The way that I read it is that in context, Sanders asked about any racial blindspots he might have. And he goes on to tell a couple of personal stories, concluding with his blindspot – that he doesn’t know what it’s truly like to grow up poor and marginalized.
He stumbled with his wording, and his use of the word “you” instead of “I” made it sound like no white person knew what it was like to be poor.
So out of context, it sounds like he’s talking about a universal truth, whereas in context it seems like he’s talking about his personal experience (although really badly phrased).
The perception of violent crime thing makes sense. My Wife is one of those people who watches the news and drones on and on about how bad things are and when I mention to her that the general trend has been that violent crimes have gone down, its like she pretends not to hear me.
That’s not “out of context”. If a guy says something stupid and you think he misspoke and really meant to say something else, that doesn’t mean it’s “out of context” to assume he meant what he said.
But I don’t think you’re right anyway. It’s true he was asked about himself, but his point was that he didn’t know what it was like because he was a subset of white people who as a group don’t know what it’s like.
Clinton expressed pretty much the same concept, in saying “I think being a white person in the United States of America, I know that I have never had the experience that so many people, the people in this audience have had” (and when Sanders said “I think it’s similar to what the secretary said”, that’s what he was referring to). The difference is that Clinton was talking about racial profiling, where it has more validity, and Sanders extended it to poverty.
Nemo: Many people will see a black person and assume the worst, and treat that person accordingly, which is unfair to black people.
Fothering: Well when they see a random black person, they don’t know if he conforms to their negative stereotype.
…
Reminder # one jillion why I stopped visiting this cesspool.
One guy who’s been here less than a month makes a shitty comment and it’s a cesspool? Ok. Maybe you should actually stop visiting instead of just saying you stopped visiting.
I disagree. It is the context that leads to being able to tell if someone misspoke. It is the context that provides the actual meaning, even if the literal meaning is incorrect.
In context, he specifically says that he’s answering the question about his blind spots. Only without that context does he seem to mean that he thinks white people cannot be poor or live in ghettos.
With that context, you realize he’s talking about himself, and the subset of white people he himself belongs to.
IF you can argue that, from the full context (racial blind spots, following anecdotes about specific black people), that it is clear that 'black" is implied on each statement, it is out of context.
Your post is stupid for many reasons. Reason #1 being a “reminder” means this isn’t a one-time thing by a new guy. Fotheringphips isn’t a month-old poster, if you haven’t noticed. Also, nobody is making a flouncing announcement. Just an “Oh yeah, people post a lot of generally racist nonsense here all the time and that’s okay.” Sort of like when you read YouTube comments and remember that you shouldn’t do that, but still do sometimes.
Point being that if Sanders succeeded in eliminating poverty then Black people wouldn’t be living in ghettos, nor would anyone else, and crime in Black neighborhoods would be a lot lower, as it would also be in other neighborhoods. And therefore cabbies would not mistakenly assume that Black Congressman were asking to rides to the ghetto where they might get mugged.
In that context, your subsequent point that “Passing cabbies don’t know where any potential passengers live. But if they assume that black people live in ghettos, that’s racism” is a non-sequitor. Let’s grant that this is a form of racism. But it’s a form of racism that would be rendered moot if Sanders eliminated poverty across the board, and contra to your earlier claim.
[FTR, I don’t believe that Sanders’ economic program would actually eliminate poverty. But this is about what would happen if he was successful, based on your earlier hypothetical.]
