Bernie Sanders, a socialist senator from Vermont, is running for US president. The election is 13 months away. But to run in that election with a chance of winning, he first has to win the Democratic Party’s nomination. He does that by winning the most delegates in state primaries and caucuses.
The first four states:
- February 1st 2016: Iowa
- February 9th 2016: New Hampshire
- February 20th 2016: Nevada
- February 27th 2016: South Carolina
He stands a good chance of winning Iowa and New Hampshire, but not South Carolina: he currently polls at 7% of the Black vote to Hillary Clinton’s 84%. Most Democratic voters in South Carolina are Black.
Nationwide, about 22% of Democratic voters are Black. If Hillary Clinton can hold on to 84% of that, she gets an 18-point advantage. Sanders is unlikely to make up for that with White voters.
As a young man back in the 1960s, Sanders joined CORE, part of the Civil Rights Movement. He was arrested while protesting against racially segregated public schools in Chicago. He was at the March on Washington in 1963.
But since 1991 he has represented Vermont in Congress. Vermont is one of the Whitest states in the nation, as White as the country as a whole was back in – the 1680s.
In 2015, running for president, he has been drawing huge crowds, bigger than anyone else’s. But they are lily White. Like he was a Republican or something.
In April 2015, on the day after the Baltimore riots over the police killing of Freddie Gray, Sanders gave a speech at Howard University. Howard is the top Black university in the nation, not all that far from Baltimore. During his speech Sanders said nothing about racism.
In July 2015, he appeared at Netroots Nation, a left-wing gathering. When protesters asked what he going to do about racism, he said:
“We’re going to transform the economics in America so that we create millions of decent-paying jobs. We’re going to make tuition at public colleges free.”
A woman in the crowd:
“Jobs and college don’t stop the police from killing me!”
He pointed to his civil rights record – from the 1960s.
In August 2015, one of his events in Seattle was taken over by Black Lives Matter protesters Marissa Johnson and Mara Willaford, again challenging him on the issue of racism. He said nothing. A few days later, at long last, he put up his Racial Justice policies on his website. But they were mostly about – class.
In October 2015 at the Democratic Party debate he said “Black lives matter”, but spoke about racism for only one minute, adding the need for criminal justice reform to the need for jobs and education.
Former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, who is openly gay:
“The groups of people who have the most at stake – African Americans, Hispanics, LGBT – are much for serious for Hillary. They have got to be serious. White liberals get a psychic income for supporting Bernie Sanders, but they won’t suffer much if a Republican becomes president.”
– Abagond, 2015.
See also:
- Bernie Sanders
- The White Liberal Guide to Black People
- Freddie Gray
- Black Lives Matter
- “It’s not race, it’s class”
- Hillary Clinton – from 2007. I will hopefully be doing a post on her for 2016.
- racial decade
542
I like that he’s more class-conscious than most (all?) other candidates, which is a good thing. But if he ignores black votes he cannot win. I don’t like Hillary but my opinion hardly matters here. (Though US politics influence the whole world and can have grave consequences to the rest of the world but I doubt anything will change in the foreign policy, which is the only thing I should be interested in).
I wish all Americans good luck on this, though. Sincerely.
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I thought Bernie Sanders acknowledged institutional racism during the debate, and mentioned something about reforming it. Also, just making sure I understand what Barney Frank said. He said that voting for Bernie is a long shot, because he probably won’t win a general election. And Blacks, Hispanics, and LGBT, have to much to lose if a Republican gets elected?
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Abagond, do you prefer Bernie or Hillary at this point?
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Abagond, what may be the reason that Bernie doesn’t talk about race?
Is he afraid of his audience? Is he secretly racist? Or does he really think, that race issues are class issues after all?
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@Wogo, could it be that white liberals are so paranoid about using the r-word in a colour blind world that they risk losing their white liberal support base if they focus too much on race?
Even Obama avoided focusing on race.
White liberals desperately wish that race problems are past tense and that lingering problems (eg, class discrepancies and lack of educational and economic opportunities) from the nation’s racist past can be fixed by other means.
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I highly dislike Hillary Clinton. She is the epitome of a politician. Nothing about her is genuine, all she cares about is money and votes. Not to mention, she is a warhawk who is unrepentant in her support for the state of Israel.
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Not all Blacks are poor and uneducated.
But a higher percentage of this poor, minority, young and undereducated group does not even bother to vote.
Trying to appeal to this less affluent demographic is a waste of time for politicians.
Back in 2007, Michelle Obama stated that ‘…Blacks don’t get it…’, in response to many Blacks not supporting her husband at the time. She blamed this lack of support from many Blacks on a Black inferiority complex.
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@LOM
Shut the f**** up! What you, like Bernie and every other politician, don’t get is what black people want or need to begin with. You impose the what is best for us attitude like a true racist as if we can not discern our best interest.
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@uglyblackjohn
According to the Pew Research Center, the voter participation rate for black people is higher than Hispanics and Asians and not too far behind whites.
In 2004 for instance (when there was no prospect of a black president), young black voters (18-29 yrs old) had a participation rate of 49.5% vs 52.3% for young white voters.
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/04/30/voter-turnout-rates/
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@ The Pragmatist – I didn’t mean that Blacks don’t vote (obviously they do).
Pew also states that of those who don’t bother to vote, most are: minority, young, poor and less educated.
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According to LOM:
[Blockquote]What black voters need to realize… is that a vote for Bernie is a vote for their interests. [/Blockquote]
Because:
[Blockquote]If he is elected, then poor people won’t have to pay anything for healthcare, they can get a free education… and the elitists responsible for voter ID laws aimed against poor people would be politically crippled. [/Blockquote]
#1: https://abagond.wordpress.com/2010/10/15/its-not-race-its-class/
#2: It may in fact be true that POC account for a disproportionate number of poor Americans. It may also be true that the free healthcare and free education that you’ve mentioned will benefit poor Americans. However, what YOU need to realize, is that being a healthy person with a college degree doesn’t change the fact you’re poor. For that to change, it needs to be coupled with increased opportunities for success. Plenty has been said about those opportunities and the privilege necessary to receive them. Bernie, like so many well-meaning people, has only proposed a portion of the solution. Unfortunately, in the absence of REAL change in race relations, free education and healthcare amounts to nothing more than paternalistic racism. So, something more is necessary and I think that’s the point being made by those speaking out against Bernie Sanders’ “Racial Justice” policies.
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@Lord of Mirkwood
Just because I do not bow down and favor yours or Bernie’s paternalistic nature does not mean I am some sort of reactionary. It just means I can call your bs for what it is. At any rate my response makes no change to “working people” because the issue here is “black people” (nice try and trying to goalpost shift). The votes your precious Bernie can not seem to get. If he carries any of your mind set then it is no need to wonder why.
