Charlie Pierce comments on BLM protest at Bernie's event

[bullwinkle428]

"I am caught between two old quotes from my reading as I attempt to understand why the #blacklivesmatter people insist on stalking Bernie Sanders around the campaign trail for the purpose of making spectacles of themselves at public events. (This presumes, for the moment, that the whole thing isn't an elaborate Segrettism cooked up in someone's oppo lab.) The first is from the late Adam Clayton Powell, who cautioned us to "beware of Greeks bearing gifts and white men who understand the Negro." Thus did Congressman Powell invent the concept of "whitesplaining" decades before it became popular. The other one came from an interview I did long ago with a former Black Panther who managed to survive the FBI's bloody oppression of that organization. We were talking about demonstrations. "We used to have a saying," he said. "Spontaneity is the art of fools.""

"What happened in Seattle was an embarrassment to the tradition of public protest. It was a hysterical piece of performance art that accomplished absolutely nothing toward whatever goals its performers sought to achieve. Rage is not an excuse. Frustration is not an excuse. This was a simple act of public vandalism, aimed (again) at the wrong target. I have been to a bunch of rallies already in this godforsaken campaign. If the two principals here had tried this at any Republican rally; if they had tried it at any rally for any candidate of the party that largely has supported the militarized state of American policing, that more than any other political institution has worked to create the climate of The Other by which Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin are thugs while the people who killed them are blameless victims; if they had tried this at a Republican rally, they'd have been hauled off in handcuffs within five minutes, if they were allowed into the hall at all. This is taking advantage of the openness of a campaign that is overwhelmingly sympathetic to your goals, instead of bringing your fight to the politicians who actively oppose you, because it's easier to do. Consider me unimpressed by the courage involved. I feel absolutely no compunction about saying that this "action" was stupid and counterproductive. It was loud and spectacular and it accomplished nothing good."

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a37068/public-protest-gone-wrong-in-seattle/#comments

[el_bryanto]

1. The one thing that is giving me a bit of a pause on the Seattle thing is

the question of whether it had more to do with conditions in Seattle than Bernie Sanders per se. I don't know what it's like to live as a black person in Seattle, but if it's more or less the same as anywhere else than it might well be worthwhile to let the white liberal establishment in Seattle know that it's not acceptable.

Bryant

[TexasProgresive]

10. Never been to Seattle but I bet it is harder to live as a black person

in deep East Texas and certainly parts of Louisiana.

[Armstead]

12. My impression as a former Seattle resident who recently visited the city....

is that gentrification is a big issue, that is squeezing everyone who is not getting big bucks from Amazon or Micosoft. Housing prices (rents) and others are escalating behind the means of both the poor, and people living on moderate incomes. The Central District, for example, long a lower income minority neighborhood, has been "discovered" and is being gentrified.

May be other issues going on too, but I think the economic pressures of that are making life a lot more difficult for many people.

[TexasProgresive]

14. I just made a drive through Houston Saturday

And it is happening there on a huge scale. The neighborhood I grew up in has been destroyed with ugly multistory apartment buildings replacing the lovely old homes. This neighborhood is between River Oaks (hoity-toity) and 4th Wards which WAS and old established African American community. WAS is correct, all the shotgun houses are gone and being replaced by the same ugly multistory apartment buildings. I read where many of Houston's African American residents have left the city for nearby Pearland- ugh!!!! I doubt that the community of places like 4th Ward survived the move.

[Armstead]

16. Alas it's happening everywhere

It's the physical manifestation of the growing gap that Sanders and Occupy, and many others, are pointing out. It does have social implications on a large scale.

It;s especially sad in Seattle, because when I lived there in the 70's and 80's, its best feature was the fact that you cold live reasonably without a lot of money. There was not the same level of stratification and geographic dislocation that exists now.

It's not only the residents of the Central District that are getting squeezed out. Formerly middle and working class neghborhoods have also been transformed.

[glinda]

32. Happening big time in Minneapolis.

[jwirr]

44. Resource wars are a very old tool of the 1% even before we called them that. And this makes

sense that it is part of the race issue.

[artislife]

22. Gentrification is huge

Also when the bubble happened a Texas group came in and bought a lot of the starter homes and turned them into rental properties.

Now we have a large influx of Chinese nationals paying for homes, cash down.

