By police logic, killing Black people in our sleep is lawful, but protesting that killing isn't. There is no reforming a police force that is silent when it comes to their extrajudicial killings while violent towards those who dare dissent. #BlackLivesMatter
This isn't talked about enough and nothing will change until it is.
"Law enforcement groups, which have donated to members of both political parties, have dictated the terms of the debate on an overhaul, prodding lawmakers to reject the toughest measures" nytimes.com/2020/06/25/us/…
Just voting isn't enough; vote against ANY politician paid to resist reform.
"The Guardian identified $87m in local and state spending over the last 2 decades by the unions. At the fed level, police unions spent at least $47.3m on campaign contributions"
Politics shouldn't be treated as team sport, but voters who insist on doing so should try viewing it as a matter of the people's interests vs corporate interests. Just one look at how Congress votes vs how they buy stocks proves how self-interest can supersede political ideology.
"Politico identified about 30 percent of members of the House and Senate who are currently active in the stock market. Several of these members play in the markets over which they have some direct legislative responsibility"
"Lawmakers reported holding tens of millions of dollars in tech and pharmaceutical stocks. Congress continued to invest in these companies even as it debated how to deal with rising drug prices and tech giants’ intrusions of privacy"
In this 1984 interview, Little Richard speaks on persevering through racism in the music industry, bringing people together, and the artists he was grateful for.
Malcolm X on why we need to redefine "progress"
Today marks the 99 year anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. 300 people were killed and hundreds more injured by heavily-armed racists for the crime of prospering while Black in America.
Here's a first-hand account from survivor Venice Sims, who was just 17 at the time:
THREAD: The line between inept government and bought government is often blurred, and that's intentional. Those doing the buying have convinced people that policies for the greater good are "pie in the sky," but that their looting of the commonwealth isn't. A reversal is overdue.
The fact that the economic costs of a pandemic and mass deaths have taken precedence over the human costs doesn't expose a broken system, it exposes how the system is designed. Treating these failures as incompetence rather than intentional only serves to absolve the profiteers.
It's no coincidence that expanding the social safety net in meaningful ways is dismissed as "pie in the sky," but the growing and profitable industry of public benefit suppression isn't.
From medicare-for-all to wealth inequality, this pandemic vindicated many of Bernie's policy positions. For Biden to have a chance in November, he will have to acknowledge through his platform that a return to normal simply isn't enough for many who suffered under the status quo.
Biden needs to look at his enthusiasm numbers and adapt accordingly. Betting solely on people's enthusiasm to vote against Trump won't be enough. He will need both.
The best route to party unity is for Biden to address people's legitimate concerns. Going forward, it will be important that Biden and his supporters not confuse constructive criticism and appeals for introspection with bad faith attacks.
I don't think the coronavirus could ask for a better ally than for-profit health insurance companies. And anyone who's ever defended that industry should be ashamed.
Don't give any politician's response to this pandemic praise if it doesn't call out the moneyed interests that exacerbated the pandemic in the first place. Chances are that their silence on this has been bought through lobbying or campaign contributions.
For the new followers, here's an ongoing list of threads I've put together on various topics ranging from private prisons to for-profit healthcare and more. I hope you find the info useful. xo.
- A thread on America's current state as told through graphs: