General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What rights are you willing to give up? [View all]csziggy
(34,120 posts)Because the Democratic Party has been playing at turning away from one group after another for a while. Bill Clinton accepted "Don't ask, don't tell" and that delayed LGTB rights for years. In the 1950s and 60s, Democrats continued their acceptance of segregation and voting rights for AAs and the party is still hurting from that blind eye. In fact, that blind eye has continued to ignore voter suppression and I believe that is a major factor in the loss on November 8. Democrats have avoided doing anything about getting citizenship for undocumented people for years - Ronald Reagan did more for providing a path than many Democrats - and now we watch nearly silently while hundreds are brutally arrested, held with no rights at all, and deported to unimaginable conditions.
This is a very uncomfortable echo of what German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller wrote:
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for meand there was no one left to speak for me.
NO ONE'S right should be ignored. Democrats need to fight for every single person without exception. By whining that we might lose if we don't give up one group or another's rights, we ARE losing them all NOW.