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[KMOD]

This message was self-deleted by its author (KMOD) on Mon Oct 19, 2015, 04:44 PM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[Skittles]

1. ignorance is not an option

you can say that again

[romanic]

3. The Bravenak mention is really random.

Just saying.

[romanic]

5. I agree mostly.

Just a select few made it about the primaries.

[Cha]

11. Talking about Bravenak is never "random" when discussing #BlackLivesMatter. Thank you for

bringing her activism into the discussion, K.

She wrote Thom Hartmann a letter and now he has called out a certain element on Democratic Underground. How not random is that?

[Admiral Loinpresser]

43. +1 n/t

[pnwmom]

7. No, it isn't random at all. And she's not the only poster from the AA forum

who has been suspended recently.

Do we really want to stifle African American voices here?

[LanternWaste]

41. That you speak of her mention and nothing else is really random.

That you speak of her mention and nothing else is really random.

Just saying, part two.

[Live and Learn]

8. Black lives do matter. Silence should never be an option.

And we still have to work through the albeit broken, system to make changes where we can. We do that by selecting the candidate that we best think will hear our message and work towards the ends we want. I like that the candidate I am supporting not only thinks speaking up is important but thinks it is absolutely necessary.

[jfern]

9. Obviously they matter regardless of your candidate

I doubt too many on this forum disagree.

[Cha]

10. Well said, K.. Mahalo! "So I say Kudo to those, like Bravenak and others, who have us thinking

about it."

Absolutely! #BlackLivesMatter.. no buts.

[Live and Learn]

12. No buts here...

Love that image and will share. Thanks.

[Cha]

13. Thank you, Live and Learn..

#BlackLivesMatter

[Cha]

47. So do I

[SunSeeker]

14. K & R

[betsuni]

15. K&R

[Skidmore]

16. Absolutely!

Black lives matter. If you claim to support civil rights, equality, and justice for all, then just don't talk about it but walk the walk. Do not claim for yourself rights that you are not willing to extend to others in all things. This discussion around these issues are is not a philosophical one and the questions are not rhetorical. People are being maimed and killed and families suffering great loss while a whole community lives in fear, including people in the DU community.

Stupid sensitivity. She wasn't targeting you, personally, she was taking the time to explain a side you are refusing to see. And it was very clear that those who refuse to see, doubled down. You know, when you stop listening, you stop learning.

Closing your mind and heart cuts both ways and those who have doubled down are doing your candidates no favor. Shutting people down because they present uncomfortable truths about our nation and, yes, about the left side of politics is not about any one candidate. Listening is a good place to begin. The struggle for these rights is larger that this political contest. Politicians come and go. Injustice and inequality have remain unaddressed and racism has been institutionalized. What is being ask of you is that you rise to meet the challenge and be part of the fight for the rights in which you claim to believe.

Black lives matter.

[Shankapotomus]

17. Oh, for Christ's sake

Yeah, Black Lives Matter...I guess.

I don't know.

You see, being a white liberal, I'm not sure.

Can you call in more screaming young activists to convince me?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

21. Now that they've started trying to protest other candidates

and the kerfuffle was dying down,

we needed someone to come along and try to stir it up again.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

39. The problem I have with your OP

Is that despite saying it's not about the candidates, the candidates get mentioned 8 times.

I agree that it's not about the candidates. Which is why I don't think they should even be mentioned in OPs about BLM anymore, unless that OP is about a protest that happens to take place at a candidate appearance, or unless the OP is about them getting together to do something.

[BumRushDaShow]

18. Big K&R

[Agschmid]

19. This.

Agan, it's not about Bernie, It's not about Hillary. It's about common sense. Black Lives Matter. Period.

[tooeyeten]

20. When do black lives matter

Think past history and we are again witnessing history like no previous time.

In the Emancipation Proclamation, black lives were supposed to matter. Before that Dred Scott intended that black lives were more than owned. Fast forward, Brown v Board of Education, in 1954, black lives mattered when it came to education and the Constitution. Still in 1960 Ruby Bridges life msttered when she needed Federal protection to attend grade school.

Then before and during the Freedom Summer, black lives mattering was a problem in some American communities, beating, lynching, shooting blacks was a regular event with no consequence to any perpetrator, while water fountains, bathrooms, lunch counters etc were segregated. Medgar Evers life didn't matter, neither did MLK's in 1968. VRA eventually signed indicating black voting rights mattered.

IMHO "black lives matter" are sounding an alarm about events with law enforcement. Even after Rodney King in 1991 seems country continues to have a problem even a blindman could see. What's different? Social media tells every event everyday that cannot be ignored, and shouldn't be. Who speaks up, takes a mic to say black lives matter will be the first to be denigrated because its uncomfortable, but is it really more uneasy than the unarmed person beaten, shot even killed? I don't know but these activists gave me a lot to ponder.

