Bernie Sanders: White People Don't Know What It's Like To Live 'In The Ghetto'

[big_dog]

Source: The Huffington Post 03/06/2016 10:10 pm ET

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said white people don't understand what it's like to be poor and live in the ghetto, in response to a question about the candidates' racial blind spots.

Sanders told a moving story about how, as a newly elected congressman in Washington, D.C., about 20 years ago, he was shocked to learn that a fellow congressman, who was black, avoided taking cabs because it was humiliating when drivers would go past him because of his race.

He also said he was humbled when a young woman active in the Black Lives Matter movement came up and told him that he simply doesn't understand what police do in many black communities on a regular basis, beyond the shootings that tend to get more attention.
"You don't understand the degree to which we are terrorized. ... I'm just talking about everyday activities where police officers are bullying people," Sanders recounted the woman telling him.

"When you're white, you don't know what it's like to be living in a ghetto," Sanders concluded. "You don't know what it's like to be poor. You don't know what it's like to be hassled when you walk down the street or you get dragged out of a car. And I believe that as a nation in the year 2016, we must be firm in making it clear, we will end institutional racism and reform a broken criminal justice system."


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-ghetto_us_56dce712e4b03a405679062b

[putitinD]

1. Bernie grew up in a 3 room Brooklyn apartment.

[big_dog]

2. yes he did

n/t

[itcfish]

91. That is Luxury

in NYC LOL

[CoffeeCat]

3. He was talking about so many things

That people of color endure, as it related to the stories that black people shared with him throughout the campaign.

White people can't understand what it is like to have some of those experiences.

But, of course, Sanders would like to help and make things better.

[Lorien]

5. Indeed. As usual, desperate Hillfolk take a statement out of context

while completely ignoring ALL of the things that Hillary has done to allow hundreds of thousands of people to suffer and die needlessly, all while lining her own pockets with payoffs from Wall Street and Goldman Sachs. Talk about "selective outrage"!!

[itcfish]

92. PLease

Can't you defend Bernie without attacking Hillary. He made an error. Jesus, we all make mistakes. Admit it and move on. Blame Hillary for Bernie's booboos?

[big_dog]

6. finally bernie is hitting his stride

[anAustralianobserver]

18. lol I'm on Sanders' side but that's a good one nt

[Cavallo]

7. I think he's poignant.

And, I think nobody is mentioning the elephant in the room even though it keeps getting invoked. Refusing to vote for someone because he is a white man is as bad as refusing to vote for somebody because he is a black man. Nobody is calling people on it as they say that's exactly why they aren't voting for him. I'll vote for any race if I believe they will get behind humanity and fight for everyone's rights - minorities and white.

I'm still not over the person on this site who also said that his marching with King and lifetime civil rights experience didn't mean anything.

[jbrooks655]

57. excuse me!!!

When did Hilary become black? We have voted for white men forever and will continue, its just "BERNIE" is not my guy.

[noiretextatique]

81. Excellent point eom

[Feeling the Bern]

4. Bernie, I love you, but you obviously never lived in a trailer park in Appalachia

I didn't either, but there were TPs all over Sullivan County in NY.

Drug addiction, crime, white "gangs" marking their territory, baby mamma issues, obesity. . .women with six kids from six different fathers, drug dealing, meth labs, alcoholism, crippling poverty, etc.

Just like black ghettos and hispanic barrios. Sorry, Bernie, white people do know about it.

Oh, and the police target these areas in sweeps. While poverty isn't criminalized, living in a poor area makes you a criminal simply by guilty by association.

[retrowire]

8. I have to totally agree.

There are ghettos that are exclusive to different races, and some ghettos are multiracial, but to say whites don't know what that's like?

It honestly might have cut out a demographic for him. Blacks certainly have it worse by proportion. But whites are NOT exempt from very low class living.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

70. Speak for yourself. I'm white and I have never lived or even been in a ghetto.

The vast majority of white people have not experienced that. Bernie should have qualified that sentence a bit more. Still it's a great point. And it's not just living in a ghetto. It's about trying to get a job, avoiding gangs and the police!

I have no experiences like that growing up in a nice middle class neighborhood in Madison WI.

[itcfish]

93. Well Elmer

You are not from NYC. I am white, and many whites live in poor slum neighborhoods. The world does not evolve around Madison WI. A big portion of the US population lives in big cities.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

95. Yes, the world does revolve around Madison WI. At least my world does.

And, yes, I know there are white slums, but MOST white people that vote do not live in ghettos. And that is JMO!