If anything your paternalistic need to think you know what is best for black people hurts them more than helps them. Telling them what is good for them is not going to get them votes.
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Even if you dislike Hillary or if she makes your skin crawl and feel she is disingenuous, well I’m sorry but if you don’t want black folks to suffer even more then you should vote for her because the democrats, for all their faults and incompetence, will do a better job in protecting your interests and most importantly not flat out denying that there is a systematic racism in law enforcement etc. The democrats will not capitalize on the voters’ racism to win votes, just the opposite. So if you abstain, or vote for a vanity 3rd party candidate with no chance to win (ref:Nader in 2000), then the republicans will win and the “I hate Hillary” or “They’re all the same anyway” reasons will ring a little hollow in retrospect.
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“Former New York Congressman Barney Frank, who is openly gay:
“The groups of people who have the most at stake – African Americans, Hispanics, LGBT – are much for serious for Hillary. They have got to be serious. White liberals get a psychic income for supporting Bernie Sanders, but they won’t suffer much if a Republican becomes president.””
Self serving bs, what he really means is that the lobbyists for these groups will feel the chill of lack of access to those in power. The American political system was designed by geniuses who knew how to wield power. Keep the slobs at each others throat.
“The poor people of towns like Beattyville, Kentucky, have it ten times worse than John McWhorter, Oprah Winfrey, or Mariah Carey.”
True, now go and convince them that they should make common cause with people in poor black neighborhoods instead of spending all your time telling people who are immune to your charms how charming you are.
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@UBJ
Ok.. i was confused as to what you meant exactly. Sorry
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@Lord of Mirkwood
“If Bernie carries any of my mindset, then he is ten times the leftist you are, because he is willing to form broader coalitions of all the American people.”—I don’t remember stating what my political affiliation is, so the guessing game you play mixed with goalpost shifting does nothing to change the fact that his and your paternalistic mindset ain’t helping black folks and has never helped black folks. I hear you talk of what he will do, but I have yet to hear the conversation he had with black people about what they want or need.
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@Phil
If a Clinton track record is anything like her husband before her then…No she does not have our best interest at heart anymore than he did. Nice words….yes….action….no. That is the problem. Voting the lesser of the two evils based on sugar coated words alone. Only to be rocking the same ole same ole.
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@Phil
I’m liberal and I’d honestly rather vote for Trump over Clinton.
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I’m voting for the wife of the first black president.
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“Jobs and college don’t stop the police from killing me” Real Talk.
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I still have no clue why blacks are so loyal to the Clintons. Not a clue.
But it’s exactly why Democrats take the black voting block for granted.
@The Pragmatist
Right, at least Trump’s not accepting donations from big corporations and unions and no one can call Trump fake.
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@LOM
“Oh, I see.”–No, you don’t see. Which is primarily what people have been telling you since you got here.
“Maybe you’re a right-winger who’s really into identity politics?”–Nope. You are no better than the conservatives who throw out leftist when someone points out their flaw. News flash….you are more worried about my identity than I am. Want to know why? Because you think painting me as your boogeyman will discredit what I said about you and Bernie. It won’t. The parlor trick to ignoring black issue and side tracking the fact that you are is to claim the opponent is a right winger then scream and class.
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So Bernie’s job creation is to spend a trillion dollars an infastructure. That would create jobs short term but doesn’t solve the problem on why America no longer manufactures things. He can attempt to nullify “free trade” agreements but that won’t go anywhere in the house/senate.
The money Bernie will raise will come from Unions which like corporations have lobbiests that push and protect those kinds off jobs. That protectionism is just another form of crony capitalsim. Unions like the police and prison guards will make sure their won’t be any prison or judicial reform. That said if you Google “Bureau of Labor statistics” you’ll see that their are more union memebers who are black then white, so in a indirect way union support would help Black workers.
I’m pessimistic when it comes to presidential elections. It doesn’t matter which party is in office nothing will change. Local elections are more important.
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@LOM
“To sidetrack the fact that I am…what exactly?”—Reread the sentence and you will have your answer.
“What does that even mean?”–Go to a lab. Steal the brain of someone smarter than you. Have them swap it out with the one you have now, then reread the sentence.
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@Michael Barker
That’s a good point, and it echoes Canada’s new Liberal PM’s economic plan of increased spending on infrastructure, without any real plan for dealing with the underlying problems with the labour market.
As to your pessimism, while you’re right that there’s little substantive differences with respect to who’s elected as President, there really is a difference in terms of how they enforce laws and how resources are allocated.
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Abagond, can you explain how talking about class is inappropriate for racial justice? African-Americans are disproportionately unemployed, impoverished, and the economic justice needed for low-income people of color is something that helps all working class and poor people. We’re the people who organized the March on Washington class reductionist for making it about jobs AND freedom?
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@Lord of Mirkwood
” This has extremely poor grammatical structure, and grammar really does matter, because I actually can’t understand what you’re trying to say. “—Throw some commas in there and the sentence still is not as hard to understand as you want to try to make it.
Let us do a break down:
“The parlor trick to ignoring black issue and side tracking the fact that you are.”—In short what you are doing is the old parlor trick that many like you use to ignore black issue, while side tracking the fact that you are.
“is to claim the opponent is a right winger then scream and class.”—This is the tactic that you use to do it. Claim the opponent is a right winger or for conservative…leftist, then scream about class. The last section is a typo, but even as such it was not that hard to figure it out.
“Was I in the ballpark?”—Nope. Your correction makes no darn sense. LOL
“By the way, I have an IQ of 157.”—Obviously not, because the first debate tactic you run too is “but he did it too.” ” right-winger” or some other childish banter. When it is not that you try deflection, which would work if you were in a room full of people who did not know better. Bottom line is you are more concerned with blacks backing Bernie than you are about what is good for blacks. You have not interest in what is good for them and when confronted with that you quickly jump on the “but it is good for the working class” train. Even when faced in here with black people talking about our wants and needs, you don’t listen. So if you are an advocate of Bernie, I am going to use your post as an example of what kind of liberal racist bs people will get by voting for him.
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@Lord of Mirkwood
Another deflective comment that serves no purpose?
“So, a competition, then! Let’s see what you get.”—For? I don’t need a computerized machine to tell me what is obvious from your comments. Winner or loser does not change the obvious fact here. You have no clue.
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@ LoM – I’m pretty sure you’re getting off topic a bit with IQ tests.
But an online test?
Dude, those tests are given when you’re young – usually Wechsler or Mensa, which are supervised.
(And at 157 you’d ‘smarter’ than most certified geniuses and Nobel laureates.)
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@Uglyblackjohn
He will pull out body measurements if it will help him avoid discussing real issues with black people or any critique to his precious Bernie.
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Did he really used an online IQ test as an argument?
Ok, say we all scored 180. Now what? WTF logic is this and what does it have to do with Bernie Sanders and this topic?
