Putting Kamala Harris and Democrats in Perspective

[KENNETH]

Back in 2020 I wasn't for Kamala Harris as Biden's VP. I felt at the time there were more Progressive Black women in Congress who were better suited like Barbara Lee also from California. But then again I was also for Bernie Sanders until Biden got the nomination. 

 

At times she has struggled as Vice President but she's persistent and willing to take the fight to Republicans. Now she's likely to be the Democratic nominee, and if she wins President. What will that mean for Black people? We would benefit from certain policies in a Harris administration just like that of Biden. But it's not likely that Harris will do anything significant that's  race specific like Reparations or even the George Floyd Police Reform Act which has stalled in Congress.

 

While some of this can be blamed on systemic racism in the political process and Rightwing Republican obstruction. It's also important to recognize that Kamala Harris like Barack Obama is the kind of Black Politician who came up through the White community not Black Interest group politics. These kinds of Black politicians aren't focused on politics or policy solutions targeted to Blacks like others who come  from the Black community.

 

Furthermore the Democratic Party hasn't passed any major policy initiative targeted at Black people since the 1960s. Too often the party is focused on getting and keeping white working class men or white suburban moderates. While we gain some benefits they are never adequate in relation to our support for Democrats or the particular problems we face.

 

Ultimately Black people must be better organized and more willing to hold Harris if she's President and Democrats accountable for not doing certain things. But then Black people at every level need to develop and push for an agenda with specific policies. 

 

When it comes to politics you can blame Kamala Harris and Democrats for not doing enough. However we have to take some responsibility ourselves. 

[ProfD]

@KENNETH, you're spot on with that post.

 

Most Black politicians are carefully selected.

 

Black folks definitely have to organize and codify an agenda to which all politicians can be held accountable.

 

Politics is transactional....quid pro quo. Collectively, Black folks should be getting tangible benefits for their vote. Not just a few crumbs, symbolism and tokenism. 

 

Black folks need to better understand the game of politics instead of running around in a circle and voting for the same box of nothing every election.

 

As I mentioned before, when it comes to politics, Black folks are playing Checkers on a Chessboard.

[Troy]

A Black agenda has been created before.

 

You just can’t get enough Black people to support it. In my years of life individuals always hurt our ability to organize as they eventually or their own self interest ahead of the group. 

 

 

[ProfD]

8 hours ago, Troy said:

A Black agenda has been created before.

 

You just can’t get enough Black people to support it. In my years of life individuals always hurt our ability to organize as they eventually or their own self interest ahead of the group. 

Yet, millions of Black folks support religion amd voting along the same party line.

 

A movement doesn't require participation or cooperation from everyone. It does require organization, codification and consistency in messaging.

 

There were plenty Black folks who didn’t support the Civil Rights movement. It required a huge sacrifice in blood, sweat and tears. The end result still benefitted Black folks who were in opposition.

 

Politicians are held accountable by special and permanent interests.

 

The lack of an agenda will definitely produce nothing in terms of tangible benefits. Maybe a few crumbs will fall from the table. 

[KENNETH]

5 hours ago, Troy said:

A Black agenda has been created before.

 

You just can’t get enough Black people to support it. In my years of life individuals always hurt our ability to organize as they eventually or their own self interest ahead of the group. 

 

 

 

I understand what you mean. But we can't give up. It takes persistent effort and adjusting to a new time and different kind of Black community that's not like the one that produced the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.

[Troy]

I’m not giving up @KENNETH I’m just saying legislation isas out best solution, that was what the civil rights movement was about. 
 

i often cite the Montgomery Bus Boycott as a prime example of identifying a goal and getting everyone organized to achieve that goal. That was a local effort that resulted in national legislation that impacted far more people.

 

 

[ProfD]

Someone had the bright idea for Megan Thee Stallion to perform at a campaign rally.

 

That was not the right time and place for such a performance. Should've saved it for the victory party. 

[aka Contrarian]

Whereas the subject is the donkey's head, you guys all seem to be looking up his ass, full of idealism, continuing to believe that political partys can solve social problems. The fact is that America is engaged in an ongoing class war. The elitist Capitalistic system is the real enemy and it has spawned a society made up of the "haves" and  "have nots", rewarding the rugged individuals who have figured out a way to milk the system , accumulate wealth, and control the status quo. 

