I was recently in New York City and observed many things that seemed to contradict the state of US social relations as depicted by the mainstream media. Watching US news media from Canada, one gets the impression that there is overwhelming racial tension in that country. As someone that is aware and critical of the divide and conquer schemes of the establishment, and as someone that does not buy into identity politics, I know that race is often used as a distraction, so I was not the least bit surprised to find Blacks and Whites and Latinos peacefully and jovially co-existing. I spent ten days in Bed Stuy Brooklyn, a gentrifying neighborhood made up of predominately Black and Latino communities with a growing influx of white residents. While gentrification creates a host of problems, not least of which is oppressive rent, with respect to “race relations” I did not witness any outward hostility or violence between the different races. And this was the same everywhere I went in Brooklyn or Manhattan as well as on planes, subways and in airports. Everywhere I looked, people of different races and ethnicities were getting along, and gasp, even helping one another out. While I am aware that there is racial tension in the US, it was not overwhelmingly apparent, at least not on the surface (and I say this as a brown person).

What was undeniably palpable, however, is something the MSM never talks about: the massive economic disparity in cities like NYC. If there is a glaring and unavoidable tension, it is between the classes not the races. Yes, “class,” that five letter word that no one in the west is willing to address. Everywhere I went in NYC, class was painfully apparent. The gap between the haves and have-nots was wide and oppressive. On the subway I saw the anguish of working class and poor people, those who are struggling just to get by. The struggle was written all over their tired and forlorn faces. And in Soho, Wall Street and—of course—Park Avenue I saw immense wealth; much of it built on the backs of those folks I saw on the subway. People who say that class does not exist in America are either blind or lying or both. So why does the media not talk about class, economic despair and economic disparity? Why is there an endless focus on  race, when the larger issue—the issue that affects the majority of people regardless of race and ethnicity—is class and increasing unemployment and underemployment.

Could race and identity politics be a distraction for the larger issues of class and economic inequality? And what about the current media focus on sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood. While these issues are very important, I can’t help but wonder: “Why now?” In the US, the media-especially the entertainment media—are part of the Hollywood ecosystem and are privy to all of its dirty little secrets. This means that the media has long known that sexual harassment is prevalent in Hollywood. So why only report on it now? Why have the media been silent on a very real and serious issue for decades only to overwhelm and bombard us with it now. Whenever the media goes full force on a story I can’t help but think that it is using that story as subterfuge and distraction from something else. What is it we are not suppose to be thinking about right now– the failed western agenda in Syria, the increasingly failed economy, increased unemployment, crippling debt, etc, etc?

It is interesting to note that while Trump got elected by exploiting every day people’s concerns and frustrations over the economy and jobs, etc. (I say exploited because he has failed to actually address any of these issues since taking office), the media refuses to address any of these issues one year into his tenure and instead focuses on race and, more recently, sexual assault in the media and entertainment world.

While sexual harassment and sexual assault are very serious issues, it is likely that the MSM have long known about sexual abuse in Hollywood—since they swim in the same professional and social sea—and chose to remain quiet. So when the media come out like a loud speaker on the issue, one has to ask: why now and what is it distracting us from?

Just some food for thought..