Not to mention that an IQ argument is classist as f.ck. It’s ironic to use that argument in a Bernie thread, of all places.
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Re: class and race. I think Americans sometimes like to pretend that class doesn’t exist as a concept/problem in the US. But I can see numerous examples that it does. Perhaps not as much as it does in Europe (or perhaps not in the same way), but it’s there.
The trick is that it’s often merged with racism or clouded by racist attitudes.
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@ Mira – Your last sentence says it all.
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@Lord of Mirkwood
Do you hear voices and see things that are not there regularly?
“No, I will not pull out body measurements in order to prove a political point.”—That is not what I said. This is what I said: “He will pull out body measurements if it will help him avoid discussing real issues with black people or any critique to his precious Bernie.” Notice how it has nothing to do with a political point.
“The IQ test was extremely relevant because you brought up the issue of my intelligence first – remember when you said something about taking someone else’s brain and swapping it for mine?”—That does not make the IQ test relevant. It just makes it another post were you need to hide your inadequacies. You made it very clear that you had no clue, so I made a suggestion.
“I’m starting to think Abagond selectively enforces ad hominem rules, because I’ve never attacked you like that and yet I get slammed for my political views ALL. THE. TIME.”—You have selective reading. While I may have told you to shut up, I made it clear on why I disagreed with you. Your response :”Way to be an ass! It is reactionaries like you who impede the struggles of the working people.” Which by the way can be considered an ad hominem if you take into account this is more about me and less about what I said. Which can be found here: https://abagond.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/bernie-sanders-and-black-voters/#comment-297756
“As for what is good for them, what is good for them is what is good for everybody who has been oppressed by the oligarchy in this country.”—How? Is everyone getting gunned down by cops in the street? Are the “Oligarchy in this country doing this to them because I don’t think cops make have enough money or power to be part of the Oligarchy.
“creating jobs to lift people out of poverty, and of course the things I mentioned above about free healthcare and public college tuition.”—So a new job and opportunities are going to magically make racism disappear? Can you explain that to upperclass blacks who stand chance of getting shot because they are blacks regardless of a nice education, Job, good healthcare, etc. In short, No you can not because you over look the fact that all of that is great, but will not remove, reduce, or eliminate racism. Acting like it does not exist does not and has not fixed a problem. It has allowed Democrat after Democrat to promise change that only puts a band-aid on the problem. Meanwhile leaving blacks in the same or worse situations.
“Of course, it might take your inner Southerner a little while to adjust to these facts”—Don’t confuse what you think I know and believe with what I actually think and believe. Besides i see a bunch of opinions about what you think will work with a historical event thrown in. That one example does not make all you say fact. It just makes a nice illusion. 🙂
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@Sharinalr, you’re right on target when responding to LOM on all occasions.
White folks always purport to have the answers for black folks, especially when it comes to voting. They respond with the same old tired, regurgitated phrases that usually emanate from DemoRats and Rethugnicans alike.
Rethugnicans say: Vote for us and we’ll create more jobs and reform the criminal justice system.
DemoRats say: Vote for us and we’ll create more jobs and reform the criminal justice system.
Mean while, racism runs rampant throughout this demonic driven country. Mass incarceration continues to rise for people of color, blacks in particular. Poverty rate amongst blacks was at 47% in 1940, 17% in 1980 and its still 40% in 2015. And unarmed black young men are still more likely to die at the hands of a rabid, killer cop more than any other race.
When will blacks as a whole, realize that voting is meaningless unless your social demands are met after the voting is completed and quit allowing promises made by politicians to be dismissively placed on the back burner until the voting terms comes around again?
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@Lord of Mirkwood
“Umm, no. You made a comment about my intelligence, so it is completely relevant to offer refuting evidence.”—This is what I said “Go to a lab. Steal the brain of someone smarter than you. Have them swap it out with the one you have now, then reread the sentence.” in response to you asking what a statement I made meant. If we look at the definition of a suggestion then we have “an idea or plan put forward for consideration(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/suggestion). So umm yeah. I do hope you realize there is a difference between smart and intelligent (http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-smart-and-intelligent/). Not to mention saying you have an iq and not providing proof (other than to the contrary) that you have it is not really evidence.
“OK, maybe I was a little intemperate in the comment about you being a reactionary. Actually, not really, since I believe it to be true. More on why is below.”—You are that way about any comment that challenges the foolishness that comes out of your mouth. I have to actually wonder if you know what an reactionary is and if you realize that the question that I asked does not make me one. You seem to pick words without a clear idea of when or how to apply them. The link you presented is a blog with no supporting evidence that shows that poor whites are getting or experiencing the same level of police killings as blacks. Statistically blacks are still more likely to meet death in this manner.
“Please tell me you’re not unaware of the fact that policing has historically been used by the elites and governments (whether of nations, states, or localities) to reinforce their power.”—Sure they have been used to enforce power, but you seem to be unaware that a few officers have come forth stating how they were taught by superiors in the force to target blacks and other minorities. If I am not mistaken, the officer abagond did a post on said he did the things he did because he enjoyed it. Not because the Oligarchy told him to. You seem to believe these people lack free agency.
“You refuse to see what is put right in front of your face.” —What you mean is I refuse to see what you think is good for me, because as a black person I have no idea what is in my best interest.
” I could be wrong, but this is just what I am seeing based on months of commenting.”—You would be wrong. I have stated several times I do not support either party. So you managed to provided proof that you see things that are not their.
“Your virulent opposition to Bernie aligns you, unfortunately, with the Republicans…”—Ummm no. This whole paragraph is one big fallacy orgy. Just because I don’t support Bernie does not mean I have hitched myself to some Republican band wagon and I wave the confederate flag. WRiting up your fantasy of me does not discredit or change what I said. Bernie has not shown a care or interest in black issues. You do not care about black people or black issues. Your scream for black support of Bernie is of your own interest and have no bearing in what is actually for the benefit of black people. AS a black person I care more about my people and them not getting suckered into supporting a man who will not support them.
You can flood the chat with Union mockery or southern mockery. I don’t care, because it all is just a deflection to remove attention from the fact that you have no clue or care for black people beyond what you can use them for.
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@blakksage
Thank you and you are on point. I am all for jobs, better education, and healthcare but what does all that mean for me when I have to worry if my son is safe to walk down the street. Young black men and women are losing their lives just for being black and we are expected to vote for political actors who care nothing about us.
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“When will blacks as a whole, realize that voting is meaningless unless your social demands are met after the voting is completed and quit allowing promises made by politicians to be dismissively placed on the back burner until the voting terms comes around again?”
@Blakksage
lol
I’m amazed that many of us still believe in that __ voting = change, process!
Especially on the national level.
