Revolution doesn't mean what you think it does ~HRC ~ Article

[Her Sister]

http://bluenationreview.com/revolution-doesnt-mean-what-you-think-it-does/

Many marginalized people in red states depend on the Democratic Party in ways that privileged people in true blue states don’t need to. They (we) don’t have the luxury of being contemptuous of the Democratic Party for not being as progressive as we might like them to be, because marginalized people’s basic rights are constantly under assault.

There are certainly a number of people who voted for Clinton in Southern states who appreciate and value Sanders’ critiques of corporate corruption, yet bristle at his disdain for establishment politics. In those states, the near-total lack of progressive infrastructure means that the Democratic Party—the establishment—is the only well-funded institution prepared to hold the line against conservative oppression.

A revolution that includes the decimation of establishment politics risks leaving many Democratic voters in red states without any functional defense at all.

The truth is, the framing of this election as those who are desirous of revolution and those who are not entirely misses that the real distinction is about strategy. Everyone wants meaningful change: The real disagreement is just about how best to achieve it.

As we near a general election in which the two camps need to find a way to come together, this point must be made clear. Incrementalism is not a rejection of revolution, and it is certainly not indicative of indifference. It would be a mistake to misinterpret as indifference what is in reality a calculated caution.

A greater sensitivity to those considerations may reveal that supporters of both approaches have more in common than some of them might imagine.

So many good articles these days

[yallerdawg]

1. This is the real Democratic underground!

From the BNR link:

There is a particular sort of privilege, easily and widely taken for granted, in being able to turn on the faucet and drink the water. To know that, despite other problems in a broken system, you reliably have access to clean water. To know that your basic physical safety and essential rights are not social and political footballs.

Marginalized people, especially those who live in states with legislatures governed by a Republican majority, are thrown into constant chaos by abortion restrictions, “religious liberty” bills, “trans bathroom” bills, housing and employment discrimination, voter disenfranchisement, and all the other political tug-of-war we are obliged to navigate, in addition to social oppression and a ceaseless onslaught of microaggressions that can leave us reeling.

Those same things also make us urgent for change, but it disposes many of us toward an incrementalist approach, as opposed to the lurching upheaval of revolution.

It is a privilege, in many ways, to be able to “think big.” To have the space and safety where one can imagine seismic shifts that don’t come with the risk of falling off the edge. We don’t all have that luxury.

[kjones]

6. Right? DU wasn't founded on a privileged notion of self-righteousness...

It came as a real counter to dark times, to organize against destructive governance
and the striping of rights and freedoms...to fight for the underprivileged...not in
contempt of them.
How often does a BSer talk about the underprivileged without it being pandering?
It's always about more for those in the upper-middle area. More for the middle is fine,
but how about you actually bother with the underprivileged for once?

You know, for a so called "socialist revolution"...it sure has it's ranks packed with
members of the bourgeoisie.

I call BS on BS.

[Hekate]

2. Excellent analysis. KnR.

Last edited Thu Mar 24, 2016, 11:16 PM - Edit history (1)

[mcar]

3. Good analysis

Thanks!

[Haveadream]

4. THIS!

"People who live in red states, however, may rightly view the Democrats as the only thing standing between them (with varying degrees of passion and efficacy) and the complete annihilation of voters’ rights by Republican-majority state legislatures.

The Democratic Party, for all its perceived and actual flaws, means a lot to people in red states........

Many marginalized people in red states depend on the Democratic Party in ways that privileged people in true blue states don’t need to. They (we) don’t have the luxury of being contemptuous of the Democratic Party for not being as progressive as we might like them to be, because marginalized people’s basic rights are constantly under assault.

There are certainly a number of people who voted for Clinton in Southern states who appreciate and value Sanders’ critiques of corporate corruption, yet bristle at his disdain for establishment politics. In those states, the near-total lack of progressive infrastructure means that the Democratic Party—the establishment—is the only well-funded institution prepared to hold the line against conservative oppression.

A revolution that includes the decimation of establishment politics risks leaving many Democratic voters in red states without any functional defense at all."

Vote Democrat. People's lives depend on it.

[Dawson Leery]

5. Mark Pryor did some good things for red state Democrats.

Sedition Tommy does not.