Bernie Sanders clarifies his statement about ghettos

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I mean, just going into my city there is an area for public housing that is predominately Black and has some Hispanics. In this neighborhood cops are everywhere, and even when not on an active call you'll see them bring out literal police APC to intimidate the community and patrol. This area is also full of speed traps and cops that stop cars for no reason other than "they look like trouble."

Even in trailer parks full of predominately white people, these areas don't see a fraction of the police over activity, scrutiny, and harassment.

Is it unfair to see this? I mean, it lines up with police harassment and discrimination against people of color.

Edit: Could absolutely careless about Bernie for reference.
 
I found it far more offensive and jarring when Hillary claimed she was not of the establishment because she's a woman.

But yeah, either way perception can be more damning than reality when it comes to words, so it definitely does hurt him. He should've just took the hit and moved on. If anything, the fact that Bernie's fanbase is so ferociously defending the comment is only hurting him more.

(For clarification, I'm pro-Bernie, but am cool with Hildawg as well.)
 
That makes less sense.

How on earth would anybody hearing that segment think he was talking about police?
Still a better response then repeating what he had said though.

I think he was going back to what he was talking about earlier in the debate about police oppression on black people. He went hard on that earlier. He was bringing up the other pressures people in ghettos face. It's not easy to prosper while poor in general, it's super hard if you live in a ghetto.
 
Uh is this what people are getting from it?

Sounds like he's actually being super sensible and putting on the table that there's a lot of black communities which are socially and economically segregated both due to horrible city planning and garbage housing projects.
Where is he saying this in that statement? I'm not saying that he doesn't mean this in his overall message but again he seems to have a horrible problem with communication which isn't what I look for in a president.

The statement and his clarification simply reinforces a stereotype. The fact that there are people who fit the stereotype doesn't excuse it. He's also stereotyping white people as being rich and put of touch which is offensive in its own way.
 
Bernie Sanders:

“What I meant to say, is when you talk about ghettos, traditionally what you’re talking about is African-American communities.”

The structure of the sentence is as follows.

When I say ghetto, I mean african american communities.

He was clarifying his use of the term ghetto.
If you don't know what ghettos are you could imply he's equating black communities and ghettos. But ghettos have to be conformed of a clear racial segregation that occurs that impede their rights to the city. Ghettos can be conformed of Hispanic, Asian and black communities primarily, but the black community has a much longer and prevalent history of systematic abuse in America, which take a sociogeographic form with ghettos. So the black community being historically abused does make it so that when you say ghetto, you are traditionally referring to black communities who live in segregated areas in cities with much less access to city resources in terms of schools, hospitals, job opportunities amongst other stuff.

Where is he saying this in that statement? I'm not saying that he doesn't mean this in his overall message but again he seems to have a horrible problem with communication which isn't what I look for in a president.

The statement and his clarification simply reinforces a stereotype. The fact that there are people who fit the stereotype doesn't excuse it. He's also stereotyping white people as being rich and put of touch which is offensive in its own way.
I guess if you read the headline there might be a communication issue, but the overall message is pretty clear so it seems like he's being lambasted by being misquoted.

And while yeah, undermining regular and white poverty is a very bad move politically speaking, it's totally true that white poor people still have a lot easier than black or Hispanic folks by the sheer virtue of being white.
 
So stupid stupid stupid. It manages to both offend white people and miss the point when it comes to the black American experience.

White people know what it's like to be poor. Well, fewer of them do than black people, but that's not the issue. The point is that white people don't know what it's like to be black. That's what he should've said. Being black comes with it unique set of experiences and obstacles.
 
Where is he saying this in that statement? I'm not saying that he doesn't mean this in his overall message but again he seems to have a horrible problem with communication which isn't what I look for in a president.

The pressure part would be inferred to be talking about the disfranchisement and social, legal, and economical pressure.