[itcfish]

96. Yes!

Because it is all about you!

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

98. And what are you, chopped liver? n/t

[Svafa]

103. Sanders can't even call out the very real problem

of white privilege without getting piled on by Clinton supporters.

[Maedhros]

106. Well, we can't discuss issues when there is a SEMANTIC ARGUMENT to be had...[n/t]

[Cavallo]

13. I agree but I wouldn't call out women with kids from different dads.

I do not propose to tell women who to have children with, or suggest to some pre-civil rights view of how society thought woman should behave.

[Feeling the Bern]

22. You read into things way too much. It takes two to tango.

So don't impose that on my words. Men are just as guilty in out of wedlock children.

[Cavallo]

25. I'm not trying to tango, and I would also say, I have no issue with women having children out of

wedlock. We have children born out of wedlock in my family and we are glad they are here.

We will agree to disagree, I think.

[Feeling the Bern]

30. Difference is your is a family. I knew way too many people who would date two or three times

go to bed, get pregnant, the guy would skip and the woman would beat the kid because "you remind me of your worthless daddy."

Then the same mistake and same result would happen over and over again, raising another generation of people who will make the same mistakes.

We don't agree to disagree. Condoms cost $3.00. But just like in ghettos, barrios (and I've lived in and near both as well), it isn't used. And the children are the ones that suffer from it.

[Igel]

72. Many have a strange kind of double standard.

Many want to regulate things like tobacco, alcohol, too much salt and sugar because statistically they predispose people to bad outcomes. In some case we ban substances, restrict them by age, or make sure there are big signs to discourage people.

It's possible to mitigate a lot of the effects of these things. Drink in moderation, have a designated driver. Exercise to undo the effects of too much sugar. Etc. Doesn't matter, there's a strong correlation with a strong causal connection, so we discourage the behavior. Don't drink and drive. Don't eat too much salt. Avoid sugar.

It's the same with a lot of out-of-wedlock births. The outcomes are generally worse. How much worse depends on your situation: If you're a single mother, college educated, professional job, with one kid in a stable long-term unmarried relationship the consequences aren't all that bad compared to a two-biological-parent family. If you're a high school grad working minimum wage with a temp boyfriend overnighting at times, the consequences can be truly (statistically) damning for the kid in terms of education, income, family structure.

Sadly, pointing out a statistical generalization is usually taken as a personal affront. Rather like saying that the person who puts salt on his Big Mac is consuming too much salt only to have him in your face because he thinks you've said he's fat, lazy, and will be dead of a heart attack by morning. NYC publicized some of the statistical generalizations a few years ago in PSA posters and had a firestorm of aggrieved, offended people descend upon it.

Because of this odd trait, we can say discouraging things about some behaviors. Others, well, hey, it's fine. All those stats aren't true, they're just made up by hurtful, hateful people.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

110. Why do people feel the need to stick their noses where they don't belong?

I tell them to their faces, "mind your own fucking business, it has NOTHING to do with you". And if I'm still alive, while running out the door, I yell, "ASSHATS!!".

[FailureToCommunicate]

47. Bernie was answering a question about his personal 'blind spots' around race and

answered in the third person. Of course he wasn't saying ALL white people don't know poverty or discrimination.

[Drunken Irishman]

50. That's obviously not the context of his remark.

He was stating his blind spot was not realizing the everyday struggles black people really go through until coming face to face with it when he first arrived in Washington. His comment was not about him saying his blind spot was admitting whites don't know what it's like living in the ghetto or what it's liked to be poor. Or the last part of that remark, about hassled when you walk down the street, wouldn't be there. Just admit it was a very poorly worded statement.

[tazkcmo]

53. Same but different, too.

After all, these white Appalachians can shower, clean up a bit and walk down the street any time with out being molested, confronted or harassed. Our AA brothers and sister cannot "hide" their status. Just having that darker skin makes them a target 24/7.

I've lived a couple places where I was the minority (I'm a white guy) and yet I in no way can say that I know what it's like to be targeted 24/7 due to the color of my skin.

While there is definitely a class struggle going on for all poor people, this is not the same as a life time of racial discrimination that is destroying AA's lives.

[snooper2]

56. The difference is amount of space, in a black ghetto you have tiny apartments stacked full

White ghetto would be a trailer parks, or just really trashy property every quarter or half mile out in the middle of no-fucking-where (like where I grew up)

I can prove this with YouTube videos but then my posts would get locked because somebodies delicate sensibilities would be touched ....

