About the Author
More By Djehuti
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
<vote /> | <vote /> | ||
__NOTOC__ | |||
<!--start text--> | <!--start text--> | ||
Macro n Micro: Neo-Confederate Playbook (April 8-14, 2025) | Macro n Micro: Neo-Confederate Playbook (April 8-14, 2025) | ||
{{Infobox event | |||
| title = Macro n Micro: Neo-Confederate Playbook (April 8-14, 2025) | |||
|image = <gallery> | |||
Convict_lease_gang_1903.jpg|America's oldest export: Racialized captivity from convict leasing to offshore detention | |||
Deacons_defense_1965.jpg| Self-defense remains non-negotiable: From Nat Turner to Karmelo Anthony | |||
</gallery> | |||
}} | |||
The Week's Neo-Confederate Escalations | |||
== Economic Warfare: The Tariff Theater == | |||
Trump's tariff war with China has collapsed under its own contradictions. After raising barriers to 145%, Beijing responded with a 125% counter-tariff—effectively ending the charade by declaring American goods "no longer viable<ref>https://www.npr.org/2025/04/11/nx-s1-5361056/china-us-trade-war-tariffs-escalation</ref>" in Chinese markets. This isn't merely trade policy; it's plantation style coercion failing against a nation that has now forged its own economic whip to protect itself. | |||
Like the Confederacy's cotton embargo of 1861, today's tariff theater imagines a US that can dictate terms to nations it no longer dominates. China's $3.58 trillion export market renders U.S. retaliation symbolic at best—while potentially having devastating effects on Black folks at home. The 5.97% collapse in the S&P 500 primarily affects white wealth-holders (61% of whom own stocks versus just 12% of Black Americans), but the real pain comes through inflated prices on essential goods. When tariffs drive up costs for electronics, clothing, and household items, Black households spending 40% more of their income on basic necessities feel the squeeze first. | |||
More insidiously, these tariffs strangle Black entrepreneurship by cutting off access to affordable manufacturing. The small Black business renaissance in e-commerce, beauty products, and apparel has relied heavily on Chinese production networks—now priced out of reach by neo-confederate economic nationalism. What Black America must recognize in China's response: economic self-determination requires building our own proverbial whips—independent supply chains, cooperative manufacturing, and capital networks beyond plantation oversight. | |||
== Trump's Offshore Gulag Threat == | |||
"I would be honored to give them," declared Trump, responding to El Salvador's offer to imprison American "criminals" in its mega-prison. The dog whistle became a foghorn when he specified targets: those who "push people into subways" and "hit people over the head"—coded references to Black urban crime that echo 19th century anti-Black laws used to america's insatiable appetite for free labor. | |||
This isn't innovation—it's outsourced convict leasing. From Angola Prison's cotton fields to El Salvador's CECOT prison concrete cells, the logic remains: extract folks from communities, place them under foreign control, and profit from their removal. And if we can sweep up a disproportionate number of Black people, well thats all gravy. | |||
When Trump says "horrible criminals," his base hears "Black men." When he references "20-time wise guys," they envision the same "super-predators" Hillary Clinton demonized in 1996. The material reality behind his "American-grown criminals" rhetoric: 75% of those already deported to El Salvador had no criminal record—mirroring how Black Codes manufactured "criminals" after Emancipation. | |||
[[File:Convict_leasing_prisoners_1900s.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Convict leasing (1865-1940) transformed "freedom" into new forms of bondage—just as offshore detention does today]] | |||
== Digital Minstrelsy: Elon's Gaming Humiliation == | |||
Elon Musk, currenly neo-confederacy's chief propagandist, exposed his fragility when gamers mercilessly mocked him during a livestream. After dying repeatedly to a tutorial boss in Path of Exile 2...or was it Diablo, the world's richest man responded with a slur against the intellectually disabled before rage-quitting after 30 minutes. | |||
Like his ancestors, who created elaborate fantasies about their own superiority, Musk had previously paid skilled gamers to build characters that made him appear competent—a perfect metaphor for the richess of the USA. White wealth built on Black labor while claiming self-made success. His unraveling on camera reveals that just like his ancestors, his perceived gravitas is scaffolded by a few flimsy sticks, liable to fall over with the slightest nudge (lets keep bullying him) | |||
Behind this digital minstrelsy lies material consequence: Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency" dismantles civil rights infrastructure while his SpaceX contracts extract billions of dollars from the public. His gaming humiliation matters only because it momentarily pierces the myth of white tech genius that shields this neo-confederate wealth extraction. | |||
[[File:Plantation_owner_veranda.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Plantation aristocracy maintained elaborate fantasies of superiority—just as tech oligarchs do today]] | |||
== Self-Defense Criminalized: Karmelo Anthony's Stand == | |||
A Black teen track athlete faces murder charges after allegedly stabbing fellow student Austin Metcalf who, witnesses say, physically confronted him after demanding he leave a tent. His GiveSendGo fundraiser has surpassed $350,000—with donors explicitly comparing his case to Emmett Till and Kyle Rittenhouse. | |||
