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2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: What Black Lives Matter Gets Wrong About Bernie Sanders - Reuters [View all]Number23
(24,544 posts)64. You really should post that as an OP here or in AA
The 8 Bernie supporters that haven't put you on ignore by now could really learn alot from this woman's very real, very relevant and very powerful retelling
http://www.eclectablog.com/2015/07/guest-post-a-perspective-of-the-netroots-nation-blacklivesmatter-protest-from-a-person-of-color.html
As I was contemplating my decision, I overheard an older white man say, These people are animals, why dont they go back to Baltimore? And, as I looked around, most people looked annoyed. In that moment, I decided to stand there, chant, clap and sing along. I knew that by standing there, the folks around me would have to sit in their discomfort knowing that I was watching.
And keep in mind, this was at NETROOTS NATION, not a Tea Party rally. I'm willing to bet everything in my pocket the man who called those protestors -- who at the time were only SINGING -- "animals" was a card carrying Dem and probably one of them "liberals" to boot.
I was disappointed when Martin OMalley said white lives matter. It was completely tone-deaf. I was even more disappointed that Bernie Sanders answer to structural racism was about the Affordable Care Act, raising the minimum wage, and free college.
Sandra Bland had just gotten her dream job, she had a college education, and she was the member of a prestigious sorority. But none of that was enough to save her life. I was disappointed that Sanders did not understand that income inequality is the symptom, but racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia are the disease, and when those intersect, the consequences can be fatal. If you arent prepared to address that, you arent prepared to be President of the United States.
...After the protest, random people walked up to me to ask what I thought. When I told them I was disappointed in the candidates responses, they would tell me that Bernie marched with Martin Luther King. When I told them that wasnt relevant, they would tell me that he marched with Farrakhan. When I said that wasnt enough, they would tell me he wanted free college. As the conversations would go on, their voices would get louder, their fingers would start pointing, and I would get frustrated, end the conversation, and walk away. I tried to engage with many people, until one guy cornered me at the Netroots Nation after-party, put his hands on my shoulders, and told me that the protestors had no class and that Bernie Sanders deserves our respect for 50 years of fighting for civil rights. I stopped engaging at that point. I no longer felt safe in a progressive space.
Sandra Bland had just gotten her dream job, she had a college education, and she was the member of a prestigious sorority. But none of that was enough to save her life. I was disappointed that Sanders did not understand that income inequality is the symptom, but racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia are the disease, and when those intersect, the consequences can be fatal. If you arent prepared to address that, you arent prepared to be President of the United States.
...After the protest, random people walked up to me to ask what I thought. When I told them I was disappointed in the candidates responses, they would tell me that Bernie marched with Martin Luther King. When I told them that wasnt relevant, they would tell me that he marched with Farrakhan. When I said that wasnt enough, they would tell me he wanted free college. As the conversations would go on, their voices would get louder, their fingers would start pointing, and I would get frustrated, end the conversation, and walk away. I tried to engage with many people, until one guy cornered me at the Netroots Nation after-party, put his hands on my shoulders, and told me that the protestors had no class and that Bernie Sanders deserves our respect for 50 years of fighting for civil rights. I stopped engaging at that point. I no longer felt safe in a progressive space.
Thank you for posting that.
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they were emotional over what happened with Sandra Bland, this wasn't some timed formal debate
JI7
Jul 2015
#36
The only reason - the ONLY FUCKING REASON - it "does not bring unity" is because
scarletwoman
Jul 2015
#39
The cops just LOVE this stupid shit. Plays right into their hands. Nobody sees it.
7962
Jul 2015
#60
Did you ever stop and think that "the black people" that you "know in the real world"
MADem
Jul 2015
#93
Like I said--there's nothing to rebut re: blm. That is their truth and they want
MADem
Jul 2015
#105
You wanted your say, though, and framed their cry for help as half of a conversation.
MADem
Jul 2015
#109
I am telling you how I am perceiving what you say, and I've said nothing to even
MADem
Jul 2015
#120
i was right when i said a lot of that outrage had little to do with Sanders himself
JI7
Jul 2015
#23
Only wrong in one thing - "racism is not quite as overt". I am 73 years old and do not think I have
jwirr
Jul 2015
#58
"The idea, presumably, was to get him to address questions of racism alone, particularly ..."
GoneFishin
Jul 2015
#10
in a coordinate plane I understand orthogonal to be more perpendicular than parallel
HereSince1628
Jul 2015
#33
Why are they taking it personally? Because nothing is as fiercely defended as one's blind spot. nt
scarletwoman
Jul 2015
#43
My blind spot are my mixed race family. AA, Native American, Latino, Asian and white. And when
jwirr
Jul 2015
#61
Not biased ... racist. Most people will readily admit they have biases. n/t
1StrongBlackMan
Jul 2015
#53
I understand ... You were trying to avoid the use of the term racist/racism ...
1StrongBlackMan
Jul 2015
#91
Why can't we eliminate racism without changing our economic system? n/t
1StrongBlackMan
Jul 2015
#55
Everything intersects: racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, transphobia, and classism
DemocraticWing
Jul 2015
#74
Because the origin of racism in this country is an economic system in which men and women were OWNED
Romulox
Jul 2015
#80
so how does that explain Sandra Bland and the Pool kids and the RAcist cops ? the cops are not rich
JI7
Jul 2015
#82
They draw their salaries from "it"--they enforce the economic status quo with deadly force. nt
Romulox
Jul 2015
#87
I agree that racism was the dehumanizing tool used to further the slave enterprise
1StrongBlackMan
Jul 2015
#90
American slavery was the commodification of racism--it's purest form. "Otherism" isn't the same thing. nt
Romulox
Jul 2015
#92
Because it is built on racism, exploitation, and predatory behavior and if you extract
TheKentuckian
Jul 2015
#124
Somehow I think they're tired of the bullshit memo that he marched with MLK...
Historic NY
Jul 2015
#57