Joe Biden Misses the Point, Political Anger Can Be Constructive

[melman]

Former Vice President Joe Biden kicked off his 2020 presidential campaign with a rally in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon. Flanking the stage were screens and a podium sign flashing the word “United.“ In a sometimes rambling speech, Biden tried to carve out space for himself as the non-divisive candidate. The good ol’ Joe who you’d want to have a beer with. The guy who was VP to President Barack Obama. The “electable” candidate who can beat Trump.

“Some say Democrats don’t want to hear about unity,” Biden told the crowd. “That they are angry, and the angrier you are, the better. That’s what they are saying you have to do to win the Democratic nomination. Well, I don’t believe it.”

Biden coming on stage and telling America to essentially calm down—as babies are still kept in literal cages at the border, as women’s rights are under assault from red state governments in a race to create the most restrictive abortion legislation to overturn Roe v. Wade, as our nation moves steadily toward autocracy—is incredibly tone deaf. Anyone who isn’t angry hasn’t been paying attention.

Whether Biden believes it or not, political anger, especially in times like these, can be constructive. Of course, it can also be destructive when mixed with hate in the way Trump has wielded it. But hateful anger is different from constructive anger.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/joe-biden-political-anger-837168/

[Tiggeroshii]

1. Agreeed

K/r

[emulatorloo]

2. I thought you were going to start writing positive posts about candidates you like

rather than digging up multiple hit pieces on good Democrats.

“Biden coming on stage and telling America to essentially calm down—as babies are still kept in literal cages at the border, as women’s rights are under assault from red state governments in a race to create the most restrictive abortion legislation to overturn Roe v. Wade, as our nation moves steadily toward autocracy—is incredibly tone deaf. Anyone who isn’t angry hasn’t been paying attention. ”

In my humble opinion that is a total mischaraterization of what Biden has been saying on the trail. Surely you heard his angry words for how Trump uplifted white supremacists in Charlotteville.

We’re here to beat Donald Trump, not destroy Democrats with facile nonsense from Harper’s Bazaar and Rolling Stone.

Of course your mileage may vary

[melman]

5. Be the change you want to see in the world

[emulatorloo]

6. Good advice. Try positivity towards Democrats. Negativity for Trump and his henchmen

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287125321#post4

[melman]

8. "Try positivity"

Good plan. I wish you luck with it.

[emulatorloo]

9. I'm not posting misleading negative articles like you are anymore. Time for unity.

These are the words we are living by on DU if we want this forum to be productive. So many undecides need positive info about the great things all our candidates stand for.



Of course YMMV

[melman]

10. Fabulous

Glad to hear it.

[emulatorloo]

11. So how about an OP about one of your favorite candidates then? Would be good for everyone

to see something like that, will help us decide.



Looking forward to your next OP!

[melman]

12. Again

Be the change you want to see in the world. Start posting wonderful uplifting threads. It will be great for everyone to see.


Lovely chatting as always. But now I am done.

Night night.

[emulatorloo]

14. Glad to hear you are done posting these odd negative articles about good Democrats!

Good night to you as well.

Here’s to Democratic unity. All our candidates believe in the same core ideas and values. They are going to lift up our country and the 99 percent.

Trump and his thugs are destroying us. It is time for us to lift up our candidates and WIN.

[Nuggets]

32. How will being negative help?

We’ll just be seen as the same crazy fools the GOP is.

The sociopaths game is to get you to react emotionally it gives them ammo to use against you.
It pushes those trying to make decisions as to whom they can trust, who has their best interests in mind away.

As Martin Luther King said:

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that..

[melman]

35. Did I say it would?

Not at all. I was encouraging the poster to try some. I think it's a fabulous plan.

[mcar]

18. That's not even close to what Biden said

The columnist apparently didn't watch the speech.

[PatSeg]

27. Yes, total characterization of what he said

"Some say Democrats don't want to hear about unity. That they are angry - and the angrier you are - the better. That's what they are saying you have to do to win the Democratic nomination. Well, I don’t believe it. I believe Democrats want to unify this nation. That’s what we’ve always been about. Unity."

"If the American people want a president to add to our division, to lead with a clenched fist, closed hand and a hard heart, to demonize the opponents and spew hatred -- they don't need me. They've got President Donald Trump. Folks, I am running to offer our country -- Democrats, Republicans and Independents -- a different path. Not to a path that never was but a future that can fulfill our potential as a country."

