General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums'Black Lives Matter' Activists Disrupt Presidential Forum at Netroots Event
This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by MineralMan (a host of the General Discussion forum).
Could someone explain what this was all about???
==================================
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/black-lives-matter-activists-interrupt-presidential-forum-netroots-event-n394576?cid=sm_fb
<snip>
The raucous scene unfolded when a large group of protesters streamed into the convention hall chanting, "Black lives matter!" As O'Malley and interviewer Jose Antonio Vargas looked on, one of the group's leaders took over the stage and addressed the audience as the largely female group of demonstrators railed against police-involved shootings, the treatment of immigrants and Arizona's racial history.
Before departing, O'Malley told the convention: "Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter," prompting some heckles and boos in the crowd.
He later apologized at an immigration event. "I meant no insensitivity by that and I apologize if that's what I communicated," he told reporters. "That was misstated. What I intended to say was that we're all in this together — that black lives do matter and we have a double-standard of justice in this country."
Sanders tried to address the roughly 3,000 Netroots activists as many of the protesters shouted at him and disrupted his remarks. At one point, Sanders said: "Black lives of course matter. I spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights and if you don't want me to be here, that's OK."
....more
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)You know... republicans?
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)Do you honestly think that they'd get absolutely anything useful out of any Republican candidate? Which one? They all look like totally useless clowns to me.
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)I was appalled that they were attacking my candidate whom I believe is in it for their cause, but after a good bit of consideration, I think the message was pointed where it was needed to be pointed. Now it's up to the candidates to support their thesis. If economic justice is the key to social justice, lets flesh that out and back it up. We owe that to our disproportionately oppressed African American brothers and sisters. Lets get out there and work for the African American vote by showing them that their issues are our issues. Show them their concerns matter by laying out in very clear terms why exactly each candidate believes their approach will help fix the problem. The criminal justice system needs an overhaul. This can happen at the same time as we hold the 1% accountable. Let's do this. No more politics of division along racial lines.
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)And instead focusing on shouting down people they supposedly want on their side.
Yeah, that seems like a sound tactic for tackling white supremacism. Tia osi will surely go down as a landmark innovator in the annals of productive protest for developing this tactic. Right there with what's-her-name from Code Pink, and that chick who ran around a wax museum with a butcher knife and lipstick writing on her chest.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)The whole country is based on white supremacy. It isn't just Republicans.
kentuck
(115,407 posts)Does that make them a white supremacist? I see flaws in this strategy.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)There are KKK members, obviously, but that's not what its about. Our society collectively is a white supremacist society.
kentuck
(115,407 posts)Did they not know what they were doing? It is rather counter productive, in my opinion, to call everyone a "white supremacist", if indeed the majority thinks that way, and to insinuate that all lives do not matter. And to make it taboo to even say those words without being booed off the stage. I think that is a failed strategy. Just my opinion.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)For the third time, it is not about individual people. It is about our society. Our society is a white supremacist society. That is how it is structured.
kentuck
(115,407 posts)In the context that you wrote, it would be the majority. Is that what you mean?
gollygee
(22,336 posts)It is about how our society is structured. Again.
kentuck
(115,407 posts)But there definitely seems to be a problem in communication?
I do not think anyone here has a problem with "BlackLivesMatter". They are supportive of the idea behind it.
However, when someone says that "AllLivesMatter" and gets booed off the stage, the appearance is not good, whatever the intention.
It may not be the intent but, it gives the impression that only 'black lives matter" and that idea cannot be sold any place in America. It is counter productive and destructive to any dialogue that is needed to grow the movement.
Whether we like it or not, all lives do matter, regardless of what context Michelle Malkin uses it. You simply do not stab your allies in the back. It was wrong to boo and to take over the stage from O'Malley and Sanders, in my humble opinion.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)potential presidential candidates were present than a random street corner.
They are right, too. They're getting a lot of coverage.
There are multiple threads on it with lots of comments, mostly from pissed off Sanders or O'Malley supporters who feel they were 'ambushed', and that Hillary will win electorally from this. But further statements from various BLM folks seems to indicate that they're planning to deal with all potential candidates equally. That they expect and require candidates to come up with concrete plans to help address their needs if they want to win their votes.
Which is what we ALL want. For candidates to listen to us, and take us seriously, and to actually DO something for us in return for our votes.
