As a white guy, I'd like to tell black people why they should support Bernie Sanders

[Onlooker]

This thread was prompted by one that framed Hillary's victory in the south as a victory for the Confederacy, and is intended to draw attention to the some of the micro-aggressions that DU let's stand. All my points are based on actual threads.

I am white, but have been reading posts by Bernie supporters for weeks. Here are some of the reasons why black people should support Bernie for president that I learned here at DU:

(1) Bernie engages actively in the Civil Rights struggle every 50 years (there's photographic proof), and this happens to be one of those cycles.
(2) If you support Hillary, you will appear ignorant to many of Bernie's young white supporters.
(3) If you support Hillary, it means you support the Confederacy.
(4) Hillary is actually single-handedly responsible for the high incarceration rates of blacks.
(5) Hillary's husband fooled blacks for 8 years making them think he was supportive of their rights.
(6) Hillary has been actively courting the black vote while Sanders has not, which shows that Hillary is pandering.
(7) Sanders would have done more for blacks if his state was more than 1% black.
(8) Black people don't have access to the information that white people have regarding the true Hillary.
(9) Hillary only worked for and embraces Obama because she knows that you will vote for whoever likes Obama best.
(10) Millennials are more diverse and accepting of different people, so there's no need for blacks to identify as black anymore; just vote as if you were a northern white Democrat.

There are many reasons to support Bernie and many threads present those reasons convincingly, but there are way too many threads that DU lets stand that disparage minorities who support Hillary. It's embarrassing that DU is not more sensitive.

[Cha]

1. Well done, Onlooker thank you!

[Todays_Illusion]

2. DU was so harsh against Obama I avoided it for years. Made up for a long time of old HC 2008 losers

[NanceGreggs]

3. Kickin' for the a.m. crowd.

This is a brilliantly-written piece.

[Lucinda]

4. KNR

[leftynyc]

6. I was one of the jurors who voted to leave it without commment

On Wed Mar 2, 2016, 05:19 AM an alert was sent on the following post:

As a white guy, I'd like to tell black people why they should support Bernie Sanders
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511391631

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Obnoxious race baiting and strawman arguments designed solely to slander Bernie Sanders and his supporters.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Wed Mar 2, 2016, 05:22 AM, and the Jury voted 2-5 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: This is actually a great post. it is unfortunately true that many (all) of these things have been said about the AA community here. This is NOT the racist post, please alert on the truly racist posts, not the ones calling racism out.
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I've seen these very comments posted here...leave it.
Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Telling it like it is.

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[BlueMTexpat]

17. "Strawman arguments" ...

Every single one has been made by those who are trying to convince AAs that they must "feel the Bern" or else.

Was "strawman arguments" an admission?

Thanks for the LEAVE, leftynyc!

[leftynyc]

21. The implication that African Americans

are too stupid or uninformed to vote in their own interests is so fucking outrageous, I'm amazed I keep seeing it here on DU. My pleasure to vote the way I did.

[BlueMTexpat]

22. The overt racism demonstrated

here by self-styled "progressives" is something I never thought to see on DU.

Sadly, I was wrong.

[consciouslocs]

26. Not surprised to see it here at all

I have been listening to The Agenda on the way into work and listening to Progressives carry on about "the blacks" is just bad, if not worse, than when I hear that crap on Conservative radio. Discussions on race tend to bring out the absolute worst in people. It is actually good to see this inner feelings and beliefs surface.

[leftynyc]

28. I'm VERY surprised and

I've been here a very long time. It's an ugly side to DU.

[John Poet]

42. You're right. The fact is, most Democrats seem

"too stupid or uninformed to vote in their own interests",
including black, white, yellow, brown, pink or purple,
their tint has nothing to do with it.

[leftynyc]

43. Because they don't

agree with you? If you don't see that's insulting and condescending, it's no wonder Bernie can't get support from them...or anyone else not a white male from what Steve Karnacki said this morning. I consider MY best interests voting to nominate the person who I think has the best chance in the general.

[BlueMTexpat]

49. Good for you! :)

[Lizzie Poppet]

46. I did notice the alerter has no clue what a straw man argument actually is.

Comedy gold.

