AOC said that this country needs MAJOR anti-racism what...education or outreach in this country & she’s gotten major pushback w/in the party about that. There’s similar push back about the ‘Defund the Police’ movement. Which, tbf if you don’t look into what it means...
...which folks have had plenty of time to do, but if you haven’t, the idea of no police *does* scare a lot of ppl. Black ppl included. But the idea is to reallocate funds to other much needed/safer/healthier options for citizens in need. There *are* also ppl who want NO police.
Saying all of that to say, AOC & newer, fresher Dems (espc of color) know that there are HUGE opportunities to GROW the base & engage with voters/voters of color who have been abandoned/ignored. And that movement has been happening on the ground for YEARS/DECADES w/o ...
...financial help or acknowledge from the party whose base this is. The Dem party. And look, the proof is in the pudding. It is because of organizers/activists ON THE GROUND that Dems won GA/Mich/Wisc/AZ, etc. Activists of color. But WP (in general) instinctively push back...
...on that organizing. They always have. But if that is your base & this election showed that that work has paid off, you have to make a choice. And this is why Dems need new leadership. It’s just true. Yes policies that win in The Bronx may not win in other places but...
...Illhan & Rashida & Ayanna aren’t from California or New York. AND folks in red states voted to approve medical marijuana & other “progressive” policies even while voting for 45. So that’s the issue, right? And how to continue building a strong & active coalition with a...
...foundation on anti-racism. A coalition that centers the most marginalized & in this country, race/class are forever linked. So Black ppl, Lgbtq ppl, undocumented folks, disabled folks, that is who will have to be centered. But Dems, traditionally, have *only* centered...
...the white working class. But in 2020, they are not winning elections for you. And in fact, are voting FOR the fascist in even larger numbers than before. So a Dem like AOC is like, this is what needs to happen. And Old school Dems are like, nah. And that’s where we are.
In another country, we wouldn’t even be in the same party. But in America, we are. And how do we, not only keep up the momentum & GROW the party? Cause guess what, those same Establishment Dems crying about AOC, want desperately for the coalition Stacey Abrams put 2gether...
...to win these run offs in Jan. But again, those are folks Establishment Dems can usually ignore. Hell, Dems didn’t even start paying attention to what Stacey was doing until it looked like she could win GA back in 2018. So ppl are right, BIPOC organizers DID win this...
...for Biden. So how do you grow that coalition with centrist/Repub lite Dems? That’s the issue. So even as a lot of my TL hate Dems/anything Dem I usually read just to listen, but I know the ‘Dems’ they’re referring to. And it’s not ‘Dems’ like me or my family or Dem...
...Indigenous organizers in Arizona/NV. They aren’t talking about Black organizers in Philly/Atlanta. They aren’t talking about Latinx/Black organizers who’ve been working their asses off in Fl or Texas. Shit, there are organizers/activists in the REDDEST of states. So...
...how will leadership handle this? Cause going backwards will hinder momentum/excitement & hope. Which old ass, establishment Dems desperately need. And here we are🤷🏽♀️
And please understand, no one cares if you don’t like AOC, Illhan & them. Even Harris & Biden. It is not & has never been about any individual person. It’s about the direction we want the party to go in & who we need to work with, build with to get us there. The ppl *always*...
...change. The ideas are what’s important. The organizing is what’s important. The people should *always* be the focus.
So now that the person everyone, easily agreed was a monster, is going to be out of office, will the appetite to fight still be there? Cause see, we’re about to go back to “normal” times. But after this year, progressives on the street agreed that “normal” was still killing...
...a lot of ppl. So what happens now, we shall see. Who Biden picks for his cabinet & the run offs in Jan are next up.
About Black organizers/activists leading & white media/ppl instinctively pushing back/silencing/erasing that work? The Panthers. Not only did they create free food programs in public schools (something that all kids can benefit from/even as Repubs fight 2 expand/end it)...
...health care. If you did not know all of the things the Panthers did, on their own, even as the US Gov media used their power to destroy them...Universal Health Care. So again, here we are fighting for the same things Black Americans, not only have been fighting for for...
...centuries, but actually ACCOMPLISHED in Black communities around the country. Did you know that? Don’t feel bad if you didn’t.
https://twitter.com/writtenbyhanna/status/1314698760501579777
S/O to the US Gov, Hoover & American media tho. Killing leaders in the party, jailing others & introducing drugs into the community to make sure the party would never come back the same. And s/o to racism making sure white Americans never got curious about what was possible 🙃
Nothing is new. Absolutely nothing.
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