If they succeed, I'd actually hope it stiffens the spines of more people on the left to tell candidates that they HAVE to work for us, to do OUR will, or they won't get our votes.
BeyondGeography
(41,101 posts)They're only going after Democrats.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)If they had any glimmer of hope that any of the Republican candidates would do anything useful, they'd deal with them too.
I wouldn't bother with Republican candidates either for any of the things I want. I've already written them off as worse than useless to the country.
JustAnotherGen
(38,054 posts)We've been voting Democratic consistently.
The person who gets us in in Super Tuesday (way under represented in Iowa and NH) wins the nomination.
All three of the candidates who have a chance in this - should expect to be forced to ask for our vote.
Webb has shot himself in the foot and Chafee is a non starter. I'm not even sure I spelled his last name right.
BeyondGeography
(41,101 posts)Did you see any actual "asking for votes" yesterday?
JustAnotherGen
(38,054 posts)O'Malley isn't upset by the method - why should I be! Or you?
This is a brilliant way to bypass big money and the MSM.
BeyondGeography
(41,101 posts)"O'Malley Apologizes for Saying All Lives Matter," is the headline today. Great day for Marty!
I think the tactics and, particularly, the target, are off base. O'Malley is polling at 2% nationally, and the first big headline he gets is the wrong answer to the latest PC game of gotcha.
It was a great day for Hillary though. So BLM stepped all over two challengers, left the frontrunner alone and gave her a heads-up to be ready for them next time (which she most assuredly will).
What's the plan here again?
JustAnotherGen
(38,054 posts)
I think they've made clear the answer - they wish to become irrelevant.
O'Malley did fine. And the fact that his supporters - myself included are calm - says a lot.
daredtowork
(3,732 posts)Even Hillary has been called on "All Lives Matter", and a big discussion occurs every time on why that's a spit in the face during a #BlackLivesMatter protests or really any situation where we are supposed to be recognizing the reality of racial injustice. Each time the same explanations are provided and the same social conversation happens. Someone as high profile as Hillary even stepped on this landmine recently - seemingly as a deliberate dog whistle - so it's not like no one has had a chance to see the discussions.
O'Malley *screwed up* because he has been told to give different messages to different audiences. He was giving the same patter Hillary tried to dog whistles. There is an arrogant and obstinate segment of the white population - including the well-heeled, intelligent, NPR-listening, DEMOCRATIC, white population - who simply rejects #BlackLivesMatter as a tactic because they think logic and universal humanism and appeal to all voters demand saying #AllLivesMatter. And they keep pressuring the politicians to signal the supremacy of their logic over those foolish black rabble-rousers and their unpleasant "diversity of tactics" by confirming "All Lives Matter" - yay their slogan wins over the black one! "Common sense" has proven to be white once again!
The #BlackLivesMatter tactic of disrupting business as usual (largely in white gentrified settings), reading the names of the dead, and seeking media they don't have to pay for has been their ongoing strategy. This is nothing new. It's also nothing new for the people whose business-as-usual or event was disrupted for it to complain or to opine how the #BlackLivesMatter movement should do it better. In fact that would make a great comedy show bit: Top !0 ways white folk think a #BlackLivesMatter disruption should have been run instead.
They chose to disrupt political candidates speaking at Netroots Nation - what a way to push their issue straight to the top of the queue!
It seems clear that O'Malley got thrown and gave the message intended for "white audiences". IMHO splitting the message like this, as Hillary as obviously done as well, is going to be perceived as a slight, and even if either of those candidates win, this proof of the underlying racism of America will come back to haunt them again and again.
I would like to hear more about Bernie's response. It's still unclear to me if he fell for it as well. I think he did fall into the "two audiences" trap when a radio interviewer spent an hour trying to bully him into providing that soundbite, too, the day after Hillary's faux pas. It was hard to tell from that whether that was the interview or ALSO Bernie's campaign strategy. How he handled this #BlackLivesMatter encounter would have given him the chance to show where his actual dial is.
newfie11
(8,159 posts)They could help the repugs win. They need to protest the racist party!!!!
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)In an ideal world, their paths having met at a significant political intersection the champions would embrace the "disruptors" seeing them as supporters of shared cause and add making Black Lives Matter to the agenda of the revolution.