"What I meant by that is, I think that many white people are not aware of the kinds of pressures and the kind of police oppression that sometimes takes place within the African-American community," Sanders said.
 
The statement and his clarification simply reinforces a stereotype. The fact that there are people who fit the stereotype doesn't excuse it. He's also stereotyping white people as being rich and put of touch which is offensive in its own way.

Because a ghetto is literally defined as a place where minorities are segregated, it's not a stereotype to say that white people in America in aggregate don't know what it's like to be poor while living in one.
 
Bernie's biggest issue for me at least is that he tries to tie everything to Wall St. He believes that once we get Wall St in order and the wealth gap is closed that it'll somehow end racism and police brutality as well.

And honestly the whole "white people don't know what it's like to be poor" comment was stupid as fuck.
 
Where is he saying this in that statement? I'm not saying that he doesn't mean this in his overall message but again he seems to have a horrible problem with communication which isn't what I look for in a president.

The statement and his clarification simply reinforces a stereotype. The fact that there are people who fit the stereotype doesn't excuse it. He's also stereotyping white people as being rich and put of touch which is offensive in its own way.

Not really. This is like saying white privilege means white people have everything easy in life. It's the association of privilege and racial differences to stereotypes that get people confused in the first place. Saying white people doesn't know what it's like to be poor, unless you're reading it completely literally and ignoring context, doesn't mean that there aren't any poor white people
 
Fucking hell, the left eating itself again. The guy clearly wants to help those in the lower earner bands and you're all getting pissing off because he used the word "ghetto". Sorry to have triggered someone.
 
NeoGAF hates Bernie. What's new?

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It's always a conspiracy. Every. Single. Time.
 
we need to berniesplain why ghettos are full of blacks

Housing discrimination, white flight, state oppression, economic disenfranchisement...?

So now Bernie is racist for acknowledging how our society is still segregated? We're getting offended now that a Jew who had significant parts of his family die in the Holocaust is lamenting the fact that we in the US of A have ghettos? Because we do.
 
So stupid stupid stupid. It manages to both offend white people and miss the point when it comes to the black American experience.

White people know what it's like to be poor. Well, fewer of them do than black people, but that's not the issue. The point is that white people don't know what it's like to be black. That's what he should've said. Being black comes with it unique set of experiences and obstacles.

This is where he fails in most of his communication. He can't seem to talk about anything in terms other than economics and a well removed perspective.
 
If you don't know what ghettos are you could imply he's equating black communities and ghettos. But ghettos have to be conformed of a clear racial segregation that occurs that impede their rights to the city. Ghettos can be conformed of Hispanic, Asian and black communities primarily, but the black community has a much longer and prevalent history of systematic abuse in America, which take a sociogeographic form with ghettos. So the black community being historically abused does make it so that when you say ghetto, you are traditionally referring to black communities who live in segregated areas in cities with much less access to city resources in terms of schools, hospitals, job opportunities amongst other stuff.


This is more of something he needs to say. You think white people care? It's sad, but if you don't bash it over our heads, the systematic racism and oppression of black people in America will continue.

I don't have any doubt in my mind Bernie has nothing but honest, and good intentions for his country. He was just clumsy where he needs to be ON POINT.
 
Because a ghetto is literally defined as a place where minorities are segregated, it's not a stereotype to say that white people in America in aggregate don't know what it's like to be poor while living in one.

That's where I'm confused.

Some White Americans obviously face living in extremely poor environments, but it is an entirely different reality to go through than if you're a person of color and have to face more obstacles, at the expense of the color of your skin.

I'm trying to find someone to explain but everyone is just saying "smh the usuals" or "can't believe this dude just lost the race."

I'm genuinely confused.
 
I feel like we should know the basic idea of what he was trying to communicate, yet for some reason are using extraordinary effort to make sentence diagrams, in order to portray otherwise.
 
Housing discrimination, white flight, state oppression, economic disenfranchisement...?

