The problem with being "one of the good ones"

Photo by Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash

“Once settled, immigrants looked for work. There were never enough jobs, and employers often took advantage of the immigrants. Men were generally paid less than other workers, and women less than men … Often stereotyped and discriminated against, many immigrants suffered verbal and physical abuse because they were “different.’” - Library of Congress Classroom Guide to Immigration to U.S., 1851 - 1900

By The Chilltown Blues

It’s a slightly different world

White supremacy, as a term, makes some people bristle. So does patriarchy. Oligarchy probably makes broader swaths of people bristle less — partially, we might argue, because it’s a word that doesn’t scream its meaning (which is “few ruling the many”) and it’s also effectively a euphemism for meritocracy, and “meritocracy”* sounds right. It sounds like a system where people are rewarded by ability and talent, when in reality this concept has a strong curb where merit often rises in accordance along with various hierarchies.

Initial immigration to the U.S. as an official country (instead of colony) was primarily from England, Germany and the Netherlands, according the Pew Research Center. These are all European countries and this wave came in a time where personhood was largely (much more) defined by those considered aristocratic and those not; and for the perpetually indentured servants, indebted tenants that made up free men and their less free female equivalent, personhood was also defined by tribalism — tribalism, or ethnocentrism, molded with a strong curb by those with power … because being on the home team that deserves to be winning is something that seems increasingly appealing the more corrupt that team is.

Scapegoating is a power-mongering pastime.