General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This message was self-deleted by its author [View all]noretreatnosurrender
(1,890 posts)Bravenak, when I first came back to DU I had some good conversations with you. I told you that I appreciated you posting links to some interesting articles and I did appreciate it. I was very interested to learn about why Sanders was not connecting as well with the Black community as I had hoped. Your articles were helpful.
I haven't had conversations with you since those early days because I began to see that all of the threads you posted (at least the ones I saw) were the same and the comments that followed were all the same. It was flame war after flame war. In my opinion the subject matter is too important to discuss in the middle of a heated primary battle only because it is being twisted by people who are backing one candidate or the other for political gain. This is why I've tried to steer clear. A lot of us who are very supportive of the black community may not be very good at expressing that support during primary season. In our desire to protect and defend our candidate we may say things that come off as anti-black when it's the opposite we are trying to say. In our anger and frustration at being misunderstood, whether it's our own fault or theirs, it is causing some people to lash out and say things that are clearly wrong.
I know you understand how this happens because that's what you did when you lashed out in the post you are apologizing for writing. You know that when people continuously push your buttons that sometimes you lash out and say things you never dreamed would come out of your mouth. I accept your apology as being sincere because I've had good conversations with you in the past and believe that you did not mean what you said. And because I trust your heart I hope that you will use that heart to try to understand the perspective of other people who have said things they shouldn't have said regardless of whether they are big enough to apologize for them. I'd love to have your voice bringing people together and educating them about important issues rather than punishing them and backing them into a corner when they don't get it. Whatever you decide to do going forward I sincerely wish you the best.