Only a Pawn in Their Game

2016 November 14

I woke up on November 9th feeling hopeless and grief-stricken. It may sound dramatic
but I cant deny the heaviness that was weighing in my chest and the sadness that consumed me
that day. It is easy to let my emotions blame Trumps win on racists, misogynists, and white
supremacists. It is easy to point the finger at a powerless group and place myself on a pedestal,
separate and unalike. This is not to say that they didnt play a part, but as Bob Dylan sang in
1963, it ain't him to blame, he's only a pawn in their game. The many headlines this week that
read, Why Trump Won: Working-Class Whites, and US white working class vaults Trump to
victory, among Facebook posts that accused Trumps voters of being racist seemed to imply
that all working-class whites are full of hate.
Some of the working-class men in my family voted for Trump because he is a
businessman and because we need an outsider, not a politician. They are tired of the
political-correctness that has infiltrated society thanks to Obummer. Minorities have never
had so much equality, yet working-class white men are still struggling to survive. Rather than
recognizing the similarities between being a poor white man and a poor black man, they resort to
the hatred that is instilled in socioeconomics. They were born with the privilege of being white,
but they were also born into poor families, something that is conveniently ignored by those in
power. What these voters fail to realize is that Trump has no relation to the working class. He is
a billionaire who was born into privilege and wealth. He may not be a typical politician but like
politicians before him,
A South politician preaches to the poor white man
You got more than blacks, don't complain
You're better than them,
you been born with white skin they explain.

Bigotry is a powerful tool used to exploit, create divisions, hierarchies, and control. The
marginalized group remains at the bottom, too powerless to rise up, while those right above are
just as weak. They are told that nothing can be as bad as being black in America, a notion that is
detrimental to all citizens, black or white.
To protect his white skin
To keep up his hate
So he never thinks straight
'Bout the shape that he's in

When slaves were freed the Irish had to compete with them for menial jobs which put
them on equal playing fields. There was no difference in their working class, they were both
slaves to capitalism. The trend continued, from the Irish to the Italians to the Puerto Ricans to the
Mexicans. All of the conflicts stem from fear, a fear of living life in poverty due to job insecurity
and of living like a group that is supposed to be less than.
 But the poor white man's used
in the hands of them all like a tool
Like a dog on a chain
He ain't got no name
But it ain't him to blame

Solidarity, when done right, is a threat to law and order, of maintaining control of the
classes. Why is there a difference in the way working-class whites vote and working-class blacks
vote when so many of their struggles are the same? If the working class as a whole came together
to fight the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor then maybe things could change.
Why is there such a profound fear of Mexicans pillaging our society and stealing our jobs? They
are barely getting by working for someone who is exploiting them for their own profit and
leeching off vulnerable immigrants who will work an extremely low-paying job with no security
or long-term benefits. Those who hire undocumented immigrants are to blame for whatever jobs
are being stolen, but the government and corporations have also played a part in this game for
decades. Jobs are not being given to illegal Mexicans, but to factories and sweatshops all over
the world, with workers who are also being exploited by these same people.
Though it may be easy to allow society to maneuver you into being a pawn, racism and
hatred of the other only benefits those in power. Dylan said Medgar Evers was lowered into
the grave as a king, while the one that fired the gun will die being a pawn.
He'll see by his grave
On the stone that remains
Carved next to his name
His epitaph plain:
Only a pawn in their game.

We arent born with racism running through our veins, but we are born into a certain
class, which affects our criticisms, ideologies, and ways of thinking. It can be hard to rebel
against an indoctrinated hatred, especially one that is inherited through time and passed down
from generation to generation. Our hatred does not benefit anyone but those in control. It is easy
to play the blame game, to have a scapegoat for all of your problems rather than recognizing the
larger players. In every game of chess there are white pawns and there are black pawns. There
are more pawns than any other piece in the game. Like the poor, they are regarded as having the
smallest value, yet without them, there would be no king or queen. We are necessary players in
the game but we dont have to play by their rules.