Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: Earlier today a DU regular started a thread about Bernie Sanders and "Open Borders". [View all]ehrnst
(32,640 posts)that would not be from "a walk of life" that perhaps we want a lot more of.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talked in an interview about well-meaning clueless white women in her dorm where she went to college in Pennsylvania, coming from Nigeria. She said that they complimented her on how good her English was, despite the fact that English is the official language of Nigeria. They also offered to help her learn to use the stove, and were surprised that she didn't listen to "tribal music." They had a 'story' in their head about people from Africa, all coming from villages, needing kids like them to save their candy money so that those poor African children could be lifted into modernity. It was incorrect, but their privileged thinking assumed that there was only one story for all "africans" which was the one they imagined.
Someone who listens and is genuinely curious, who doesn't assume they are the smartest in the room, and that everyone else needs 'guidance' is less likely to say insensitive, or even condescending things - however well meaning.
This Senator also once said:
"When you're white, you don't know what it's like to be living in a ghetto, you don't know what it's like to be poor." indicating that his 'story' of poverty and race seems to be one from a constituency that is 98% white, and very rural.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden