What is Hillary's plan for eradicating racism?

[Bonobo]

Thanks in advance.

[Cheese Sandwich]

1. plan

1. Elect me
2. ???
3. End of racism

[Gregorian]

2. Just don't talk about the economy. Too scary.

[LexVegas]

3. 1. Dont shit on John Lewis. 2. See 1. nt

[Bonobo]

5. Yep, that'll get 'er done! #Strawman

[daleanime]

6. So, how long....

have you been thinking about John Lewis this way?

[bravenak]

50. For real

[Live and Learn]

4. 'Cut it out'? nt

[avaistheone1]

7. Seriously what is the Hillary plan?

Anyone?

[Live and Learn]

12. On anything? nt

[JRLeft]

71. Nothing

[plus5mace]

8. Well,

Step 1: Win the primary by declaring all left wing white people who don't vote for her to be evil and racist.

Step 2: Despite what occurred in step 1, we all come together and vote for a candidate that fundamentally disagrees with us on almost every major issue, along with independent voters who will no longer hate and distrust her for some reason.

Step 3: 8 years of status quo Republican-Clinton gridlock

Step 4: No more racism.

[Art_from_Ark]

17. Great plan!

[tularetom]

9. Wipe it away - with a cloth or something

[thereismore]

10. Elect me. I am the first black First Lady so there. nt

[mhatrw]

11. She has promised to be concerned about it and she will keep that promise.

That ought to do it.

[olddots]

13. she knows best so forgeddaboudit

[uponit7771]

14. Hopefully none... the goal shouldn't be to erase someones destructive thinking about others it ...

...should be to get rid of that thinking's effect on others ability to have life liberty and pursuit of happiness within a structure of law

[Bonobo]

16. Sounds remarkably why Sanders is a great choice!

Ya see, all this complaining about how Sanders' only plan is to restore some semblance of economic justice is that way because IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to legislate racism away.

Let me repeat that: It is impossible to legislate racism away.

So the crying about how Sanders doesn't get it is ridiculous. Because it is impossible to legislate racism away

[jfern]

15. Declare one of the stars on the flag to represent the confederacy

Oh wait, it's not 1987 any more? Abort abort abort abort!

[Art_from_Ark]

20. Damn, I wonder why Bill Clinton did that

I never knew about his official action about the top (4th) large star in Arkansas's state flag until I read about it here, and I couldn't believe it, because I never heard about it at the time, and I was an extremely politically active person in Arkansas in 1987. But I checked up on it, and, damn, he apparently did actually reaffirm what had apparently been tacitly understood by the neo-Confederates in the state since the 1920s-- that the big star above the state's name on the state flag represented the Confederacy. I had always thought it represented the USA.

[Live and Learn]

58. Seriously? Wow. I had never heard that. Pretty disgusting. nt

[SMC22307]

66. Wow. I missed that little nugget. (n/t)

[firebrand80]

18. Man, you beat the shit out of that strawman

Nice work, OP

[Bonobo]

19. Really? So tell me then...

All the criticism of Sanders -namely that he SUPPOSEDLY thinks that economic justice is all that is needed to help improve things for POC - suggests that there is some way to legislate racism away.

Sanders knows that economics can be tweaked, legal systems adjusted, but that racism cannot be legislated away.

This thread and the lack of answers is precisely why such criticism is bullshit.

So I ask a reasonable question to the Hillary supporters: If economic justice is not the way to imporve things for POC, then what is this theoretic way in which racism can be directly dealt with by the POTUS?

Surely you have some answer?

Oh, and what is the straw man?

That's 2 questions.

[firebrand80]

21. Nobody on DU is arguing

that a focus on "economic justice" won't help minorities. Nor has anyone said that it's possible to legislate away racism. That's the strawman you're picking on.

The criticism of Bernie has been that his philosophy seems to be that the race problem is really a class problem, and that economic justice will cure the ills that plague minority communities.

Is that what Bernie really believes? I don't know for sure. I suspect that's what he thought at the beginning of the campaign, but I do give him credit for evolving, or at least appearing to evolve.

[Bonobo]

22. That criticism is one that is inferred because he focuses on "legislate-able" issues.

There is absolutely no reason to think that other than that.

[firebrand80]

23. I think your inference is wrong

Maybe you can come to a better understanding if you made a thread that invited conversation rather than confrontation.

[bettyellen]

41. Yes, it is imagined, not "inferred". If people got it- they'd not think saying something tone def=

saying it is racism. I have seen that "inference" here too many times. Yeah you can't legislate tone deafness on the internet, you can't give clueless people an empathy transplant.