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/05/18/biden_some_democrats_dont_want_to_hear_about_unity_think_the_angrier_you_are_the_better.html

[ehrnst]

50. Funny how that works, isn't it?

[GeniusJoy]

3. I'm turned off by angry candidates.

I'm ready for soft kindness.

[SunSeeker]

4. I think Biden's point was we must be united against Trump, a constructive anger.

We are strongest when we are united, not angrily sniping at each other. We need to be united against Trump, not bashing our own candidates.

We are indeed united against putting babies in cages at the border, we are united against rolling back women’s rights, we are united against Trump's march to autocracy. We should be focusing on what unites us.

[emulatorloo]

7. Yes the article imho misrepresented what Biden said. Author missed the point.

[aikoaiko]

44. He does both. He starts with the nomination, but then talks about the nation and the presidency.

Biden blurred the ideas.

[ucrdem]

13. Anger worked so well last time.

[Demsrule86]

15. Not what he said.

[nolabear]

16. OFFS. He didn't say don't be angry at the atrocities.

He said letting 45 and his ilk drive us to hate and rage at one another destroys our ability to DO anything about them, as dictators do. Didn’t anybody listen?

[emulatorloo]

20. Apparently not Rolling Stone writers who want to mislead and tear Democrats down

Author appears to have his “narrative” and isn’t willing to honestly report.

[RelativelyJones]

17. Cheap shot, distorted article. There's will be plenty more.

[emulatorloo]

19. Please self-delete. So many replies note that the article distorts and misleads

by twisting Biden’s words into the opposite of what he meant.

I doubt you want such disinformation to stand here on DU.

Please self delete.

[MineralMan]

21. That's not an accurate representation of Biden's remarks.

Not at all. I'm betting you didn't watch it, either.

You'd do better by extolling the virtues of your favorite candidate, instead of focusing on false representations of the candidate who is leading strongly in the polls.

I suppose you know that, but choose to ignore it. Oh, well...

[NYMinute]

22. Anger makes the angry person vulnerable

and despised by a vast majority of the people.

Sort of like a guy in a restaurant yelling at a waitress while other patrons roll their eyes or get involved to eject said angry man.

Anger is destructive in the end … even if the angry person can vent.

[LibFarmer]

23. I don't think this OP will help Bernie Sanders.

But I'm happy that posting it made you feel all better.

[melman]

24. Did someone say it was supposed to?

[LibFarmer]

25. Human behavior is goal-directed

No one lifts a finger unless there is some psychological or material gain.

[melman]

26. lol

okay whatever you say. But now that we've got my goal sorted..what's yours?

[emulatorloo]

28. Mine's to not shit on Democrats who are doing better in the polls than I might want them to be doing

[melman]

29. Interesting

[emulatorloo]

30. I think most of here are on the same page.

We’re here to learn about the candidates and unify.

Misleading articles have no place here so I am not going to post or promote such articles.

All of us are going to get behind the eventual nominee. Tearing down our primary candidates with scorched-earth campaigning isn’t at all necessary. It is divisive.

Let’s reserve our “shitting on” for Trump, because Trump the one destroying us.

You are a great poster who is obviously very passionate about the direction of our country. Looking forward to your future posts.

[melman]

33. Yeah

Sounds great.

[emulatorloo]

36. It does! Glad we're both on board

I think the majority of DU’ers feel the same way.

[melman]

39. You know what I'm not on board with?

Editing posts after they've been responded to. It gives readers an inaccurate view of the exchange.

[emulatorloo]

41. No meaning was changed. I was trained as a writer, if I can use a better word to clarify

what I meant then I will do so.

I edited for clarity of my own thoughts.

That’s why DU gave us the edit function.

And as you know DU keeps an archive copy of each edit, so all edits are easily accessible to all DU members as they read through a thread

I didn’t change the core meaning of my post, nor do I ever.

Again best regards to you and looking forward to reading your threads in the future

[KPN]

34. For the sake of argument only, Biden might do well to take that same advice don't you think? Be

realistic here. He said what he said and it was poorly articulated; we know that because it's gotten so much adverse attention from so many of the people on his side. There is absolutely nothing wrong with people commenting on something that someone else said in a campaign speech that gives them serious pause. Even Joe Biden needs to hear that.

[emulatorloo]

37. Good idea. Maybe contact his campaign. I am trying to find a way to give feedback to several

of the candidates!