Any rental has a high chance of being handled by a property management team. That means decisions to rent are made by a computer. There is no explaining the hard times in 2010 to a machine. You can put down 35 here and there and pay for your rejection.

I rent from a friend. It is the only way I can be in a semi good spot.

[Armstead]

26. In the northeast too

I live in a depressed northern industrial small city. Despite the economy, rents have steadily gone up. I live in an apartment that is affordable but is currently for sale. I dread the possibility of it being purchased by some shark.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

31. I wonder if we could get some sort of socialistic group set up

to put money into purchasing and keeping properties essentially 'rent controlled' and get cities to grant them property tax exemptions as long as they rent cheaply to low income folks. If they didn't have to worry about exorbitant taxes, could such properties be run at 'break-even' costs and keep gentrification from pushing poor people out?

[glinda]

33. Power grabs also as 1% are the only ones who can afford

gulping up properties as well as high end condos being built.
THIS also places them in a power position within those Cities btw.

[jwirr]

45. Even in small town America this is happening. While houses set empty the low-income housing

has long waiting lists. Up to 4+ years. As the 1% pushes more of us out of the middle class those of us at the bottom are squeezed out and left with nothing. IF we are lucky there is someone we can live with who still has a roof over their head.

[JackInGreen]

28. Same with

South rainier.

I'll admit it. I'm racist.

I was born in Oakland and East Bay raised. Up here I gravitated to neighborhoods that made me comfortable. Lake city way near 32nd, S RainierAve, the CD. I couldn't stand moving into a 'white' neighborhood full of stuck up act-like-im-wealthy people I couldn't relate with. so I stuck with what I know and where I'm comfortable.

So far we've been priced out of the first two and are holding steady where we are. Every day I see houses being torn down, video game model houses going up. All priced so far out of anyone locals of any races league it's absurd. African Americans and hippy trash go first (and im in that second catagory) White people and H1B visas move in.
We're also dealing with a developer invasion that's buying up apartments and jacking the rents by 500 to sometimes 1500 the moment they can.
These pressures are heavy.
It's not easy, black or white, with the gentrification though I'm aware my black extended family has it harder on the whole.

[AgingAmerican]

51. The CD was gentrified decades ago

You can barely get a studio apartment here for $1100 a month.

[ibegurpard]

15. Seattle is very white

And pretty affluent. And yes it's full of white liberals who nominally support fighting racism but don't actually see much of it. Gentrification is a huge problem. I don't believe, however, that calling these people white supremacists will cause them to listen to the message.

[whatchamacallit]

27. Sounds like an economic justice issue...

Go Bernie!

[GoneFishin]

75. I know it. I sincerely can't see how the two can be viewed completely seperate. I don't see

how equality or justice can exist if your basic human needs are not met, or if you are always teetering on the edge of going without food, medicine, or housing.

As only one small example, I find it completely disgusting and unacceptable that we can give away, for free, billions in taxpayer ca$h to corporations that are already filthy stinking rich beyond all imagination, but we can't fund daycare for working people to have a safe place for their children to go during the day without spending most of the wages they make working.

I don't care what culture you are from, money isn't everything, but it fixes a lot of problems.

[el_bryanto]

17. It's all relative.

Every part of America has some things to improve; but you can't excuse what Seattle needs to improve by saying things are worse in Louisiana. That's a bit like people who say that American workers should be grateful and quiet because things are worse in Southeast Asia.

Bryant

[TexasProgresive]

18. I agree with what you are saying

In your post that I replied to you wrote, "...if it's more or less the same as anywhere else..." I was just making the point that there are places in this nation where it is not more or less the same.

[artislife]

29. My first response

was more to flesh out the experience here, not to jump on you.

I would really hate to be somewhere else with the same kind of problems, though.

The SPD --and surrounding areas are out of control. We have at least 7 different stealth models of vehicles the cops ride around in. Almost every vehicle is impossible until you are right next to it, to identify it as a police car. That just reinforces the idea that they are not here to protect and to serve the public.

I count the number of police I see on most of my drives to check my alertness to my surroundings.

[sabrina 1]

35. The two women are right wing fundamentalists who have openly stated they

are going after the Democratic Party. One of them has admitted to being 'groomed' by Republicans. BLM is not an organization that can control who uses the label.

