2016 Postmortem
Showing Original Post only (View all)What Bernie said in June of this year about Black Lives Matter. Did the hecklers know? [View all]
Last edited Sun Jul 19, 2015, 10:31 PM - Edit history (1)
The episode yesterday at Netroots Nation has now to me become not about candidate Bernie Sanders, but about far more than that.
Though I support Bernie in the primary, this issue is much deeper and more important to the 2016 election than it is about one person.
It's about groups that attack the very people who are standing for them the most. It's about trying to make two very fine candidates look bad in a public venue. It's about not allowing discussion, demanding that only certain words are acceptable, and shouting out anyone else speaking.
Black Lives Matter is an important and vital group. Yesterday they publicly embarrassed one of their strongest advocates.
What Bernie has said (so far) on Black Lives Matter
From June of this year.
A little over a month ago Bernie Sanders said this:
The Good News is: That you're hearing more and more about that issue. You're hearing about Ferguson, you're hearing about Baltimore, you're hearing about New York City, you're hearing about elsewhere.
The Bad News is: IF you think these issues have just occurred in the last year of two, you'd be sadly mistaken.
The truth is that for many many decades, there have been situations where the Police Officers have treated Prisoners terribly. And even in some cases, absolutely unjustly killed them.
The poster also listed some of the solutions Bernie mentioned.
1) We have to recognize Police have a tough Job. We got to Respect them. They have to be well-paid. And they have to be well-trained.
2) BUT, if a Police Officer does something wrong, like anybody else, they have to be held Accountable for their actions. If they break the Law they have got to be held Accountable.
3) We need to stop the Militarization of Police. Police Departments should NOT look like 'Armies'.
4) Community Policing: In effect, to integrate Police Officers in the Community -- so that they become part of the Community, so that actually know the people by name. We have to end the concept of of the Police as the Oppressors.