Look man, I have a lot of friends who are white, heck after college, MOST of my friends might be white. Many of them do get it and are outraged. They can more articulately state the problem than black people in many instances. But this whole "it's more of a poverty issue" thing is something that needs to stop. I'm sick and tired of that immediate shift to make it a more universal message without first addressing the tenents that are specifically geared towards black people. Secondly, your anecdote about it being more about older white people is wrong. Younger people do not have the same racist biases as older people, but they still fundamentally do not understand racism. There was an article out a couple of months ago about how the millenial generation hates racism, but actually doesn't understand racism. THey think racism is a white guy in a KKK hoodie when the most dangerous forms of racism are covert and embedded into the fabric of society.
I truly do believe that there are severe class issues, but those issues intertwine with race and until you bridge that gap in understanding then there is no hope for creating this desired "class" of people who realize they are being wronged. Furthermore, all members of the class are not affected the same way. If I fought for higher wages tomorrow that would not change the fact that employers have negative attitudes towards Black Americans. It would not change the way police act towards black americans. It would not change the lack of representation of people of color in different roles in the media. It would not change the fact that black people are underrepresented in positions of power, etc. It would not change the fact that poor white people hold anti-black attitudes and have held them for a really long time. Working together to accomplish certain goals (labor unions) has not eliminated that. One does not have to be racist to allow a racist system to perpetuate itself. And we do not defeat racism by dodging and pretending that there are not specific problems in society that disproportionately weigh on poor black and latino peoples.
@Brady Hoke's Artery
When I said it is more prevalent among older people I was referring to my neighborhood, not all around the country or even my own city, just my neighborhood, which is absolutely true, like I stated if you drive by my local playground you'll see kids of all races hanging out, I promise you that. And yes I agree about people not fully understanding racism, I know people who say they're not racist, who will then say something racist, and to complicate things even more they're friends with people of all races.
Also my comment on the whole "rich vs poor" as opposed to "white vs black" is really to address an even larger issue, which is becoming more and more apparent on the institutional level where our government is ignoring our rights, and taking away our liberty in the name of safety, and it's going to take people of all races working together to overcome this tyranny. The media, the government, intelligence agencies, and the super rich work together to exploit our differences in order to divide us, and ensure that we stay pre-occupied fighting each other, instead of uniting to take down the old outdated institutions that continue to perpetuate these policies, biases, stereotypes, etc.
At the end of the day you and I most likely have much more in common than either one of us has with Bill Clinton or Obama..
I know that America is a white supremacist country, especially towards black people, and believe me I am not even beginning to act like I understand the oppression and worse that the black community has faced and continues to face, or downplaying it, just trying to convey that people of all races that come from underprivileged backgrounds have dealt with oppression, have been looked down on, and have been unjustly harassed by police, etc.
To your point about a person not having to be racist to allow a racist system to perpetuate itself I totally agree, I forget who said it and I'm paraphrasing but, "all it takes for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing", and that is why I said in my last post that I hope I gain the courage to take a public stand and help fight these injustices.