These women simply set themselves up with a FB page and called themselves BLM. But according to several reports now, they also started another org which ended up losing everyone, though they still claim to be 'part of that movement'.

Iow, it was a Right Wing dirty trick, nothing more.

Bernie's event in LA was opened by members of Black Lives Matter who do not subscribe to what these two women subscribe to.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

73. I don't see why some have a problem understanding this.

Marissa Johnson: Palin fan. OK, I've seen some people say, "that was 7 or 8 years ago!". Fine. Then explain how her judgment has gotten better in the intervening years, and why this 45-year old should give her any credence at all. She can go figure out life, figure out what party she wants to be in, and then go from there. But while she can't decide whether she likes Palin, or whether Bernie is "too conservative", she has absolutely nothing of value to offer me. I already have those parts figured out. She should go figure them out herself, and do so quietly.

Moreover, even if she's moved beyond her idiot Palin phase, she just got done saying she doesn't give a fuck what liberals think, that she wants to tear down the Democratic Party, and that the GOP should have groomed her.

Is it not clear to everyone yet? Palin fan. GOP should have groomed her. Wants to fuck the Democratic Party up. Tells lies that contradict one another in the same interview.

Marissa Johnson is not on the side of Democrats. She is the enemy of Democrats. Fuck her.

[sabrina 1]

74. It's astounding to me knowing what we now know that there is any question that this

women is a right wing fundy, period. Who is out to destroy the Dem Party. Her own words.

I wonder would the reaction be different if they had done this to Hillary. And why didn't they? Hillary WAS heckled with protesters getting right next to her, so the excuse that they couldn't get to her, is not true at all. The video is online.

And frankly if they had done this to Hillary and I knew what we now know, I would feel exactly the same way. So what is with people here defending this? Is it because she's Black and they are trying to show how liberal they are or something?

Or is it because it was Bernie which to them translates to 'it helps my candidate'? Would they feel the same if these women were white?

To me they are James O'Keefe wannabes.

This is what the right does.

I am afraid this won't be their last stunt.

I am also certain it won't be aimed at Repubs or at Hillary.

Unless they go after ALL candidates, they are more than suspect, and we have a right then to 'speculate' who they are working for if Bernie remains their only target.

[magical thyme]

40. I think it had more to do with the fact that Marissa is a Sarah Palin fan and former GOP member

who wrote in her Facebook recently that the GOP "should have groomed her" when they had the chance, before she went to "the other side."

Their actions weren't about BLM or Bernie or Seattle. They were about self-promotion.

[Vincardog]

61. When I note the similarities between them and the Tea Partiers and suggest we call them

The Black Tea Party I am attacked for being a name calling White Supremacist Liberal.

Ignore is your friend

[99th_Monkey]

41. Last I heard, Seattle has a city council of elected officials

who are directly responsible for their police department,
unlike Bernie Sanders.

Gratefully, this BLM Bernie-bashing crap is apparently over,
since Bernie's now having BLM speak before he does at his
Rallies ... like in LA last night.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/11/bernie-sanders-talks-with-nurses-in-san-francisco-/

[villager]

58. Native American groups have been protesting Seattle cops under-the-radar, too

With a larger urban-based Native population there, there have been a disproportionate number of shootings of homeless/ mentally ill (or otherwise) Native American men on the streets...

[SonderWoman]

2. Ugh. And I usually like Charlie.

Apparently he missed the irony of how it "accomplished nothing" yet wrote an entire article about it. Apparently he missed Bernie's updated website. But most important, perhaps he missed how drawing attention to the cause is itself a success.

[cali]

5. under the bus!

[SonderWoman]

6. Sorry, I'm far too nuanced for that.

[mopinko]

8. my sentiments exactly.

[aikoaiko]

30. yeah, Bernie never talked about about criminal justice or racial issues before Seattle

Last edited Tue Aug 11, 2015, 12:22 PM - Edit history (1)

How can you possibly think that the Seattle disruptors had anything to do with that web page update?

edited to add:

[glinda]

34. huh? Did you mean to put a sarcasm symbol up?

[aikoaiko]

50. fixed it for you.

Yes, I was being sarcastic. Bernie has been talking about racial justice and criminal justice reform for years.