[Igel]

74. In some older Eastern cities this may be true.

On the other hand, it's often not true even there. A lot of formerly middle class areas in, say, Baltimore MD (Fells Point in the early '70s) or Patterson NJ, show intergenerational poverty. If there are apts., then they're formerly middle class or working class. But there, as in much of Houston, the really poor areas have some apts. and some free-standing houses. Some houses were converted, upping the density, but not a lot.

In Houston some of the houses are postage-stamp sized.


BTW, there are such areas in some cities that are "white," just not very many are left because of upward mobility. It pays to remember that "ghetto" is an Italian word and referred to what might be judged the "Jewish quarter" in other cities. Say, Jerusalem under Arab rule or in Prague (Jozefuv, there). In the US it originally referred to areas that weren't quite white but weren't African-American. Jewish, Italian, etc. Baltimore's Greektown up on Highland or Little Italy fit the bill for those.

The trailer park wouldn't be a ghetto. Just poor and neglected.

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. Nobody's smiling

[alp227]

12. FULL context of Bernie's remarks...

LEMON: Thank you, Secretary.

Senator Sanders, on a personal front, what racial blind spots do you have?

SANDERS: Well, let me just very briefly tell you a story. When I was in one of my first years in Congress, I went to a meeting downtown in Washington, D.C. And I went there with another Congressman, an African-American Congressman. And then we kind of separated during the meeting. And then I saw him out later on. And he was sitting there waiting and I said, well, let's go out and get a cab. How come you didn't go out and get a cab?

He said, no, I don't get cabs in Washington, D.C. This was 20 years ago. Because he was humiliated by the fact that cabdrivers would go past him because he was black. I couldn't believe, you know, you just sit there and you say, this man did not take a cab 20 years ago in Washington, D.C. Tell you another story, I was with young people active in the Black Lives Matter movement. A young lady comes up to me and she says, you don't understand what police do in certain black communities. You don't understand the degree to which we are terrorized, and I'm not just talking about the horrible shootings that we have seen, which have got to end and we've got to hold police officers accountable, I'm just talking about every day activities where police officers are bullying people.

So to answer your question, I would say, and I think it's similar to what the secretary said, when you're white, you don't know what it's like to be living in a ghetto. You don't know what it's like to be poor. You don't know what it's like to be hassled when you walk down the street or you get dragged out of a car.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1603/06/se.05.html

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

14. Hello Big Dog The Donald here !

First of all Big Dog it says here ,welcome to 2016 Trumpathon Spring Fling ! As you know it's been a long flight since the Iowa state fair, and what an affair it was ! But the spring fling is going to be even better. It's enormous,gigantic ,even larger than the imagination ! It's a hands on operation and we are moving forward full throttle ! In airplane mode that's called balls to the walls !

But before I go off on that, to the issue ,actually is there a such thing as a ghetto in Vermont ? I must say I didn't notice anything out of ordinary when I flew over the state . I just call the mayor when something unseemly catches my eye,that's what mayors are for ! Actually, I like Bernie Sanders myself ,he wants to take care of everybody, but I really can't say so in public for reasons of the obvious !

As you know Bush dropped down there at 4 percent more or less as was said from what it says here. Who would have believed it ?!!,Bush with all that money and backing !
But that's old news. I have great entertainment ahead in the Trump Spring Fling. As you know, I have Chris Christie on a short leash, and the old dog needs a dogie pal also on a short leash ,I'm thinking Rush and Chris at the old dog walk on the Jersey shores will make for great entertainment.
Imagine those two blow hards in the same place at the same time on the same short leash ! The Donald here, over and out for now and stay tuned,great entertainment coming soon !

[Cavallo]

21. Is that a REAL illegal stuffed eagle?

[Ex Lurker]

24. It's a live eagle

[Cavallo]

26. Isn't it illegal to keep a live eagle?

And, it's chained to his desk.

What an ARSE to do that to any animal. Look how short that chain is. I don't get humans who do that.

[MrMickeysMom]

46. The Eagle knew...

He was sitting on a BAD EGG!

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

27. Actually the eagle is very much alive.

The eagle and it's trainer were flown in from Texas as part of the interview. Some journalist word has it thought the idea up.
Funny thing is the pointing of fingers as to who or what created Trump. Rubio most recently blamed cnn ! You can google the story as to the eagle and how the idea came to Trump to do that interview.

[Cavallo]

29. Thank you, I didn't know any of that.

Isn't it still illegal to be training eagles and keep them captive at all?

