Friday, February 12, 2016

Dystopia Now, Part 1

Years ago, many of the BWE/Common Sense bloggers saw that African-Americans (AAs) would one day become a permanent underclass in the U.S. It’s been clear for the past couple of years that this day has arrived: The majority of AAs have completed the process of entrenching themselves into permanent underclass status. 

Over the years I’ve also been watching for another “indicator.” An indicator showing that the U.S. has reached the point of no return in terms of economic and political decline. An indicator showing that the U.S. has morphed into the sort of dystopia featured in the Cyberpunk and Post-Cyberpunk speculative fiction genres. Several of these genres’ tropes have already become standard features of modern-day America, such as Big Brother Is Watching, Everything Is Online, etc. on the road to a Privately Owned Society

A healthy, properly functioning nation state and government immediately rebuilds a neighborhood, town or city after a disaster. Not because a country’s rulers necessarily like or care about the inhabitants of the stricken area. But because livable and functioning cities are manifestations of a sovereign government’s power and authority. By contrast, a declining/ collapsing/collapsed nation state “lets it go” when disaster strikes a neighborhood, town, or city under its rule. 

A national government’s willingness to “let it go” when a neighborhood, town or city under its control is hit by disaster is a clear indicator of collapse. 

I waited to see if the mishandling of New Orleans during and after Katrina was a fluke. It’s more than ten years after Katrina, and New Orleans *still* has not fully recovered

Unfortunately, I see now that the mishandling of New Orleans was not a fluke. The destruction of Flint, Michigan by way of a poisoned water system is the second time an American city has been destroyed by local politicians’ malfeasance and the national (federal) government has “let it go” (including your First Black President Obama and your Second Black Attorney General of the United States Loretta Lynch). And let the politicians responsible for it slide.* 

Make no mistake. Flint, Michigan has been destroyed. As Michael Moore stated:
People’s Homes in Flint Are Now Worth Nothing Because They Cant Be Sold. Would you buy a house in Flint right now? Who would? So every homeowner in Flint is stuck with a house that’s now worth nothing. That’s a total home value of $2.4 billion down the economic drain. People in Flint, one of the poorest cities in the U.S., don’t have much to their name, and for many their only asset is their home. So, in addition to being poisoned, they have now a net worth of zero. (And as for employment, who is going to move jobs or start a company in Flint under these conditions? No one.) Has Flint’s future just been flushed down that river?
[*It’s an absolute outrage that none of the local officials responsible for the destruction of Flint have been indicted. They KNEW there was a problem with the water; they gave General Motors special access to clean water; and then they continued poisoning the people of Flint.] 

The message is clear to those Americans who’ve been paying attention: We’re all on our own. And if you live in a depressed city, you’re expendable. You’re totally disposable if you’re passive and complacent enough to drink and feed your children tap water that you can see is yellow and brown. 

I'm saddened and appalled by this man-made crisis, but I just don't understand some of these Black folks in Flint. As I said during an email conversation with a friend:
“Why would any adult in their right mind touch, drink, bathe, brush their teeth and so on with yellow and brown tap water that is obviously filthy and toxic? Much less allow their children to have any physical contact whatsoever with that “water”?
I mean, really now—WTH???!!?? I could see this happening if the water looked and smelled like normal water.
{rhetorical question} But wait . . . some of these Sheniquas actually fed and bathed their children in obviously toxic yellow and brown smelly tap water??!!?? The heifers that did that need their a$$es beat. Small children don't have any sense. They're depending on the adults in their lives to keep them safe and healthy. Again, these heifers need their rear ends kicked. There doesn't need to be any kind of so-called “conspiracy” when grown-a$$ individuals are THAT stupid and trifling. {seething at the thought}
I would scrimp in order to get bottled water. If it came to that, I'd just have to be funky and ‘wash up’ very sparingly every other day with the bottled water to make it stretch and last longer for more important tasks such as drinking, brushing teeth, and washing my children.”
I *know* the American Black Underclass. I know how they “do.” Unlike the legions of Black Armchair Revolutionaries, I spent more than a few years of my professional career servicing the American Black Underclass. [Yes, I know that many White folks and others in Flint also fed their children the obviously tainted tap water. But I’m focused on the well-being of African-American Black children. Not other folks’ kids.] 

You can’t tell me that a lot of the mothers in Flint who fed their children smelly yellow and brown tap water refrained from spending money on getting their hair, nails and eyelashes done. Some of those mothers got their hair and nails done instead of spending that money on bottled water for their children. 

Another indicator of terminal collapse is when some government officials actually want to look after suffering citizens and still can’t accomplish anything. I Tried To Save A Homeless Woman From Freezing &The City Couldn't Help Us.

The reality is that passive and complacent Americans are going to “get got” over and over again. And some of these “gotchas” will have fatal results. 

I’m not saying all of the above to scare you. I’m saying this to reiterate the core message of my book and two blogs: 

You can thrive (and not just survive) during this time of collapse if you GET BACK TO BASICS. 

Meaning, leave newfangled, experimental lifestyles and practices ALONE. 

Meaning, get your lifestyle into alignment with the various timetables and life strategies that have stood the test of time and carried other women through various crises. Such as: 

Saving money. If you don’t have at least $1,000 set aside as an emergency fund, I strongly urge you to get a copy of Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover book. Immediately. HERE’S a detailed review of the book. 

Avoiding/paying off consumer debt. 

Creating extra income streams/getting a side hustle.

Growing at least a portion of your own food.

Preparedness is the next step after mastering Black Women’s Empowerment (BWE) basics. Check out the YouTube channels mentioned during THIS post.