Hillary is likely the biggest crook of all the crooks in this (s)election, and look at which large voting bloc is supporting her. smh
One opinion I’ve seen elsewhere is this:
Blacks are the only ethnic group that don’t routinely/regularly gather and give large lump sums of money to politicians in Washington. Money talks. Makes some stuff get done… and this is why nothing much is happening for us in the political lobbying process. You gotta pay to play. Or play to get paid. Look at how Amerika really works! At least we’re not supporting the Beast financially.
Of course the other side of that same coin is when other people’s money gets messed with, change occurs… hot summer big city riots during the sixties come to mind.
Think about who the most politically powerful lobbies in Washington are.
And then think about who the least powerful people (by their lack of monetary involvement in the process) are!
Its always been about the MONEY.
The original Black Panthers or Malcolm’s NOI never had a chance against the money…
Nonetheless, like you, I know a change is coming. A Supernatural change!
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@jefe,
Your comment hit the nail on the head.
@lom,
You’re trying too hard to be convincing.
@agabond,
“Picking a politician to vote for is like picking which STD is best for you.”
——Internet meme
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@ Mira
LMAO.
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@ Lord of Mirkwood
1. Your online IQ test must not be very good. My IQ is considerably lower than that, yet I understood what Sharina said.
2. On this thread, you are repeating the very mistakes pointed out in the post, making the very same sort of tone-deaf statements. And, like many White supporters of Sanders, you come off with more White paternalism than he does, hurting his cause, not helping it.
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@ WoGo
I think it is far worse than pandering or doctrinaire class analysis. From what I can tell, he seems to have no empathy for Black people. To him, Black people are at maybe the level of Canadian geese: it would be a shame to see them get hurt or killed unnecessarily, but if they do, so what, he is not going to lose any sleep over it. It is hardly a crying injustice.
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@ Paige
If the election were held today between Sanders and Clinton, I would vote for Sanders. Clinton represents the status quo. Sanders less so.
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@ talibmensah
There is nothing wrong with talking about class or helping Blacks by helping the poor. But if that is ALL you talk about or do, then it leaves racism untouched. “Providing more jobs” will certainly help Black people, but on its own it is unlikely to do much to change the fact that the Black unemployment rate, in good times and in bad, is about double the White rate. A class analysis, on its own, has no way of dealing with that.
In the case of the March on Washington, it was about more than just jobs, the Sanderesque part. It was also about the Civil Rights Bill, which would and did help to overturn much of Jim Crow.
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@ Benjamin
As far as I know, this is everything Sanders said about racism in the debate last week:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3mvbxeA1UA)
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Hillary represents the same things her husband represented – establishment Democrat, constantly triangulating for comfortably centralist positions on critical issues, more than willing to be militarily hawkish and “tough on crime” when need be. Even with The Donald around, I get the feeling that the DNC assumes the GOP candidates are all weak and, with any luck, will end up getting steamrolled by Team Hillary. At least that’s my take on things.
And once again, the white electorate has to decide what’s best for the black electorate, because the blacks simply don’t know any better.
And when your candidate inevitably loses, you can comfortably blame the blacks for not being on board and wonder to yourself whether you really need them in the first place.
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I’ve noticed you’re using online IQ testing to bolster the validity and authority of your arguments. That’s not a good look.
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@ Lord of Mirkwood
I would vote for Sanders not because I agree with him, but because he is less bad. Nearly every election that I have taken part in has come down to choosing between the lesser of two evils.
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@ Lord of Mirkwood
In 2008 I was sadly deluded. This blog records my disillusionment as it unfolded.
While I was not so foolish as to think that Obama would openly favour Blacks, I did think that he would at least take their interests into account more than past presidents. So, so wrong!!! He follows “The White Liberal Guide to Black People” every bit as much as you or Sanders do:
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@Lord of Mirkwood
“he only reason I brought it up was because Sharina insulted my intelligence, hence I thought it wise to defend myself.”—You insult your intelligence everytime you comment. I never mentioned your intelligence as I never insulted your ability to acquire knowledge. I made a suggestion that required you find someone’s brain that is smarter(the effort of becoming or being) than you. See you still don’t know the difference between the two, even after being given a link.
Secondly Mack Lyons is right. You used your “supposed” IQ score as a means to bolster the idea that you know more or are able to understand more than you do. That your argument is more valid than it is. Yet you were the only one who did not “get it.” You made it a competition for this very reason.
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@Fan …
I agree.
Truth of the matter is money plays a big role. It really comes down to blacks putting money in those pockets to makes any real change. Money talks and every politician seems to be a paid puppet.
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Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes, decide everything.” – Joseph Stalin, Communist tyrant and mass murderer
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@ resw77
“I still have no clue why blacks are so loyal to the Clintons. Not a clue.”
I completly agree. It seems to me like Clinton gets the black vote for free.
on Brney Frank
“The groups of people who have the most at stake – African Americans, Hispanics, LGBT – are much for serious for Hillary. They have got to be serious. White liberals get a psychic income for supporting Bernie Sanders, but they won’t suffer much if a Republican becomes president.”
An interesting idea. But the discontent of the Americans with their politicians is now so extreme that I don’t know if gerneral knowledge will help you much to predict the presedential race. I think if the Democrats run Clinton against a non-establishment Republican they might run into serious problems.
on the opinion that the presidential election doesn’t matter anyway
The president might not have a lot of power to enact policy, but he sure has to prevent something. Just imagine if Al Gore had been president from 2000 to 2008. Does still anybody think that wouldn’t have mattered?
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On politicians: “Don’t vote, it just encourages them.”
Billy Connelly, Scottish comedian.
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” on Fri 23 Oct 2015 at 12:08:23
abagond
@ Lord of Mirkwood
In 2008 I was sadly deluded. This blog records my disillusionment as it unfolded.
While I was not so foolish as to think that Obama would openly favour Blacks, I did think that he would at least take their interests into account more than past presidents. So, so wrong!!! He follows “The White Liberal Guide to Black People” every bit as much as you or Sanders do:
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2015/08/05/black-people-the-white-liberal-users-guide/”
Yet, you ended this post with the mendacious quote of Barney Franks, implying that there’s some sense in his claim!
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Lordy the class warrior, tell me you don’t really think Bernie is going to change the class structure of the USA just by being elected? The US ruling class has overthrown so many populist leaders who were democratically from one end of the world to the other, why would they be more gentle when the threat, if that’s what Bernie is, is on their home turf?
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Eugene V. Debs, the last socialist who seriously challenged the powers that be, was sent to jail to cool his ardor for peace and justice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_V._Debs
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@LOM
“That’s EXACTLY what Bernie and I are saying. Exactly it! Maybe we do have some commonalities after all.”—-No scarecrow that is not exactly what you and your alter ego Bernie are saying.
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Are not both the Democrats and the Republicans puppeteered by the 1%, which are the world’s largest corporations?