[leftynyc]

70. True

but I'm often seeing it used wrong on boards. I've also seen it explained numerous times - I guess they weren't online at the time.

[Gothmog]

88. It is sad that people use the term "strawman" incorrectly

[jsmirman]

34. Once again - alert means "this is an opinion I don't like"

or "this makes me feel unhappy, I don't like it, please hide it."

GROW UP!

GDP is NOT a protected group. People only think it is because it's become so monolithic.

These people who strive to make DU a place where minority opinions are stifled and their authors are hunted and forced into silence are a disgrace to the site.

What the heck is wrong with people?

What authoritarian bullies some of you have shown yourselves to be.

[leftynyc]

36. In all the times I've been on a jury

I think I've voted to hide 4-5 which I felt made the DU community as a whole look bad so I hope that was not aimed at me. I voted to let it stand.

[jsmirman]

37. No, not at all aimed at you

just pointing out how badly the jury system is being abused and how it has hurt the site and been used as a tool to stifle minority opinion.

Thank you for posting the jury results.

[Gothmog]

57. Great jury verdict

[msanthrope]

7. kick and rec... for truth. nt

[lovemydog]

8. I've seen these same things on other social media too.

You've captured it perfectly.

[That Guy 888]

9. Yeah, these threads don't get old either.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to get to my klan meeting.

[Kokonoe]

10. Also if and when he does show up

Bernie is the only white guy there.

[Betty Karlson]

11. Thanks for the positive messaging. eom

[yardwork]

12. Brilliant.

[betsuni]

13. K&R!

[treestar]

14. good summation

[RoccoR5955]

15. Thank you!

People need to be informed, and you have done an excellent job!

[lunamagica]

16. K&R.

[Bobbie Jo]

18. Well said.

[BlueMTexpat]

19. Wonderful!

A BIG K & R from me!

[LexVegas]

20. Truth hurts. nt

[VulgarPoet]

23. K/r.

What's worse, is I'm mixed. Seeing this shit kind of infuriates me, especially coming from the people who claim to be on our side this whole time. I'm certain others have it worse, but there's a perverse cognitive dissonance between white progressives and racial micro-aggression.

[consciouslocs]

39. As an AA women, with two Southern born parents, who has lived in nearly every

region on this country due to my father's military career, this is not surprising. I went to college in the NE and married a white man from the NE so I am used to being one of or the only black face (s) in majority white spaces and the behavior/attitudes on this board is something I experience whenever race and politics come up; it is not regional contrary to the disparing remarks about the South. It is disconcerting to hear overt racist rhetoric from the other side and see the racial aggression/condescension from folks I'd otherwise agree with 90% of the time.

[VulgarPoet]

40. Amen.

My fiancée and our third in our poly are both white, and when I'm with them (Western Michigan, when I have the leave to fly there)-- it's rarely if ever overt, but say we're on the boardwalk of one of the magnificent beaches out there. I get double-takes all the damn time, like "wait what is he" and it only feeds into that feeling like I really don't HAVE a place. To see the same kind of thinking that spurs those questions demonstrated here, by people who in the very next breath will swear they're progressives...

Disconcerting's a bit mild of a word for it.

[Number23]

60. + a million. Well said.

[Number23]

59. I love this post. And please know that the vast majority of black posters and clued in whites here

of which the OP clearly seems like one, share your point of view.

[72DejaVu]

27. Massachusetts isn't a real state?

If it wasn't for Massachusetts, there wouldn't BE other states.

[Live and Learn]

64. Mass was close. Clinton got 1 delegate over Bernie even with Bill's shenanigans.

Nothing to celebrate there.

[TheFarseer]

25. I think black people should vote for Bernie for the same reasons white people should.

Bernie wants to overturn Citizens United and get the money out of politics and return the power to everyday Americans.

Bernie wants to stop jobs going overseas, opposing bad trade agreements like TPP.

Medicare for all.

Hillary is more likely to lead us into a senseless war.

The candidates are basically the same on Civil Rights issues. To say otherwise is simply being untruthful. I have never been much in favor of pandering to a specific group. If you're against TPP in front of Union Workers, you should be against it in front of Wall Street bankers. If you're for decriminalizing pot in front of the NAACP, you should be against it in front of a Police Union. Otherwise, when you pander you just end up contradicting yourself in the end and everyone else can see that you're basically talking down to those people like they're stupid.

