The Chaos Is the Strategy

Commentary by Ron Washington, native Chicagoan living in Las Vegas, disabled Marine Corps combat veteran, business owner (Premiers Secours), and proud NU grad. Son of Bernadine C. Washington, former WVON GM, who inspired his love for writing.

To say that the social, political and economic situation in America (the world) is complicated is an understatement at the least. 

For “Marginalized” Americans meaning all Black people and other non-Whites and even including middle-class, poor, and uneducated Whites, the group of marginalized people (us) are all treated the same as in insignificant or peripheral. We are treated this way by the elite and wealthy class, their institutions and their well paid underlings and flunkies. Their goal is to keep marginalized people in chaos. For some reason or many reasons many of the marginalized are slow to understand and realize that this is a strategy to divide and distract us. Our collective condition is a step beyond complicated, the best word is convoluted,  something so unnecessarily twisted and tangled that it becomes almost impossible to follow. 

Look at the myriad complications we face first as individuals and families just seeking the basics: Air, food, water, shelter, warmth, sleep, employment, safety etc., and maybe finding time throwing in some fun and entertainment. Just securing these basics is a full time job, a daunting task and then we are expected to pay attention to all the other crazy stuff happening around us. We cannot pay attention, all we can do is react.  Its exhausting.

These convoluted conditions cannot be successfully undone, in an uncoordinated, disjointed piecemeal approach. From hate and war to voting rights and political shenanigans we’re trapped in this cycle of depression that’s been building for generations. We are pawns in this game of life. We are being moved all over the board with virtually no say in where we are going. 

Unless and until the Marginalized come together there will be no end to the intricate and winding complications convoluting our lives. All we should be concentrating on right now is how do we get the message out to and among the Marginalized, all of us, that we are all in this boat together and there is a common enemy. Our goal must be to unify and become organized despite our dissimilarities, contrasts and distinctions, no matter what they are. Once we figure this out our whole conversation and experience will be different. We must look for every opportunity. Until then . . .