I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. If Democrats protected the voting rights of people of color with an appropriate sense of urgency and importance, we probably wouldn’t be in this crisis. The average dem voter couldn’t have done shit about that; it’s all we can do to work for a living and survive this blasted libertarian hellscape nation. But strategists, movers, shakers, butts in office: they could have done a lot more, should have seen the danger a lot more clearly. I just hope in some tiny but still tragically unrealistic way that they’ll learn the right lessons off this shituation. Odds are, we’ll just get another round of smug “whaddyagonnados” and capitulation and rightward slide.
The media is always on the leading edge of AmeriKKKa’s stampede into hell tho. Dems got nothing on CNN & friends. As an anonymous commenter on yoisthisracist said,
“Even broadcast media is afraid to use the word ‘racist’ and is 100% more likely to come down on someone for correctly accusing someone of racism than for being racist.”
It’s true, isn’t it? How fucked are we? Especially those more darkly complected than myself. But still, us honkeys too. The white supremacist voting bloc in this country has proven so many times over that they will consign us all to begging the billionaires for moldy poison scraps if it means some brown people will be disallowed from the begging party. I try to scrupulously tag my posts, but kinda feel like tagging my whole existence with “wake me when the world is over.”
You are absolutely right. People in the democratic party talk about “identity politics” as though they were trying to ignore “in your face” outright racism. Pure, unadulterated, structural racism that has been a strategy of republicans to stay in power no matter who votes in their districts. It is sad and very concerning that places in the south and midwest and rural areas and abandoned suburban areas that are disproportionately African American are being represented by people who don’t care about them. I almost forget that even though I am in California, Bay Area, not everyone can even vote with the ease we take for granted here (in addition, the legislators here are still looking for ways to make voting and registering to vote even more convenient for constituents.)
Thanks for the comment, ugo. I have some cousins in Oakland. Driving around the Bay is like driving through class divisions, with the attendant shifts in demography. Frustrating shit for a progressive with eyeballs open.
The question now is “What can be done.” I know progressives aren’t the biggest fans of the Democrats. I’m certainly no fan myself, but I know that they have a greater chance of being more receptive to progressives than the Republicans. It is not fair, it is pessimistic, it happens to be this way. The Conservatives and their ilk moved so far right, they are basically holding everyone at the edge of a cliff. We need the progressives to pull the Democrats to pull the conservatives/republicans away from that cliff before we all find ourselves to the point of no return.
Like you said in the previous post, it will most likely be us black folk to have to save white people (an essentially everyone else) from themselves. It can be difficult for some people to hold two or more causes, two or more thoughts in their head, but we can not ignore how “identity politics” or rather civil rights play into things played out during this election and the past eight years. It is the same problem that “mainstream feminism” has had though the decades. The waves of feminism usually faded when white woman made gains for themselves, while leaving women of color without the same urgency to address their unique needs. The same can be said for women of different sexual orientations, abilities, class levels, religions, educational background, geographical location, etc. The same can be said of the progressives. They are not perfect and not above scrutiny. I think moral righteousness and hubris will get in the way of succeeding for progressives and the democrats, more so than the moral bankruptcy of conservative and republicans will.
We’ll have to take these democrat politicians to task about how they will proceed in this Trump presidency and take them to task for their lackluster campaigning in the southern and midwestern states and we can start by taking them to task about what you mentioned before: The dismantling of the Voting Rights Act, deliberately disenfranchising minorities and the poor and the school to prison pipeline (and weakening the institution of public education, especially schools that are minority-majority).
There is a google doc/website:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DzOz3Y6D8g_MNXHNMJYAz1b41_cn535aU5UsN7Lj8X8/preview#
https://www.indivisibleguide.com/
This was created by former congressional staff that lays out the strategy the tea party used to get the politicians they wanted into government and essentially helped to get us into this mess (along with the ineptitude of democrats and stewing of progressives). This 23 page, five chapter plan lays out what people can do to take their congressperson to task and allow their voice to be heard. They really do only care about re-election. If a republican or democratic politician has to be racist or sexist or classist to get re-elected, they will do it in a heartbeat. The moral compass goes out the window if it means they get to stay in office and stay in power. We have to let all the congress people know that if they don’t stand up to Trump, their congressional seat will be in trouble, especially come 2018.
I hope to can use this guide and spread it to other people:
Ch. 1: How grassroots advocacy worked to stop Obama. We examine lessons from the Tea Party’s rise and recommend two key strategic components:
1. A local strategy targeting individual Members of Congress (MoCs).
2. A defensive approach purely focused on stopping Trump from implementing an agenda built on racism, authoritarianism, and corruption.
Ch. 2: How your MoC thinks, and how to use that to save democracy. Reelection, reelection, reelection. MoCs want their constituents to think well of them and they want good, local press. They hate surprises, wasted time, and most of all, bad press that makes them look weak, unlikable, and vulnerable. You will use these interests to make them listen and act.
Ch. 3: Identify or organize your local group. Is there an existing local group or network you can join? Or do you need to start your own? We suggest steps to help mobilize your fellow constituents locally and start organizing for action.
Ch. 4: Four local advocacy tactics that actually work. Most of you have 3 MoCs – two Senators and one Representative. Whether you like it or not, they are your voice in Washington. Your job is to make sure they are, in fact, speaking for you. We’ve identified four key opportunity areas to pressure MoCs that just a handful of local constituents can use to great effect. For each of these always record encounters on video, prepare questions ahead of time, coordinate with your group, and report back to local media:
1. Townhalls. MoCs regularly hold public in-district events to show that they are listening to constituents. Make them listen to you, and report out when they don’t.
2. Non-townhall events. MoCs love cutting ribbons and kissing babies back home. Don’t let them get photo-ops without questions about racism, authoritarianism, and corruption.
3. District office sit-ins/meetings. Every MoC has one or several district offices. Go there. Demand a meeting with the MoC. Report to the world if they refuse to listen.
4. Coordinated calls. Calls are a light lift but can have impact. Organize your local group to barrage your MoCs at an opportune moment and on a specific issue.
It seems like a lot, it is a lot, but we have to do a lot now because we on the left have been dragging our feet and trying to play nice with these conservatives, who have nothing but contempt for us, because they can’t stand others who live different lives than themselves. We don’t have to work with them. We can push them out of the way if they get in our face about it and continue to do what needs to be down to help Americans, kicking and screaming if it comes to that (since they act like children, who don’t know what’s good for them).
Very useful information. I especially like the idea of looking at what the Tea Party did for ideas, creepy as they are. One thing – based on your phrasing in one part there, not sure if you noticed I’m a white person. Just a big believer in promoting actual democracy, representation of all people without compromise, doing what it takes to fight the ongoing campaigns of white supremacy in our government.
Hey, do you mind if I send you an e-mail? As the moderator of this blog I have that info – no need to include it in your reply.
Yeah, you can e-mail me.
OK, will do.