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@ Kiwi
Kiwi, your point taken in good grace. Thank you. In the light of your explanation, the comedic schtick was ill-thought and completely out of place on this issue of great importance. I am not wont in advising or telling anyone to do anything, esp. on how to vote, though. How can I? Especially not African Americans. They are about the one people whom I strongly identify with. One of the reasons for coming to Abagond’s blog, is to understand the similarities and differences between South African history to that of African American history and racism(slavery, genocide, apartheid, Jim Crow, Black Consciousness, etc.).
It is also just recently that hard fought for universal suffrage in South Africa is a reality.
I am very much aware of the Prison Industrial Complex and other measures seeking to strip African Americans of their voting rights.
My tongue in cheek line betrays my own cynical thinking regarding politicians.
From afar, when opining on American politics, it seems for Black Americans to choose one party or the other to be a choice of the lesser of the two evils (i.e. Democrats or Replublicans).
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Lordy, you are an amusing fellow, your Bernie will get to the white house after he has been deemed no serious threat to the status quo just like all the men who preceded him. Your super Bernie fantasy is just that, a fantasy.
” Debs NEVER GOT INTO THE PRESIDENCY, and the populist regimes overthrown by the U.S. military were done so ON THE ORDERS OF THE (conservative) PRESIDENT.”
So, JFK was a conservative when he green lighted the overthrow and assassination of Diem or the attempt to do the same to Fidel Castro two years earlier? Jimmy Carter was a conservative when he started the process that led to the overthrow of the Sandinistas? I could go on in that vein but I suspect you know these things and you simply want to economize on the truth, as you are wont to do.
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The whole VOTING system is rigged. Every four years this huge BRIDGE in BROOKLYN gets sold to suckers dumb enough to buy it…. yet again, AND AGAIN.
People go out and vote, but what changes? Are things getting better?
Are we at peace? Or are we involved in militaristic messes all over the globe… and at what cost?
Are jobs coming back to America? Is America the manufacturing, innovative giant, envy of the world it once was? Are we more free than the rest of the world? Does the quality of life here surpass the quality of life elsewhere? Is our white collar criminal class taken to task for their crimes against humanity?
Has racism ceased? What has voting done for the cessation of white supremacy/racism? If voting really changed things – for the benefit of the people, and for the benefit of corporate/banking misconduct – then voting would be rendered outright illegal.
Voting for the lesser devil is still voting for the devil.
My grandparents and great grands suffered to secure me the right to vote, but I’m certain that they wouldn’t want me voting for a devil, just so I could vote – for a devil.
The fact that there are only devils to vote for should be a huge clue!
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* If voting really changed things for the betterment of the people, then voting would be rendered outright illegal.
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@abagond
Thanks for that link to the video. Well, at least he did say “we need to combat institutional racism from top to bottom”. Granted, he could’ve certainly said more.
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“So, you’d rather live in Nazi Germany?”—Scare tactic.
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What Lord of Mirkwood doesn’t understand (and doesn’t want to understand), is that equally or more qualified blacks are less likely to get hired or paid as much as equally or less qualified whites.
I currently live in a very diverse city, yet in my office, it looks like Vermont. Unemployment is low on average yet for blacks at ALL education levels, it’s above average.
Sanders can create however many jobs he can through socialist programmes, but it does not eliminate the racism that still exists in the labor market.
Just look at Cuba, which lept beyond socialism to full fledged communism. Did that eliminate racial disparities? No. Whites still have the best jobs (even in government) despite blacks and mulattoes constituting a majority of the population.
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@Lord of Mirkwood
Fan.. said the system is rigged. How you came to the logic of no voting is beyond me, but it became a scare tactic the moment you tried to use Nazi Germany as a horrible outcome if it is removed. “scaring” one into believing that having a voting system is better.
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Yeah, Abagond, I see that, but I don’t think Sanders is ONLY talking about class in his racial justice platform. He does address issues of discrimination, criminalization, etc. I’m no Sandersnista, but I also don’t see him as class reductionist.
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Lordy, compare and contrast Bernie and Eugene’s variants of socialism and tell me why Bernie’s is better?
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Folks, everyone needs a party like this as an alternative to the same old ones!
http://www.eatgoogle.com/en/promises/
http://www.eatgoogle.com/en/promises/loto-senate/
You’d probably garner the same results…..little or nothing!
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Right on to Barney Frank’s quote.
Like I’ve always said, only white people have the luxury of calling themselves “liberal” or “conservative.”
Politics are serious business for everyone else,
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Rhaegar Targaryen
Game of Thrones fan?
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@ Mirkwood
Racists love to talk about I.Q.
The only thing those tests show is that you might be good at scrapple or figuring out puzzles. It doesn’t mean you know how to accumulate wealth, entertain the opposite sex or do something practical like change the oil in your car.
In the zombie apocalypse the people with the highest IQ’s will die first. If your not killed in the first wave then an animal loving guy like yourself is just going to starve to death. That specialized pescetarian diet you so crave, created by Capitalism that you detest, will be unavailable.
Hitler was democratically elected and Nazism is a variety of socialism btw.
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@ Abagond
“I think it is far worse than pandering or doctrinaire class analysis. From what I can tell, he seems to have no empathy for Black people. To him, Black people are at maybe the level of Canadian geese: it would be a shame to see them get hurt or killed unnecessarily, but if they do, so what, he is not going to lose any sleep over it. It is hardly a crying injustice”
Wow, what has lead you to believe that?
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“I think it is far worse than pandering or doctrinaire class analysis. From what I can tell, he seems to have no empathy for Black people. To him, Black people are at maybe the level of Canadian geese: it would be a shame to see them get hurt or killed unnecessarily, but if they do, so what, he is not going to lose any sleep over it. It is hardly a crying injustice”
I take that to mean he thinks similarly to Mirkwood. Lions are more important then the lives of Black people. Bernie has an intellectual understanding of racism that he feels can be solved through enacting Federal guidelines, revamping how we police and by “creating jobs” through public service contracts.
https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/
“We must demilitarize our police forces so they don’t look and act like invading armies.
We must invest in community policing. Only when we get officers into the communities, working within neighborhoods before trouble arises, do we develop the relationships necessary to make our communities safer together. Among other things, that means increasing civilian oversight of police departments.
We need police forces that reflect the diversity of our communities.
At the federal level we need to establish a new model police training program that reorients the way we do law enforcement in this country. With input from a broad segment of the community including activists and leaders from organizations like Black Lives Matter we will reinvent how we police America.
We need to federally fund and require body cameras for law enforcement officers to make it easier to hold them accountable.
Our Justice Department must aggressively investigate and prosecute police officers who break the law and hold them accountable for their actions.
We need to require police departments and states to provide public reports on all police shootings and deaths that take place while in police custody.
