In short … maybe the pussy hats need to come off, too 
Just wanted to make sure this never disappears.
Everybody thinks it’ll be different this time, which is why I can’t accept that sort of strategy. At some point, it stops being an act and starts being real.
Okay.
Do you have any links to that? I want to share.
W. T. ever-loving F.?
Fact is, all Americans have some reflexive component of racism. It is all but unavoidable. You can be the very most tolerant, accepting, “color-blind” person in the country, but underneath your most pure exterior lurks an issue or two. Most of us are quite good at dealing with it, but the person who says “I’m not racist” is likely to have higher levels of prejudice than a person who refrains from saying that.
The underlying point of asahi’s statement is that the blue party can work for racial justice without pounding hard on the drum. We already know who the party are and what they are likely to push for. Making racial justice a rallying cry merely alienates a swath of support that is uncomfortable with that drumbeat, who can help the party and its causes without being demeaned for a flaw that we all have in varying levels.
I am pretty far to the “left” of the D average on most issues, so I would like to see them drag the Overton over my way, at least to where it was in 1976, when Jimmy Carter was viewed as a conservative. This will not happen if the party continues to alienate and deplore a non-trivial segment of society – not the real Klan or Freemen-on-the-Land or other unreachable extremists, but those who might be somewhat sympathetic to the extremists while still reachable.
When you make that bargain, you’re not sacrificing an ideal for a win, you’re sacrificing people for a win.
It’s the exact same argument that the Republicans had post-Reconstruction, with the same naïve belief that it would work out ok, and it led straight to four generations of a second-class citizenry and devastating consequences that we’re still living with today. From a moral side, getting in bed with racists is a horrible idea and has awful consequences.
From a practical side - right now, Democrats can count on a consistently high percentage of the African American vote because the Republicans are courting racists. If both major parties are ok with racism, that block gets split.
The fact is, in order for Democrats to be politically successful, they are going to need some Archie Bunkers to vote for them. There is no way around that cold, hard reality - none. I wish that were not the case, but it is what it is.
If you read what I said again, I thought I made it clear that the Democrats shouldn’t pander to racists, so I thought I was pretty clear that they should be a party that supports inclusion and diversity. But when primary candidates like Julian Castro talks about decriminalizing border crossings as one of his top priorities…that’s just not gonna sell, and shit, there are fellow Latinos who don’t agree with him on that idea.
Figuring out how you fight for Archie Bunker’s vote while not sacrificing your core values is admittedly a difficult dance. But that’s what it is going to take for Democrats to regain power and stature. Don’t let the fact that Biden (probably) made it to the WH fool you: Democrats are still losing the power battle, and for the second or third decade in a row, they will probably not have the power to control redistricting. The Republicans have another 10 years to rig the system further in their favor, and that only makes it that much more critical that Democrats figure out how to talk to people outside of major cities.
Matter of fact …
I would never say don’t beat on that drum. If you’re a member of congress representing a largely black voting constituency that has been impacted by the legacy of racism and police brutality, it’s not Nancy Pelosi’s place to try and muzzle said congressman for fear of losing an election. But just understand that those issues are not going to win you power as a party that represents many other areas across the country where nobody feels that these are particularly important issues.
They need to find issues where people are going to have some common ground, and historically - even during the most intense years of the Jim Crow era in fact - there was common ground among blacks and whites when it came to bread and butter issues, like collective bargaining, better wages, better and safer working conditions, minimum wages. It’s not a coincidence that when the welfare state grew, the ‘compromise’ that republicans and democrats would often agree on is that blacks can’t get the welfare - they couldn’t reliably get SS and other federal and local benefits until after the Civil Rights Acts. Some of the worst, most intense racial strife were the result of attempts by wealthy interests to pit blacks and whites against each other, with capitalists and industrialists trying to negotiate with whites and blacks separately. The history is there: you actually can get the redneck with the NRA and confederate flag stickers on his pick-up truck to vote for the same thing that urban black voters would support as well. And you can still fight for racial justice, but understand that money and livelihood come first.
I know this is The Pit but nevertheless I want to congratulate Americans today. Even here in Europe in the midst of a lockdown, the world seems a brighter place already.
When 70,000,000 of you voted for racism and the rest debate over whether a little bit of racism is worth it to gain a bit more power, do you mind if I don’t join in.
Yeah that’s not great - but it’s the start of the turn around I hope. Don’t want these few minutes to be negative, the post-mortem can come later.
Honestly, the turn this thread has taken has got me down but I go back and forth. Two days ago I heard Biden say, if I may paraphrase, “calm down. It’ll take a few days but I’m sure we’ll come out ahead,” it felt like a breath of fresh air. It might be a low bar but hearing him sound like a leader, turning the heat down instead of always up felt like the dawn of a new day.
I’m not a fan of blaming an entire country for not winning the election handily enough.
But, the numbers don’t lie. Even after Trump spent 4 years showing how awful he is, he got more votes in 2020 than Obama did in 2012.
Half the voters in America apparently are happy to support white supremacy in exchange for a tax cut, or just for its own sake. I mean… this is the largest white supremacy/anti-immigrant/anti-woman voting bloc literally in history. Electing Biden was the bare minimum… at least we got it done, but hoo boy, there’s so much left to do.
I’ve taken to saying that “No Drama” Obama served the nation chamomile tea. Donald Trump serves us Red Bull – WAY too much Red Bull.
I’m looking forward to seeing the chamomile served up again.
To those rightly pointing out what 70,000,000 of our fellow Americans look like, act like, and how they think …
They never went away. We all know that part of our history. The phenotype, the philosophy, the values, the epithetical nature of that cohort … has always been there.
How do we get that genie back in the bottle ?
From four years ago, but equally relevant today:
Same.
I’m looking forward to a boring administration and not wondering what damn fool, dangerous and destructive thing the President said*. For example, I’m relatively sure that between January 2020 & January 2024, we will not go to war with Canada. I’m very happy about that.
*to be clear - all people say stupid things from time to time. I fully expect Biden to put his foot in it every so often. But, I do not expect him to incite violence or to alienate our allies or to intentionally provoke enemies for poorly thought out or no good reasons.
Do you mean Jan 2021 and Jan 2025? I’m still not certain a war with Canada is yet out of the picture at present. “Blame Canada” is a popular refrain amongst those trying to shift the focus from their own flaws and crimes.