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

31. Yes in fact it is .

And actually your interest and your questions should lead you to want to know more. The photo op. was perfectly legal.As was transporting the eagle to and from N.Y. back to it's home in a habitat in Texas as I recall. And if I recall correctly you will find the story behind the eagle very interesting . Fallow up on your curiosity and have fun, google is your friend !

[catchnrelease]

32. Wing injury

I don't know the background on that particular bird but I can see that it is missing the outer part of it's left wing, so it would not be able to be released. I don't think this is the best use of it however. Better to be used for education purposes if not just live in a sanctuary.

[big_dog]

39. its gonna be YUUUGE!

just watch out for that sneaky Ohio governor hes up by two points in Michigan and trying to deny you your rightful nomination!

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

45. Yes Big Dog, The Donald Here !

I am a firm believer in his right to try to remain relevant, I said the same thing to Jeb Bush ,Chris Christie ,Dr. Ben ,Little Marco
and even that lier Ted Cruz. Beyond that I sent a certified memo to Mit Romney telling him the same thing. Although I must admit I did mention as a firm believer in second chances ,He should simply go away and at the very least try to face the fact he is a two time loser .

I think he cannot except the fact that he brought it all down on himself. I believe Romney, Bush, Christie ,Rubio and Cruz all have that problem in common.

I see your source of information ,and as you must know, what it says here is very different from what it says in the media .
Certainly you don't think I the Donald wake up at the crack of dawn than look to the media to find out where I stand in running do you ? Of course not because you see it's all down in what it says here.

But that's the political ends of the entertainment !
I have some incredibly huge and I mean enormous fish to fry on the Jersey shores. I think Rush Limbaugh and Chris Christie will be great entertainment in a smash hit idea I have cooking - In your face, facing off on the Jersey Shores ,we will create an enormous out door walk in closet with only three walls so the audience can look into the face off.
The walk in closet is so Rush doesn't feel totally exposed ! It will all come down to the nature of the beast ! And by it those political hacks in both houses, republican of course, can all have a good look at what they came to worship ,along with the rest of the nation ! The idea behind the scenes of course is the people fire them all .

Of course you must know Rush Limbaugh disrespected my campaign . He's as much or even more of a disgrace as Chris Christie is. The two of them deserve each other !

[silvershadow]

15. He's right. In the broader perspective of things, white people don't. His (anecdotal) use

Last edited Mon Mar 7, 2016, 03:20 AM - Edit history (1)

of an antiquated term aside, even the poorest whites in this country are largely separated from the black experience, which is what I am sure he was trying to say. Let's face it, as a white person, I am fully aware of white privilege and what it has meant for me- how lucky I was to have been, by some randomness, born white.

Even if they are living in trailer parks in Appalachia, as I saw reference in another post moments ago, or in the government housing communities (we used to call them projects, I hope that won't get ME in trouble), whites do not carry with them the extra burdens that blacks do, as sad as that is.

I say as of this as a white person, who continues to strive to learn every day, and to have empathy, and treat others the way I want to be treated. I could insert some lame quote about having black friends, yadda, yadda, but the fact of the matter is that I literally cringe every time I see someone else attempt it. It always comes of, so, well, cringeworthy. The only reason I even mention any of this is that there appears to be an attempt by forces to divide us.

We just can't let that happen.

[Gormy Cuss]

34. ^^This^^

Sanders himself grew up in a low income, high density urban community so it's doubtful that his comment was meant to imply that some whites don't experience poverty or life in high crime areas. Rather, it was an inartful comment on the extra weight added by racism.

[Lulu KC]

54. ^^^Yes

And I believe that the word "ghetto" is an Italian word that was originally (and at least through WWII) used largely in reference to Jewish sections of a city. So Bernie can use the word perfectly appropriately. His ancestors earned it.

[haikugal]

78. My thinking as well. Jews have been forced into ghettos historically. nt

[Mike__M]

88. Yes. I would not judge a man whose family is from a Polish ghetto

on his use of the word.

"Segregated from its history how ghetto lost its meaning"

NPR Code Switch: Word Watch blog from a couple years ago.

[jpb33]

16. talk about desperate

the Hillary campaign and MSM are getting more and more desperate. In polite, elitist society such words are not used. However, paying people poverty wages, sinking the economy, throwing people out of their homes, denying them healthcare and when healthcare is provided personal bankruptcy is not uncommon is perfectly ok even encouraged. But goodness no, never not use a politically incorrect word!

