I Support Bernie Sanders for President and I Also Support the Black Lives Matter Takeover in Seattle

[portlander23]

Guest Editorial: I Support Bernie Sanders for President and I Also Support the Black Lives Matter Takeover in Seattle
Gyasi Ross
The Stranger

When the young activists from Black Lives Matter took over the stage and microphone from Bernie Sanders, I was inexplicably on stage. The way I got there was when we saw something going down, my good friend and amazing organizer KL Shannon and I jumped on stage simply to try to keep some semblance of order. Yeah, I was that big-ass Native dude on stage. A Forrest Gump moment, a Kramer moment—damn, I wasn’t trying to be there. But it was not a coincidence. KL and I understood that, whether we agreed with the young ladies’ actions or not, there were two brown-skinned females on stage and a crowd of angry white folks, and history tells us that it’s not unreasonable to expect the worst in these situations.

Horrible things have happened historically to brown-skinned people in these situations. We had an obligation to protect these sisters from any of that. We also had an obligation to protect the integrity of the situation.

I was disappointed, too—I wanted to see Bernie. I plan to vote for him for president, I think he’s a damn sight better than any of the other candidates. I think that he’s by far, the best candidate for Native people and for black folks (and for civil rights, in general). Moreover, he’s always been on the right side of history and I think the BLM beefs with him are misplaced. Yet, I also understand that in the grand scheme of things this was simply one small drop of discomfort in an ocean of white supremacist comfort. These small moments are the smallest, tiniest micro-adjustments to white male hegemony, and as dope as he is, that hegemony also includes Bernie Sanders.

I respect him. I will work for him. I like him. But he still benefits from white privilege and thus deserves to feel uncomfortable from time to time. When he undoubtedly was on the front lines marching for civil rights, he was still less vulnerable to attack from police officers than the black and brown marchers. He still needs to talk and think about race if he wants us to vote for him—hell, my folks, Native people have to think about it all the time. Black folks have to think about it all the time.

Why shouldn’t he? He’s asking for our vote, after all.

I’m thankful for these two young ladies for jarring us into a conversation about race even if not at the “right time”—history shows us that if we wait for the “right time” (“right time” = “when white people are ready”), it will never happen. Talking about race is not convenient. Thank you to all Black Lives Matters organizers for forcing this conversation. Thank you, Bernie, for being wise enough to listen.

Democracy Now! Gyasi Ross: Why I Support Bernie Sanders & the #BlackLivesMatter Protesters Who Interrupted Him

Yep.

[questionseverything]

1. bernies plan for dealing with race problems was a good one but

his interaction with blm has made it better............specifically working to stop civil forfeiture of assets, or at least make it a more fair process is a good thing for everyone no matter what color you are

[WillyT]

2. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!