[glinda]

69. Whew! Makes more sense now! Thanks!

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

82. Still not right.

Your sarcasm thingy now comes after the part you didn't mean to be sarcastic. Right?

[sabrina 1]

37. What it accomplished was to nearly destroy support for the Ferguson protesters, it did get attention

but it was very harmful to those who are sincerely part of the ongoing protests in Ferguson and across the country over the past year.

However many AAs have stepped up to let people know these two right wing fundamentalist women do NOT represent them and Bernie gave them a platform last night so people could hear them speak for themselves rather than leave the impression that those women spoke for them in any way.

So Bernie helped assuage the anger at two right wingers disrupting a Democratic candidate's rally under the banner of BLM, which ANYONE can do. That is why they had to start a new FB page, they were not associated with the protesters many people have come to know over the past year.

Thankfully any damage they may have done to the movement was nipped in the bud early enough I think, to be of no consequence. The movement needs huge support from EVERYONE in order to GET SOMETHING DONE about the egregious murders of AAs by cops.

Those women could have caused grave damage to those who are not about 'attacking the Democratic Party' at all, but about forming a coalition of millions of Americans in order to END the threat of murder by cop of AAs.

[SonderWoman]

48. Rightwing agitators?

Listen to her interview, she is a far leftist who says her parents are tea partiers who don't understand her lefty politics but support her in her causes. Also, she's black and advocating for Black Lives Matter, not a political party.

[noiretextatique]

52. From fundy to far leftist?

Not buying it for a second.

[TM99]

53. She was a Tea Party

supporter like her parents in her teen years. That was scant few years ago, and now she is a far-leftist agitator and bully.

She's fighting her own internal conflict but still the same fundamentalist agitator she has apparently been for the last decade.

And you are right, she is not advocating for real change through the only system we only fortunately have at this point in time. She wants to destroy it all.

[magical thyme]

42. Bernie's website would have been updated regardless. He didn't suddenly sit down and pull an

all nighter writing his detailed plan because of 2 girls grabbing the mike, screaming and calling a group of elderly people "white supremicists."

The girls closed the event. Bernie stuck to his schedule and plan.

They do appear to have had some effect, though, possibly contributing to his turnout doubling again. Somehow I don't think that's the effect the intended, but you know what they say about plans and intentions...

[Uncle Joe]

3. I'm not so certain this was a bad thing anymore.

Last edited Tue Aug 11, 2015, 10:05 AM - Edit history (1)

There's another quote the author forgot about "when all you have are lemons make lemonade" and I believe Bernie and Black Lives Matter are in the process of doing that.

Thanks for the thread, bullwinkle.

[SonderWoman]

7. Exactly.

[The CCC]

20. "when all you have are lemons make lemonade"

Unless life also hands you sugar and water, your lemonade is gonna suck.

[tblue37]

24. Brilliant metaphor! (Forgive me, but I plan to borrow it a lot.) nt

[Uncle Joe]

55. Well I believe Bernie is bringing the sugar, if BLM brings the water of black lives

then we have the delicious lemonade of the nomination and probable election of a champion committed to addressing their and the American People in general's most dire concerns.

[magical thyme]

43. +1,000,000,000 nt

[TM99]

4. Very well said, and I completely agree.

Bullying is not activism. Assault is not activism. This is extremism plain and simple. I am hopeful that maybe it does not represent the whole of the 'leadership' (and I use that term loosely!) of BLM.

[CharlotteVale]

9. K&R

[MyNameGoesHere]

11. Well this wouldn't be another

white man critiquing AA's on how they are supposed to protest would it? Does he have any more tips to help AA's act correctly?

[HomerRamone]

13. So white people can't criticize anything done by a black person, no matter how crazy nt

[JackInGreen]

19. Apparently not

That conflating criticism of a person or action with the movement they say they represent is MURDER.

[MyNameGoesHere]

21. I didn't say that so let me think

Hmm.. Umm, well,,




YES. There, is that what you wanted? You're used to people acting the way you want them aren't you?

[HomerRamone]

38. As a bullied kid and a gay adult, no I'm not nt

[BillZBubb]

36. Your logic is very dangerous.

Of course whites can critique AA's on how they should protest. What's wrong with that? AA's would be wise to take those critiques and determine what in them is helpful towards getting what they want. There is some helpful information.

I have lots of tips to help any group act correctly including AA's. Some of them are pretty good too. Don't you?

