It’s the shame. I am starting to see that shame is the currency of racial prejudice and discrimination. I have been looking for a common thread in the divisive conversations going on now with Donald Trump, Police Brutality, Diversity in Hollywood and just like that… It hit me right between the eyes. SHAME! Donald Trump shames his opponents. He shames immigrants. He shames foreign leaders. He shames the media who challenge him. He shames women. And the folks who follow him subscribe to this method of coercion. “If you do not think like me or look like me or exude Americanness the way I do, shame on you!”

So now everyone who believes they are the perfect example of what an American should be, who was shamed into behaving the way they do now is quite caught up the battle either on the side of Trump or right up against him. Yes, against him, why? Because ever since the comic antics of George W. Bush, the liberals/progressives/Democrats thought it a valid psychological strategy to mock the religious right and the wealthy capitalists supporting them.

And we are stuck here, why? We started the economic system of human scaling system that valued one group over another purely on ethnic origin. The shame of being black persists even though there are civil rights. The shame of being a woman persists even though there are women’s rights to vote and in some states decide on what to do with their reproductive organs. Now we have the shame of being muslim because of 9/11 and the shame of being Mexican. That country south of the U.S border that lost a lot of jobs due to an economic reform enforced by the United States in the mid-nineties.

It is my contention therefore, that in the United States of ‘Merica, we are dealing with a ton of shame. We act out violently in a lot of ways to cope with it. No one wants to be seen as poor, broke or unresourceful or god-forbid not living the American dream even though employment has fallen. Even though the top 1% now make just as much as the bottom 50% or more (please google the number). Women have do their best everyday to avoid being perceived as mean, slutty, competitive, assertive, curious just because they are smart, sexually aware, competent, assertive and open to growth. Minorities have to be ready to present their I-deserve-to-be-here card even though chances are no one will ask but then when it does, if they were not ready, they may get fired, shot dead or just plain ostracized.

We are living in shame when we do not deserve to. Donald Trump seeks to revive the one psychological weapon that has worked on the oppressed for centuries and we must all beware. This is not just about the return of the KKK. It is about the re-emergence of SHAME. Do you remember all the stuff your parents shamed you into doing as a child? – cleaning your room, eating your veggies, doing your homework on time, going to church? How do you feel about those now? Do you still do them? How about those you were shamed into stopping? – talking to strangers, sex(masturbating), eating at the table… How did that turn out? Just look at the shame-related crimes that are rising from bullying, single-shooter incidents, pedophilia, rape, to name a few. You can see here violence is a common denominator in the way the above crimes are carried out. That’s right, the shamed end up becoming the perpetrators of violence.

I’m sure some will argue: “But a little shame is good.” Especially for those who don’t spend their adult lives behind bars. Well I beg to differ. They do spend their lives behind bars; their not visible and do not come via felony charges.

Racial Prejudice is merely the absorption and distribution of shame. Racial distinction is merely there to validate it.

2016 © xulaima