Keep you at the bottom but tease you with the upper crust

from Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Skylar Grey) – Words I Never Said Lyrics on Rap Genius

The “tease” being a reference to Affirmative Action policies — they get minorities in the door, but also create a stigma (cf. Stephen Carter’s Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby

This also refers to the “American Myth”, which makes people believe that if they just work hard enough, they can become wealthy. The result: poor people work, work, work and die.

“Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”

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