[mythology]

22. I would argue that it was her posting style that earned her those alerts and hides

I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that she attacked Bernie Sanders. She repeatedly attacks, belittles and insults those who disagree with her. Shockingly that can lead to some hides. There was a prominent white Sanders supporter who recently got off of a time out for the same reason.

Don't paint her as a victim and ignore her role in her own posts.

[Waiting For Everyman]

28. Very true.

Then when someone complains, she calls them racist. It's the same game some in HoF like to play. And I don't think it's any accident that the tactics are very similar.

It definitely has nothing to do with Bernie because she was doing the same thing way before he started running for president.

[ismnotwasm]

33. Now now

I'm an HOFer, and I don't know who you are at all

And

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. Bravo!

[brer cat]

24. This is an excellent post, KMOD.

"A bit dog yelps" was an expression I heard often from my mother and I think of it here when the inevitable barrage of threads come out because someone finds a personal insult in a posting. "She called me a white supremacist...waaah." "How dare he call Bernie a racist...alert, alert." Just sayin'

Bravenak, 1StrongBlackMan and others have spent much time and energy, away from their families and very busy lives, to come on this democratic board and speak to us about the very real experiences and fears of the AfAm population in this country, to educate us about the issues we as democrats need to address. Listen and learn, show respect for the views of others.

If you can't take the message or you are offended by the tone or their emotions, then ignore is your solution. Silencing the messenger for ALL people because YOU don't want to hear is selfish and immature. This board does not exist to support the view of just one individual or one side of an issue.

[Starry Messenger]

25. +1

[MuseRider]

26. Very well said!

BRAVA!

[mcar]

27. K&R

Well said!

[George II]

29. Good post. Thankfully I never had to ask this question:

[ismnotwasm]

44. That gets me everytime I see it

Heartbreaking

[libdem4life]

30. Black Lives Matter. Absolutely. The racial struggle has been epic.

As women, we had to go through pretty much the same process for our rights to be guaranteed...and I rest today on the enormous contribution of the early women's movement.

And someone coming up to Susan B. Anthony saying, let's work for All Rights, she would have sent them packing.

Our country formation as a white, male, patriarchial society...as were most at the time...has rebuffed but ultimately profited from the Rugged Indepence of the many cultural subsets.

But no subset has received the inhumane injustices of the AA race, starting with how they were forced into our society with literal chains. Thus, I strongly support their actions and their fledgling but growing organization.

And it did not escape my notice that the "first responders" were women...proud, Black Women. And as a Bernie supporter, I believe an important dialogue has begun.

[sheshe2]

31. Black Lives Matter. Period.

Powerful post KMOD.

Thank you.

[ismnotwasm]

32. K&R

Agree 100%

Well said!

[Dr Hobbitstein]

37. A BIG DU K&R!

This was really great, KMOD.

[In_The_Wind]

38. Kicked and recommended

[totodeinhere]

40. Maybe I missed it but I have never ever seen a comment at DU in any forum that said

black lives do not matter. If I missed it please post it so I can condemn it.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

42. We will not get police under control,

if we don't come together!

[freshwest]

45. Great essay. The Democratic Party still means something to most of us:

Barbara Charline Jordan 1976 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
delivered 12 July 1976, New York, NY

...I could list the many problems which Americans have. I could list the problems which cause people to feel cynical, angry, frustrated: problems which include lack of integrity in government; the feeling that the individual no longer counts; the reality of material and spiritual poverty; the feeling that the grand American experiment is failing or has failed. I could recite these problems, and then I could sit down and offer no solutions. But I don't choose to do that either. The citizens of America expect more. They deserve and they want more than a recital of problems.

We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are a people in search of a national community. We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present, unemployment, inflation, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America. We are attempting to fulfill our national purpose, to create and sustain a society in which all of us are equal.

Throughout -- Throughout our history, when people have looked for new ways to solve their problems and to uphold the principles of this nation, many times they have turned to political parties. They have often turned to the Democratic Party. What is it? What is it about the Democratic Party that makes it the instrument the people use when they search for ways to shape their future?

Well I believe the answer to that question lies in our concept of governing. Our concept of governing is derived from our view of people. It is a concept deeply rooted in a set of beliefs firmly etched in the national conscience of all of us.

Now what are these beliefs?

First, we believe in equality for all and privileges for none. This is a belief -- This is a belief that each American, regardless of background, has equal standing in the public forum -- all of us. Because -- Because we believe this idea so firmly, we are an inclusive rather than an exclusive party. Let everybody come.

I think it no accident that most of those immigrating to America in the 19th century identified with the Democratic Party. We are a heterogeneous party made up of Americans of diverse backgrounds. We believe that the people are the source of all governmental power; that the authority of the people is to be extended, not restricted.