[Ned_Devine]

102. Nice post. Agreed

[DrDan]

29. excellent - paints an accurate picture of what we have seen here the past few days

[Koinos]

30. K & R

[Kip Humphrey]

31. Onlooker, thanks for doing this grunge research (yuck)... how many of these were likely trolls

and how many were sourced from long time DUers I wonder...

[Onlooker]

45. That's a fair question

Some definitely weren't trolls, but mostly I didn't pay attention to that.

[cheapdate]

32. Is it cool to talk about the "Latino vote"?

[ismnotwasm]

33. Yup

[mhatrw]

38. Why do Clinton & company always scream loudest about the exact things they are most guilty of?

Sanders has a (union) superPAC!

Sanders went to DSCC retreats and even USED THE POOL!

Sanders' supporters are big, big bullies! All they ever do is bully and demean people who don't support their candidate!

Sanders' campaign uses dirty tricks!

Sanders and his supporters use race and gender to divide people!

Sanders and his supporters are mean-spirited!

And now, Sanders' supporters commit MICROAGGRESSIONS!

[MisterP]

41. singlehandedly? no: just kept the gravy train rolling and gets feted by GEO and CCA

[brison34]

44. Bravo Onlooker

But always remember, satire is seldom appreciated by the people it is directed at. 1st law of Satire..." the enjoyment of satire is inversely proportional to the self-righteousness of those it lampoons. "Thanks man!

[JaneyVee]

47. K AND R!

[EndElectoral]

48. Framing is all. Seems HRC was framed as Sanders is being now back in the 2008 election

[Chitown Kev]

50. Yup...that about covers it...

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

51. (3) If you support Hillary, it means you support the Confederacy

Do you really believe that shit? There are many here on DU from the south who are fighting the good fight. They have it tougher than those of us in blue states.

[EffieBlack]

55. If Bernie were winning Southern states on the strength of the white vote, his supporters would be

singing an entirely different tune.

Something along the lines of "Dixie" . . .

[Eric J in MN]

52. Which white, current member of Congress 'engages actively in the Civil Rights struggle'?

What specifically did that Congress member do which Bernie Sanders didn't?

[EffieBlack]

53. I answered both of these questions when you posed them to me in another thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=1381610

You never responded, but now you've followed Onlooker into this thread to ask the same questions.

Methinks you're not really looking for answers but are just trying to disrupt.

[Eric J in MN]

54. I am asking for specific examples of what other white, current members of Congress

...did which Bernie Sanders didn't. Your reply in the other thread didn't have specific examples, and so I repeated the question in this thread.

[Gothmog]

56. Great OP

That OP is wonderful

[Vattel]

58. Here are a few of the reasons blacks should support Bernie:

(1) Hillary displayed horrible judgment in supporting the invasion of Iraq and parroting Bush's bullshit reasons for the invasion.
(2) She also displayed horrible judgment in pushing for regime change in Libya.
(3) She wanted to send child refugees back to Honduras even though she conceded that they were safer here.
(4) She supported the bad parts of the 1994 crime bill.
(5) She is a proven liar, and has run a dishonest campaign in both 2008 and 2016.
(6) Until recently she held a bigoted view of gay marriage.
(7) She is in favor of capital punishment.
(8) She wanted an even bigger increase in troops in Afghanistan than Obama approved.
(9) She does not want to legalize marijuana.
(10) She supported welfare reform.

[YCHDT]

62. Why would blacks care more about your number 10 than whites?

The rest of the list ignores what the poster already stated

[Vattel]

72. They wouldn't. These are reasons why everyone should vote for Bernie.

The OP lists a bunch of straw men and so I thought I would list some real ones.

[Live and Learn]

69. These are reasons ALL people should support Bernie. K&R nt

[Vattel]

75. Exactly. I narrowed it to African Americans because the post had a bunch

of imaginary reasons allegedly offered by Bernie supporters as to why African Americans should vote for Bernie.

