Chris
07-22-2015, 10:10 AM
Division among the Democrats.
#BernieSoBlack: Why progressives are fighting about Bernie Sanders and race (http://www.vox.com/2015/7/20/9001639/bernie-sanders-black-lives-matter)
...Shortly after O'Malley took the stage, a group of protesters affiliated with the #BlackLivesMatter movement (which has been organizing for the last year or so to call attention to deaths of black men and women at the hands of police) marched into the room chanting "Which Side Are You On?" (a reference to an old-school labor song). Two women (Tia Oso and Patrisse Cullors) took the stage and the microphone and spoke about deaths of black men and women in police custody — specifically the recent suspicious death of Sandra Bland in Texas.
...O'Malley, attempting to respond to the protesters, said, "Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter" — a phrase that's been used by critics of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and which activists see as an attempt to dismiss racial disparities in police shootings. O'Malley later told MSNBC that he wasn't aware of the connotations of "all lives matter," which is itself pretty illustrative of the disconnect between O'Malley and the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
...Sanders was defensive and cranky toward the protesters, saying "Black lives of course matter. But I've spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights. If you don't want me to be here, that's okay." At other times, he didn't acknowledge the protesters at all and raised his voice to be heard over them (which some attendees saw as Sanders "shouting down" the protesters).
Sanders didn't ignore the issue entirely. But to some observers, it felt like Sanders "stuck to his script" about economic injustice without giving racial injustice its due.
#BernieSoBlack: Why progressives are fighting about Bernie Sanders and race (http://www.vox.com/2015/7/20/9001639/bernie-sanders-black-lives-matter)
...Shortly after O'Malley took the stage, a group of protesters affiliated with the #BlackLivesMatter movement (which has been organizing for the last year or so to call attention to deaths of black men and women at the hands of police) marched into the room chanting "Which Side Are You On?" (a reference to an old-school labor song). Two women (Tia Oso and Patrisse Cullors) took the stage and the microphone and spoke about deaths of black men and women in police custody — specifically the recent suspicious death of Sandra Bland in Texas.
...O'Malley, attempting to respond to the protesters, said, "Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter" — a phrase that's been used by critics of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and which activists see as an attempt to dismiss racial disparities in police shootings. O'Malley later told MSNBC that he wasn't aware of the connotations of "all lives matter," which is itself pretty illustrative of the disconnect between O'Malley and the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
...Sanders was defensive and cranky toward the protesters, saying "Black lives of course matter. But I've spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights. If you don't want me to be here, that's okay." At other times, he didn't acknowledge the protesters at all and raised his voice to be heard over them (which some attendees saw as Sanders "shouting down" the protesters).
Sanders didn't ignore the issue entirely. But to some observers, it felt like Sanders "stuck to his script" about economic injustice without giving racial injustice its due.