This -- This can be accomplished only by providing each citizen with every opportunity to participate in the management of the government. They must have that, we believe. We believe that the government which represents the authority of all the people, not just one interest group, but all the people, has an obligation to actively -- underscore actively -- seek to remove those obstacles which would block individual achievement -- obstacles emanating from race, sex, economic condition. The government must remove them, seek to remove them. We.

We are a party -- We are a party of innovation. We do not reject our traditions, but we are willing to adapt to changing circumstances, when change we must. We are willing to suffer the discomfort of change in order to achieve a better future. We have a positive vision of the future founded on the belief that the gap between the promise and reality of America can one day be finally closed. We believe that.

This, my friends is the bedrock of our concept of governing. This is a part of the reason why Americans have turned to the Democratic Party. These are the foundations upon which a national community can be built. Let all understand that these guiding principles cannot be discarded for short-term political gains. They represent what this country is all about. They are indigenous to the American idea. And these are principles which are not negotiable.

In other times -- In other times, I could stand here and give this kind of exposition on the beliefs of the Democratic Party and that would be enough. But today that is not enough. People want more. That is not sufficient reason for the majority of the people of this country to decide to vote Democratic. We have made mistakes. We realize that. We admit our mistakes. In our haste to do all things for all people, we did not foresee the full consequences of our actions. And when the people raised their voices, we didn't hear. But our deafness was only a temporary condition, and not an irreversible condition.

Even as I stand here and admit that we have made mistakes, I still believe that as the people of America sit in judgment on each party, they will recognize that our mistakes were mistakes of the heart. They'll recognize that.

And now -- now we must look to the future. Let us heed the voice of the people and recognize their common sense. If we do not, we not only blaspheme our political heritage, we ignore the common ties that bind all Americans. Many fear the future. Many are distrustful of their leaders, and believe that their voices are never heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private work -- wants; to satisfy their private interests. But this is the great danger America faces -- that we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups: city against suburb, region against region, individual against individual; each seeking to satisfy private wants. If that happens, who then will speak for America? Who then will speak for the common good?

This is the question which must be answered in 1976: Are we to be one people bound together by common spirit, sharing in a common endeavor; or will we become a divided nation?

For all of its uncertainty, we cannot flee the future. We must not become the "New Puritans" and reject our society. We must address and master the future together. It can be done if we restore the belief that we share a sense of national community, that we share a common national endeavor. It can be done.

There is no executive order; there is no law that can require the American people to form a national community. This we must do as individuals, and if we do it as individuals, there is no President of the United States who can veto that decision.

As a first step -- As a first step, we must restore our belief in ourselves. We are a generous people, so why can't we be generous with each other? We need to take to heart the words spoken by Thomas Jefferson:

Let us restore the social intercourse -- "Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and that affection without which liberty and even life are but dreary things."

A nation is formed by the willingness of each of us to share in the responsibility for upholding the common good. A government is invigorated when each one of us is willing to participate in shaping the future of this nation. In this election year, we must define the "common good" and begin again to shape a common future. Let each person do his or her part. If one citizen is unwilling to participate, all of us are going to suffer. For the American idea, though it is shared by all of us, is realized in each one of us...

We as public servants must set an example for the rest of the nation. It is hypocritical for the public official to admonish and exhort the people to uphold the common good if we are derelict in upholding the common good.

More is required -- More is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes and press releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly accountable. We must provide the people with a vision of the future.

If we promise as public officials, we must deliver. If -- If we as public officials propose, we must produce. If we say to the American people, "It is time for you to be sacrificial" -- sacrifice. If the public official says that, we [public officials] must be the first to give. We must be. And again, if we make mistakes, we must be willing to admit them. We have to do that. What we have to do is strike a balance between the idea that government should do everything and the idea, the belief, that government ought to do nothing. Strike a balance.

Let there be no illusions about the difficulty of forming this kind of a national community. It's tough, difficult, not easy. But a spirit of harmony will survive in America only if each of us remembers that we share a common destiny; if each of us remembers, when self-interest and bitterness seem to prevail, that we share a common destiny.

I have confidence that we can form this kind of national community.

I have confidence that the Democratic Party can lead the way.

I have that confidence.

We cannot improve on the system of government handed down to us by the founders of the Republic. There is no way to improve upon that. But what we can do is to find new ways to implement that system and realize our destiny.

Now I began this speech by commenting to you on the uniqueness of a Barbara Jordan making a keynote address. Well I am going to close my speech by quoting a Republican President and I ask you that as you listen to these words of Abraham Lincoln, relate them to the concept of a national community in which every last one of us participates:

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master." This -- This -- "This expresses my idea of Democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no Democracy."

Thank you.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barbarajordan1976dnc.html

Copyright Status: Via the Democratic National Committee, this speech appears to be in the public domain. Any use of this speech, however, should show proper attribution to its author.

The emboldening in the text is my addition.

[uponit7771]

46. DU hates BLM.....................................................................too