I will definitely read that book and thank you for bringing it to my attention. I have been looking for a more thorough explanation of the socioeconomic conditions in Britain. To have a book that ties it in with capitalism and racism is excellent.

I’m so glad you understand this fundamental truth. When I began to study Marx and Tocqueville, I realized this obvious connection.

I suggest you look up Dr. Jeffrey Robinson. He goes into more detail about the numbers related to American slavery and capitalism. Apparently at one point the profits from slavery were 60% of America’s GDP. There is no American capitalism without slave labor.

When I think about the term “old money family ” it all starts to thread together for me. America is only what 300 years old ? How old could that money possibly be? Where did it come from? Is it possible that “old money”means money acquired in the early 1800s? I was adopted by a white family. They have pictures stemming back to the 1830s I believe. There is still money in our family and land that stems from this time period. Before my grandfather came to live with us he lived for a year at his cousin’s plantation which was turned into a summer camp. So his cousin owned it and was using it for other purposes. Obviously he didn’t have to pay to live there. It was the plantation my great grandfather (his father) apparently grew up in? Because when I went on “my heritage app” to colorize their photos. I realized the name of that plantation is the same as the one my grandpa stayed in a few years ago. Obviously, there are some mysteries in my family that I guess are none of my business. But I don’t think they are purposely hiding anything either. They adopted me after all. My point is that I’m starting to realize these really nice old white people that I tend to think of pretty fondly also just have money that they don’t even fully realize was tied to slavery. The reason I think Americans are fighting over economic inequality is because the people who have this money are just disconnected from the fact that they have it. The great-great granddaughter of someone who grew up with family money and land stemming from a plantation adopted a little black child. Most people would not call her racist. Because she really isn’t. In fact I can say that my white family is not racist at all. I never felt “othered” in my family except by one aunt who married into the family. But that’s what a hundred some odd people that I can say held no racial bias or animus whatsoever. All in one family no less. Obviously this family has a standard of not engaging in racist behaviors. Yet, there is this plantation. I think my Aunt sold it to other owners. She probably used the money to give back to the community. That’s just the sort of person she is. I really have no idea where the money in my family stems from. I know my great grandfather owned a business that flourished during The Depression so he was technically self-made. I just noticed looking back on my childhood that my family had a lot of connections with other “well off” people. I didn’t know they were “well off” until I started seeing more depictions of wealthy Republicans online and in the media. My grandpa came to live with us because he gave away all his money to what he thought was “missionary work.”He was involved in some scam that targets the elderly and he sent at least 300k overseas. My mother is obviously sad about it. I am upset about it too because he worked his whole life for that. At the same time he obviously didn’t feel connected to that money as something he felt he should have. Even though he was being scammed, he didn’t know he was. He thought he was giving to missionaries? So he thought it was appropriate to give away 300k to missionaries? My grandfather was very sensitive and caring. I say was because he has dementia now. Some type of guilt has hung over my grandfather his entire life and no one quite seems to notice, but I notice. There is a pattern in my family of people who seem disconnected to their money. They seem disconnected to their residences and their schooling. I grew up the same way. But because I was biracial other people had something to say about it. Other African Americans started to question me as an adult. Even a few white friends would repeat the things I said back to me with incredulity. “Family property?” “houses?” “College fund?” All these were just names I had been taught to call them by my mother. There is a real level of disconnection that many of these families have with things they just take for granted. My mother does not see herself as privileged. We never lived in big fancy houses. They would consider themselves middle class. I’m not saying that my family is responsible for anything. I do think the US government needs to take a look at how some people in the US are able to take things for granted as part of their heritage. While others can’t even afford a jacket or a pencil to write with in school.

The first two photos are of the plantation from the 1860s. My great grandpa is the boy on the bottom right with the eyebrows. I spent a fair amount of time with him when I was a child during our vacations in the mountains. I would walk up the hill in the mornings to their house and “talk their ears off” while they were having their breakfast. The third picture is me with my mom and grandparents.

The fourth picture : The blonde, is my mother with my grandparents. She told me it was a dinner put on by the mayor which was her uncle ? She never mentioned it before. “Jaded” is a word I would use to describe US white wealth and connections to power.

I have no idea if I’m even supposed to be posting this sort of stuff online but no one has instructed me not to.