I know I should click off of Reddit, but I’m like an addict and have to refresh. For the most part I could handle/ignore the echo chamber going on, but now that attention is being paid to the black vote…oh boy. It’s becoming clear this is a demographic they know little about and think even less of, apparently. All of which will just push people away.
- Black voters =/= young white liberals. This should seem obvious, but apparently not. There are people in my family who, if not for the color of their skin, would be Republican. Just because they vote democrat does not mean Sanders’ liberal views will appeal to them. According to Pew Research Center:
By contrast, more black and Hispanic Democratic voters characterized their views as moderate than liberal in 2015, and the self-described political views of both groups have remained stable in recent years. Last year, 42% of black Democrats called themselves moderates, 29% said they were conservatives and 27% called themselves liberals.
So when you make the argument that Sanders is more to the left of Clinton, your plan might actually backfire. But please do keep thinking blacks keep supporting the more moderate Clinton solely because of name recognition and her husband. I mean, he does play the sax, after all.
- Bringing up the Civil Rights Movement and name dropping Martin Luther King is not working. No one cares. Seriously. A lot of people, yes even white people, marched on Washington. Getting arrested in Chicago and paying a fine is commendable, I suppose, but it was 50+ years ago. Find something more recent, please.
- Private prisons and weed: Oh where to begin. Not every black person knows someone in prison and if they did, what makes you think they don’t want them there? And while going to prison for smoking marijuana is crazy, when this is one of the top three reasons I see for why we should support Sanders it comes off as patronizing. As if, well, we’re black so obviously we want weed to be legal. Because we’re black and all black people do drugs or know a druggie.
- Free college means nothing if you’re struggling to get your kid through primary school. Or your kid is already in or out of college. Because not all blacks are poor.
- It’s concerning that the upcoming primaries Sanders can reasonably win are the lily-white states. That does not bode well for a general election.
- Stop bringing up Killer Mike like he’s going to convince anybody to change their vote.
I have nothing against Bernie Sanders. If he wins the nomination I’ll vote for him, because I value my reproductive rights and because the Republicans scare me. But I don’t owe him my vote, nor does my mother or the rest of her family, because a white person thinks he’s the best thing for black people.