So now Bernie is racist for acknowledging how our society is still segregated? We're getting offended now that a Jew who had significant parts of his family die in the Holocaust is lamenting the fact that we in the US of A have ghettos? Because we do.

no, he's not racist. he's just not explaining any of that in his responses to these issues when they are brought up.

lack of understanding? lack of communication? pushing his platform non-stop because he always links things back to wall street and the economy?

the economy and wall street is not the only ailment of our culture, and he isn't doing a good job of showing he is very knowledgeable about these issues. to the same extent i would argue the same for foreign affairs.

he's had 10 debates and at least 6 months to get up to speed on this stuff. i haven't seen much change in his messaging. this is his job, he's a politician. who am i? why do i feel like i know more about this stuff than he does? he should be impressing me with his knowledge.
 
Fucking hell, the left eating itself again. The guy clearly wants to help those in the lower earner bands and you're all getting pissing off because he used the word "ghetto". Sorry to have triggered someone.

I was expecting a 'damn SJW's with your PC culture' response but this works too.
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It's always a conspiracy. Every. Single. Time.

To Bernie supporters, it's like a right of passage. Everybody's constantly out to get you, so be paranoid.
 
Returning to your good posts from when you were a mod I see.

Maybe, maybe not. But nobody would know, since instead of deconstructing the point, you decided to go ad hominem and attack the poster making them. Always a surefire path to proving you have a valid position.

This is becoming a pattern with certain Bernie supporters.
 
Housing discrimination, white flight, state oppression, economic disenfranchisement...?

So now Bernie is racist for acknowledging how our society is still segregated? We're getting offended now that a Jew who had significant parts of his family die in the Holocaust is lamenting the fact that we in the US of A have ghettos? Because we do.
Thank you.

This is more of something he needs to say. You think white people care? It's sad, but if you don't bash it over our heads, the systematic racism and oppression of black people in America will continue.

I don't have any doubt in my mind Bernie has nothing but honest, and good intentions for his country. He was just clumsy where he needs to be ON POINT.
I'm not American and English isn't my first language so I l'm obviously missing the context of the outrage and the public understanding of white privilege. I get that this can fuck him over politically. But I'd assume with the whole scandal of police brutality, black lives matter movement and well the historical struggle of black communities that the point would be made clear. But I guess you really need to dumb it down for the lowest common denominator and instead he's being slightly vague about the issue.

I don't understand how GAF could be outraged by it, but then again if he isn't your candidate everything will be fuel for the fire.
 
Fucking hell, the left eating itself again. The guy clearly wants to help those in the lower earner bands and you're all getting pissing off because he used the word "ghetto". Sorry to have triggered someone.

It is primary season still. Nothing new here.

I think Bernie's heart in the right place, but communicating these nuanced issues seem difficult for him.
 
Fucking hell, the left eating itself again. The guy clearly wants to help those in the lower earner bands and you're all getting pissing off because he used the word "ghetto". Sorry to have triggered someone.

No. I actually like Bernie and agree with his rhetoric, but also feel America right now isn't ready for a candidate like him who is very far left. That said. Bernie just isn't doing himself any favors with comments like these.

He's losing the minority vote, Didn't even bother to campaign in the South. Yet he and his supporters still harp about him marching with MLK. The optics just don't look good for him and if he's not willing to maneuver then he is done.
 
I'm beginning to be convinced that it's actually the American progressive's disdain for Sanders' economic leftism that makes these things such a deal breaker.
 
Maybe, maybe not. But nobody would know, since instead of deconstructing the point, you decided to go ad hominem and attack the poster making them. Always a surefire path to proving you have a valid position.

This is becoming a pattern with certain Bernie supporters.

Can't say I'm a Bernie supporter per se, but posting "the age of Bernie is over!" ad infinitum in every thread you're in is entirely tiring.

Housing discrimination, white flight, state oppression, economic disenfranchisement...?

