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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
This Twitter Storify
slideshow is a pretty good summation of the issue many black people have with Sanders and the Democratic party in general. Quinn Murphy's words are especially resonant.
Bernie has a laser focus on economic issues, and it's been argued
, even by people close to him who are supporters, that he sees economic injustice as "the real issue" and that racial equality will only come about after tackling economic equality.
Problem is, to black people and all other people of color who are getting arrested in disproportionate rates, who are approached differently and more harshly by police and the courts, who are thrown out of school more often for minor offenses, who are profiled as likely to be criminals regardless of who they are or where they go, who get their resumes or job applications tossed out offhand for having a "black" name, or live with cops like these
throwing around texts like this
In response to a text asking "Do you celebrate quanza [sic] at your school?" Furminger wrote: "Yeah we burn the cross on the field! Then we celebrate Whitemas."
"Its [sic] worth every penny to live here [Walnut Creek] away from the savages."
"My wife has 2 friends over that don't know each other the cool one says to me get me a drink nigger not knowing the other is married to one just happened right now LMFAO."
"White power."
In response to a text saying "Niggers should be spayed," Furminger wrote "I saw one an hour ago with 4 kids."
"Cross burning lowers blood pressure! I did the test myself!"
In response to a text saying "All niggers must fucking hang," Furminger wrote "Ask my 6 year old what he thinks about Obama."
"I hate to tell you this but my wife friend [sic] is over with their kids and her husband is black! If [sic] is an Attorney but should I be worried?" Furminger's friend, an SFPD officer, responded: "Get ur pocket gun. Keep it available in case the monkey returns to his roots. Its [sic] not against the law to put an animal down." Furminger responded, "Well said!"
In response to a text from another SFPD officer regarding the promotion of a black officer to sergeant, Furminger wrote: "Fuckin nigger."
the long term goal of solving economic inequality doesn't solve the reality of their lives in the meantime. It doesn't solve the day to day problems of their lives. And even if tomorrow a switch was miraculously thrown that ended the massive economic problems this country has, do you think that would solve issues like police profiling, or the hiring gap that exists between equally qualified black and white people? Because I for one, don't think so.
Bernie's got what I believe are the right answers to a lot of the country's problems, but is a bit weak on race issues, not because he doesn't want racial equality, but because he seems blind to the special measures that need to be taken to combat the current and very entrenched inequality.
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |Thing is that one of the most efficient manners to modify people's behaviors is the financial one.
Try to cajole, coerce or convince anyone in whatever way of what the right thing is to do, that no amount of education will do it. Threathen their pockets, however, and they will immediately change their mind.
With a more equal distribution of wealth, it would no longer be worth it to treat black people like crap because their economical power would not be negligible to individuals. Not to mention with more wealth they can have better access to education, and that leads to even further stuff.
edited 20th Jul '15 9:15:13 AM by Aszur
It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothesI can see why someone in his position would want to de-emphasize race as a political rallying flag. By refusing to do so, he implicitly rejects the idea of turning the conflict into a culture war of black versus white or urban versus rural. Poor versus rich is a lot 'safer' as a staging point for a political campaign.
I don't know if I want to say it's 'right' or not on a moral level, or whether there even is a right or wrong when it comes to that level of political pageantry, but I can see the tactical sense in it.
Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.Fundamentally, running a political campaign on race issues is a fast track to losing the support of some portion of your base. However, Sanders should at least give a nod to them if he expects to win the primary, because Democrats need turnout in 2016 not just for the White House, but also to have a shot at reclaiming the Senate.
edited 20th Jul '15 9:28:07 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Wesley Clark suggests putting (radical?) American Muslims in internment camps
edited 20th Jul '15 9:33:55 AM by Hodor2
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Because that worked so well in World War Two with the Japanese? /sigh
And they weren't even a threat!
edited 20th Jul '15 9:36:42 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"He is the liberal, though. He was in the Democratic nomination for president in 2004 and was a critic of the Bush administration.
The difference is that there is no "conflict," so it's not like we can just pick up anyone of questionable loyalty and put them in "until the war is over," radical islam could be a threat for the next forty years or more.
I don't know what the right policy is to deal with this, but it sure as hell isn't that.
The conflict, such as it is, is extremely broad, encompassing politics, culture, religion, ideology, and economics, and cannot be resolved with police and spies and guns in the way that simple-minded folk might wish. Heck, even I've had thoughts like that — wouldn't it be great if we could X, where X usually involves lots of bombs or very high walls? But then I think about it and realize how unfeasible such things are.
edited 20th Jul '15 9:48:54 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Even if we were at war with a clearly defined enemy with a clearly defined duration of conflict, preventative, preemptive imprisonment is not an appropriate way to deal with critics of the state. The fact that he actually thought that was a good idea to say in public astounds me.
Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.This is a very minor point, but Clark is less a liberal than a centrist left out of the Republican's hard turn to the right. Here's a quote from him on the subject of why he changed his affiliation from independent to Democrat during the era of the Iraq War: "I was pro-affirmative action, I was pro-choice, I was pro-education... I'm pro-health care... I realized I was either going to be the loneliest Republican in America or I was going to be a happy Democrat."
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |To comment on my own post. I added the parenthesis because while Clark seemed to be framing his idea in terms of imprisoning American Muslims who express radical views and call for violence but have not yet taken violent actions (itself obviously illegal and troubling, but sort of morally understandable), it seems like a "dog whistle" way of calling for all American Muslims to be sent to internment camps.
Some of the same people who defended the libelous Swiftboating John Kerry was subjected to in 04 are now jumping to defend McCain from Trump. If anything Trump's remarks were far tamer than those swift boat liars.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/politics/jeb-bush-swift-boat-veterans/index.html
Except those problems you mentioned aren't the sort of things politicians have the ability to solve. The government can't make people not be assholes.
Right, but the policies that will help curb the assholes' ability to act will have an effect quicker than the policies that will curb the number of assholes altogether. "Black Lives Matter" type legislation will do more for a young black man today, while "no more inequality" legislation could do something for that young black man's grandchild, perhaps, at least as it regards race.

I mean, Sanders' hasn't been talking much directly about racial issues, but his policies would greatly benefit the minorities.