i'm sorry this isn't clear to me. what's the point? did i deny that this country was racist? no. i was suggesting that you need to understand that the history of the U.S is a history in which class exploitation and racialization/racial oppression operated conjointly and in ways that systematically targeted a wide variety of groups as the targets of the kinds racial hatred and abuse that you point to. immigrant 'whites' from eastern europe were defined against western european whites as a separate race of people. furthermore, there's a significant history of eugenics campaigns against working class "whites" because they were seen as an inferior race of people. they were also the target of attempts to mark out their physical features and mental capacities as distinguishing them as inferior to western european whites. they were said to have certain kinds of face shapes, lips, head and neck size, as well as a particular gait and posture. and they had all the characteristics associated with most despised ethnicities and races in the US: laziness, drunkeness, violence, stupidity, rowdiness, irrationality, etc.
there are several sources for this information. right now i'd suggest:
annalee newitz and matt wray, White Trash
off the top of my head i can't recall titles and authors. but if anyone would like them give me a week and i'll get them. that project is on the back burner. i haven't even caught up with offlist correspondence and personal mail yet!! kelley