It is no coincidence that all three incidents, regardless of their connection to the shutdown, involve African-Americans. Decades after achieving civil rights and enjoying affirmative action, African-Americans in the US continue to be disadvantaged, suffering some of the highest unemployment and incarceration rates for minorities anywhere in the world.
In many ways, the current shutdown is part of a proxy fight between deeply conservative white lawmakers who see the Obama administration's agenda as favoring blacks and minorities versus liberal legislators trying to set right historical and contemporary imbalances. While it is commonly acknowledged that African-Americans are greatly dependent on government subsidies and dole (in the same way as India's minorities are), the small cabal of Tea Party lawmakers represent a mostly-white constituency in Middle America that resents against any government role — such as the mandatory enforcement of health insurance through Obamacare — in their life.
This is the broad background to the government shutdown that has now entered its fifth day and first weekend with no sign of resolution. The effects of the shutdown are now being felt gradually across the country. While administrative activities are starting to stall in some areas where government exercises a regulatory role, it was believed that private enterprise would not be particularly affected by the shutdown.
But stories of mishaps and hardships are now starting to trickle in from private domain. For instance, many weddings, anniversaries, and parties planned in and around national parks and monuments (which are run by the federal Department of Interior) have had to be cancelled or postponed. From Yellowstone to Yosemite, from Grand Canyon to Grand Coulee, tourism and hospitality business are taking a hit as towns whose local economies depend on it are feeling the heat of the shutdown. In fact, there are reports of some states and town defying the center to keep parks open so that the local economy is not hit.