Communism and Socialism purport to be the answer to the scourge of Capitalism, but these 2 ideologies soon degenerate into the corruption that power generates. 

 

Maybe if Blacks framed their problem in a different way, stopped asking the wrong questions and expecting the right answers, the conclusions they reach would enlighten them. Whatever they've been doing, is not working, (thanks in part to the crabs-in-the-barrel toxicity which erodes the unity every one seems to think will ensure success). zzzzzzzz

Perhaps the new strategy should be no strategy. Keeping in mind that Talk is cheap, Life is not fair and Fate is fickle, come to the realization that not all  problems have solutions. Some eventually dissipate or mutate in order to make room for new  ones.

 

The Cynical Contraian has spoken. In a couple of weeks I will observe my 91st birthday. Unless of course I die first.

[ProfD]

35 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

...continuing to believe that political partys can solve social problems.

The question becomes 1) why do they exist and 2) why do people support them.

Politicians 1) make laws and 2) insure that resources get to special and permanent interest groups and crumbs to their constituents.   

 

Most social problems can be solved with resources.  By design, the social order is controlled and manipulated by distribution.

 

35 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

The fact is that America is engaged in an ongoing class war.

Interesting.  Poor white people occupy Red states. Clearly they didn't get the memo about a class war. 

 

But, rest assured, the poorest white person is keenly aware of the system of racism white supremacy and the privilege afforded to them even if it's the illusion of being better off than Black folks.

35 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

 The elitist Capitalistic system is the real enemy and it has spawned a society made up of the "haves" and  "have nots"....

White folks have accepted the system of capitalism as the wealth building arm of racism because it benefits the white middle-class and trickles down.

35 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

...rewarding the rugged individuals who have figured out a way to milk the system , accumulate wealth, and control the status quo. 

Individualism is great for a person but not for a people.   it is essentially burying one's head in the sand within the prison of racism white supremacy. 

 

No matter of how much money an individual Black person person accumulates, they will control nothing and remain a victim of the system.  

35 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

Communism and Socialism purport to be the answer to the scourge of Capitalism, but these 2 ideologies soon degenerate into the corruption that power generates.

Those systems seem to work just fine in places where the people are homogeneous.  They aren't fighting to overthrow or replace it.  Same goes for dictatorships.

 

35 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

Maybe if Blacks framed their problem in a different way, stopped asking the wrong questions and expecting the right answers, the conclusions they reach would enlighten them.

There's no shortage of very smart Black people. They have to 1) overcome their fear of white folks and 2) get on code as it relates to the greater good of our people collectively.

35 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

Whatever they've been doing, is not working, (thanks in part to the crabs-in-the-barrel toxicity which erodes the unity every one seems to think will ensure success).

A by-product of the psychological damage inflicted and genetic PTSD inherited from slavery.  Whether mythical or factual, the instructions of the Willie Lynch letter or similar doctrine have been in full effect for hundreds of years to keep Black folks oppressed.

35 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

Perhaps the new strategy should be no strategy. Keeping in mind that Talk is cheap, Life is not fair and Fate is fickle, come to the realization that not all  problems have solutions.

Giving up is always an option.  It insures that one will get nothing in return. 

 

Fear, resignation and complacency has never produced power or tangible benefits.

35 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

The Cynical Contraian has spoken. In a couple of weeks I will observe my 91st birthday. Unless of course I die first.

While I believe the leading cause of death among humans is another birthday, we should celebrate every one of them we get to see. 

 

I'm already claiming that you will be around for your 91st b'day.  Selfishly, because I know this place isn't the same without your presence.

[aka Contrarian]

@Prof D. The above exchange between you and me could've taken place 10 years ago. 10 years hence, what we've both said will be an example of the "more-things-change- the-more-they-become-the-same" adage.

 

 In this contest between your rhetoric and my skepticism, another old saying comes to my weary mind. The one that claims that  "the pathway to hell is paved with good intentions".

