Racism ...

... making suckers of the white working class for over 3 centuries.

People would rather burn down their own houses than see Those People get anything.

Some con man always comes along to tell angry and aggrieved white folk what they want to hear; that they are the only people who matter, that they are being victimized.  The con man always persuades them that everything is a zero sum game, that if someone else gets something, then it means that they are losing something.  In the end, the con man laughs all the way to the bank while the white folk reap a harvest of exploitation and infamy.

And so, the chickens, not wanting to see those worthless ducks get anything, make the coyote their leader and put him in charge of the coop.   And as the coyote devours them all, the chickens persuade themselves that at least those dirty ducks didn't get anything.

Why should now be any different?  Pardon my pessimism, but I don't think this will ever change.  People will always prefer tribal warfare to actually doing something about their situation, especially if it means making common cause with The Other against the people who despise and exploit them both.


EXTRA:

Kelly J. Baker in The Atlantic reminds us that we've seen all of this before:

The Klan was facing a crisis because the culture was changing around them, and nativism was their reaction. Demographic shifts, including immigration, urbanization, and the migrations of African Americans from the South to the North gave urgency and legitimacy to the Klan’s fears that the nation was in danger. From 1890 to 1914, more than 16 million immigrants arrived in the United States, and a large majority were Catholics from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Poland. Around 10 percent were Jewish. The Klan described the influx of immigrants as a “menace” that threatened “true Americanism,” “devotion to the nation and its government,” and, worst of all, America as a civilization. Evans claimed that “aliens” (immigrants) challenged and attacked white Americans instead of doing the right thing—and joining the Klan’s cause. (Yes, strangely, he expected immigrants’ support even though the Klan limited membership to white Protestant men and women. Of course, it’s also strange that Trump expects Latino support.) Writing in the Klan newspaper The Imperial Night-Hawk in 1923, Evans declared that immigrants were “mostly scum,” a dangerous “horde.”