I get annoyed when people (and I have even been guilty of this to some degree) keep talking about immigration issues as if it is the only thing Latinos care about. I can appreciate why African Americans would get annoyed when they are treated as if they only cared about mass incarceration and police brutality and such.

[Onlooker]

71. You're making my point number 10 ...

... Don't know if you're a millennial, but your post makes it sound like we're in a post-racist society where blacks no longer need to identify as being black, so should just vote as white northern liberals would.

Furthermore, while I agree with almost everything you wrote (as reasons to support Bernie), it's also worth noting that on all of those issues Bernie has been ineffective.

[Vattel]

74. And there it is. Yet another example of someone unfairly painting a Bernie

supporter as clueless about race. Number 10, like numbers 1-9, are reasons why everyone should vote for Bernie. I did not say or imply that African Americans no longer need to identify as black, or that they should always vote as white northern liberals should.

[EffieBlack]

91. You listed 10 reasons to vote AGAINST Hillary but not one reason to vote FOR Bernie

[Vattel]

94. Fair enough, here are some of the relevant contrasts that argue for voting for Bernie.

Unlike Hillary, Bernie displayed great judgment in speaking out against the invasion of Iraq and predicting the bad consequences of invading. Unlike Hillary, Bernie opposed the bad parts of the 1994 crime bill and supported the good parts. Unlike Hillary, Bernie is not a liar and has run an honest campaign in 2016. Bernie was in favor of gay marriage long before Hillary was. Unlike Hillary, he is against capital punishment. Unlike Hillary, Bernie wants marijuana removed entirely from the federal schedule. And unlike Hillary, Bernie opposed the 1996 welfare reform bill.

[Number23]

61. #6 is easily the most egregious to me. People here said that without batting an eye when she went

to Flint. That caring about racism and acknowledging the interests of black people was "pandering." Actually said that. And then sat around open mouthed and wide eyed when black people basically asked them had they lost their fucking minds saying something so stupid and insensitive.

I hope that Skinner reads this OP. He's recently acknowledged how hostile this forum is to minorities -- even though some of us have been trying to explain this to him for YEARS. I think your OP spells out alot of how this board looks to people of color.

[YCHDT]

63. If Skinner is a mod then its good they recognize this, I'm sure people spoke up before it got

this bad around here.

I hope its mostly people from republican forums

[Live and Learn]

66. It seems to me that some people here see 'black people' mentioned when they haven't been at all.

Lots of us think her Flint trip was pandering to ALL of the people in FLINT, not just to those that happen to be POC. And there is good reason for that given here support for fracking.

If fact, it seems to me that the people that don't bring up her support of fracking and continued potential poisoning of waters of all races are the ones that should be ashamed.

[Number23]

67. Did you feel called out or something?

What an unnecessary response.

Every single thread I saw where Hillary was accused of "pandering" was in threads about race. And Hillary was the one that put Flint into the political discussion. Lots of people wouldn't even have known about what was going on there if it hadn't been for her deliberate calculation to make it an issue. And one of the reasons it became such an issue was because of the number of poor and BLACK people that lived there.

Can I help you with something else?

[Live and Learn]

68. Not at all, why would I? And I call complete BS on people only knowing about Flint because of

Hillary. Good gawd, if anything, Hillary was late to the party. Bernie called out Flint way before Hillary. Flint is not a racial issue. It could happen to any of us and everyone knows it.

DU is not a racist website and Bernie supporters are not racist. If you want to call out racism in society, go ahead and do so in GD and you will get plenty of support but don't attempt it GDP where it becomes simply divisive.

From what I have witnessed, the divisiveness usually has started with Hillary supporters claiming Bernie hasn't done enough for minorities and that Hillary has done more. When Bernie supporters defend Bernie and hold Hillary accountable, they are portrayed as insensitive or actual racists.

[Number23]

87. It's clear that the ENTIRE point of this OP has whizzed by your head. It's no wonder you felt called

out and have responded in such a ridiculous, overheated, hyper defensive way.

Anyone who reads this OP and then zooms into it to attack a black poster and tell them how "wrong" they are about alot of the racist crap that goes on on this web site obviously lacks the introspection (among many other admirable qualities) to see past the end of their nose. Not only do you clearly not see how clueless, paternalistic and just flat out dumb your behavior in this thread is, you obviously have a massively overvalued sense of your own opinion.