[jfern]

17. I think what he means is that a white person of privilege

such as a US Senator or a Former SoS experiences things differently from someone who is black, poor, and lives in a troubled neighborhood. We all know that whites can be poor and blacks can be rich.

[jtuck004]

20. ALL white people are people of privilege. It's the skin, not the money.

They may or may not have wealth or power, but they all have the privilege that goes with that skin. It shows, in the way white and black skin is treated differently, whether they are a black college professor or a black kid begging for help.

It is, unfortunately, what keeps this country a ghetto for all of us. Some just don't see it.

[jfern]

23. Bernie mentioned the black congressman who didn't take cabs because they wouldn't stop for him

He understands that whites are more privileged even if both are members of congress.

[Major Hogwash]

28. Yup, that's true.

[jtuck004]

35. The point is they don't have to be members of congress. Just you and me, with white skin, have

more privilege than the black person we are working next to. Or not working next to, because we have a job they would never have been offered. Or because we have a home that cost us less in interest than the black person with the same job and credit rating, who pays more simply because they are black.

Until we fix that, it will never get better.

[Delver Rootnose]

41. But in the context of....

...politics I trust sanders to make the effort to change the current situation more than I do either Clinton.

[jtuck004]

43. Yeah. Except the racism. That's on us, and the people are the only ones who can set it aside. n/t

[haikugal]

80. Racism has to be carefully taught at a young age and reinforced by the prevailing society.

It isn't natural.

I got my first lesson from Nana on a dusty street in a small outback town in Australia.

I sat on a bench beside some Aborigines and we began a conversation. I really liked their gentle manner, I was a skinny girl of about 10 or 11. We were laughing and they were answering my questions. These were adults and I'd never seen an Aborigine before. The one said "Your not from around here are you" and I said no I was from the US (this was about 1959 so we weren't hated like now) then Nana showed up and called me over.

I could here my friends laughing and saying "Here it comes, she'll be told"...sure enough I was told "We" don't hang out with "Them"....I knew she was wrong but I was just a kid and knew if I went and sat back with them I'd get in big trouble. I'm still ashamed of myself that I didn't go sit with them again. They were such wonderful people.

Just a thought.

[jtuck004]

84. Yep. Which is why I say white folk can stop it any time they want to. And they are the only ones.

This Be The Verse
-by Philip Larkin

They fuck you up, your mum and dad
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t have any kids yourself.

[haikugal]

85. That's true.

I did get out as soon as I could legally...and I had one child and raised him to respect everyone and without religion.

I try.

[jtuck004]

89. That's all we can do. I dropped out of high school in a big mid-western town

in '71 to get my GED and go in the Navy. The neighborhood was Democrat as far as the eye could see. Putting the word Republican on your campaign didn't just mean you would lose, it could also mean you would get shot at. The state didn't even get it's first Republican Gov till the 80s.

Those same parents showed up in droves when they started busing black kids to one of the high schools, teaching their kids to turn over buses, fight, yell racist taunts, hate.

There were people like them spread across the nation. Still are. They see it as a calling to to breed in their own likeness, no matter how rotted.

It's tough to fight a country half-full of these buffoons and their sympathizers, much less live in one. But that's where we are.

[haikugal]

90. Again kudos.

You say it very well. Here we are.

Go Bernie!!

[greymattermom]

36. sometimes it's the teeth

Orthodontia is a class marker that everyone recognizes.

[jtuck004]

37. All times it is racist white people, the dominant culture. Not the victim. n/t

[bluestateguy]

19. Well

It's like Mayor Daley's (Sr.) spokesman once said, as he chastised the media:

"You shouldn't print what he said. You should print what he meant!"

[Spitfire of ATJ]

33. Cops actually believe it's their JOB to hassle black males....

They also believe white people applaud them for it.

[Delver Rootnose]

40. Yea once the bus I was with..

..stopped at the cheese castle in Wisconsin on the way back from a cubs game and there was theses Chicago cops there and this one female cop, the were all white btw, was moaning about how they are not allowed under the new black commander to act like cops. She missed the days when "cops were allowed to be cops"

[Spitfire of ATJ]

42. Imagine how they feel when they call for backup and the responding cop is black.

[Delver Rootnose]

38. Well it is more than....

...just a 'ghetto' issue. Remember that professor and the policeman who had the beer summit with Obama. Middle class and even rich people of color get hassled all the time in all sorts of neighborhoods. Not just 'the hood'

The closest I got to being hassled sickly was when I was driving an AA coworker home and going much slower than the prevailing speed but slightly over the speed limit at about 1:30 am. I get pulled over and no one else does. The cops gave me a warning after I blew up at him, all the while my coworker was shushing me, because the cop said he though something was wrong like I was getting car jacked or something.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

44. If you were the wrong color in the wrong place you might still be in jail.

[John K]

49. This is why he is not getting the African American vote.

No politician who has spent a lot of time with and around diverse groups of people would have said something like he did. My wife has been a Bernie supporter until now, but this comment turned her off completely.

