Quote from Mississippi Burning (1988), a thirty-four year old movie musing about the motivations of racist murderers fifty-eight years ago.
…somehow people still haven't learned the lesson that those in power can easily point their finger at someone with “otherness” and blame them for the workers' current woes and the weak-hearted and scared won't question them if they feel what little they have left is threatened.
Those people will police themselves into line with what the boss wants to protect what they assume is being given as a reward, not realizing it is their right in exchange for labor.
With a little encouragement from the top they will then start policing everyone else, by inflating their pride or intimidating them, all the while thinking this will gain them favor above everyone else from the boss, totally oblivious that the people in charge never needed to reward anything when they can get everything regulated for free by willing lackeys as long as you tell them to look elsewhere for the problem.
Edit: fixed my bad math. Thank you u/oreladventur