2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: The "PoC don't support Bernie because they don't know him" claim is actually true [View all]jonestonesusa
(880 posts)I actually do believe that rejecting militarism to promote domestic programs, economic changes to reduce the flow of capital out of communities, an end to mass incarceration, encouraging and leveraging self-empowerment among communities, and educational access are part of a "black political agenda," and these are all things that Sanders has championed. It sounds like you may feel that these are separate from a black political agenda, and I can see where that stance is coming from, since the white savior syndrome is a non-starter and it's an additional monumental task to dismantle structures of white supremacy that are coded into US culture and affect black people. I just don't personally think it's an either-or situation, so I would disagree when you seem to say that either you promote economic/military change or you seek changes in social constructs. I think that action is needed on both of these fronts, simultaneously. I also think that when it comes to the programs proposed by Sanders such as college access, universal health care, etc., there absolutely needs to be constant assessment of how well these programs are actually benefiting all people - if we do this kind of assessment, we can learn from the past where access to public resources and programs has been consistently unequal. But having such resources available to a broader part of our population will help the society move forward, and to some extent, in an anti-racist direction. This approach has precedent in that the latter part of MLK's career was dedicated to these same goals of anti-militarism and a poor people's campaign, including building alliances with other interest groups to move progress forward. Even with the murder of King and the white backlash in the Nixon era, some of the positive legislative actions that came out of the movement assisted black empowerment for quite some time. Then there was Reagan.
Admittedly, I'm simplifying a lot of history, but I wanted to explain where Sanders' platform and approach has some upside and some positive historical precedent. The problems of racism will endure due to their embeddedness and complexity, but it is possible to work toward some improvement through the presidential office.
I'm not going to go into Sanders' lengthy legislative record, but if we were to objectively weigh what issues he has supported over the years and how that relates to action that benefits the majority of black people, it would be important to look at that record reasonably. When I first spoke on this topic, I was answering someone that was generalizing about Tammy Baldwin vs. Bernie Sanders, and even though I'm a big fan of Tammy Baldwin (a senator in my own state right now) I think that Sanders has a stronger record in the areas that I've mentioned.
Two other things: You said that Sanders "permanently fled to Vermont." Why do you say that he "fled"? I live in Wisconsin - I moved here because of a job offer - the reality is, people move, and if they desire to, they should. I understand what white flight is, but it just puts a lot of innuendo into the mix to say that Sanders "fled" without any real support. Plus, he serves in Washington, DC, as a national political figure.
Second, there's some dismissal in your post of Sanders' activism as a youth. I don't think that a person deserves a presidential vote just because he once participated in protests, but if someone we knew personally participated in the movement, would we dismiss that experience as insignificant? Regardless of politics, sincere acts of conscience should be respected, especially acts of conscience during one of the most transforming social movements in U.S. history.
At the end of the day, I would just like to see Sanders get a fair look, since I think he offers more than what he is given credit for by the anti-Sanders contingent on DU. Progress is needed in this country so we had best look for it everywhere we can.
The answer got kind of long, but there it is. PEACE.