[riversedge]

51. Sanders dropped the ball on this question--like he has in the past.

[ladjf]

52. I love Bernie and what he stands for. However, he should know that white people

are not strangers to being poor and homeless. But, his ideas on ending those desperate conditions would work to help all, not just certain groups. "A high tide floats all boats".

[dinkytron]

59. Please, you know damn well that Bernie is not so inept as to think that all

blacks live in ghettos and that he was focusing on one of the more serious aspects of the topic.

[Orange Butterfly]

61. my post is misunderstood, i will pull it down

[dinkytron]

63. Fair enough. In my defense, I just woke up. I will re read your post too!

All good. Words are funny ya know.

[Orange Butterfly]

65. I am a huge Bernie fan & was trying to be respectful

No worries. If one person misunderstood my comment, others would too. So best it is off the thread.

[noiretextatique]

82. I was waiting for that idiotic talking point

It was actually an OP a couple of weeks ago. It got sgot down pretty quickly as complete bullshit. It still is complete bullshit.

[iandhr]

58. Though I knew the intent behind the statement...

... it was a poor choice of words.

[Sunlei]

60. They both should try to open a low income bank account & see how people with less money pay all fees

All the bank fees force many low income people to carry cash. Some become targets of robbery when they have to walk to bill-pay places or a store.

Or just targets of "empty your pockets" police, who think everyone with cash is a drug dealer.

We need more (NOT ONLINE) small account, fee free banks in this country. Banks that encourage savings by paying at least 2% interest on small savings accounts.

[Rebkeh]

62. The outrage on this one ....

is a distraction from the issues.

We can talk about why the words could have been chosen more carefully but come on, let's not allow the words to overwhelm the substance please. I get why the words are triggering, and we should talk about that, but it doesn't change the very important point he was trying to make about white privilege.

The impact of this outrage trumps its intent.

[Blackjackdavey]

75. It is a major distaction but more importantly, counter productive.

In these times, as we all strive to build a better, more inclusive society, we are having conversations for the first time with people with whom we have never spoken. A major cultural shift is taking place right before our eyes and we are getting hung up on how things are said. We are learning this new language together as unity requires a common language. This cultural shift is in the making and we would be far better served by listening and learning from one another rather than expecting everyone who takes the initiative to speak to know the right words already. We've never done this before. There is a learning curve.

[Rebkeh]

77. Exactly

I agree. It's unfortunate, every battle should be fought but timing and priorities matter.

Throwing away a rare and momentous opportunity to build a bridge, a potentially huge bridge of a broader goal, by choosing a smaller and complex battle instead? Not a good strategy.

It's disappointing to say the least.

[itcfish]

64. A Lot of White People

Live in ghettos, in poverty, in trailer parks. Please this was not an appropriate statement.

[TomCADem]

73. As the GOP Says, All Lives Matter?

Personally, I think there is distinct difference in perspective based on whether one is a minority.

[itcfish]

94. Could Be

But the only color that matters and determines where you live and how you live is GREEN. Economic, equal opportunity. You make good money and you can live anywhere you damn please.

[noiretextatique]

83. No white person knows what being black feels like

I think that was the point. There are cultural stereotpyes about poor white people, to be sure. But no aspring presidential candidate called any segment of the poor, white population superpredators. Poverty + racism is not something that poor whites experience. I am not at all saying that it makes poverty any better or that white people who are poor don't have it rough.

[FLPanhandle]

66. I would like to see Bernie win the nomination, but this won't help

Does he know how poor white people live in this country? It's not pretty.

Does he really think trying to convince poor Americans that they have "White Privilege" is a strategy to win votes from those same working class poor?

Does he know how many poor white Americans would gladly trade places with a wealthy black congressman?

Come on Bernie, you are competing for votes, not teaching a college class.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

67. I posted this before the debate. I am adding the italics now

I posted this before the debate:



I remember discussing the L A riots with someone and I had to mention it was black folk who saved Reginald Denny's life.

