Support NeoGAF

[And_Gignac]

So the entire BLM movement is now dictated by the three people who took that stage?

Exactly. People are over blowing this. It was three people, not a carried out, organized protesting straight from BLM more prominent voices (which some have already said good things about Sanders).
Sanders should introduce some law reform so he can show he can walk the talk.

 

[Matticers]

https://twitter.com/SooperMexican/status/630152729751633920

They practically physically attacked the guy. Embarrassing.

"we're trying to be reasonable, we'll get you the mic"

"WE ARE REASONABLE REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

Wow. This is absolutely ridiculous. I felt bad for him. I thought she was going to punch the guy. This attention they're getting from it is exactly what they want though. But taking over someone else's rally is not a good way to get your point across. I'm sure they know that, though, which makes it even worse. And to do it to a guy like Bernie makes it even more messed up.

 

[Abinash117]

lol 3 random people do something and y'all use it as a excuse to attack the whole BLM movement. I guess that makes sense though since any one of us black folk represents us all.

Heh, and you guys wonder why black folk aren't linking arms with Bernie and his supporters.

I agree, but those three dumbasses are going ruin the image probably.

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

If you want to be pedantic about it, what they are doing disrupting or upheaving the event.

fine whatever words you wanna use its still stupid and completely unhelpful to their cause. They are "disrupting" the wrong fuckin event.

 

[Frog-fu]

The #BlackLivesMatter movement has put black issues and racial injustice on the map in a way that hasn't been seen in this country SINCE the original Civil Rights Movement.

I don't think that you can make the claim that BLM is weak and be taken seriously. Either you haven't been following it, or you just don't care.

No, they haven't.

The PEOPLE have put those issues on the map. The black people of America who are sick and tired of injustice and the people of all other races that stand in support with them in protest.

Black Lives Matter is a hashtag twitter movement that branded themselves on the legitimacy of those protest and certain members of that movement are now jeopardising all the good that has come and is yet to come from the protests and the contributions of their own movement.

 

[injurai]

The #BlackLivesMatter movement has put black issues and racial injustice on the map in a way that hasn't been seen in this country SINCE the original Civil Rights Movement.

I don't think that you can make the claim that BLM is weak and be taken seriously. Either you haven't been following it, or you just don't care.

Or your an idiot who thinks, fix your movement first is a serious argument to ignore the issues.

 

[Big Baybee]

I agree, but those three dumbasses are going ruin the image.

Ridiculous

 

[Slayven]

I agree, but those three dumbasses are going ruin the image.

If they ruin your image of the movement, you either didn't care to begin with or ignorant of it. Probably a combo of both.

 

[msv]

This is really protesters attacking other protesters that are protesting the same cause, in a different way. It's not even rioters looting random stores, it's much much worse - this is attacking your own team.

It's really the stupidest thing. You win by gathering as many people as you can for the cause, because you need the strength of numbers. Infighting can destroy a movement.

 

[royalan]

No, they haven't.

The PEOPLE have put those issues on the map. The black people of America who are sick and tired of injustice and the people of all other races that stand in support with them in protest.

Black Lives Matter is a hashtag twitter movement that branded themselves on the legitimacy of those protest and are now jeopardising all the good that has come and is yet to come of it.

Oh, and under WHAT BANNER are a lot of those people acting? Don't make me pull up rally pics...

Of course there are plenty of black people fighting independently, but you're just being dishonest if you claim that BLM hasn't been a huge force in what's been going on.

 

[Lenz44]

You would think if the BLM wanted a frank and open discussion with Sanders, someone from BLM would get in contact to set up some sort of event, forum or town hall specifically in regards to the BLM movement or something. Talk to his people, try to figure out something and put it together to see where he stands. If he turns it down or ignores them, then maybe that would be a cause for concern.

I feel like there is a real easy solution that doesn't involve storming stages and shouting over someone who is more than likely wiling to help and is on your side.

 

[Jeevesmeister]

I don't think that you can make the claim that BLM is weak and be taken seriously. Either you haven't been following it, or you just don't care.

They aren't above criticism, and between this and Netroots it's quite easy that they're failing in constructively affecting this election cycle beyond the most whimsical of placating.

They took the mic at today's event by getting verbally abusive, were given room to speak at an event that wasn't theirs to begin with, and when the people in charge of it went to take the mic back, they insisted on 4.5min of silence for Mike Brown, declaring they wouldn't let Bernie speak, at his own fucking event, until the crowd bowed to their wishes, which they eventually did, while being declared white supremacist liberals.