We need new rules on the allowable use of force. Police officers need to be trained to de-escalate confrontations and to humanely interact with people who have mental illnesses.
States and localities that make progress in this area should get more federal justice grant money. Those that do not should get their funding slashed.
We need to make sure the federal resources are there to crack down on the illegal activities of hate groups.”
The problem with the above recommendations, though good, is they don’t address the systemic institutional racism within the justice system. We already have communities where non whites make up 50% of the police force yet the violence still continues unabated.
“We need to require police departments and states to provide public reports on all police shootings and deaths that take place while in police custody.”
He wants the police to investigate themselves. Isn’t that part of the problem?
“We need to re-enfranchise the more than two million African Americans who have had their right to vote taken away by a felony conviction.
Congress must restore the Voting Rights Act’s “pre-clearance” provision, which extended protections to minority voters in states where they were clearly needed.
We must expand the Act’s scope so that every American, regardless of skin color or national origin, is able to vote freely.
We need to make Election Day a federal holiday to increase voters’ ability to participate.
We must make early voting an option for voters who work or study and need the flexibility to vote on evenings or weekends.
We must make no-fault absentee ballots an option for all Americans.
Every American over 18 must be registered to vote automatically, so that students and working people can make their voices heard at the ballot box.
We must put an end to discriminatory laws and the purging of minority-community names from voting rolls.
We need to make sure that there are sufficient polling places and poll workers to prevent long lines from forming at the polls anywhere.”
Agree with all of the above.
“Millions of lives have been destroyed because people are in jail for nonviolent crimes. For decades, we have been engaged in a failed “War on Drugs” with racially-biased mandatory minimums that punish people of color unfairly.”
True but no where does he talk about decriminalizing drugs. He wants to create “drug courts” and mandatory treatments.
He talks about ending “corporate for profit” prisons which make up less then 10% of the prisons of the U.S. He doesn’t talk about ending or deconstructing the prison industrial complex because well that would entail throwing hard working Americans out of work.
He also talks about economic violence and lays out education and youth programs ect.
He talks about the symptoms of racism but avoids tackling the issue head on. He interested in “In put” from Black Lives Matter”.
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@Michael Jon Barker
“If your not killed in the first wave then an animal loving guy like yourself is just going to starve to death. “—ROFL. I think he would be the good for nothing that lives by riding the backs of others and allowing them to sacrifice for his well being.
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LOL @Fan,
I suggest that you either hire a tutor or brush up on your comprehension skills. My ten year-old son could’ve easily break down my simple post. This is not the first time you’ve done this. Go to your local library, perhaps you’ll find someone to assist you, … SERIOUSLY!
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@Lord of Mirkwood
No. I think I described you very well. You are the Eugene character on the walking dead.
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Sharinalr said,
“You are the Eugene character on the walking dead.”
Except he is far more dangerous. He has no problem using the State to enforce whatever moral values he deems valid on everybody else.
He would have no problem using force to interfere with the lives of Black Africans in how they run their game parks if he thought it would “save” a few lions.
What he doesn’t get is he has no right to do so and that to force his values on others is immoral.
He is a self proclaimed Peskytarian after all. lol
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@Blakksage,
SERIOUSLY…?
You do realize, right, that I didn’t break down your whole post? My comment was only addressed to the part of your post I placed within quotes. After that I merely waxed on, gave my own opinion on the matters I was compelled to give MY OPINION and thoughts on, according to the way I see things.
If I didn’t get portion of your comment I quoted correct, I strongly doubt it had much to do with my comprehension skills. IF I got it wrong it’s more likely that you didn’t express yourself precisely and left something open with room for misinterpretation.
You’ve said I’ve done this before, as if I’ve done something that pricks at you.
If that’s the case, discuss it. Clear it up. (Like you did when I mistakenly attributed a comment to you that you didn’t make…) That’s what we’re here to do. Communicate. I’m not aware of any other stuff. PLEASE point them out to me!
If you’re not willing to discuss things, or any misunderstandings, simply IGNORE my comments. That’s what sage people do. Ignore those they wish to
As far as I’m concerned you have no reason to TRY to insult me, unless I was wrong in thinking that the spirit of the Creator might have residence IN you. But as you say, I have been wrong before (lol).
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Lordy, your comment on Debs said nothing. All I want you to do, as the class conscious guy you claim to be, is to compare the programs Debs and Sanders ran on and tell me what the differences and similarities are and why one is better than the other? Why are you reticent to do this? Don’t tell me your socialism is as fake as your anti-racism.
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@ Lord of Mirkwood
Because you are starting to sound like a troll. You are using some of their favourite words.
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@Michael Jon Barker
True. Plus Eugene atleast gained some compassion at some point.
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@Lord of Mirkwood
“I don’t watch Walking Dead, so I have no clue what you mean.”—The Eugene character rallied others behind his cause of going to Washington on the basis that he had the cure. Truth of the matter is that was a lie because really all he needed was them to keep him alive. To benefit him.
Like you he was and is self serving. ie your rally for Bernie even though he really has no real solution for black people.
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@ gro jo
I threw in the Barney Frank quote to add another angle, not as an act of ventriloquism. At this point in the 2008 cycle, Hillary Clinton was beating Obama in the polls, in part because many Black voters thought Obama was a no-hoper.
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“The Eugene character rallied others behind his cause of going to Washington on the basis that he had the cure. Truth of the matter is that was a lie because really all he needed was them to keep him alive. To benefit him.
Like you he was and is self serving. ie your rally for Bernie even though he really has no real solution for black people.”
@Sharinalr,
Do you think the writers of the show will have the (useless, now that he’s found out..) Eugene character survive another season on the show?
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@ taosetan
Most are, especially after the weakening of labour unions in the 1980s and the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v FEC (2010) which said that campaign contributions are a form of free speech and therefore cannot be controlled or limited by law.
The two main exceptions in the 2016 field are Donald Trump, a billionaire who is running in his own right, and Bernie Sanders, who is trying to run without being beholden to the rich.
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@ talibmensah
I should probably do a post on Sanders’s Racial Justice policies, but last I looked they were mostly (though not completely) class-based policies. In the meantime, you can look at Michael Barker’s comment on them.
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@ Lord of Mirkwood
There are some words I secretly moderate to catch trolls and certain people I banned.
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@ Lord of Mirkwoof
If I delete one of your comments for moderated language, it is going to be for one of the words on the public list.
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@ Paige
Sanders, like most Whites, does not seem to be particularly upset or outraged about police brutality. I do not see how that is possible unless you either do not know what is going on or unless you lack empathy. Since he is alive in the US in 2015 and not in a coma, it cannot be the first, so it must be the second.
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Politics is the art of the possible…
This quote, attributed to a German politician, is normally interpreted as meaning that we must understand that political actors can’t do everything they wish or we wish them to do. Reality is complex and imposes limits to human action.