And this black guy, me, and a white guy were discussing the current election, and the white guy was bringing up every racial trope, albeit subtly. I said "you know most black folk are not on welfare, and most black folk aren't living in poverty."

Any way racism isn't like being pregnant where you are or you aren't. It has to be viewed as being on a scale. Ain't none of us are perfect but we can sure try...







http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=1425525

[Bayard]

68. James Blake

There are a number of sources for this story if you Google:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/09/another-nypd-unforced

Tennis star, James Blake, was tackled on the sidewalk by cops outside his Hyatt hotel while waiting for his driver.......a well-dressed man talking on a cell phone. His crime? He was African American.

When I lived in Cincinnati years ago, there were almost nightly news stories about the cops rousting black people, and violence escalating. We used to call the incidents, DWB----Driving While Black.

I think what Bernie was saying in the debate last night, is that most whites have no clue how much disrespect and prejudice African Americans still deal with on a daily basis.

[Erda]

69. A blind spot is as described . . .

Something that you don't see because it has fallen outside of your experience.

I think if we each took a moment to answer the question "what is one of your blindspots?" and answered it publicly, we might be subject to a lot of criticism for not seeing what others find quite obvious because of their own experience.

I applaud Senator Sanders' honesty and candor in answering this question. He did not say ALL white people or ALL black people. He is assuming a level of discernment and intelligence in the listener that could understand that if you have not walked in someone else's shoes, you might very well have a blindspot when it comes to that person's experience.

Of course, white people live in ghettos. Of course, black people live in affluent neighborhoods. But, where poverty and abuse exist solely because of skin color, society at large must examine its own bigotry.

To recognize blindspots within ourselves requires self-examination and reflection. I applaud and admire Senator Sanders and am proud to support him.

[FailureToCommunicate]

71. Spot on! You don't post often, but when you do, it's incisive.

[Blackjackdavey]

79. Exactly right -- it takes courage and self awareness

I grew up in the suburbs of Rochester, New York. My little town was definitely all white. We weren't wealthy but certainly posing as middle class. During college, I became a trail guide for the boy scouts in the mountains of North Carolina. Each week I ran a different group of scouts, from all over the country, through a backpacking trip that ended with a banquet at a local, rural diner. We always sat at the picnic tables outside the diner, in the back. One week I had a group of scouts from New Orleans. It was an all-black troop. We went and did the usual thing at the diner and they, as usual, directed us to the back porch and the picnic tables. One of the leaders became very upset and the more I tried to tell him it's where we sit, the more angry he became. I had no idea what was up. Afterward, the other leader paid me the kindness of explaining to me what the issue was, what the symbolism of having this group of kids sit out back rather than inside the restaurant represented. I had no idea what was going on but realized afterward how my white suburban guy's obliviousness contributed to that group's hurtful experience of bigotry. I should have, in retrospect, insisted that this is the week we sit inside. These are the lessons we need to learn -- with an open mind -- and this is what Bernie was referring to.

[Jester Messiah]

76. I guess Bernie just lost Eminem.

Which maybe isn't great if he's courting Detroit!

[Koch Ebola]

86. White poverty exists in the USA

The White poor know what is it like to be in a ghetto. There is a epidemic among the White working class of Methamphetamine. It is because of massive unemployment and homelessness. Poverty is not strictly for nonwhites and it never will be. Oppression is color blind. Yes, racism exists. However it is a symptom of class struggle.
Research history...
[link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Patriots_Organization|

[lark]

87. Bravo!!

Beautifully said.

[The Second Stone]

97. Don't assume my skin color makes me uninformed Sen. Sanders

That's kinda rude. And when you assume that a whole group of people are ignorant because of their skin color, that is kinda racist.

[Cavallo]

101. I guess I missed that in the post...

I don't think he should be addressing any minority at this point because of exactly how you read that.

Besides, he's addressing a group who have said they're not voting for him because he's a white man. Not voting for someone because they are white is as racist as not voting for someone because they are black. Everything he said from the beginning was going to be declared racist by people looking for racism in everything he says.

I hope he learns from this and never addresses a specific minority again. He should address all people at once or no one. Let Hillary run around and get their vote while the rest of us stand amazed at how easily she obtained it, after her record. Bernie should NOT be doing that. I hope he stops even trying. It only blows up in his face. Stick to college students and professors Bernie!