You can't stop people from making smug little games out of life and death issues. And here it is.
There are actually ways to outlaw and or reduce discrimination. There are actually lots of studies, guidelines for best practices etc, that can guide people in building a better society.

But you actually have to care enough. This OP is a smug refusal to care out of some sort of bitterness. I am disturbed people give this bullshit a pass here, let alone rec it.

[ShrimpPoboy]

26. +1

[jonestonesusa]

32. I have definitely read that the Sanders economic agenda is white friendly

especially when the first Coates article came out. Lottsa DUers arguing that the Sanders agenda was nothing but a white left epic fail when it comes to black lives. Hard trend to miss, a few weeks ago!

[firebrand80]

36. I can't speak for all Hillary supporters

But that's not how I read the Coates debate at all.

Coates was simply saying that other parts of your agenda aren't necessarily constrained by current political reality, so why are your views on reperations subject to such concerns? I think it was Bernie's supporters that blew Coates out of proportion. I read it as very much a "friendly piece of advice" and was not shocked on the least bit when Coates said he would vote for Bernie.

[jonestonesusa]

38. I support reparations but I don't view them as a cure all

like they haven't been for indigenous nations or Japanese Americans. So I didn't think this issue was a good litmus test for whether Sanders supports a pro-black agenda, especially when his stance was no different than the other candidates and President Obama. And I also think it's true that reparations are more divisive than single payer, college access, etc. Also, the timing of the article was right at the start of Sanders' rise and directed at a core DEM constituency. So in a contested election with high stakes, prepare for blowback. A lot of Atlantic readers are also Sanders supporters too.

[firebrand80]

39. I don't want to rehash this debate

If Coates' deceleration that he supports Bernie didn't make his intentions clear, Nothing will

[jonestonesusa]

49. Intentions are one thing, actual consequences are another.

Notice how on DU Coates' original articles have gotten major traction and discussion, reinforcing the perception that Sanders is the white left's candidate. Comparatively, Michelle Alexander's critique of Clinton gets eye-rolling, and even Coates' interview on Democracy Now gets some traction but mostly yawns. Coates' intentions may have been to give the Sanders platform a healthy challenge from a black left perspective, but the effect has been to reinforce a rather one-sided view of Sanders' policy with regard to a black political agenda.

I know you wanted to end the discussion, so apologies for extending it a bit longer.

[SMC22307]

68. Coates is voting for Sanders.

Check out his interview on Democracy Now!

[liberal_at_heart]

42. That is so wrong. Yes, his broad issue is economics but he has stated repeatedly that we need

to reform the private prison industry and the corrupt and violent police departments. There is a great thread on the board right now about Martin Luther King Jr. and how he supported not only social justice but also economic justice and how he even began to realize that to get real change we need radical change in the economic system as well as the social system. I really am beginning to believe that Bernie will never be able to do enough to please certain people.

[bravenak]

51. We'll need new strawmen to send to him

[Bonobo]

67. You're upset because your rhetoric has bitten thee in thy ass.

Your whole THING is to point out that Sanders is some pie-in-the-sky panderer when he speaks to the needs of black people and some uncaring old white guy when he doesn't.

You complain that his economic focus won't eliminate racism. And... you're right! Because racism is an intractable social disease that can NOT be eliminated through legislation by any politician.

You are pissed, my dear, because this thread strikes directly at the unexamined flaws in your uni-directional criticism of Sanders.

[Live and Learn]

60. No, your post is the strawman. nt

[Orrex]

24. I should never think that I've found the dumbest post on DU

Because every time I do, something like this OP comes along and sets a new standard.

[bravenak]

52. Day after day

[LanternWaste]

25. I think I've finally stumbled across the lowest common denominator on DU.

I think I've finally stumbled across the lowest common denominator on DU.

[jonestonesusa]

35. How many OPs have started with criticizing Sanders

for doing nothing for black lives since he marched in the 60s? It's a political campaign with high stakes. Everyone gets to question candidate policy plans.

[Orrex]

40. How many posts have demanded that you present Sanders' plan to eradicate racism?

It's a dumb question that satisfies the smug, self-congratulating type, but it's not actually a discussion.


So tell us: what is Sanders' plan to eradicate racism? How will he enact it? I'm sure that you have all the details, so please share.

[jonestonesusa]

43. I didn't post the question, so I will decline to answer.

Feel free to continue your harangue, though. You seem to be enjoying it.