And the "wedge was created by Hillary supporters" was just the extra bit of surreality your post needed to be completely ridiculous. But I guess if you think that black people are being fooled into supporting Hillary, it's no big stretch to conclude that everybody else was being fooled into believing that the rancor and divisiveness caused by the rabid, trolling behavior of Sanders supporters for damn near a year was actually Hillary supporters in disguise!1 If your intent with your posts was to highlight the exact behavior that the OP was referring to, you've outdone yourself.

[Live and Learn]

95. Did you say something? nt

[Number23]

97. Best thing you've said all thread

[Live and Learn]

65. It is funny how all the posts that disparage POC and anyone else that supports Bernie aren't

given equal concern. I find that embarrassing.

[Vinca]

73. Congratulations for fertilizing the party division with more BS.

Either candidate will need all of our votes to win. Pissing off one side isn't going to help the cause of your candidate.

[monicaangela]

76. As a Black Woman

I had to stop reading after reason #1. Why? This is why:

Here are 20 ways Sanders has stood up for civil and minority rights, starting in the early 1950s up to the present year.

1. Raising Money For Korean Orphans: International solidarity was an unusual concept for any American to have in the 1950s, let alone a high school student. But one of Sanders' first campaigns was to run for class president at James Madison High School in New York City. His platform was based around raising scholarship funds for Korean war orphans. Although he lost, the person who did win the campaign decided to endorse Sanders' campaign, and scholarships were created.

2. Being Arrested For Desegregation: As a student at the University of Chicago, Sanders was active in both the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1962, he was arrested for protesting segregation in public schools in Chicago; the police came to call him an outside agitator, as he went around putting up flyers around the city detailing police brutality.

3. Calling For Full Gay Equality: 40 years ago, Sanders started his political life by running with a radical third party in Vermont called the Liberty Union Party. As a part of the platform, he called for abolishing all laws related to discrimination against homosexuality.

4. Standing Up For Victims Of U.S. Imperialism In Latin America: While mayor of Burlington, Vermont, Sanders formally protested the Reagan government's policy of sending arms to Central America to repress left-wing movements. In 1985, he traveled to Nicaragua to condemn the war on people there. He writes about it in his book Outsider In The House: “The trip to Nicaragua was a profoundly emotional experience....I was introduced to a crowd of hundreds of thousands who gathered for the anniversary celebration. I will never forget that in the front row of the huge crowd were dozens and dozens of amputees in wheelchairs – young soldiers, many of them in their teens, who had lost their legs in a war foisted on them and financed by the U.S. government.”

5 Condemned And Opposed Welfare Reform and Dog Whistle Politics:While President Bill Clinton and most Democrats in Congress supported so-called welfare reform politics, Sanders not only voted against this policy change, but wrote eloquently against the dog whistle politics used to sell it, saying, “The crown jewel of the Republican agenda is their so-called welfare reform proposal. The bill, which combines an assault on the poor, women and children, minorities, and immigrants is the grand slam of scapegoating legislation, and appeals to the frustrations and ignorance of the American people along a wide spectrum of prejudices.”

6. Vocally Condemned and Opposed Death Penalty and Prisons His Entire Political Career: Sanders has long been a critic of “tough on crime” policies. Here he is in 1991 condemning a crime bill for promoting “state murder” through expansion of the death penalty:


“My friends, we have the highest percentage of people in jail per capita of any nation on earth....What do we have to do, put half the country behind bars? Mister Speaker, instead of talking about punishment and vengeance, let us talk about the real issue. How do we get to the root causes of crime? How do we stop crime? … I've got a problem with a president and Congress that allows five million people to go hungry, two million people to sleep out on the street, cities to become breeding grounds for drugs and violence. And they say we're getting tough on crime. If you want to get tough on crime, let's deal with the causes of crime. Let's demand that every man, woman, and child in this country have a decent opportunity and a decent standard of living. Let's not keep putting poor people into jail and disproportionately punishing blacks.”

He also voted for an amendment in the crime bill to eliminate the death penalty with life imprisonment.