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

99. News Flash

Christie Takes Vacation as New Jersey Transit Rail Strike Looms









https://s.yimg.com/fz/api/res/1.2/.jsfzS.8eN5M3Pf8fdvo1g--/YXBwaWQ9c3JjaGRkO2g9NTAwO3E9OTU7dz03NTA-/

[Cavallo]

100. I think that no matter what he says will be misconstrued as racism and he needs to just quit

trying to address any specific minority.

He should be here for everyone and I believe that is what he is really saying.

[silvershadow]

102. Bernie is largely correct in the bigger shame of things. White people are privileged to have

largely not known the experience of people of color. This non issue will not take root, no matter how many times or how many ways it is presented.

[Cavallo]

104. It won't but there is a force against him because he is a white man.

You can read it on DU. I've seen people even say his Civil rights experience means nothing. They are politicized and desperately looking for ways to call him a racist and deny his life time of work.

He needs to stop addressing minorities and address everyone. I want someone who stands for everyone as my president. Not someone who suddenly runs to minorities during campaign season like Hillary. He should be above that and continue to fight the good fight as he has always done. I mean compare and contrast his and Hillary's past - at that point, there is no reasoning for people calling him racist and supporting Hillary. They are politicized and that's the end of it. Bernie needs to not play Hillary's game.

[silvershadow]

105. I agree he just needs to stop talking about it. nt

[Peregrine Took]

107. Oh, for the love of everything tha is holy - can you give it a REST??? n/t

[ghostsinthemachine]

108. I'm poor and white and never lived in a ghetto or been in one except to work

on fixing them up. Rebuilding them. Like Hunter's Point in SF which I did twice... once in the early 70's and then in 88-9. Almost everyone that worked on that project was white. Certainly all of the formen and supers were all white....The only black people were from the ghetto (projects) around there (Where there were no white people) were there because the Gov't mandated that the contractors hire people from the neighborhood to work on the project, and to teach a trade. Some continued in the trades and others got caught stealing from the jobsite.

The first time it was an all union thing, the next time was a prevailing wage thing, with an open gate policy. Lots of contractors cheating on that then.(very typical)

[Melurkyoulongtime]

109. I am a white woman that grew up in a black ghetto...

until I was able, in part due to white privilege, to get the hell out. I went to a school where I was 1 of 13 white kids and they had concertina wire at the tops of the fence surrounding the school and we were locked in all day, EVERY day. There were riots and gang warfare, etc when I attended in the 80s... it was interesting times to say the least.

The school is still a dropout factory according to Wikipedia:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_High_School_(Houston,_Texas)

With the above being said, I still do NOT know, even with all my experiences of seeing racism, bigotry, hatred, etc what black folks have to put up with on a daily basis. How can this be since I grew up side by side with them on a daily basis? It's simple really: I'm NOT black. Yes, I SAW it. I saw the cops harassing them, hell, even the black cops harassed the black kids in that neighborhood and still do to this day whether those kids were "doing" anything or not (usually they weren't). Hell, the COPS back in the day wouldn't even come INTO the neighborhood after about 9PM no matter who'd been shot in a driveby that night but the (unarmed) EMTs WOULD. Yes, I'm saying the cops assigned to that area at the time were pussies. Kevlar vests, guns and all and wouldn't come into my ghetto after dark.....

But am I pissed at Bernie for saying what he said?! Hell NO! My reason for not being mad at him? It's simple: I KNOW my experience is in the minority for most white folks. When I tell other white people about my experiences during that time most shake their heads in genuine disbelief even though I'm telling them the unvarnished truth. I've even offered to take them to said ghetto so they can see it for themselves... just guess how many have taken me up on my offer.

[mackerel]

111. What's wrong with calling the inner city what it is?

I lived in the ghetto for 20 years which was predominantly black and brown. It's what I could afford and we all called it the ghetto. Of course my parents would always say things like "the inner city" and "the underclass" LOL

[Dont call me Shirley]

112. I do know what it is like to be poor and to live in a poor neighborhood, my skin is white.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

113. Mich. voters seem to be speaking to the issue and Sanders is hanging in there real good.

R
trump 37.2% http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/08/politics/primary-election-results-live-updates/index.html
kasich 25.2%
cruz 24.0%
est % in: 47%
D
sanders 50.2%
clinton 47.8%
est % in: 61%
updated 7:13 pm et, mar. 8, 2016
mississippi
R
trump 49.5%
cruz 35.4%
kasich 7.9%
est % in: 62%
D
clinton 83.1%
sanders 15.9%
est % in: 54%
up