2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: I'm Black. Old Blacks have failed us. It's time for Young Blacks to make our stand on Super Tuesday [View all]johnlucas
(1,250 posts)Thank you for understanding me.
It's hard to simultaneously have reverence for what your elders did for you & anger at their bad decisions.
It makes me think of my late Great Uncle.
I considered him like a Second Father, that's how much respect I had for him.
But at the same time, he did some ridiculous shit.
There were aspect of him I made part of my identity & there were aspects of him that I said I will NEVER incorporate.
So I didn't follow everything he did 100%.
Hell, I didn't even follow everything my OWN father did 100% & I admired him too.
I see John Lewis in the same light.
Reverence mixed with anger.
Respect mixed with disgust.
It's a complicated feeling.
The stakes may not be as real to that generation as it is to mine & younger.
Guess it's hard to relate if you're not living it.
I have wondered for decades why the Democratic Party is such a weak organization.
When I first joined this forum in 2008, I already made the point that I no longer identify as Democrat.
I just vote with them.
In my post history you'll see me break down the distinction between DEMOCRATIC & UNDERGROUND.
I'm part of the UNDERGROUND.
And I want the UNDERGROUND to till new soil to make better healthier DEMOCRATIC plants.
Seeing what happened in South Carolina makes me see nothing but weeds.
Do they REALLY want this tired dead status quo to keep going on like this?
Do they REALLY want a demoralized Democratic Party who wins Presidential elections but drops the ball on the midterms?
And the answer I came up with is YES.
And once I came up with that answer I had to ask myself who's responsible for saying YES.
Hence the call out.
You would THINK a person who came from the Movement would recognize the importance of building a party & coalition that is energized. One that has lasting resonance & can totally shift the political narrative of this country.
One where we don't have to acknowledge the Republican way of doing things.
One that ends the triangulation & "bi-partisanship" bullshit.
One that is unapologetic in championing what it supposedly stands for.
Who from a former movement for justice would get in the way of that?
Hence the call out.
YES you took the words out of my mouth!
The biggest portion of the population is NON-VOTERS!
Most People Don't Vote Because Most People Don't Think It Works!
I have a friend right now who I'm TRYING to convince to vote.
He's blasé about the whole thing because he doesn't see a difference in his day to day life.
I'm trying to get him involved & it's uphill.
How is THIS time supposed to be different than every other time REALLY?
He DOES fit some of that Generation X apathetic cynical snarky stereotype.
If Bernie becomes the nominee it might become that much easier to convince him.
I KNOW Hillary has no chance of getting him out to the polls.
At least Bernie has a track record that is consistent decade after decade.
That MIGHT change his mind on voting if he sees that become successful.
Our elders have made the wrong call & we don't have the luxury to make the wrong call right now.
There's a reason I didn't say ALL Old Blacks.
Some still remember what the mission was all about & are still fighting in their own ways.
But like in a lot of things in life (dreams, ambitions) many have just given up.
Instead of Raging Against the Machine they became one of the Gears.
It may be easier that way but it ain't good.
But easy gets easier to do when you're tired.
You don't have the energy to rage anymore.
Somehow the oldest candidate in this race still has the energy somehow.
He aged but he didn't get OLD. He didn't get TIRED. He didn't give up.
That's why I gotta support him.
John Lucas