General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Love it when AOC pushes Wingnuts' buttons; not so much mine about FDR [View all]WhiskeyGrinder
(26,135 posts)Our country was founded on white supremacy. FDR oversaw racist policies. They were racist then, judged by 1931 standards, because these policies existed because people believed institutionalizing white supremacy was the best thing for the country. New policies were built on top of older white supremacist policies upholding those policies.
None of that undoes the good that the New Deal did do -- but it's vital that we recognize and talk about the failures of otherwise successful programs in the past. If we're going to aim high -- and we certainly must -- then we need to be honest about what policies were racist and we must talk about how to undo those policies most effectively. That work is not an attack, and reacting like it is only hampers the work.