I don't see the 'disruption' as an inherently damaging conflict.
It's a tremendous chance for two columns to form into the same march.
But it will take people who really understand what championing and political revolution means.
davidn3600
(6,342 posts)And ultimately, the Democrats know blacks are not suddenly going to start voting for Donald Trump. We don't have very many choices in this country as voters. We either vote for the Democrat or we vote for the clowns. So does it really matter what Hillary or Bernie or Martin say? No. It doesn't. Because they know damn well they already have our vote locked up.
And once anyone who is committed to change gets elected, they get to Washington and hit a brick wall. There are forces in place that prevent any real meaningful change. The goal of Washington is to retain economic and political stability. In their minds, the status quo is perfectly acceptable. Washington is not controlled by Main street. It hasn't been for a very long time. It's controlled by corporations and the 1%. They are ones who are making massive donations as we speak to both parties to ensure their interests in this government are protected.
It's hard to lose when you own every horse on the track.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)That's the whole problem. People who simply give away their vote without demanding anything in return.
BLM is demanding something. And it's something worth demanding. The right to life and liberty, without that state murdering and brutalizing and locking them up. I don't think they're so naive as to assume that whoever they back will wave a magic wand and make it so. But they demand that the candidates actually TRY. And that's something we all should be demanding, all the time. That we're not just voting someone in so they can make friends with republicans and get rich while living high on the hog. We vote for them because we expect them to TRY to make our lives better, and if they don't bother to try, we've got no reason to vote for them.
davidn3600
(6,342 posts)What is being demanded? Change? OK, what kind of change? What needs to change (that congress has the ability to change)?
It would be nice if we can make a bill in Congress that simply reads, "End all racism." And have that fix all our problems. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. You can't pass a bill that makes white supremacists stop being racist. This is more than a political/legal problem. Racism is a social problem. It is an economic problem. It's a cultural problem. The only way to stop racism is more than just winning an election, you have to change the way Americans think. We live in a "I got mine, so fuck you" kind of culture. We are very materialistic, individualistic, and we like to hoard things (especially money). It's capitalism. We are what we are.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)It contains the transcript of an interview with the protestor who came onstage.
daredtowork
(3,732 posts)Very good interview about what we need to see Democrats DO instead of talk about concerning racial justice. Very good remarks about making Democrats work for the vote.
Disappointed that Bernie left the stage. Maybe that's his traditional way of dealing with "bad behavior", but he probably needs to review what's going on here. At least he didn't say "All Lives Matter" (that I saw.).
Hope to see protests in my area regarding Sandra Bland in coming days/weeks.
raouldukelives
(5,178 posts)I don't know. I hope this leads to more discussions and level headed debates.
Heck, I wish we could talk about these problems in public but it seems some, even in our own party. prefer less discussion and more lecturing.
Romulox
(25,960 posts)Holder, Lynch, Obama???? 
greytdemocrat
(3,300 posts)By who is the question.
tenderfoot
(8,982 posts)because they're the ones impeding progress.
PeaceNikki
(27,985 posts)Tim Wise on it this AM:
daredtowork
(3,732 posts)It was clear that O'Malley had flubbed it - I was trying to find out about Bernie. Sigh. You'd think they'd have had one intern who had put some time into #BlackLivesMatter by now. 
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)Then you follow all the leaders on twitter and you know what the movement is doing.
Had either campaign assigned even a couple of volunteers to this, they would have known this was coming. The leaders have been tweeting about it for weeks now.
daredtowork
(3,732 posts)I read in a different thread that Bernie cancelled a meeting with the #BlackLivesMatter group? Was that after this "disruption".
If so, that was a superfail by him and his campaign managers. I can't be more disappointed by his inability to recognize what should be at the top of the deck at this historical moment.
MineralMan
(151,269 posts)After discussion, the forum hosts have decided to lock this thread as not in keeping with the current Statement of Purpose of GD. Since it is about two Democratic candidates at the Netroots Nation event, that is the basis for the decision.
From the GD Statement of Purpose:
Discuss politics, issues, and current events. Posts about Israel/Palestine, religion, guns, showbiz, or sports are restricted in this forum. Posts about the Democratic primaries, conspiracy theories and disruptive meta-discussion are forbidden.
You can repost in GD-P http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1251