General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTwo upsides of being black these days
1. Having few friends and even fewer family members (in my case, none that I know of) who are Trump supporters so I don't have to deal with all that awkward family dinner stuff; and
2. Not having to cringe with embarrassment every time I see pictures of Trump officials and their mega cult, because there's rarely anyone who looks like me anywhere to be seen near them.
These days, it's nice to take solace, even in the little things...
Afromania
(2,809 posts)Last edited Wed Oct 9, 2019, 05:51 PM - Edit history (1)
But it makes me angry as hell that they are being allowed to do this shit on the promise of hurting brown folks, which eventually would get around to us.
So, I guess I break even emotionally here.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)I just wanted to give a shout-out to two of the upsides.
brush
(61,033 posts)Mister Ed
(6,927 posts)Heaven knows they did their part. Maybe there's still time for them to save us in 2020.
wryter2000
(47,940 posts)It's in Fahrenheit 911
sprinkleeninow
(22,343 posts)A non-AA chick who has strong affection for you sisters and brothers in humanity. 💓
wryter2000
(47,940 posts)Good idea
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)wryter2000
(47,940 posts)sprinkleeninow
(22,343 posts)It was a 4x match your donation! Good deal. 🤗
PoindexterOglethorpe
(28,493 posts)Forgive my ignorance here. But I suspect this isn't a reference to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Chellee
(2,300 posts)nt
PoindexterOglethorpe
(28,493 posts)I probably should have been able to figure that out given this thread, but my brain just didn't go to the right place.
soldierant
(9,354 posts)in 2018.
Mister Ed
(6,927 posts)Which is the only reason Democracy still has even a fighting chance against Fascism in the U.S. right now.
soldierant
(9,354 posts)And, speaking as a "white" person, I think if white people can't manage to be more grateful, we could at least be more respectful All our lives depend on it.
brush
(61,033 posts)Devil Child
(2,728 posts)Black voter turnout decreased in 2016 compared to 2012.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/05/12/black-voter-turnout-fell-in-2016-even-as-a-record-number-of-americans-cast-ballots/
Mister Ed
(6,927 posts)An especially disgraceful statistic was the number of white women who voted for a racist career criminal like Trump in 2016.
Much gratitude is owed to black voters, and certain blocs of white voters have much to atone for.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)Because we gotta do everything.
Devil Child
(2,728 posts)The 2016 data shows that GOTV is absolutely critical for our victories.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)I'm a little over black people being told "you should have just gone out to vote" by people who do little to help us fight voter suppression and whose own demographic is it setting anyone on fire in terms of their voter turnout or Democratic support - all the while expecting us to rescue America by pulling elections out of the fire.
joost5
(421 posts)

pnwmom
(110,261 posts)she isn't black -- she's from the Philippines. She likes their dictator, too. And she's an evangelical Xian who thinks DT was sent by God.
Deep in her heart I think she knows Trump's a racist. She loves to post about black supporters of Trump on FB to prove black people love him. But she doesn't care about black people other than that. (She told me once she'd never date a black man -- only white men.)
And what she obviously doesn't get is that Trump's racist supporters could see her on the street and not have a clue she's one of them. To them, she probably looks like an illegal immigrant from Central or South America. And if she opened her mouth, they'd hear an accent and could STILL not realize she wasn't an illegal immigrant. She has brown skin, black hair, a wide nose, and clearly doesn't sound like she was born here.
If they ever start arresting people based on appearance, she'd be caught up in a sweep -- but still probably wouldn't blame her hero, Trump.
(I know this woman because she's a neighbor, and we've helped each other out with our dogs . . . but since Trump came along I've seen a side that will never let me look at her the same again.)
Wounded Bear
(64,324 posts)I guess it's the whole "chosen by Gawd" mentality.
soldierant
(9,354 posts)that Pat Robertson decided to say he is in danger of "losing Heaven's mandate" by pulling out of Stria. If - I hoe when - Trump goes down, it won't be that God chose the wrong person. No sirree. Trump will always have been the right person, but he let God down.