I want to use this same quote to mean something different, and it is:
When choosing our political leaders we must be aware that, inevitably, they are not going to be perfect or saints but will carry many human failings with them. Therefore the main considerations in doing the choosing should be:
– what am I going to gain if a certain politician is chosen?
– and what am I going to loose?
– what is that my group (social class, race, religious association, etc) is going to gain or loose if a certain politician is chosen?
The real question is not if this specific politician will be good for Iraq or Africa but if this specific politician will help advance the interests of my social group (Architects, for example) or my people (Black Americans, for example).
Clearly, it would be good if said politician could address and solve as wide as possible set of problems, but given real life constraints we must begin to pay attention to the problems which affect us directly. Other issues could, at best, come next!
Looking at the USA political scene, right now, one can identify the list of main contenders from which the next USA President will emerge in the elections next year:
– Hilary Clinton (Democrat);
– Donald Trump (Republican);
– Ben Carson (Republican), and
– Bernie Sanders (Democrat).
In the comments above at this thread I sense that people repeatedly insist on not trusting Clinton or Sanders even when the majority of Black votes in past elections lend more for Democrats than Republicans.
I’m not an American citizen and I don’t live in the United States but I wonder why so many people in the Black population has been consistently voting Democrat in the past. Is it that those people feel that, after all, the Democrats do make things better for them than the Republicans? Or is it the case that they have been brainwashed and “don’t know what they are doing when voting?”
Just a question…
Is it possible that Trump would carry out policies that ultimately would benefit Black citizens or a specific group within the Black community and, then, it would be wise for members of said groups to vote for him? Let me see (hypothetically):
* Trump will probably crack down on illegal (read Mexican) immigration and therefore, possibly, maintain certain kind of jobs for the “true” American citizens, including, some unskilled Blacks?
* Trump will “show the Chinese their place”, and consequently slow down or even reverse the steady flow of industrial jobs from American factories to Chinese ones and, therefore, put more jobs in American hands and, consequently “meals at the table of American families”?
* etc.
If somebody thinks like this then I don’t see why he/she should fixate in an overblown concern about anti-immigration policies but, instead, try to capitalize on the opportunity Trump would (hypothetically) offer and, vote for him. Politics, and vote is an expression of politics at individual level, is about defending your particular interests.
Or alternatively, let me assume that Ben Carson, is “the man”. Not only is he Republican but also is Black and therefore will more likely to be attentive to Black interests in a “conservative framework”, that is, away of the Democrats who since decades having Blacks votes for granted have not delivered anything substantial as a payback for the those votes?
If this is the way you see things please vote Carson and don’t paralyze yourself at the thought that, after all, “all those Black Republicans are sellouts” or because he has expressed anti-Muslim ideas.
Similarly, if you think that the main problem for the Black community is poverty and you see some “light in the end of the tunnel” within Sanders proposals, then vote for him, even if you would like him to be more open about racial issues, and he have not done that until now. Remember that the man has been involved in civil right activism for decades and, maybe, even if not openly, is possibly sympathetic to Black causes. Remember too, that even if Sanders will not address all problems affecting Blacks (for example, the illegal killings of Black civilians by the police) probably those problems will not become worse under his administration than under other contenders administration. Maybe?
In all the above paragraphs the main idea is: vote for whatever contender you believe more if you sense that something positive would come from him/her, even if not all problems affecting you or your social group will possibly be solved during the next presidential term. I would name this a call for a vote that is mature and realistic.
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@Fan said: “You do realize, right, that I DIDN’T BREAK DOWN YOUR WHOLE POST? My comment was only addressed to the part of your post I placed within quotes.”
LOL! Well then, you should’ve exercised your skills, or lack thereof, towards restraint so as not to make yourself appear to be a fool. For example, I’ve never heard of someone writing a foreword to an author’s book without first reading the entire book. I highly encourage you to stick around because you’re funny!
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@Fan…
“Do you think the writers of the show will have the (useless, now that he’s found out..) Eugene character survive another season on the show?”—–I would love to say no, but the fact that he lasted this long….he may well see another season. Though Rick has made a change at he is no longer looking to coddle people, so if Eugene is ever with him it is likely he will let him die just to teach him to fend for himself.
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Barney Frank represented a constituency in Massachusetts, not New York.
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Okay Blakksage,
In my last comment to you I tried to be constructive and give you the benefit of the doubt, but since you seem insistent upon behaving as an idiot, I shall treat you as such.
I was cool with waiting for you to point out my lack of comprehension, but I know from experience that idiots often have extreme difficulty in pointing anything out. Especially since you have yet to produce any evidence of what you’re accusing me of!
You imply that I’m a fool, but this fool knows that you didn’t write a book that I was obliged to read and write a foreword on. Or anything remotely close.
Our comments here are for the most part worthless. My comment wasn’t a “foreword.” THEY WERE SIMPLY COMMENTS.
That you even fancy your words as book material is fuddled and subnormal thinking. Frankly, I’m surprised at you! I thought you were capable of better!
This is a blog, not a publishing house. Seriously, that’s a horrible IDIOTIC analogy/example!
If you wish to TRY to further insult me, I would ask you to do so on the Open Thread, where I may be willing to hear your (disappointing and sad) infantile ranting for another moment, so that we don’t risk the deletion/warning hammer coming down for being grossly off-topic.
Since the hope of our race is in our progeny, perhaps you’ll learn something useful/positive/honest/real that you can pass on to your ten year old son, besides dumb idiotic moves, and wry attempts to insult those who look like you. Else we remain, as a group, where we are right now. Nowhere.
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@manubantu, you alluded to German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck’s (1815 – 1898) quote: “Politics is the art of the possible.”
On one hand, the following quote is also attributed to Bismarck as well: “A statesman cannot create anything himself. He must wait and listen until he hears the steps of God sounding through events; then leap up and grasp the hem of his garment.”
Referring to his second quote and judging from the current verbiage, it doesn’t appear at this point that God has tapped on either one of these presidential candidate’s shoulder nor have either one of them leaped and grasped onto His garment.
On the other hand, black Americans must bring to the first REALIZE that they’re still being held in a state of captivity. The gradient of slavery has been greatly lessened; physical shackles have been removed, working in the fields from sun up until down no longer exist, but nonetheless, our collective condition points towards a state of bondage and random racial violence from government hirelings with a badge with 9mm weapon in hand is frequent.
White Amerikans want the world to believe that the only person that could better the conditions for black people is white man (biblically, he’s a red man and what color is usually attributed to the devil)?
