#BlackLivesMatter More Than the Hurt Feelings of White Progressives™

[Martin Eden]

128. She made a lot of sense throughout the post

Everything she described about her own feelings and reactions as well as the behavior of others (including members of BLM and the Sanders supporters who incited her to declare she'd vote against him out of spite) demonstrated a good understanding of human nature, though perhaps not a full understanding of all parties involved.

Ultimately, human nature is what it boils down to in the very contentious, very personal, and sometimes mob-oriented world of politics. None of the "sides" in this ugly episode can lay any special claim to being more enlightened or compassionate or wise than the other "side" (I'm using quotation marks because we're very much on the same side in the larger context of what we want America to become). You'll find a wide range of qualities among individuals in any group, but the larger the population the more the curve flattens out.

In the long run (hopefully in the shorter run) this will be a learning experience in which many people (alas, it will never be all people) involved learn important lessons and gain a better understanding of each other and how we can work together in common cause. Before Seattle there was a lot of anger for a multitude of reasons, and I'm sad to say we have since been directing far too much of it at each other.

Not being a PoC myself, I can never fully understand what it's like to walk miles and years in those shoes. I can only speak for myself as someone whose passion for politics began in the 1960's with the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam war. Witnessing what's happened to our country since then with Reagan, GW Bush, the Iraq war, and the growing inequality & oligarchy, my own feelings are a mix of grief, disgust, powerlessness, and anger. In that respect I'm sure I'm like many other white progressives. I've lost faith in the Democratic process and the political establishment (including the Democratic Party) as a means for achieving significant progress towards social & economic justice. I've refrained from placing too much hope in any politician, but as far as I can tell Bernie Sanders is the real deal. His policies align very closely with my own, and I think he's principled & honest.

Given human nature, it's not surprising (and probably predictable) how the pent-up anger boiled over when his appearance was disrupted in Seattle. I'm not making any excuses or defending the ugliness that ensued. After observing politics and people in this country for 50+ years, I'm saying I'm not surprised -- especially in this cyber age of internet forums lacking face to face human contact.

I think Bernie Sanders will take what happened in Seattle and learn from it by ensuring his campaign more fully embraces the concerns of BLM.

Sanders supporters, myself included, need to do the same.