Equity or full equality?

Lots of people have heard about a big "blow-up" at a meeting in early November held in Detroit to talk about pushing for the enforcement of Affirmative Action.

I was invited to participate on a panel on Affirmative Action because I was one of the very first people to publicly oppose the racist campaign to place the banning of Affirmative Action on the ballot in Michigan and I continued to push and prod for its passage to be challenged in the courts.

Finally, the U.S. Court of Appeals struck down this racist ban on Affirmative Action. But it was struck down by a very narrow margin... the vote of one judge made the difference providing a victory of human decency over racist bigotry.

I have been under fire from this foundation-funded crowd for quite some time who are now pushing this concept of "equity" which they claim is some kind of more palatable word than "equality."

What is at issue here? A mere nitpicking over the definitions of two words that mean the same thing?

No.

"Equity" and "Equality" mean two different things. Anyone can look up the definitions in any dictionary or a legal dictionary.

These foundation-funded outfits are trying to disorient the movements fighting for full equality for the victims of racist discrimination.

"Equity" is a term being used by those who are pushing "tokenism" as an alternative to "full equality."

A concrete example of this is here in Minnesota where our good "liberal" governor a very wealthy billionaire who "works" as a "philanthropist" at his own foundation who controls just about every single civil rights organization in the state through the "grants" his own personal foundation funds, insists on using this term "equity" to evade the struggle for "full equality."

It becomes very convenient to advocate for "equity" when tokens who "make it" can then be held up as examples to make it appear progress towards full equality is taking place when nothing could be further from the truth.

Governor Dayton is trying to hoodwink people into accepting tokenism in employment here in Minnesota as an alternative to full equality and this can be seen very vividly in how he has evaded enforcing Affirmative Action on the two largest public works construction projects now being readied--- the Viking Stadium and the new bridge over the St. Croix River into Wisconsin. Each is a billion dollar plus public works project.

"Equity" is the cover for "tokenism;" striving for full "equality" is the reason for insisting on the enforcement of Affirmative Action which is intended to create "a level playing field" for ALL the victims of racist discrimination.

A number of Democratic Party politicians have brought their hacks from their foundation funded outfits out to attack me because I have explained what is at issue in this debate of "equity" versus "equality."

The Dayton family made their billions as the direct result of the racism they have enforced for decades hee in Minnesota using their wealth to create and compound that wealth as a direct result of imposing racism in the workplace even as they held up tokens to try to prove they are not racists so it should come as no surprise that Mark Dayton would now be trying to impose the tokenism that "equity" embodies in place of enforcing Affirmative Action on these public works projects.

"Equity" is tokenism.

"Affirmative Action" is about full equality for ALL peoples.

Tokens elevated with the consent and support from the oppressors can achieve "equity;" an entire group of people victimized by racism can not achieve any semblance of "equity" without having first achieved full "equality."

Barack Obama best exemplifies the kind of tokenism which leads to equity provided a person is willing to do the dirty work of those on Wall Street who reap super profits from racism.

People like Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. provide examples of the struggles for full equality--- they supported Affirmative Action because it enables everyone to get ahead, not just a few tokens selected by the perpetrators of racism to provide a front giving the impression the system can provide equal opportunity for everyone when the facts prove that it is the system which needs and breeds racism to thrive.

I find it interesting those who attacked me so viciously at this meeting in Detroit after I used my old friend Roy Roberts as an example of how tokens can achieve equity, especially when they use their positions they have attained as a direct result of having availed themselves of the fruits of Affirmative Action can achieve equity--- especially when they become pawns carrying out a right wing, reactionary agenda intended to halt the progress of the rest of the people who require the enforcement of Affirmative Action to achieve the kind of full equality enabling them just to get decent employment at real living wages--- never mind equity.

Tokens can rise to becoming millionaires and billionaires like Roy Roberts now placed in charge as the head dictator of Detroit's Public Schools by a thoroughly racist and reactionary Republican governor, Rick Snyder, who appointed Roy Roberts to destroy the very gains achieved through struggles around the enforcement of Affirmative Action.

Unlike these tokens like Roy Roberts who the racist employers like General Motors allowed to rise towards the top in order to use him to keep everyone else down; working people who have been racially oppressed and deprived of opportunities because of their race need to have Affirmative Action enforced--- not to become rich--- but as a matter of getting a living wage job in order to survive.

This rotten system which breeds racism as source of super profits deprived from the super exploitation enabled by racism in employment will only allow for a few tokens to achieve anything approximating "equity."

Are the massive numbers of unemployed people on Indian Reservations and people of color forced to endure the poverty of racist unemployment resulting from racism in employment willing to continue to endure their poverty in order for a few tokens to make their way to the top while shitting on those below them? This is an embarrassing question those now touting "equity" will have to explain.

"Equity" or "equality?"

"Tokenism" or the enforcement of "Affirmative Action?"

I can understand why people like my old friend Roy Roberts don't want to hear from me about the need to enforce Affirmative Action--- he knows and understands he was allowed to rise to the top provided he shit on the people below in order to prevent them from achieving full equality.

And, I can understand why Mark Dayton is so enamored with "tokenism" which he would rather we all refer to as "equity."

Once again it boils down to people versus corporate super profits.

Who wouldn't like a job of billionaire "philanthropist" sitting around all day trying to figure out what outfits should be the recipients of your foundation grants where your money will be used to more effectively control people at the bottom in a way so your corporate profits and Wall Street investments will continue to rise?

Tokenism enables those who profit from a sick racist system to continue to amass huge profits at the expense of the victims of racist discrimination in employment.

The tokens who achieve "equity" get fabulously rich; the victims of racist discrimination without the enforcement of Affirmative Action remain mired in poverty.

These goddamn hypocrites now attacking me by calling me names because they are too embarrassed to explain why they want to change the discourse of this discussion I started about "equity" versus "equality" can kiss my ass and go to hell because they are the ones who have to explain why the poverty gap is growing and widening rather than narrowing between whites and people of color.

And ultimately--- surprise, surprise--- this growing "pool of unemployed" people of color (from 30% to a high of 85% on Indian Reservations) is being used as a club by employers to drive ALL wages down. So if white workers want to join with their employers and the likes of a billionaire like Mark Dayton in opposing Affirmative Action, the laugh is on them.

In the end, when Affirmative Action is successfully enforced this pushes ALL wages up.

I do find it quite interesting three state governors---Mark Dayton, Rick Snyder and Scott Walker--- have turned loose the oh so "liberal" opportunists of the foundation crowd to attack me.

What I find even more intriguing and interesting is that Mark Dayton sought me out to support him while holding forth the promise that he would enforce Affirmative Action if I would help him become governor--- what a conniving, two-faced hypocritical bastard Mark Dayton turned out to be; showing when push comes to shove he is no different from Scott Walker or Rick Snyder.