I thought it might be fun to get this week going with another peek at Alyce's thoughts on these United States. Enjoy... 😉
"But you have a democratic form of government. Why
don't people just vote out those who oppress them?"
"Oh, sugar, did you ever hit the nail on the
head."
"What?" asked Squid-boy.
I waved it away. "Nothing. It's just an expression. I
mean, you asked the right question. And the answer is tied up in why the rich
want to keep the poor divided. That's why. Because if they united and voted
together as a block, they could get the corrupt politicians out of
office and replace them with some who would represent the interests of the
majority. But by stirring up all the little conflicts that divide people, the
rich keep that from happening."
"But, surely, there must be enough people who don't
fall for this type of manipulation coupled with the people who are victims of
it that they could still form a majority," said Yax.
I nodded. "In a lot of places, there are. But, like I
said, the people in power aren't stupid. They've put up barriers to keep a lot
of the people who would vote against them from being able to vote."
"How?" asked Squid-boy.
"Well, it goes back to our history, again, and gets
pretty complicated."
He gestured with one of his arms for me to continue.
Closing my eyes, I gathered my thoughts. "When the
country was founded, it was only light skinned, land-owning men who could vote.
But, as time went on, more people got the right to vote¾light skinned men who
didn't own land, darker skinned men, and then finally women. It's actually been
less than a hundred years since women got the right to vote. But just because
people have the right to vote, that doesn't mean it's easy.
"First you have to register to vote, which is one place
that those in power can put up obstacles. In the past they've had 'poll taxes,'
which were fees you had to pay in order to register to vote. Now, that's
illegal, but they have other tricks. Part of the Jim Crow laws I was telling
you about earlier were things like 'reading tests' and 'civics tests' that
people had to pass in order to vote. People would have to either read a passage
or answer some basic questions about our government. It sounds good in theory,
but the people who ran the registration offices would cheat to allow only the
people they wanted to vote to register.
"People with lighter skin would be given simple, basic
sentences to read or asked questions that were common knowledge, like who was
the first President of our country. But people with darker colored skin would
be given long, complicated things to read that were often in languages other
than English. Or they'd be asked much harder, esoteric questions, like what do
articles III and V of the Constitution of the United States establish? There's
an answer, but unless someone is a Constitutional scholar, they probably won't
know what that answer is. It was a sneaky way to prevent people with darker
skin from being able to vote."
"Is this still going on?" asked Yax.
I wagged my hand back and forth. "Yes and no. It's not
going on in that form, anymore, because those kinds of things have been made
illegal. But there are other things that are happening that are done for the
same reason and have the same effect. They're a bit more subtle, though."
"What things?" asked Squid-boy.
"Well, for one thing, there're voter ID laws. It varies
from place to place, but some of the laws are just blatant attempts to keep
people who are poor, who are often also people with darker skin, from
voting."
"These laws require one to have identification in order
to vote?" asked Squid-boy.
I nodded. "Yep. Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?"
He blinked at me. "It does. But I have the feeling that
something about these laws is not what it seems at first glance."
"Yep, you got that right, Squid-boy. First, the laws
generally specify only certain IDs that will be accepted. Usually, they are
things like a driver's license that most upper and middle-income people have.
But people who are poor, especially if they live in an urban area with mass
transportation systems, might not have that type of ID. Add to that the fact
that the IDs are often expensive and can only be obtained at certain designated
facilities, which are often not located in or near neighborhoods where poor
people live, and you have a real barrier for people who don't have a lot of money.
Also, the facilities where these IDs can be obtained are only open during the
hours that most people work, so if someone needs one they generally have to
take time away from their job to get it.
"Which means if a poor person from one of these
neighborhoods wants to vote, they have to take time off work, which might get
them fired; travel on mass transit, possibly for hours; stand in line, possibly
for hours; pay more money than they likely have; and then travel all the way
back to their home. So, it's not really surprising that many of these people
decide it's just easier not to vote, is it?"
Yax shook his head. "No, that's not surprising, at all.
Inevitable, really."
I nodded. "Yep. And then there're the laws in some
places that forbid people who have been convicted of a crime from voting. Like
I already told you, there are a lot of laws that deliberately target poor
people and people with darker skin, so those populations are disproportionately
affected by restrictions like this. And you also have to take into account the
fact that election days are always on Tuesdays, which is the middle of the work
week for most people, and waiting in line to vote can take hours in some
places. Especially in places where poor people live."
"So, the people who are least likely to have
flexibility in their job schedules or bosses who will be understanding if they
are late to work or have to leave early, have to figure out some way to get to
their polling places, which can be quite a distance from where they live and
work, before the voting closes and without it resulting in them getting fired.
Because most of those people are one or two paychecks away from being homeless,
so they can't afford to risk losing their jobs. Oh, and they also have to
figure out how to make sure their family gets their dinner and is taken care of
while they're stuck standing in line for hours."
Squid-boy stood staring at nothing for a few heartbeats. It
seemed like he was thinking, so I waited for him to speak. After a while, he
blinked, drew himself up to his full height, and then bent forward. "This
makes sense¾in
an odd, irrational way¾young human. Perhaps it all ties into the next exhibit
we want to show you."
I craned my neck. "What exhibit?"
"Over here," called Yax, who had wandered deeper
into the room.
I followed the sound of his voice and found him standing
next to an exhibit that showed a group of robots holding signs and…dancing?
"What in the pink and purple heck…?"
The tall alien waved at the display. "Pay no attention
to the 'droids' movements. It's just more maintenance routines to make sure
their movement programming is working. Please just focus on the rest of the
exhibit."
I did as he asked. The setting was a city street. The robots
closest to me were, as I said, holding signs. They were dressed like regular
civilians you might find anywhere in modern America. Farther down the street
there were more robots, but they were dressed like police and carrying plastic
shields and dangerous-looking batons. I knew what this was supposed to be.
Sighing, I nodded and said, "Yes, this ties into it,
but it's a bit of a long story to get there."
"In what way?" asked Yax.
"Well, people aren't marching just because of the laws
that make it difficult for them to vote. It's more of a 'one thing leads to
another' situation."
"Being denied the ability to help choose one's
government isn't sufficient reason to protest for your people?" asked
Squid-boy.
I rubbed my temples. "It is. But it also isn't. Like I
said, it's a long story. You have to understand everything in its historical
context. The anger and resentment that are coming to a head now have been
building for centuries."
"Centuries!" exclaimed Squid-boy. "Why has it taken so long for people to take action?"
I rolled my eyes. "It hasn't. Haven't y'all been listening to what I've been sayin'? This is part of an ongoing struggle. People have been fighting this fight for generations. There have been changes, victories, but there has also been regression. Every time people start to think that maybe the fight is over, that, just maybe, true equality is within sight, other people with their own agendas organize and push back against the progress that has been made. The details are always slightly different, voter ID laws instead of poll taxes and the like, but the results are ultimately the same. And those who want justice are forced to fight for it again. It's a cycle."
Want to find out what else Alyce has to say? Grab your copy at the link below. Happy reading! 😊