7. Voted Against Cutting Off Prisoners From Federal Education Funds: In the 1990s, there was a successful effort to end the Pell Grant program for prisoners, which was one of the most effective ways to reduce recidivism. Only a handful of members of Congress voted against the legislation, and almost all of them were members of the Black Caucus. Sanders was one of the few white members who opposed this effort. It passed by 351 to 39. Of those in the House who opposed that vote, few are still serving; Reps. John Lewis, Jose Serrano, Charlie Rangel, and Bernie Sanders stood together at that time and continue to serve today.

Read more here, if you truly as a white man want to appear a bit more informed: http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/20-examples-bernie-sanders-powerful-record-civil-and-human-rights-1950s

[Onlooker]

77. Not really the point of my thread

The point of my thread was about the microaggressions directed against people of color and others. It had nothing to do with Sanders specific actions. That said, though I support Sanders, I also recognize that you will not find his name in any civil rights, gay, or women's history book. He occupied positions of power in liberal areas and voted right, but not sure what he accomplished. For the most part, Hillary also voted right, but is also someone who actually achieved a few aims especially with regard to women's rights. Sanders record is better, but Hillary's isn't bad:

http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Hillary_Clinton_Civil_Rights.htm

[monicaangela]

79. You probably won't find his name mentioned as first lady either.

That's the difference Onlooker, you can read about famous people and their projects all day, but every famous person that does something is generally mentioned because they can bring more attention to the action than a person who is not known to the public. Bernie Sanders was not making speeches and claiming one thing while doing another, his record proves he has been continually doing things for blacks and all minority groups in this nation including women. That's the difference, Clinton is generally against things until it is in her best interest to be for them. That is not a person you can or should trust IMHO.

This is the kind of fluff you get on that link you posted:

Leaders of a coalition of women’s groups and politically conservative groups sent a letter of protest to the first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. The letter accused the administration of taking a position that was “extremely detrimental to women” in negotiations over a new UN treaty on sex trafficking. They were referring to the administration’s support for wording in the treaty that would define “forced prostitution” - but not other types of prostitution - as a form of “sexual exploitation.” The letter said [that] wording would make it more difficult to prosecute prostitution rings because the definition “would not cover some of the most common methods of sex trafficking, which prey on and profit from the economic desperation of women, girls and their families by securing their ‘consent.’” Clinton has focused on the issue in her foreign travels and has repeatedly called for a crackdown on all types of trafficking of women and children across international borders.

Nowhere in that statement does it say she got anything done, she wasn't even in congress at the time so she couldn't even help by voting for the bill. Those that contacted her did so to try to get her to influence her husband I'm sure, she decided to make speeches. Even when she was in the Senate, when she could have helped black people a great deal as they were losing their homes by the hundreds of thousands, what did she do. She went up to Wall Street and told them to cut it out. Oh she got something done alright, shortly after that she was making millions for giving speeches to those very same people she had told to cut it out.

Sanders record is better, and thank you for pointing that out.

[Onlooker]

83. I see it differently

The backdrop to the Clinton's actions was Newt Gingrich's Contract on America, the Christian right, the emergence of Tea Party politics, and powerful right wing Democrats like Sam Nunn. They basically tried to build a coalition that included enough of middle America to prevent the worst that the Republicans were fighting for. They compromised I think as a strategic decision. I think Obama has done the same. In the context of a nation that has twice as many self identified conservatives as liberals, they played their hands reasonably well preventing the country from going onto a path that was far worse. Sanders to my knowledge played no significant role in preventing the right wing backlash from growing stronger. He, to his credit, remained pure, but there was also a place for those were able to slow the right wing down. Hillary is a liberal. Her record is rated highly by most progressive groups, but she positioned herself to be able to negotiate compromises. My view is that if it's Sanders against Trump or Cruz, I'm all for Sanders because I think he could win. But, if Rubio is the nominee, I'd prefer Hillary because Rubio can win the center. That said, I voted for Sanders in the primary. I don't see either Sanders or Hillary as bad, but they each play different roles in the reality of our political system and an American population that frankly doesn't give a shit about the poor, about racism, about homophobia, or even about sexism.