[KPN]

38. Another good idea. I will.

[KPN]

31. I don't think so either. But Biden didn't help Biden saying this yesterday either. The opinion

article is dead on. It was tone deaf on his part. The use of the word "some" actually sounded like a covert attack on Democrats to "some". Human behavior is goal directed. Get it?

[Autumn]

40. Excellent article and so right on point. I'm past angry at his fucking friends on the other side.

I don't see him telling us to essentially calm down as being tone deaf. I see that as holding on to his comfortable way of doing things with a party and people that he doesn't seem to realize longer exist. How can he ignore what they have done for the last 10 years?

Biden coming on stage and telling America to essentially calm down—as babies are still kept in literal cages at the border, as women’s rights are under assault from red state governments in a race to create the most restrictive abortion legislation to overturn Roe v. Wade, as our nation moves steadily toward autocracy—is incredibly tone deaf. Anyone who isn’t angry hasn’t been paying attention.

We've seen how well anything that they are willing to work with Dems on works out. Great for them, sucks to be us.

[emulatorloo]

42. ...

Link to tweet

[Autumn]

43. Is Nate Silver Biden's Huckabee? Biden knows how to articulate and give speeches. If

Biden wanted to say he doesn't think anger is a good strategy to win the nomination and the general election, he would have said just that. I'm sorry, Biden doesn't need an interpreter.

[emulatorloo]

48. I posted the tweet as a counter opinion to your opinion and the writer of Melman's article

Nothing more, nothing less. Just to note that there is more than one point of view on Biden’s speech.

I do agree our candidates should speak for themselves! So far I think Biden has done well clarifying stuff that’s been misinterpreted, with the help of a good staff.

Whoever the eventual nominee is will have to be good at that. Because as we know the MSM will be hypercritical and nitpick our Presidential candidate while giving Trump a free pass on everything.

Finally, agreeing again on “interpreters.” There were a lot of “interpreters” last time out saying things like “What Candidate X Really Meant To Say”. It gets old, doesn’t it?

Hope you are doing/feeling good, a string of bad days here but always optimistic.

[Autumn]

49. I'm doing good. Bad days always pass

and I hope you are feeling better soon. I like to decide on my own with no spin what a candidate says. I get really pissed when they keep them on screen and the mouths on TV decide to tell you the short 30 second sound bite of a 6-minute speech.

[emulatorloo]

51. Thanks for the good wishes

I have some fun plans for tonight, but may have to cancel them. That just feels like surrender though and makes me sad.

I did get my doctor to refer me to a neurologist though when I saw him on Friday. Will probably not get in to see the neurologist for another month. But it is good!

Also visiting Colorado right now, so I was able to get some CBD/THC capsules today. Those might help w the pain, will try one tonight.

Yes my tolerance for talking heads is very low right now. I can’t remember if I told you I was interviewed by a Buzzfeed reporter at the Biden rally I went to, and talked to another reporter after Biden spoke. They both had their pre-planned narratives that were dumb.

One seemed to think Iowa Democratic caucus goers would be ‘offended’ that Biden was calling out Trump for Trump’s response to Charlotteville. I let him know that Iowa Democrats are left liberals and progressives who are horrified about Trump’s support of White Supremacists.

The other tried to “Hillary” Biden by claiming Biden’s speech was “low energy”. Biden’s speech was full of energy and everyone was fired up, crying tears of joy and excitement about Democrats taking the White House.

I was nice about it, but I told him that he didn’t read the room at all. And that if he thought Democrats were going to let the press repeat Trump “low-energy” talking points about our candidates, he was in for a big surprise.

[Skya Rhen]

47. Disqualifying: Bernie thinks Senator Inhofe (R) a climate-change denier is a decent guy and a friend

“Jim is a climate-change denier. He is really, really conservative, but you know what, he is a decent guy and I like him, and he and I are friends,” Sanders told CNN’s Jake Tapper.


The above quote is found in parapgraph #10, in the article...

https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-bernie-sanders-loves-the-most-conservative-man-in-the-senate?ref=scroll

[BannonsLiver]

45. A lot of feelers were hurt over those comments, apparently.

Walk it off. Rub some dirt on it. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

[melman]

46. Thank you for your thoughtful contribution

Much appreciated.

[LanternWaste]

52. Yeah... it's not like Biden's "hanging out on street corners."