CODGERTATIONS: Parasites?

We hear Republican politicians, “conservative” media talkers, letter-writers to editors, and at least one local minister all asserting that the poor and needy are lazy takers who don’t work and want something for nothing, while relying on the government for everything. In other words, they see the poor and needy as “parasites.”

They have it backwards.

“People who dismiss the unemployed and dependent as ‘parasites’ fail to understand economics and parasitism. A successful parasite is one that is not recognized by its host, one that can make its host work for it without appearing as a burden, Such is the ruling class in a capitalist society” – Jason Read

Recognizing this idea is the beginning of understanding why so many working class people are rushing to Trump and, to some extent, Sanders. It helps to explain why so many young people are excited by the Sanders campaign. Both Trump and Sanders – in different ways and for different reasons – have been shining lights on the true parasites and the burden we’ve long been cluelessly bearing for them. That’s why the abused working class and some of the middle class are at war with the establishment. That’s why the establishment is working overtime to eliminate Trump and Sanders.

The middle class share of America’s wealth is 21st (19.6 percent) in a list of developed countries, behind Spain (first at 52.4 percent), Mexico (40.4 percent), and India (22.6 percent), among others. The relative size of the middle class has been shrinking too – from 61 percent in 1971 to 49.9 percent in 2015. The middle class isn’t floating up into the upper class; it’s falling out the bottom, joining Mitt Romney’s parasitic 47 percent.

The “Charlie Brown” folks flocking to Trump and Sanders have been conned for decades. “Lucy Establishment” has been offering the football to both groups for years, only to pull it back after the election. Thanks to Trump and Sanders, large parts of these groups have had enough. What the two groups want, though, are quite different. Trump promises to support his folks’ xenophobia, their racism, their love of assault rifles, their sexism, their fear and hatred of gays, their worship of the military, their need to have the world kiss America’s ring, and their radical religious view that this is a Christian nation – the First Amendment be damned.

There’s nothing new here; Republicans have soft-peddled all these things for years to chum the Charlie Browns into trying to kick the ball. But they’ve always pulled it back. Trump has convinced some “Peanuts” that he’s not Lucy Establishment. Of course, if the Donald should become president, he’ll never accomplish any of his hateful promises; and then all hell will break loose in the Republican party.

For his part, Bernie Sanders has addressed the failings of Democrats. Since the days of Dick Nixon, the Democrats have let the political “center” move farther and farther to the Right. As it stands, crooked bankers get by with murder, but college students have to borrow thousands of dollars at exorbitant rates without ever having the option of going bankrupt (as Donald Trump did four times) – and can be hounded for the money until they die, even having their social security garnished.

Unions have supported Democrats since FDR, but they have been severely neglected for some time now by Democrats. Republicans continue to blitz private and public unions, and I can’t see any enthusiasm by the national leaders of the Democratic party to reverse the trend. When you hear union members say they support Trump or Sanders, it’s not difficult to understand why.

So, folks, that’s why a fool like Trump and a reformer like Sanders have the Establishment’s panties in a knot. A large part of America’s “parasites” have seen the light and are tired of being duped and mistreated by the rich and powerful. They are mad as hell and don’t want to take it any more.

Still, you know what they say about fighting City Hall. Batten down the hatches.