SuprstitionAintthWay
(386 posts)I suspect a big effort has been made to find someone and get them there. Make sure he's not harrassed... let others know he's, you know, one of the good ones. And they precisely position him (or her, but almost always a him) to be visible in the camera shot behind Trump.
Voila, a racially diverse so obviously non-racist campaign. On TV, the only place that matters.
Trump before one of his adoring Nuremberg rally crowds: "Where's my black guy? Where is he? There he is!" Remember that? One more cringe-inducing moment among a million of them.
sprinkleeninow
(22,343 posts)behavior comes forth and displayed by the disgraceful version of a US president.
wryter2000
(47,940 posts)The only person I know who voted for him is AA. She just hates the Clintons. I haven't asked her what she thinks now.
oldsoftie
(13,538 posts)wryter2000
(47,940 posts)25 years of anti Clinton propaganda did its job
lunatica
(53,410 posts)LOL!
As an old, white Boomer woman I live with the daily knowledge that I LOOK LIKE A MAGAT!! That is just too maddening to endure!

Mars and Minerva
(369 posts)lunatica
(53,410 posts)kag
(4,197 posts)And no, I'm not kidding. As a middle-aged white woman, even my ITMFA t-shirts don't do enough to keep me from looking like a MAGAt most of the time. I might go pink, though.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)
Mars and Minerva
(369 posts)I used half and half. Not too crazy but very un-Trumpy!
They also have a Smokey Pink but you might want to boost it with a little more pink.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Now Im going to think about it.
Thanks!
kag
(4,197 posts)To both M&M and lunatica,
It's hard to find women my age who are supportive This helps.
When I do it, I'll post pics
!
soldierant
(9,354 posts)The Velveteen Ocelot
(130,533 posts)so as not to be ever mistaken for a MAGAt.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)How odd to think that just because were white that makes us look like supporters of that clown?
Seriously?
Wow.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Ive seen many MAGAT women who look like me. They dont all look like cockeyed, crazed nut jobs.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)I really dont get the judging by appearance thing, but if it works for you, hey, well keep on keepin on.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Hang in there. It must be tough.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)A person could miss out on a lot potential friends that way.
So you hang in there. All the best.
Mars and Minerva
(369 posts)admittedly, they are the only Jewish or Black people I know who are pro-Trump but, they adore him.
I didn't realize how much until we had a business meeting right after Charlottesville. They were almost in tears. Not because of what happened that day, but because their friends and family kept calling them crazy for still actively supporting Trump. And not because they felt bad for themselves but because people didn't understand how great he really is.
Apparently, some kind of Folie au Deux. You simply cannot count on everyone to act or think logically.
griloco
(870 posts)Proof even intelligent people can be conned. Remember Bernie Madoff.
Mars and Minerva
(369 posts)maybe some greed, some bigotry (Jews and Blacks are great, folks with Brown or Yellow skin baaaad!) and some emotional stupidity.
It's very weird. they are the outist of all outliers!
Goodheart
(5,760 posts)I've had to tell them that I can't be around them any more.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)CatWoman
(80,290 posts)BumRushDaShow
(169,756 posts)And it's refreshing too.
But I have seen the token "Diamond and Silk" types shoved up there every once in awhile when Drumpf wants some phony photo-ops.
I still have some former co-worker friends who are Republicans and who voted (R) no matter who - and these are federal workers to boot (although since I retired, I haven't talked to them as much lately - at least about politics).
soldierant
(9,354 posts)Gravel and Burlap.
BumRushDaShow
(169,756 posts)yellowdogintexas
(23,694 posts)malaise
(296,104 posts)Rec
uponit7771
(93,532 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)I don't feel the least shame or guilt for white supporters of what the Republicans are doing. They are not me. Their black counterparts are far fewer but just as despicable, but they aren't me either.
But I do have to put up with people I'd be happy never to see again, ever, when I can't avoid it, and I've come to realize that's been more of a trauma and more damaging to my happiness than I initially realized it was going to be.