This isn't new—it's self-defense while Black. From Nat Turner to the Deacons for Defense to Assata Shakur, America has criminalized Black self defense. Anthony's case reveals the dual standards: Rittenhouse was celebrated for shooting protesters, while Anthony faces a $1 million bond for allegedly defending himself against a single aggressor. | |||
The liberal establishment's silence proves Malcolm X's observation: "If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." Meanwhile, Black folks recognize the pattern and mobilize resources—just as they did for the Scottsboro Boys in 1931. | |||
[[File:Scottsboro_boys_defense_committee_1931.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Scottsboro Boys Defense Committee (1931) mobilized resources against judicial lynching—paralleling today's crowdfunding for Karmelo Anthony]] | |||
== Digital Freedom Papers: Antisemitism Screening for Citizenship == | |||
The Department of Homeland Security now screens immigrants' social media for "antisemitic activity"—a transparent pretext to exclude pro-Palestinian voices. The policy targets "aliens applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and aliens affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity." | |||
Like the slave passes that restricted Black movement before Emancipation, these digital restrictions create a tiered citizenship where political speech determines human rights. The historical continuity is unmistakable: from Black Codes that criminalized "seditious speech" to COINTELPRO's targeting of radicals to today's surveillance of immigrant politics. | |||
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin's statement that immigrants cannot "hide behind the First Amendment" confirms what Black America has always known: constitutional protections were never universal. Meanwhile, actual neo-Nazi organizations remain unlisted in the ban—just as the Klan operated with impunity while Black organizations faced state destruction. | |||
[[File:Slave_pass_document_1850.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Slave passes controlled Black movement before Emancipation—just as immigration screening controls political expression today]] | |||
The Neo-Confederate Logic | |||
This week proves three constants in America's racial order: | |||
*Foreign policy mirrors domestic racial control. Offshore prisons, tariff wars, and immigration screening all export the US's rebel management techniques. | |||
*Self-defense remains non-negotiable. The antiblack comments and articles all over the internet regarding Karmelo Anthony show that both the state and overarching society has zero tolerance for Black resistance and so, Black survival requires autonomous protection against state neglect and ant-Black action. | |||
*White fragility drives policy. From Musk's gaming meltdown to Trump's gulag threats, emotional insecurity propels structural violence. | |||
{{Quote box|quote="The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress."|source=— Frederick Douglass (1857)|width=80%|align=center}} | |||
The neo-confederate project accelerates, but so does resistance. As China's economic independence demonstrates, power built on extraction eventually collapses under its contradictions. The question isn't '''if''' America's plantation economy will fall, but when, and what we build in its place. | |||
<div class="comments-welcome"> | |||
'''Comments welcome below! No login required to join the discussion.''' Share your thoughts, experiences, and perspectives on these ongoing struggles. | |||
</div> | |||
<comments /> | <comments /> | ||
[[Category:April 2025]] | |||
[[Category:Neo-Confederate revival]] | |||
[[Category:Black radical tradition]] | |||
[[Category:Articles by user Djehuti]] | [[Category:Articles by user Djehuti]] | ||
NOEDITSECTION | |||
Revision as of 16:32, 11 April 2025
Macro n Micro: Neo-Confederate Playbook (April 8-14, 2025)
|
The Week's Neo-Confederate Escalations
Economic Warfare: The Tariff Theater
Trump's tariff war with China has collapsed under its own contradictions. After raising barriers to 145%, Beijing responded with a 125% counter-tariff—effectively ending the charade by declaring American goods "no longer viable[1]" in Chinese markets. This isn't merely trade policy; it's plantation style coercion failing against a nation that has now forged its own economic whip to protect itself.
Like the Confederacy's cotton embargo of 1861, today's tariff theater imagines a US that can dictate terms to nations it no longer dominates. China's $3.58 trillion export market renders U.S. retaliation symbolic at best—while potentially having devastating effects on Black folks at home. The 5.97% collapse in the S&P 500 primarily affects white wealth-holders (61% of whom own stocks versus just 12% of Black Americans), but the real pain comes through inflated prices on essential goods. When tariffs drive up costs for electronics, clothing, and household items, Black households spending 40% more of their income on basic necessities feel the squeeze first.
More insidiously, these tariffs strangle Black entrepreneurship by cutting off access to affordable manufacturing. The small Black business renaissance in e-commerce, beauty products, and apparel has relied heavily on Chinese production networks—now priced out of reach by neo-confederate economic nationalism. What Black America must recognize in China's response: economic self-determination requires building our own proverbial whips—independent supply chains, cooperative manufacturing, and capital networks beyond plantation oversight.