[1StrongBlackMan]

59. Because us Blacks just LIVES to makes YOU happy, Huh boss? ...

[BillZBubb]

60. I didn't say that and I didn't imply that.

I have a pretty good idea what it takes to get the average white person to listen to a racial message and what will almost always turn them off. After all, some of my best friends are white people.

To me the greatest and most effective black advocates of the past century were MLK and Thurgood Marshall. They didn't hijack rallies and call the whites there "white supremacists". They didn't say "bow down". They used the force of reason and an appealed to even the rednecks with their emphasis on fairness and decency. Their approach worked and led to great advances.

When white people saw how black people were treated in Selma, Little Rock et al, the vast majority of them knew it was wrong. MLK knew how to win people over. He succeeded.

What the leaders, or self-appointed leaders, of BLM are doing is counter-productive to their stated goals. They are using the tactics of many failed movements of the past.

If you don't understand why I say that, then there isn't much for us to talk about.

[1StrongBlackMan]

66. Uh ... Yes, you did. but, since you so admire Dr. King

Perhaps you will hear HIS words:

"First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action;" who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season."

And make no mistake ... when you would have "order" supersede "justice", you are being anything other than a "progressive".

[ismnotwasm]

71. Jury results:

On Tue Aug 11, 2015, 06:40 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

Because us Blacks just LIVES to makes YOU happy, Huh boss? ...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=511057

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Over the top personal attack.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Tue Aug 11, 2015, 06:50 PM, and the Jury voted 0-7 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Insert eye rolls at alerter
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Seems in keeping with the remarks directed at this person.
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[1StrongBlackMan]

72. Darn it ... Now I'll forever be haunted ...

was that an Affirmative Action save?

[ismnotwasm]

76. Heh!

[Fred Sanders]

49. Black folk need pro-tips from white folks, apparently, on how to behave and protest properly! Sigh.

[BillZBubb]

62. Sigh indeed, but for the opposite reason.

If the goal of BLM is to rally as much white support to their cause as is possible, they would be wise to listen to suggestions from white people on what would be the most effective approach. They don't have to act on those suggestions but just listen. Some of the suggestions could be very helpful.

[Fred Sanders]

63. OPINION: I think BLM does not just want "support", they want a passionate ally. Just my two cents worth.

An ally worthy of a reliable 96% Democratic voting bloc 20 million strong.

Not to mention another large minority voting bloc as strong and reliable at 67%, and rising.

(All figures estimated)

[BillZBubb]

64. Question: Should the Democratic nominee in 2016 make BLM

the central, passionate focus of the campaign?

[Fred Sanders]

67. Yeah, like that will ever happen in my lifetime. But a predominate theme as an ally would suffice.

Black folks, in my opinion, see the current cast of Presidential characters and it really is missing one thing they already have.

Of not now, when?

[bbgrunt]

79. apparently that is not their goal. Some just want to throw a hissy fit.

[Maedhros]

54. Oh for fuck's sake...

/ignore.

[JDPriestly]

65. As a white person, I have been asking African-Americans on this message board just what

they would like to have white people do to help the situation. I haven't gotten a good response yet.

I have been told to listen, and I have, but listening does not change anything. I'm quite sure of that because a lot of people are listening on DU, and nothing has changed.

So, I would like to know what needs to be done about racism and who needs to do it and how.

Since white people critiquing AAs on how to protest is not the thing to do, what is?

[BillZBubb]

68. I have asked the same question. Not any real answers yet.

Although one poster said along the lines "If you have to ask...you just don't get it". That wasn't particularly helpful.

[tblue37]

23. Here is a direct link to the article rather than to a list of political articles in Esquire:

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a37068/public-protest-gone-wrong-in-seattle/

[Thespian2]

25. K & R!!!

[Ed Suspicious]

39. .

"It was a hysterical piece of performance art that accomplished absolutely nothing toward whatever goals its performers sought to achieve. Rage is not an excuse. Frustration is not an excuse. This was a simple act of public vandalism, aimed (again) at the wrong target."

[nyabingi]

46. I was completely behind BLM's first interruption of Bernie

because I think he needed to be reminded that issues of racial justice were just as important as economic issues. This latest interruption was really unnecessary and it's making me question the motives of those who think they should stalk Bernie around the country.