Bradshaw3
(7,964 posts)to a thread a different poster posted last holiday season. Almost the same actually. Very interesting.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)TidalWave46
(2,061 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)BTW, I like your name. I know where it comes from.
Most of the people I associate with are not Trump supporters, but i have a few republican family members who have been very good about keeping their mouths shut lately about politics.
Either they are having a change of heart or they are just more respectful of my other brother and I who happen to be liberals. I have to admit, they have done a good job of not being assholes at family gatherings. I think it started when I refused to show up for T-giving one year (after Trump won) and they realized how destructive politics could be in our family.
I actually feel pretty grateful that our family can put our love for each other over politics (other than the stand I took in 2016). I think that was the moment that they realized that it wasn't worth it. They seemed to know that if they didn't lay off, that politics could rip us apart and that it just wasn't worth the risk.
BlueWI
(1,736 posts)with Republicans leadership since the 80s.
Will they buy a clue for 2020? We'll see.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)Through work, I know two people who voted for him, and they are black.
Funny that, eh?
Polybius
(21,900 posts)Trump is a much bigger racist than Romney, so go figure.
Celerity
(54,407 posts)As for 2016......
Black voter turnout fell in 2016, even as a record number of Americans cast ballots
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/05/12/black-voter-turnout-fell-in-2016-even-as-a-record-number-of-americans-cast-ballots/
he black voter turnout rate declined for the first time in 20 years in a presidential election, falling to 59.6% in 2016 after reaching a record-high 66.6% in 2012. The 7-percentage-point decline from the previous presidential election is the largest on record for blacks. (Its also the largest percentage-point decline among any racial or ethnic group since white voter turnout dropped from 70.2% in 1992 to 60.7% in 1996.) The number of black voters also declined, falling by about 765,000 to 16.4 million in 2016, representing a sharp reversal from 2012. With Barack Obama on the ballot that year, the black voter turnout rate surpassed that of whites for the first time. Among whites, the 65.3% turnout rate in 2016 represented a slight increase from 64.1% in 2012.

Why black voter turnout fell in 2016
How voting Democratic has become integral to African Americans cultural identity.
https://www.vox.com/mischiefs-of-faction/2018/1/15/16891020/black-voter-turnout
Black Voters Arent Turning Out For The Post-Obama Democratic Party. Its a familiar headline in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election. Indeed, post-election analysis of voter data shows black turnout in presidential elections declined 4.7 percent between 2012 and 2016 (overall turnout showed a small decline from 61.8 percent in 2012 to 61.4 percent in 2016).
How do we explain it and can it be changed? My ongoing research with Ismail White on political norms among black Americans says we ought to have expected the decline, but that the Democratic Party can do much more to cut it back by recognizing how social dynamics shape African-American politics.
Some have attributed the decline in black turnout to voter suppression tactics made possible by the Shelby v. Holder (2013) decision that rescinded key protections from the Voting Rights Act. But black turnout saw similar declines in states where no new voter laws were implemented after the Shelby decision. Others have simplistically pointed to the absence of the first black president on the ballot as if that fact offers an explanation. Our work on the social dynamics of politics within the black community provides the missing explanation.
In our recent publication in the American Political Science Review, we argue that the continued social isolation of blacks in American society has created spaces and incentives for the emergence of black political norms. Democratic partisanship has become significantly tied to black identity in the United States. The historical and continued racial segregation of black communities has produced spaces in which in-group members can leverage social sanctions against other group members to ensure compliance with group partisan norms.
snip
Study: Black turnout slumped in 2016
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/10/black-election-turnout-down-2016-census-survey-238226
Census shows pervasive decline in 2016 minority voter turnout
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2017/05/18/census-shows-pervasive-decline-in-2016-minority-voter-turnout/
Study: Black voter turnout in Wisconsin declined by nearly one-fifth in 2016
https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/study-black-voter-turnout-in-wisconsin-declined-by-nearly-one/article_d3e72e41-96a0-51fb-83ba-11dfc6693daf.html
Turnout among black voters in Wisconsin dropped about 19 percent in the 2016 election from 2012, more than four times the national decline, according to a new study by a liberal group.
