Last night was a testament to the Black Lives Matter movement

[La Lioness Priyanka]

For all the hand wringing about them alienating allies etc., their methods to wake us up to a crisis in the black community and in America worked.

The presidential candidates had to answer a question about whether black lives matter or all lives matter and they all (with i think the exception of Webb), did a pretty good job

And a year ago, they would all have failed this question.

As a true ally to this movement, I was so grateful to them for blocking intersections, interrupting speeches, and doing what they had to do to raise our collective consciousness. I applaud them for this work.

[malaise]

1. +1,000

K & R

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. i'm kicking this

if only, so that the handwringers get a chance to see this

[Bluenorthwest]

6. On DU there are about 12 people who have always supported minority disruptive activist

The rest are either hand wringing over BLM or over LGBT activists or Code Pink. Very few posters on DU consistently stand with the people who are motivated to action.
Few are righteous in this regard. Of course some of the people who said they were always opposed to disruptive activism for any reason when it was LGBT activists are now wildly supportive of disruptive activism for some reasons and yet oddly they never seem to speak of how they went from 'this is never right' to 'this is always right'. Seems to me they just did not like LGBT people doing it.
So I see DU as almost exclusively populated by those who wring hands and wail about one disruptive activist group or another. Few support all minority groups engaged in emergency political actions.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

7. i agree, and the reverse is true too, i see people who agreed with gay marriage activists

who are against the BLM activism.

people need to learn to be better allies and support people and not just parties.

[jwirr]

8. I think you are right that some oppose all forms of disruptive

activism. But I think you are absolutely wrong about what many of us are angry about.

First of all I have been a disruptive activist since the 60s. But when I say that I get the "well that does not count" bull from many younger activists. So that means that we are here on this board that discusses voting and it does not matter that we forced that voting rights bill through in 1965 with our own disruptive activism? If that had not happened in the 60s we would not need to be on this board at all because we still would not be able to vote at all. All of us who have been working for civil rights for many years are more angry that we are not considered allies than that there are still protests.

Secondly, it is automatically assumed that we are racist and complicit in establishment racism because "none of that matters". We are placed on the same level as trump, roof, the violent police and the KKK.

It is assumed that we have some magical power to change laws and actions that are taking place in cities far from where we live. And it does not matter that we voted for President Obama because he promised hope and change. Nor does it matter that we lobbied to get Loretta Lynch into the leadership in the Justice Department.

To think that we do not care what is happening with the issue of police violence and to various civil rights issues is to ignore the fact that many of us are as helpless as you are when it comes to TPTB. That many of us are supporting the demands that you are making regarding the issues.

We want to help - but when we try all too often the door is closed and we find we are being labled as the cause of what is happening today.

There are real enemies that need to be faced down - rw churches, Rs, city counsels that allow bigoted police forces in minority communities, prosecutors who side with the police instead of the people, states that obstruct voting rights, economic justice for those who have been forever left behind and too many issues to be able to name them all.

We need to fight these enemies together and stop the in-fighting. And IMO that starts with getting the Senate and (if possible) the House back into the hands of the people while keeping the WH in hands of a Democrat who has the veto power. Without that happening I do not see much hope for change.

So I support BLM and want to do what I can to help but you need to stop rejecting our help. We are not the enemy.

[irisblue]

3. K&R

[GummyBearz]

4. Politicians give lip service to groups all the time

If they actually do a single thing about it after election is another question

[La Lioness Priyanka]

5. raising public consciousness around an issue is no small matter

[jwirr]

9. Under the circumstances today it is the most important thing

that can be done. Enlarge the group so that when we get a chance to be ready to support the leaders who finally actually get around to making the change we need.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

10. another kick