[monicaangela]

85. If that is the way you see it, then that's how you see it.

It appears there are many others who choose to see it the way you do also, mainly Hillary supporters. I see it the way I have always seen it, before the reports came out to try to convince me otherwise. I am old enough to remember exactly what they did and how they did it, and that compromise thing you seem to think happened and feel is still happening with President Obama is called establishment politics, a game played above the heads of the populous generally and in favor of the 1% who actually control the economy and government. My hope is that a candidate that will give these people a heads up before going into office, and let them know that even if he doesn't get into office they still have something to worry about is a candidate I can support. I will definitely be voting for Senator Sanders on March 15.

[notadmblnd]

78. Let me ask you a question?

How does anyone here know what color someone is unless someone specifically claims to be- either in their screen name or mention it over and over in their posts? And I do say claim because I do think there ARE SOME POSERS HERE.

I have never seen a Sanders supporter specifically speak/post to African Americans telling them why they should vote for Sanders and if you have, you need to cite it. I have seen people post items telling all people here why they think others should vote for Sanders and have mentioned African Americans, but no posts from white people specifically to black people, like you just wrote

As a white guy, I'd like to tell black people why they should support Bernie Sanders

In my opinion, it is the never ending race baiting by Clinton supporters here that is revealing who the real bigots and racists on this board are. It is posts like this that stir emotions and keep the discourse here going.

[EndElectoral]

80. Well said.

[kwassa]

84. I have seen many such posts

but I quite honestly don't feel any responsibility to find links for you. It has most definitely happened.

I have never seen a Sanders supporter specifically speak/post to African Americans telling them why they should vote for Sanders and if you have, you need to cite it. I have seen people post items telling all people here why they think others should vote for Sanders and have mentioned African Americans, but no posts from white people specifically to black people, like you just wrote

[notadmblnd]

86. Just because you say it, doesn't make it true.

The onus is on the person making the claim. So if you can't provide links, carry on.

[kwassa]

89. no, you made the claim it never happened. It's on you.

[notadmblnd]

90. No, the OP made the claim that it has. It's on you and the OP since you are

now both claiming that it is true. Carry on.

[kwassa]

92. Whatever.

Anybody who has paid the slightest attention in the past couple of months would see that it is true.

We've had to block many coming into the African-American group to lecture us in precisely such a way.

[alarimer]

81. What a load of crap.

Does anyone realize how much damage Bill Clinton did for everyone, but especially African Americans with the ramped-up war on drugs and "welfare reform?" What about NAFTA which sucked for anyone with a job?

I'm so fucking sick of these LIES.

[cwydro]

82. K and r!

[kstewart33]

93. Well said, but you forgot one.

Right out of college, Hillary went to South Carolina to work for the civil rights of black Americans because she liked the weather there. The humidity was good for her skin.

[CreekDog]

96. Are you sure?

I heard she worked on Civil Rights issues because it was a way to get appointed to the Wal Mart board of directors.

[frazzled]

98. Bingo x 10

Each of your points is spot on and each has galled me for months now. I don't even think they need the snark (although it is well deserved).

The surprising thing is, now that it is clear that Bernie Sanders has woefully failed to attract the black vote, the whitesplaining has grown even more intense and vitriolic. Move on: he ain't going to get that vote and, no, he doesn't "deserve" it. No one deserves anyone's vote. They earn it. He didn't.

But before I leave (it's late), let me address your point no. 8, because the contention that black people don't have access to the information about what a devil Hillary is galls me more than anything. Because I live in a city with a large black population, and with many black elected officials, I have worked on quite a few political campaigns and issue-based campaigns side by side with many of my African American cohorts, young and old. And I can tell you that they are anything but uninformed about politics. Walk into Valois cafeteria on the South Side and you will find tables full of the old neighborhood guys having fascinating, well-informed discussions on politics. It is incredibly condescending to demean black voters in this way.

It's over. We should end this ridiculous, insulting attempt to tell people how they should vote or why they are voting incorrectly. Respect the people.

[Quayblue]

100. Thank you! nt

[DesertRat]

99. Well said

k&r

[serbbral]

101. "As a white guy, I'd like to tell black people why they should support Bernie Sanders"

When I first read that title I thought that was a joke. Black people are VERY capable of making up their own minds as to which candidate they would like to see in office. I find that title offensive.