The study, released by the Center for American Progress, made the estimates based on data from the U.S. Census, polls and state voter files.
It provides the strongest evidence yet that Wisconsins decline in voter turnout, while seen in other demographic groups, was much more dramatic among African-Americans.
The study also found in Wisconsin, as in other key states, the 2016 electorate was significantly more white and non-college- educated than was reported by exit polls immediately after the election.
snip
Many in Milwaukee Neighborhood Didnt Vote and Dont Regret It
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/us/many-in-milwaukee-neighborhood-didnt-vote-and-dont-regret-it.html
MILWAUKEE Four barbers and a firefighter were pondering their future under a Trump presidency at the Upper Cutz barbershop last week.
We got to figure this out, said Cedric Fleming, one of the barbers. We got a gangster in the chair now, he said, referring to President-elect Donald J. Trump.They admitted that they could not complain too much: Only two of them had voted. But there were no regrets. I dont feel bad, Mr. Fleming said, trimming a mustache. Milwaukee is tired. Both of them were terrible. They never do anything for us anyway.
Wisconsin, a state that Hillary Clinton had assumed she would win, historically boasts one of the nations highest rates of voter participation; this years 68.3 percent turnout was the fifth best among the 50 states. But by local standards, it was a disappointment, the lowest turnout in 16 years. And those no-shows were important. Mr. Trump won the state by just 27,000 voters.
Milwaukees lowest-income neighborhoods offer one explanation for the turnout figures. Of the citys 15 council districts, the decline in turnout from 2012 to 2016 in the five poorest was consistently much greater than the drop seen in more prosperous areas accounting for half of the overall decline in turnout citywide.
The biggest drop was here in District 15, a stretch of fading wooden homes, sandwich shops and fast-food restaurants that is 84 percent black. In this district, voter turnout declined by 19.5 percent from 2012 figures, according to Neil Albrecht, executive director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission. It is home to some of Milwaukees poorest residents and, according to a 2016 documentary, Milwaukee 53206, has one of the nations highest per-capita incarceration rates.
At Upper Cutz, a bustling barbershop in a green-trimmed wooden house, talk of politics inevitably comes back to one man: Barack Obama. Mr. Obamas elections infused many here with a feeling of connection to national politics they had never before experienced. But their lives have not gotten appreciably better, and sourness has set in.
snip
and when they did vote there was this...
Mostly black neighborhoods voted more Republican in 2016 than in 2012
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/09/25/mostly-black-neighborhoods-voted-more-republican-in-2016-than-in-2012/
snip
A few things jump out. First: The most heavily white neighborhoods voted much more heavily Republican in 2016 than in 2012 (the dark red line shoots up past the light-red one). Second, the most heavily black neighborhoods voted less heavily Democratic last year than four years ago. (Well come back to this, obviously.) Third, Hispanic neighborhoods voted for Republicans less than in 2012.
The net effect of those shifts can be measured by comparing the margin between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in 2012 with the Trump-Clinton margin in each neighborhood last year. In heavily white neighborhoods, a big shift to the Republicans. In mostly Hispanic neighborhoods, generally more support for the Democrat, except in the most dense places (although, as the chart on the right makes clear, the sample size for those is very small and therefore more subject to volatility).
snip
This Chart Shows Philadelphia Black Voters Stayed Home, Costing Clinton
A shift in Philadelphia voter turnout, which broke along racial lines, appears to have cost Hillary Clinton almost 35,000 votes.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/johntemplon/this-chart-shows-philadelphia-black-voters-stayed-home-costi

One of the most surprising results of Election Day was Donald Trump winning Pennsylvania a state that had voted for the Democrat in every election since 1988. As of the Pennsylvania Board of Elections latest tally, Trump leads Hillary Clinton by 57,588 votes. More than 60% of that margin comes from a shift in the vote in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia data offers a particularly clear glimpse at what went wrong for Hillary Clinton: A block of voters who showed up for Barack Obama wasnt inspired enough by her or scared enough by Donald Trump to show up. And as analysts pore over the results of the campaign, the numbers in Philadelphia offer perhaps the most devastating single data point for the Clinton campaign.
snip
massive drop in 85% black Detroit too
Link to tweet
FakeNoose
(41,634 posts)At least part of it was voter suppression, however it's hard to say how much it affected the outcome. The "black vote" turned out for Obama twice, but not so much for Hillary in 2016. I don't believe they switched to Chump though, it's more that they were no longer motivated to vote at all. Any and all black people who did vote in PA came out and voted blue in 2016, there just weren't enough of them.
