OUCH...

[qwlauren35]

I was doing a "visibility" thing for my candidate on Saturday. We were asked to show up at an event en masse and wave as she came in. So I was hanging around a group of her supporters and this guy asked me why I supported her. I said I was really excited at the possibility of having a black woman in the Senate and then I named all the things about her that had impressed me.

He jumped down my throat. He told me that I was saying that she would only be a Senator for black Marylanders, and not all Marylanders, and that I wasn't supposed to mention my personal views and as long as I wore her shirt, I was representing her campaign and had to march to "the party line".

I took off the shirt.

My candidate has a tough road ahead. She is running against a well-funded, well connected, wealthy, life-long politician, who is a straight, white, photogenic male. She has to run on her experiences as a woman, as a mom, as someone who did community organizing, as someone who had student loans, who has experienced life with no health insurance, and who has a dad who went into the Air Force to escape West Philly. Yes, she's black and she has a son, so she gets #BlackLivesMatter. It's an advantage, dammit. And I'm not going to pretend that it isn't.

One of the campaign people persuaded me to put the shirt back on. But this still depresses me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

P.S. I should add, he was black, and that was part of what had made me feel safe, and he claimed to be a "political consultant" as though his viewpoint was valid, and he said "obviously campaigners haven't been trained properly". Three people in the group chewed him out. I lost my cool and said he was full of shit.

[oldandhappy]

1. That guy was nasty.

And you hand in there. Work for her. Others will get it. That guy is part of our country, ignorant. But we are all here and we have to work hard to get the good ones into office. Keep that shirt! Our local Dem club is gearing up for 2016. First fund-raiser was last weekend. We can do it!

[steve2470]

4. +10000000000000000000000000000000000 nt

[Spazito]

2. Wow!

I am glad you put the shirt back on. The supporter who castigated you isn't worth one second of your time, imo. Don't let it get to you, there are tone deaf supporters in every campaign and I'm betting the one who said what he said to you is an outlier.

[katsy]

3. This is an example of despicable bullying.

You wear your candidates shirt proudly.

Bullying is ugly and you need to stand up for your candidate and yourself.

I've seen this type of bullying against planned parenthood and BLM, unions, teachers, and the list goes on.

Bullying, no matter who does it, is a social and mental disorder. Smack them down.

[randys1]

5. Translation, you cant have a desire to see a Black person be in power.

200 years of slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, endless bigotry and racism toward you to this very day, is no reason to not want to see a white person in power, again.

How dare you.

Sometimes it is about Black and white, maybe it shouldnt be.

The most well meaning white person, liberal, still cant react to the issues the way a person who has lived a different experience can

[gollygee]

6. "This guy"

Last edited Tue Sep 15, 2015, 02:13 PM - Edit history (1)

Like just some regular supporter like you? Not someone in charge? If it wasn't somebody in charge, he deserves an earful about assuming he has some kind of authority to tell people what they can talk about or not when they're wearing a campaign shirt. I'm feeling really angry for you.

And if he IS in charge, he needs to get fired or get an education about how to campaign and how to treat a candidate's supporters.

No excuse for that behavior at ALL.

Edit: I've now read the end better and see he was black and a political consultant. I was angry and didn't get all the way to the end before.

[MrScorpio]

7. The fact that he's a black Democrat is quite disturbing

Because we've traditionally seen this sort of backlash against fighting white supremacy on the right.

But more recently that same dynamic has found its way into left circles.

Another angle as to how black voices on the left are being systematically silenced by their own peers

[gollygee]

8. Oh I didn't see that

I need to read through the OP again.

[qwlauren35]

11. I added it.

I realized that it was significant on many levels.

[Starry Messenger]

9. You are doing great work!

A great candidate knows that successful campaigns are not won by political consultants, especially ones being condescending credentialists.

[Left coast liberal]

10. He sounds like a bully. Don't let 'em take away your fire!

You go!

[Number23]

12. She is lucky to have you!

That other guy, not nearly so much.