Trump's Offshore Gulag Threat
"I would be honored to give them," declared Trump, responding to El Salvador's offer to imprison American "criminals" in its mega-prison. The dog whistle became a foghorn when he specified targets: those who "push people into subways" and "hit people over the head"—coded references to Black urban crime that echo 19th century anti-Black laws used to america's insatiable appetite for free labor.
This isn't innovation—it's outsourced convict leasing. From Angola Prison's cotton fields to El Salvador's CECOT prison concrete cells, the logic remains: extract folks from communities, place them under foreign control, and profit from their removal. And if we can sweep up a disproportionate number of Black people, well thats all gravy.
When Trump says "horrible criminals," his base hears "Black men." When he references "20-time wise guys," they envision the same "super-predators" Hillary Clinton demonized in 1996. The material reality behind his "American-grown criminals" rhetoric: 75% of those already deported to El Salvador had no criminal record—mirroring how Black Codes manufactured "criminals" after Emancipation.
Digital Minstrelsy: Elon's Gaming Humiliation
Elon Musk, currenly neo-confederacy's chief propagandist, exposed his fragility when gamers mercilessly mocked him during a livestream. After dying repeatedly to a tutorial boss in Path of Exile 2...or was it Diablo, the world's richest man responded with a slur against the intellectually disabled before rage-quitting after 30 minutes.
Like his ancestors, who created elaborate fantasies about their own superiority, Musk had previously paid skilled gamers to build characters that made him appear competent—a perfect metaphor for the richess of the USA. White wealth built on Black labor while claiming self-made success. His unraveling on camera reveals that just like his ancestors, his perceived gravitas is scaffolded by a few flimsy sticks, liable to fall over with the slightest nudge (lets keep bullying him)
Behind this digital minstrelsy lies material consequence: Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency" dismantles civil rights infrastructure while his SpaceX contracts extract billions of dollars from the public. His gaming humiliation matters only because it momentarily pierces the myth of white tech genius that shields this neo-confederate wealth extraction.
Self-Defense Criminalized: Karmelo Anthony's Stand
A Black teen track athlete faces murder charges after allegedly stabbing fellow student Austin Metcalf who, witnesses say, physically confronted him after demanding he leave a tent. His GiveSendGo fundraiser has surpassed $350,000—with donors explicitly comparing his case to Emmett Till and Kyle Rittenhouse.
This isn't new—it's self-defense while Black. From Nat Turner to the Deacons for Defense to Assata Shakur, America has criminalized Black self defense. Anthony's case reveals the dual standards: Rittenhouse was celebrated for shooting protesters, while Anthony faces a $1 million bond for allegedly defending himself against a single aggressor.
The liberal establishment's silence proves Malcolm X's observation: "If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." Meanwhile, Black folks recognize the pattern and mobilize resources—just as they did for the Scottsboro Boys in 1931.
Digital Freedom Papers: Antisemitism Screening for Citizenship
The Department of Homeland Security now screens immigrants' social media for "antisemitic activity"—a transparent pretext to exclude pro-Palestinian voices. The policy targets "aliens applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and aliens affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity."
Like the slave passes that restricted Black movement before Emancipation, these digital restrictions create a tiered citizenship where political speech determines human rights. The historical continuity is unmistakable: from Black Codes that criminalized "seditious speech" to COINTELPRO's targeting of radicals to today's surveillance of immigrant politics.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin's statement that immigrants cannot "hide behind the First Amendment" confirms what Black America has always known: constitutional protections were never universal. Meanwhile, actual neo-Nazi organizations remain unlisted in the ban—just as the Klan operated with impunity while Black organizations faced state destruction.
The Neo-Confederate Logic
This week proves three constants in America's racial order:
- Foreign policy mirrors domestic racial control. Offshore prisons, tariff wars, and immigration screening all export the US's rebel management techniques.
- Self-defense remains non-negotiable. The antiblack comments and articles all over the internet regarding Karmelo Anthony show that both the state and overarching society has zero tolerance for Black resistance and so, Black survival requires autonomous protection against state neglect and ant-Black action.
- White fragility drives policy. From Musk's gaming meltdown to Trump's gulag threats, emotional insecurity propels structural violence.
"The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress."
The neo-confederate project accelerates, but so does resistance. As China's economic independence demonstrates, power built on extraction eventually collapses under its contradictions. The question isn't if America's plantation economy will fall, but when, and what we build in its place.
NOEDITSECTION
Comments welcome below! No login required to join the discussion. Share your thoughts, experiences, and perspectives on these ongoing struggles.