[Orrex]

44. Yes, I enjoy pointing out when Sanders' supporters are flash without substance

Thank you for your eager assistance and for making it so easy.

[jonestonesusa]

45. Have a cookie.

You earned it!

[Orrex]

46. As long as you vote for Clinton in November.

[jonestonesusa]

48. Clinton's not the nominee at this point, and she may not be the nominee.

Plenty of time for a contested primary, focused on the issues as much as possible.

And, a Sanders platform is much better positioned to make a difference on issues of racial equality for a several key reasons: greater access to health and education services (single payer, free college), moving away from policies that create stark wealth divisions (real Wall Street regulation, minimum wage legislation, reducing the influences of Superpacs, the defense and financial lobby, and wealthy individuals over policy, more liberal/left economic thinkers in the administration, a large-scale public works initiative that increases employment and focuses on infrastructure), criminal justice reform (including marijuana decriminalization and increased community policing), and greater participation/engagement of people and communities in the political process (symbolized by the record number of small donors contributing to the Sanders campaign; also symbolized by avoiding divisive racial political statements and actions).

While neither campaign is going to eliminate racism, the policies I see in the Sanders platform can make a difference, and I'm motivated and excited to see these issues brought into a national spotlight like they haven't been even under Obama. I don't see the Clinton platform as being positioned nearly as well to make an impact on racism. But I'll be paying attention to the rest of the campaign in order to see if I'm off base, as I always do. I will continue to do organizing locally for Sanders as well, until or unless the Clinton campaign shows me that it's a better alternative.

[PonyUp]

27. She will look into it. n/t

[Iggy Knorr]

28. Take a bunch of money from the Prison Lobby

[themaguffin]

29. What is the point of the OP?

[Bonobo]

33. To show that the criticism of Sanders is hot air mostly.

He knows that can't legislate away Racism. A real pragmatist takes the things that can be changed and works on them instead of bullshit about doing away with racism as Hillary does.

THAT is the point.

[themaguffin]

34. Oh ok, maybe that's a better approach than this silly bullshit, thanks

[polly7]

30. Kick and recommend. I've seen this asked many times .... not answered even once.

Good luck.

[Nanjeanne]

31. Eradicating? She is the only candidate

Make race such a divisive issue and seeing it happen in the Democratic Party makes me so incredibly sad.

Her desperation to be President has made the Party turn into one I can't even recognize. This tactic is probably the one that has pushed me from holding my nose to vote for her if she is the nominee - to saying thank goodness I live in a blue state so I don't have to pull any lever next to her name.

[Generic Other]

37. Hear hear!

This is exactly what is happening. HRC's ambition and hubris will bring us all down. No tactic is too low. Instead of turning that venom against the real racists in this country, she chooses to smear one of our own. Ugly.

[AgingAmerican]

47. She doesn't have one

Hillary sees PoC as a means to her own ends. Her record on such issues is abysmal, but she gets a free pass. Why? I have no clue.

There is a subset of her PoC supporters that seek to sink Sanders campaign. If they succeed, so be it, but they will be taking the brunt of the consequences if and when that happens, because Hillary Clinton cannot win a general election. They will have made their own bed and they will have to sleep in it. I will feel nothing for them.

[bravenak]

53. I bet this was so funny when you planned it.

[bettyellen]

54. There are a whole lot of people who should be embarrassed by this gleeful claim racism is unfixable

but they think it's all about bigotry. and you can't stop people from giving you dirty looks- amiright, bro?

[bravenak]

55. You know? None of this even raises my eyebrows anymore.

Really. Im just not gonna even act like this is anything unsual anymore. Look at this! I can smh but they'll just educate me on what my head should be doing.

[Bonobo]

61. I said it could not be eradicated through legislation. Do you disagree? nt

[99Forever]

65. So what is Hillary's plan to eliminate racism?

Lay it out for us bettyellen.

IF YOU CAN.

[thereismore]

57. You don't have much to say do you. nt

[Autumn]

56. She doesn't have one, doesn't seem to need one either.

[m-lekktor]

59. Some of the responses on this thread are not really surprising.

It just proves what many of us suspected!

[Bonobo]

62. If it is not a non-answer, it is a complete distortion of what I have said.

There are filthy, filthy liars here. Muckrakers -it should not surprise me.

[m-lekktor]

63. They really aren't all that clever. nt

[SMC22307]

64. Friendships, relationships and fish frys. (n/t)

[Kalidurga]

69. Whatever it is she is only going to discuss it with white people.

[Luminous Animal]

70. I went there and told those racists to, "Cut it out!"