So now Bernie is racist for acknowledging how our society is still segregated? We're getting offended now that a Jew who had significant parts of his family die in the Holocaust is lamenting the fact that we in the US of A have ghettos? Because we do.
I agree.
 
Fucking hell, the left eating itself again. The guy clearly wants to help those in the lower earner bands and you're all getting pissing off because he used the word "ghetto". Sorry to have triggered someone.

Is this your first primary? There's always in-fighting with a party in the middle of a primary season since, you know, there's two or more candidates who want one job. And even with in this primary there's nothing particularly nasty here. Every debate both candidates make it a point to say "despite all this debating Democrats are much better and we both got each other's back come the general election". It's hilarious you think this is "eating itself", even though there's bona fide political cannibalism going on right now on the other side of the aisle. It's not like there's no counterexamples to go off of.
 
A poor black person is worse off than a poor white person though

A rich black person is more than likely worse off than a poor white person when it comes to certain situations. Look at Thabo from the Atlanta Hawks. It's why when Bernie keeps harping on income equality and tying it to racism just doesn't click with black people.
 
This was entirely tone deaf and the double down was even more weird.

I don't know that this hurts him among AA voters because, literally, it would be hard to do much worse than he already is.
 
I'm beginning to be convinced that it's actually the American progressive's disdain for Sanders' economic leftism that makes these things such a deal breaker.

The funny thing is if you look in the thread about his proposed tax hikes some of the same people who say they're done with Sanders over that are the same ones upset about others acknowledging his blind spots on race.
 
Can't say I'm a Bernie supporter per se, but posting "the age of Bernie is over!" ad infinitum in every thread your in is entirely tiring.

I am sorry that my belief he needs to drop out before damaging any good he's done for the "Democratic Socialist" cause is painful for you, but once again, you can either debate points I raise, or move on. If you're incapable of doing that, attacking the poster doesn't improve your position.
 
That's where I'm confused.

Some White Americans obviously face living in extremely poor environments, but it is an entirely different reality to go through than if you're a person of color and have to face more obstacles, at the expense of the color of your skin.

I'm trying to find someone to explain but everyone is just saying "smh the usuals" or "can't believe this dude just lost the race."

I'm genuinely confused.

Some people have decided that the way to read someone's statement is to chop it up, reordering the way the argument was actually being constructed - as a compounding of factors that disproportionately affect black people and that hasn't had a systemically oppressive effect on white people, beginning with segregation and tracking all the way to multi-generational poverty - in such a way that their whitesplaining side can get riled up.
 
no, he's not racist. he's just not explaining any of that in his responses to these issues when they are brought up.

lack of understanding? lack of communication? pushing his platform non-stop because he always links things back to wall street and the economy?

the economy and wall street is not the only ailment of our culture, and he isn't doing a good job of showing he is very knowledgeable about these issues. to the same extent i would argue the same for foreign affairs.

he's had 10 debates and at least 6 months to get up to speed on this stuff. i haven't seen much change in his messaging. this is his job, he's a politician. who am i? why do i feel like i know more about this stuff than he does? he should be impressing me with his knowledge.
The problem is that socialist theory from back when Bernie was growing up was all about class as the root of everything, and he has failed to update his mental framework given what weve learned over the past 50 years.
 
I have no idea how some people cant see what is wrong with what he said.

And I have no idea how some people can't read between the lines and see that Sanders has a long, long history of standing up for the "little guy" regardless of race.

If you honestly think decades of public service and civil rights activism are completely undone by one poorly phrased statement, then you're the problem with modern politics: trying to distill a candidate down to the easily consumed sound bites instead of educating yourself on his or her record and career. Sanders has been of such a caliber of integrity that *this* is the one attack vector people seem to be able to find just now? An angle of attack that completely falls apart if you even casually glance at what the man himself represents?

To me, it only serves to highlight how hilariously unassailable Sanders seems to be on policy and consistency.
 
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