You also asked why black Americans continue to vote for the DemoRat party en masse every presidential election. Well, this is without a doubt the lingering and resulting effects of slavery. A large amount of black Americans suffer from a form of psychache, a recurring psychological condition due to lifelong coping circumstances and the subject of brutality and death at the hand of their oppressors. The ill effects of slavery is still with us, whether black people REALIZE this or not, leaving almost all of us psychologically scarred and crippled beyond repair. This, I believe explains why we as black folks have such an inexplicable voting record and continually vote for any party (or political system) that has yet to yield any political harvest advantageous to us as a whole. In short, black Americans vote because they incorrectly believe that they’re voting for freedom. I wholeheartedly disagree!
We (most black folks) are obsessed and have yet to REALIZE the folly of participating in a political system that regularly throw crumbs off the table, primarily to soothe and keep us quiet until the next election four years later. Isn’t this is how an infant is quieted? The black man in Amerika is continually having a pacifier shoved into to mouth to keep him from crying due to the pain he’s collectively feeling.
Therefore, don’t think even for one second that the current political system could deliver us from this hell hole of a morally bankrupt system. As Chancellor Bismarck correctly alluded to above, this is only possible through an act of God!
And you are correct when you stated: “Reality is complex and imposes limits to human action.” It is obvious that the spirit of God, the Redeemer, the King of Kings, the King of Terror, the Comforter, the Holy One of Israel is absent as it applies to anyone of these impotent presidential candidates. I don’t blame Him. Who would want to be in near proximity of such vile, unsightly and former cave dwelling mutants?
Yahawa Ba Hasham Yahawashi (God coming in the name Jesus)!
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@ Christopher Grigsby
Ouch! Thank you!
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@ munubantu
The Democrats do take the Black vote for granted, but they are LESS racist on the whole than Republicans. It is not so much that they do good for Blacks, they just do LESS harm. It is a matter of damage control.
In my book, any White person who is anti-Mexican or anti-Muslim is almost certainly anti-Black.
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No different from any other politician. He’s just smart for getting Blacks on his side.
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@Fan,
Oh, I see, you want to take my comments out of context and twist it to your liking without yours truly responding. That will never happen!
once again, I’d like to thank you for proving my point in regards to your character. Thus far, you’ve been an invaluable tool immediately at my beckon. I could hardly wait for your next post (grabbing more tissue, wipe tears due to laughter … more chuckles and laughter … repeat).
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Newsflash to all of you wordlovers who make homes on the beds of English that is given you; Trans Pacific Partnership is going to make AMerica a great big mixing bowl of low wage angry workers. So, again, creating jobs, (as my grannie says “oh my ass”) he means p/t jobs non paying benefits and he surely isn’t going to pressure his pals into parting with their money OR priv. so if you want something in life, better cut the tv off and plan your life. Otherwise you will continue to get duckef in recurring 8 year cycles.
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@ Fan & Sharinair
I think Eugene will be killed off this season. He doesn’t add much to the show and maybe he will redeem himself by showing some courage in the end.
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Uncle Bernie is not going to make it.
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I think Bernie is the least likely canidate to get the U.S. involved in another war.
I think both Trump and Hillary would choose war over diplomacy. Expect drones to increase under their presidencies.
One of the reasons I voted for Obama first term was that I belived him when he said he was going to end the war and bring the troops home. That didn’t happen and in fact he expanded U.S. military bases and made droning Brown people part of his policy.
I think both Bernie and Trump will come down hard on immagration and the employers who hire them.
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I think Bernie’s racial justice statements rely on him talking AT non whites while at the same time written in a way not to offend white people.
His solutions do not mention getting rid of the “police bill of rights” which is a major tenet of Black Lives Matter. As he puts it he wants “in put” from BLM as well as “others” which his his way of saying “all lives matter”. For him it’s a process that includes opinions from people who sons and daughters aren’t getting gunned down by American policeman.
The “police man bill of rights”:give police special protections that insulate them from the laws that they enforce upon civilians.
The local D.A.’s work with the police to limit whatever evidence grand juries get to see. Their is no independent investigation of the police. Bernie talking about State or Federal over site doesn’t take away the conflict of interest they State has in maintaining the structural political hierarchy hard wired into public service.
The U.S. goverment doesn’t even keep track of the number of civilians who get shot by the police. Crime by civilians they keep track off but not of themselves.
He talks about creating “civilian review boards” as over site for police conduct. In Los Angeles we have a civilian board called the Police Commission. It’s a token group made up of political oppointments made to enhance the resumes of those chosen. The current president is a Hollywood producer, the vice president made his living promoting professional sports, two other include a real estate developer and a gay and lesbian activist. Only one on the board has a social justice back ground, Figaroa-Villa.
Police civilian over site committees need to made of of people who actually live in the neighborhoods where the greatest State violence occurs. For L.A. good canidate’s would be a Bishop from the AME Church, the Catholic priests who run the homeless shelter on Alvaro street and somebody from Homeboy Industries who find ex gang members meaningful employment.
Bernie also skirts around the industrial prison complex by focusing on “private corporate prisons” even though they make up less then 10% of the prison sysytem. He careful not to talk about shutting down prisons because they employee lots of union Democrat workers who’s political contributions he will be recieving. It wouldnt be surprised if part of his trillion dollar infustructure program didn’t include buildimg more prisons.
He also talks about “youth programs”. You can be sure they will be indoctrination programs praising the Federal Family. Remember Hitler youth ?
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Read on Nation of Change.Org that Spike Lee endorsed Bernie Sanders that’s interesting.
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Some news: CNN Whitewashes Sanders’ Primary Victories; Denies Diverse Racial Makeup of Hawaii, Alaska and Washington:
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/dear-cnn-stop-erasing-people-color-who-support-bernie-sanders
Maybe it is interesting.
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Employees of Time Warner, which owns CNN, are major donors to Hillary Clinton, fueling concerns about CNN’s fairness to Sanders in its election coverage.
CNN’s spin is in step with a much broader media narrative, in which Sanders supposedly does not do well in states with racially diverse populations. This narrative comes in the midst of an election cycle in which Black Lives Matter protests have forced issues of racial justice into the forefront. These movements are demanding real solutions from all candidates, not superficial pandering to win votes.
Meanwhile, people of color who support Sanders are demanding that their identities be seen. That’s why Leslie Lee III, a black Sanders supporter who is from Louisiana and currently lives in Yokahama, Japan, started the hashtag #BernieMadeMeWhite.
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I came across some YouTube videos today made by Tim Black. I had never heard of him until today but he seems to have a pretty big following.
The point of this video is that Blacks should consider voting for a third party or write Bernie in if Hillary gets the nomination.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_xOZd-3h6Y)
The Main point in this video is that Hillarie’s support amongst Blacks is dropping and the main stream media is ignoring it.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWlkOUdi798)
Others videos he has made deal with voter fraud in Arizona and Bernie’s exclusion from the D.C. ballot.
He is worth a watch.
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http://herneith.d.pr/Emag
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