Economics is the problem, not race

O.J. walked. Big surprise?

Hardly. But it made me $20 richer. And that's really the point.

We can all talk forever about what the trial and the acquittal says about the state of race relations in this country, and that'll make all the reporters and editors of every fishwrap in the country real happy. They need something to do so they don't have to think. And the past year has been a godsend for them.

But nothing is going to change.

The endless discussion about race is irrelevant. The point is moot. Get over it.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who have money, and those who don't. Those who do, walk. Those who don't, don't. That's the problem.

We don't have a race problem in this country, we have an economic problem. Remove the cause, not the symptom.

Remember last year's "race" riots in L.A.? Stupid. Poor people fighting other poor people. Ever watch a dog chase its tail? You could almost hear the champagne corks popping as the fat cats were let off the hook, once again.

Look at the figures: one percent of the U.S. population owns over 50 percent of the wealth. And two thirds of that wealth is inherited. That means there are whole generations of people who have done absolutely nothing for their obscene amounts of money. Go smash their windows if you want to vent your anger, at least that would make a statement.

Poor people fight with other poor people because poor people never see rich people. Rich people insulate themselves from the angry undesirables. And for good reason. When people are desperate enough to kill others in the same economic class over something so trivial as footwear, imagine what they'd do to someone who had real money.

So, locked behind guarded iron gates and three miles of driveway, the rich love to see us fighting amongst ourselves. The longer we do, the longer everything stays the same, the longer the old guard still intact. "Oh James, another cognac, please. I'm about to watch the news."

O.J. is not a rich black man. He's a rich man. And once, as a society, we have evolved enough to make that distinction, that's when things will change. The only color anyone should see in this situation is green.

[ Golden Gater Online October 10, 1995 ]

[ back to top ]