To all my good-intentioned  black kinsmen I say, lotsa luck in your 400 year struggle to acquire equality within the confines of a homeland where we've never been anything but foster children. 

Why do I say this? Because you  malcontents boo-hoo about it every day presumably from your back seats in the buses driven by the dreaded blue-eyed devils!

 

The Cynical Contrarian has spoken.

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, aka Contrarian said:

@Prof D. The above exchange between you and me could've taken place 10 years ago. 10 years hence, what we've both said will be an example of the "more-things-change- the-more-they-become-the-same" adage.

True that.  But, in order to have dialog, we have to discuss something.  I don't watch Love & Hip-Hop or Real Housewives of [insert city here]. 

1 hour ago, aka Contrarian said:

 In this contest between your rhetoric and my skepticism, another old saying comes to my weary mind. The one that claims that  "the pathway to hell is paved with good intentions".

It's all good.  The bottom line is that we are having a discussion.  Maybe it will give others something to think about regardless of whether or not they agree.

 

1 hour ago, aka Contrarian said:

To all my good-intentioned  black kinsmen I say, lotsa luck in your 400 year struggle to acquire equality within the confines of a homeland where we've never been anything but foster children. 

Many believe Black folks have made a considerable amount of progress between 1624-2024.  I certainly would not deny that things are different now.  But, as MLK Jr. said in his  "I've Been to the Mountaintop" sermon..."I wouldn't stop there....".

1 hour ago, aka Contrarian said:

Why do I say this? Because you  malcontents boo-hoo about it every day from your back seats in the buses driven by the dreaded blue-eyed devils!

Since killing the devil is not a popular option, until Black folks escape the prison of racism white supremacy  and either become self-sufficient or replace it with a system of justice, there is still work to do. 

[KENNETH]

On 8/1/2024 at 7:53 PM, Troy said:

I’m not giving up @KENNETH I’m just saying legislation isas out best solution, that was what the civil rights movement was about. 
 

i often cite the Montgomery Bus Boycott as a prime example of identifying a goal and getting everyone organized to achieve that goal. That was a local effort that resulted in national legislation that impacted far more people.

 

 

 

Troy I agree with you that protest and advocacy should lead to concrete change especially law and public policies. Please don't misunderstand my point. But things are different now with technology and people being less attached to community.

[Pioneer1]

If Kamala gets in, we'll just get more of the same; which is certainly not ideal....but better than what will happen if Trump gets back in.
 

Unfortunately a lot of mental-manipulation is going on in the AfroAmerican community because a lot of our people are very much pro Trump.

A disturbing amount.
They are still a minority, but they tend to be a very  VOCAL minority.

The Black people who support Trump are far more adamant and vocal about it than those who supported Biden and even those who support Harris.
However Harris' supports do seem to be more excited and amped up over her campaign than they were for Biden so that's a good sign.
If Biden had have stayed in the race, the Democrats would have surely lost.

[ProfD]

9 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Unfortunately a lot of mental-manipulation is going on in the AfroAmerican community because a lot of our people are very much pro Trump.

I don't believe former POTUS OJ is gaining more Black supporters in as much as Democrats are losing them due to a lack of  tangible benefits.

[Pioneer1]

ProfD

I agree with that observation.

I'd also say that based on my interactions, most educated (academic wise) AfroAmericans tend to support Kamala and the Democrat party in general while most of the Black Trump supporters I know tend to be on the extreme ends of the socio-economic ladder.

The few AfroAmericans I know who are very wealthy, support Trump simply because he's a Republican and they are Republicans anyway.
They don't like a lot of his populist rhetoric but they support tax cuts, deregulation, and other typical Republican positions.
The vast majority of AfroAmericans I know who support Trump are typically poor or broke, go to church a lot and/or smoke a lot of weed, and are easily persuades by simpleton arguments like:
"Build a wall and get rid of all them illegals"
"Men need to stop being sissies and become real men again"
"Democrats support killing babies in the womb"

They hear shit like that and they don't stop to analyze it or where it comes from, they just like it because it "sounds" good...especially when it's said boldly by somebody like Trump.