Conservative political commentator Pat Buchanan has been under fire recently for racist comments made in his new book, Suicide of a Superpower, in which he blames diversity and immigration for the downfall of the nation. Buchanan's obsession with "white power" extends to his position on how to solve black unemployment.
In an interview with DCentric's Elahe Izadi, Buchanan, a native Washingtonian, discusses how he proposes addressing D.C.'s wealth disparities that break down along racial lines. Izadi reports that Buchanan stated, "One thing I would do is stop immigration into the country until all unemployment is down to 6 percent," he said. "We've got to start putting our own people first."
"Our own people?" Since when did blacks become "our own people" to folks like Buchanan? Invoking the Willie Lynch strategy of dividing and conquering those who would benefit from coming together (African Americans and immigrants) as opposed to functioning separately is foul. Buchanan and his cronies who try to pretend that they give a damn about black folks need to stop the shenanigans.
This is not a plantation lullaby — this is real life. It is disingenuous to pretend that immigrants are having a greater impact on black unemployment than is the perpetuation of racist ideology that works in tandem with dominant power structures invested in the continued oppression of marginalized groups.
The fact that the GOP — a party led by wealthy whites — voted down the Jobs Act, which would have benefited the unemployed (including black folks), and yet fails to offer an alternative speaks volumes about what the GOP thinks about "our own people." Buchanan needs to go back to the drawing board, because pretending that he thinks of black people as part of his version of America is downright insulting.
Read more at DCentric.
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