As Bruce Dixon from Black Agenda Report so eloquently pointed out, what has the leadership of the BLM movement said about Obama's and Hillary's penchant for militarism and support for Wall Street and the various corporations profiting from government welfare? It has been noticeably absent, and it makes me feel as if they've been given a mission (by whom, I don't know) to try and prevent Bernie from becoming a known entity in the Black community (of course, many who already follow politics know who Bernie is already). Could they be operating under orders from Hillary's camp or the pro-corporate Democratic establishment which she and Obama represent? I think they have some questions to answer.

If they show up to interrupt another Bernie speech somewhere, I'm going to feel pretty sure they are being tasked with that mission and there will be a severe backlash from both the Black and white left.

[Fred Sanders]

47. Charles Pierce is also missing the fact the protest against racial injustice brought attention to an

issue that was, just before that very same protest, being paid the same passionless lip service that was being paid to racial justice before.

That was the purpose and mission of the protest, and mission accomplished.

Sometimes I think just witnessing black folk publically and genuinely and righteously enraged is reflexively scary to other folks - like even the mere mention of white privilege, without the italics.

In example: why are racist white armed protestors on the streets of Ferguson not being met with an equal part of white outrage as well as black outrage?

Putting a finer point on it: black folk do not have the white privilege of forming armed black militias and parading down Main Street, USA under cover of the second amendment and in the darkness of an epidemic of national white privilege, without consequence and what would surely be massive white privileged mass media coverage of the black terror.

[nyabingi]

56. I agree

I have seen some mention of these "Oath Keepers" on various media sources, but the tone of all the articles is very subdued and almost welcoming, as if it's simply fine just to mention the presence of these people and not speculate as to what their motivations and intentions are. I think many Black people know why they are there and why local law enforcement did absolutely nothing to remove them (and their weapons) from the scene.

Most law enforcement officers are sympathetic to these right-wing militia types, and the heavily-armed presence of both serve to reinforce the notion that white folks are in charge of everything and they are willing to kill as many people of color as they can in order to reinforce their position in society. It's been a long time since the last mass killings of Black Americans at the hands of white terrorists, but there is unfortunately a sizable contingent of them presently hoping for the opportunity again.

The Oath Keepers were in Ferguson hoping to kill some "n-ggers", plain and simple. These people, like Dylan Roof, hope to start a race-based conflagration to justify their murderous desires and if we're not careful, it could happen.

[Fred Sanders]

57. White militias and white police forces are brothers in arms. "White Like Me" - the mindset of many police and media.

Speaking of white militias...is there any other kind??

[Doctor_J]

70. Well, the perpetratress is a republican and a racist, so

this statement

accomplished absolutely nothing toward whatever goals its performers sought to achieve

may not be true if they were trying to incite racial division and sink a liberal candidate.

I wish the BOG and Hillarians would stop trying to paint this as good for Dems, or not part of a campaign of stalking and bullying Sanders and liberals.

[Oilwellian]

77. K&R

Shouting down Bernie Sanders does nothing to solve any problem worth fighting against. It just doesn't.

[DonCoquixote]

78. Charlie, I normally like you

but you swung and missed here.

Yes, Marissa may not be a poster child for tact, but anytime a hole is left untended, something will fall in, and yes, Bernie did leave himself exposed here. I am not advocating that we bring back the 60's riots, but there has been a sense that "of course, no one will challenge us" that has allowed the majority to ramp up the violence DESPITE Obama being in office. Simply put, if it takes beign offensive to get attention, people will get offensive, and this is in a culture where people get praised FOR being offensives, whether you are Madonna, Kanye West, or Jon Oliver.

[cer7711]

80. "We're not strong enough to fight the enemy . . .

. . . so we decided to attack our friend."

THIS is what all of the post-Seattle-incident excuses and justifications add up to.

Boorish, counter-productive, double-face-palm behavior.

[eridani]

81. Racism here is a lot like mist rain

You may not be completely sure that it's raining, but stay out long enough are you are going to get wet. Gentrification is a huge issue, mainly driven by the big influx of well-paid tech workers. Actually, they are a to some extent a rainbow crowd, as are the baristas trying to scrape by serving them lattes and microbrews. The Central District has been totally overrun by money, driving out black people who have lived there for generations.