science, and generally treat a made-up collection of storybooks as if they are indisputable facts.
If we elect a wishy washy science denier as president, it'll only get worse.
Even though they denied it when someone spilled the beans, they really aren't teaching critical thinking in schools. And parents aren't teaching it, they can't. Have you seen some of the complete dumbasses out there trying to raise kids?
Law: Poor people crimes like drugs, theft, or minor violence net people much longer jail times than people who steal millions, or who fuck people over for a living. Despite claims that "War on Drugs" targets only major dealers and hard drugs, over 90% of arrests last year were for marijuana possession of less than one ounce--this has been the case for over a decade. Laws protect and defend rich people, and everyone else can fuck off.
Jobs/"Job Creators:" The idea that jobs are created by rich people is ludicrous. I can't imagine how anyone could take a single marketing, economics, or business class without being told that DEMAND creates jobs. People buying products or using services creates demand.
Not only are these so-called Job Creators not able to create jobs, what few jobs they DO fill are filled the cheapest way possible, which means NOT by Americans. There is now a narrative that labor is not valuable, and everyone should just stop complaining about how bad they have it, because they're lucky if they have a job at all.
Narrative: When you've got uneducated people with no critical thinking skills, this kind of narrative is really all you need to turn the middle class against the poor:
So yeah, I believe it. Our country is poised to turn into Soylent Green. Within the next generation, poor people will be fleeing America to go to some other land that will afford them opportunity.
Maybe THAT is the Rich People's Plan after all...
Nope. I look around and see exactly what those people were talking about. Let me see if I can sum it up:
Health: Rich people fight health care for poor people at all costs. This is especially true of any health care that might give women autonomy over their own bodies. They want people overwhelmed with their own lives and without the time, energy, or resources needed to fight back.
The most affordable foods are the most unhealthy, devoid of nutrition, loaded with fake shit. Now there are foods with their own defense mechanism (yes, you read that right, the food defends itself against pests--which presumably include people trying to eat it) and the companies that produce them are fighting any laws that say they have to tell us if we're buying/eating food that might fight back. The cows and chickens are too deformed to fight back, but dammit, that Monsanto corn with fuck your shit up!
Education: Public schools have a wide variance. Rich kids get better schools than poor kids. Now there's a magical voucher program that leads to taxpayer money going to schools that teach hate, refuse to teach science, and generally treat a made-up collection of storybooks as if they are indisputable facts.
If we elect a wishy washy science denier as president, it'll only get worse.
Even though they denied it when someone spilled the beans, they really aren't teaching critical thinking in schools. And parents aren't teaching it, they can't. Have you seen some of the complete dumbasses out there trying to raise kids?
Law: Poor people crimes like drugs, theft, or minor violence net people much longer jail times than people who steal millions, or who fuck people over for a living. Despite claims that "War on Drugs" targets only major dealers and hard drugs, over 90% of arrests last year were for marijuana possession of less than one ounce--this has been the case for over a decade. Laws protect and defend rich people, and everyone else can fuck off.
Jobs/"Job Creators:" The idea that jobs are created by rich people is ludicrous. I can't imagine how anyone could take a single marketing, economics, or business class without being told that DEMAND creates jobs. People buying products or using services creates demand.
Not only are these so-called Job Creators not able to create jobs, what few jobs they DO fill are filled the cheapest way possible, which means NOT by Americans. There is now a narrative that labor is not valuable, and everyone should just stop complaining about how bad they have it, because they're lucky if they have a job at all.
Narrative: When you've got uneducated people with no critical thinking skills, this kind of narrative is really all you need to turn the middle class against the poor:
So yeah, I believe it. Our country is poised to turn into Soylent Green. Within the next generation, poor people will be fleeing America to go to some other land that will afford them opportunity.
Maybe THAT is the Rich People's Plan after all...
