Ruth Wilson Gilmore points out that capitalism will only stop being about race when all white people are gone from the picture. This shows how much being white is linked to having power and privilege in a system that treats nonwhite people unfairly. Being white isn’t just about race; it’s also about having a better social and economic position that has taken advantage of others. Racism isn’t just about personal bias; it’s a system that keeps white people in charge through money differences, policing, and stories that make whiteness seem normal. So, whiteness and racism are connected because the benefits of being white come at the expense of Black and Brown communities. Gilmore wants us to think about a future where being white isn’t the main focus in politics, money, and justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gilmore believes that the prison system doesn’t just keep criminals locked away; it actually helps create the idea of what a ‘criminal’ is. This happens because certain rules and actions unfairly target poor and nonwhite communities, often punishing behaviors that come from being poor or ignored by society. Once someone is called a criminal, they face unfair treatment in jobs, housing, and schools, making it harder for them to get back on their feet and more likely to end up back in prison. This cycle makes it look like some people are just born to be criminals, but really, the system is making it hard for them to succeed. I agree with Gilmore because it shows that the problem isn’t just the people, but the unfair systems that create inequality, and it highlights that mass incarceration is more about controlling society than delivering justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the last part of her video, Professor Gilmore talks about the ‘liberation struggle’ as a long-term team effort to build a society based on care, fairness, and justice instead of punishment and exploitation. She explains that liberation means not just tearing down unfair systems like prisons and police, but also creating new options that help people succeed, like good housing, education, healthcare, and jobs that matter. It\u2019s about fixing the real reasons for harm instead of just punishing the effects. This kind of struggle needs creativity, teamwork, and the hope that we can create a better world. Gilmore\u2019s idea of liberation is really positive because it\u2019s not only about fighting back\u2014it\u2019s about making new things and focusing on life instead of control and punishment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ruth Wilson Gilmore points out that capitalism will only stop being about race when all white people are gone from the picture. This shows how much being white is linked to having power and privilege in a system that treats nonwhite people unfairly. Being white isn’t just about race; it’s also about having a better…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discussion-board-14-1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11327"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11328,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11327\/revisions\/11328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}