Y'all don't listen to us

Considering all of the exhaustions of being unheard as a Black person in a fearful America

Y'all don't listen to us.

Y'all don't even hear us.

It would be one thing if it didn’t matter, or if we didn’t need to coexist in some fashion, or if Black people’s present/future weren’t a barometer for the health of the United States.

There's a meme making the rounds again with fictional rapper Paper Boy (portrayed by Brian Tyree Henry) in the FX show "Atlanta."

Threads/@jonathanbelle

This meme, and others like it, have been increasingly prevalent since the election, particularly over the last 60 days or so. But it’s a reality. There is an economic culling and squeezing being applied to everyone, and not just to Black (and other non-white ethnicities).

Per a recent Bloomberg report, as of today, the top 10% of U.S. households, earning over $250,000 annually, account for nearly half of all consumer spending. Since the pandemic, households in the bottom 80% of the income distribution (less than about $175,000 annually) have only kept pace with inflation, with extremely limited growth.

In contrast, the top 20% of households have greatly outspent inflation, with the very highest earners — the top 3.3% — have seen spending well beyond inflation. In other words, if you aren’t in that top bracket, you are mostly just getting through it right now.

And this is reflected directly in the politics of the day. If white people aren’t getting to the bread, more specifically, if they feel they are in the same boat as the Black folk, they get more outwardly racist because they need a differentiator. And if it’s economically bad enough, and they are scared enough, they are joining white nationalist groups, making excuses for voting for a far-right candidate, so that they can feel some semblance of safety.