Symone D. Sanders, National Press Secretary, addresses the rally at University of Washington
The Bernie Blog Special :
Remarks About
the Black Lives Matter Protest in Seattle
By Anthony Lewis
I had started to speculate that the agitators were essentially hired shills, sent out by our enemies to slow our progress. I no longer suspect any such thing, and the reasons are simple.
The BLM movement is an important and expanding campaign. It actually has that in common with the Bernie Sanders campaign. It's growing in stature and prominence (gratefully), but it’s nowhere near the level where Bernie is at.
Bernie announces that he is going to speak somewhere, and how many people show up? You can't even count that high! BLM makes a similar announcement, what’s the head count? Sadly, you easily see the difference is breathtaking. The unfortunate truth is that the BLM movement has yet to gain traction or resonate in any way similar to Bernie Sanders’ campaign.
I believe now that these women were motivated to take advantage of what they perceived as a weakness in our campaign. Evidently they thought (and wrongly so) that, by stealing some of the limelight, on their own they would not have been able to position themselves for, that they could personally get attention for themselves. Not for BLM. They wanted to gangster the whole Sanders rally and turn it into a me-me-me! type of show.
The BLM movement will continue after all this. The Bernie Sanders campaign will drive on, ultimately concluding with Bernie becoming President of the United States. These two women? Nobody is even going to remember their names next week (if they aren't already forgotten). And the embarrassing disruption itself will get put into the context that it's best remembered as a reminder of how much further we have to go in this country where issues of race are concerned.
We should be natural allies in this battle against the 1%! The BLM movement is not our enemy. They should not feel compelled to lash out conveniently against Bernie because they can obviously see he is white. Not everyone who is white is evil. And not everyone who is black is your friend.
Anthony Lewis #Vets4Bernie
Bio: Anthony Lewis lives in Indiana and is great at rallying his fellow Bernie supporters on Facebook. http://beknown.com/anthony-edward-lewis Go Bernie!
What does Bernie say about "Racial Justice" in America today? Read his posting online: https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/
Bernie Sanders Rally Seattle (You should watch this short video!)
Bernie Speaks b4 the rally event. I was two people away. Neat, powerful and inspiring.
Posted by Christopher Cook on Saturday, August 8, 2015
Well said! Voters of all colors can see that Bernie Sanders is looking out for the interests of ALL Americans. He says it eloquently on his online posting, too: https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/
ReplyDeleteI think you are right that the women are targetting the small, open Bernie rallies, because it gives them a chance at bringing wider attention to the all-important issue of extra-judicial execution of black people resulting from structural racism. I think you are wrong about whether or not this was a "me, me, me" thing on their part. This country needs a wake-up call, and in particular progressives need to understand that we need to take a more active role in fixing the issues. We need to push - HARD - at the elected officials already in place in our local communities. We need to force the change that must occur. We need to work on local elections to bring non-racist, non-bigoted candidates into office. We need to be active and pro-active about solving the problem. It's not a "black" problem, it's *our* problem, and we need to solve it.
ReplyDeleteI know that readers of this blog are likely to be out there working politically, but much of the US progressive movement is not. We need to change that. Rather than tsk-tsking people who are finding whatever path they can to try to cajole us into action, we need to be pushing those in our community to do *more*, because what we are doing still isn't enough - as evidenced by the continuously increasing body count.
I agree about the "wake up call" being needed. I think we've been asleep too long, as evidenced by recent (and not so recent) events dealing with racial profiling and policing in our cities. However, I still don't see the need to interrupt speakers and act rudely in public as being the way to go about winning friends and influencing people for the better. All it does is take away from the message and make the frustrated crowd (who, after all, came out to hear Sen. Sanders speak) think negatively about the two women. They did more damage to their cause than good. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did not advocate aggressive acts as a way to grab attention and pushing Bernie off the microphone was aggressive. The body count will only go down with all forms of aggression cease--so lead by example and create a high moral tone, BLM supporters. Follow Dr. King's directives and don't return hate with more hate, violence with more violence. "An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind." Rise above it.
ReplyDeleteAsking a genuine question here - I keep hearing rumors about these protestors being unaffiliated with the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement, and being "paid off" by either someone with the Clinton campaign (like George Soros) or some conservative / right winger lurking in the shadows. Is this just a handful of misguided protestors, or is there more to it - is someone making a deliberate attempt to derail Sanders's campaign?
ReplyDeleteI don't believe there was any kind of conspiracy to detract from Bernie Sanders' campaign. Those two women saw an opportunity to make their voices heard and went for it. It's a shame they couldn't have just asked to speak along with the other BLM people who were invited. Bernie's record on racial equality is an excellent one. He listens and he takes action.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, we're all in this together, regardless of race, creed, color, or sexual orientation. Our society and our children's future are being robbed by the rich and their lackeys who sneer and denigrate any move to curtail their power in our lives. As 'Energy Decisions' wrote, "We need to push - HARD - at the elected officials already in place in our local communities. We need to force the change that must occur. We need to work on local elections to bring non-racist, non-bigoted candidates into office. We need to be active and pro-active about solving the problem. It's not a "black" problem, it's *our* problem, and we need to solve it.
Enough is Enough! #BernieSanders #Bernie2016 #BlackLivesMatter #Bernie4Women #feeltheBern
I would like to see more information on Bernie sanders involvement and support of the Congressional Black Caucus as it relates to Black voter suppression. I would like to see those representatives speak to that and support the truth of his involvement. I am a Bernie supporter that believes you can't get everyone's support so focus and don't be distracted. If we as African Americans are open and willing to research what's beneficial to us individually and collectively we will see the importance and signifigant role can play as president. We can't keep letting the tail wag the dog...focus...focus...focus!!!
ReplyDelete