Bernie Sanders
In reply to the discussion: No matter how Bernie adjusts his message, it won't be enough. Not ever. [View all]Maedhros
(10,007 posts)Their tactic was to ambush two of the candidates at Netroots Nation, to "humble them," to bring the issue of police violence against black people to the fore.
In that respect, they succeeded - and BLM should be commended for that. The candidates have all responded with outreach to BLM and have spoken directly to the issue.
At this point, the candidates should get credit for responding positively to BLM's message - firstly, because it would be fair to do so, and secondly, because it's positive reinforcement and will make the candidates more likely to respond positively in the future.
Yet we see no such credit given, just more criticism. From a purely pragmatic point of view, why should anyone try to comply with an interest group's wishes if doing so only earns them more condemnation? It lends credence to the notion that the objective was not to change the candidate's stance or rhetoric, but to simply punish the candidate.
I don't think this was BLM's intention, but it appears that their protest has been co-opted by others with a different agenda.