Pennsylvania is one of the swing states and here's our problem: we need all the Democratic voters all the time. There are a lot of conservative counties/districts, and we need to offset those red voters with the Democratic voters in Pittsburgh, Philly, Harrisburg, and Happy Valley.
Same is true for Michigan and Wisconsin. Dem voters (including minorities of course) can never stay home. We need you all for every election. Please vote and make sure your entire family votes in every election. Otherwise ... well ... you can see the otherwise because it's happening right now.
Celerity
(54,407 posts)both, unfortunately, especially the male voters
see this part (and what follows) of my post above:

treestar
(82,383 posts)#2 I don't entirely agree, as it seems to imply I should cringe because I have the same skin color as most of the Magats. They are not like me.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)judged by the behavior of other people of color We are regularly victimized through guilt by association. I think most POCs reading this will understand and share the feeling of relief I mentioned.
treestar
(82,383 posts)right now it seems Muslims are the ones most affected, as they are all supposed to apologize for the actions of the few who commit terrorist acts, or at least condemn them loudly and even if they do, they don't get credit.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)and it's not directed only at Muslims.
Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)Collimator
(2,118 posts)at a family dinner along with praises for Trump.
Of course, the random actions of some black person on the other side of the country--be they everyday or famous--being somehow equated to you and representative of your character seems like a drag.
As a person of Italian descent, I almost never get blamed for Columbus's misdeeds anymore. And it's been ages since anyone insinuated that I was in the Mafia.
I add the smilie face because the real discrimination/negative attitudes that I have endured due to my ethnicity has been about .001% of what black people deal with in this country.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)Polybius
(21,900 posts)JustFiveMoreMinutes
(2,134 posts)I'm SOOOO white my blood type is Mayonnaise (DNA teasting.. 96 British Isles).
.... but that's my blood not my soul.... and beauty and handsome crosses ALL boundaries.
<smile>
Nitram
(27,749 posts)NNadir
(38,045 posts)"I'm not black, but there are lots of times I wish I could say I'm not white."
PoindexterOglethorpe
(28,493 posts)The only family member I'm aware of who's a Trumper is my asshole older brother. I have very little contact with him.
I have no friends, and almost no acquaintances who are Trumpers.
IronLionZion
(51,268 posts)I'm brown and I still have Facebook friends from where I grew up, which is Appalachian Trump country. They often post videos of black or brown Trump supporters and memes saying Dems are the real racists. Things get really weird when they post supposed evidence of good things Trump has done for black and brown Americans.
I like to keep an eye on the other side, and they are completely bonkers.
ismnotwasm
(42,674 posts)TlalocW
(15,675 posts)Can I foist him off on you? He went to the same college I went to and is now a FB "friend." Neither one of is willing to unfriend the other because we've butted heads so much it would be like admitting defeat.
TlalocW
NCLefty
(3,678 posts)(Republican, obviously :p )
Funtatlaguy
(11,878 posts)brewens
(15,359 posts)too.
calimary
(90,021 posts)The vast majority lily white, although occasionally, a few people of color strategically inserted into the human backdrop behind him onstage, and closely, so no camera angles could possibly miss them.
Were not fooled, though. I bet those strategic stage props were paid, too.
griloco
(870 posts)POCfrightitis...?
*frightened racist old white people
DBoon
(24,983 posts)- Frank Zappa
on the Watts riots
LovingA2andMI
(7,006 posts)The Advantages of Melanin in the Trump Era.....
Response to StarfishSaver (Original post)
Mosby This message was self-deleted by its author.