Bernie Sanders
In reply to the discussion: So I guess we got the meme [View all]geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)1. I am white. Lilly white. Goes birdwatching and listens to Radiohead white.
2. I am voting for Bernie. However, and this may strike you as a rather exotic goal--I don't want to be special in that regard. I want there to be a lot more people voting for Bernie.
3. BLM did not 'slime' Bernie. They protested at an event where he was speaking.
4. No one is claiming that Bernie is out to get them racially. No one is claiming Bernie is a racist. What they are protesting is a general tendency of white Democratic candidates (and yes this is true of Obama as well) of taking their issues for granted, of putting in a boilerplate paragraph or two on racial justice but never doing the heavy lifting to confront institutional racism. They seek to raise awareness, not to tear anyone down.
5. As shown by points 1-4 above, you simply don't listen to people who disagree with you. This is a fairly common trait amongst people of all ideologies--to listen only to people who share one's perspective and views, but in a majority white setting, this often leads to exclusion of black voices. This is not a function of bigotry, but it is an example of institutional racism at action.
6. You would learn quite a bit by listening. But, if you insist in avoiding any opportunity to learn or broaden your awareness, for the love of god stop talking down to black people because they disagree with you.