After this, one of them demanded Bernie come over to her, for whatever reason, and when he declined they proceeded to keep speaking.

This is a matter of perception and convincing the Left of your point of view, and they are utterly failing across the board, race included, to do so. So yes, there is an actual argument to be made this action is weak and hurting BLM's goals. To declare that someone doesn't care because of this is, again, disingenuous.

 

[JDSN]

Kinda weak that he has not being active to the obnoxious level of pandering that he should be doing right about now, he should know that he is being singled out and rather than let his former Randian online nerds being patronizing and borderline racist, be proactive,get some new soundbites, talk about past and current stances. A president should find a way to deal with this people and its more dickish elements.

 

[Sanjuro]

#BernieRallysMatter

Kind of weird it keeps happening to him, but I suppose most other candidates wouldn't give those folks the time of the day.

 

[HighResTomato]

This is fucking embarrassing, do they not understand that this is only making the black community look more aggressive?

 

[Abinash117]

If they ruin your image of the movement, you either didn't care to begin with or ignorant of it. Probably a combo of both.

No I care about about the movement, but what do you think other people that don't know anything about the movement are going to see about this ? They are going generalize the movement, people aren't rational when it comes to this things they will just see some crazy members shouting a old guy down and think the moment is aggressive regardless if its true or not. That why those people shouting down the guy are idiots. If they are going to take control of the mic do better than they just did.

 

[Boke1879]

lol 3 random people do something and y'all use it as a excuse to attack the whole BLM movement. I guess that makes sense though since any one of us black folk represents us all.

Heh, and you guys wonder why black folk aren't linking arms with Bernie and his supporters.

Yup. It's amazing how now 3 people dictate what the whole movement is about to some people.

 

[Slayven]

This is fucking embarrassing, do they not understand that this is only making the black community look more aggressive?

more aggressive?

No I care about about the movement, but what do you think other people that don't know anything about the movement are going to see about this ? They are going generalize the movement, people aren't rational when it comes to this things they will just see some crazy members shouting a old guy down.

Respectability politics never gets you anywhere

 

[msv]

This is fucking embarrassing, do they not understand that this is only making the black community look more aggressive?

What? You'd have to be a racist for that to affect your image of the 'black community', so why would it even matter.

 

[kess]

Kinda weak that he has not being active to the obnoxious level of pandering that he should be doing right about now, he should know that he is being singled out and rather than let his online nerds being patronizing and borderline racist, be proactive,get some new soundbites, talk about past and current stances. A president should find a way to deal with this people and its more dickish elements.

Mission accomplished.

 

[ArchedThunder]

What these people and the people that protested Bernie last time don't understand is that these "protests" are only hurting them. It'd be one thing if it was clear Bernie was going to get the nomination and they wanted him to be more vocal on race issues (which he is already incredibly vocal on but many would rather ignore that), but no, he's losing to Clinton and by protesting the candidate that has their best interests in mind instead of rallying behind him to try and get the nomination they are helping Clinton secure the nomination instead.

And just like with the last time they did this to him, screaming at him and not letting him speak is not starting a conversation, it's just drowning him out.

 

[Jawbreaker]

Alright this is getting annoying. If I posted a gif of Hilary making a statement about racial issues in America with footage of Bernie Sanders enjoying himself at some event right below it, would that suddenly make Hilary the better candidate?

Look, Bernie is obviously being jerked around here and there's definitely something wrong with this picture, but the blind self-righteous hero worship of this man is getting out of hand. I'm not saying Sanders isn't great, but I am saying he isn't the only one out there with something relevant to say. He isn't the one shining beacon of hope, he didn't die for our sins, he's just a politician with policies you happen to agree with. Relax.

As for the "what he did in the past doesn't matter now" argument, I get it. People are waving what he did around excessively, and we're getting this South Park "Emperor of Black People" argument from a lot of supporters of his out there. I'm getting the sense that people here are saying black people should automatically support him because he was marching back then, and I can see how that can be really annoying. I know that no one said this explicitly, but the sense I'm getting from these people is

"How could those people do that to HIM, after everything he did for those fools!". It's like, black people today shouldn't feel like they owe Sanders anything, so I feel like people should tone it down a bit with their reactions.

Oh, I definitely don't worship at the alter of Bernie, I just thought the juxtaposition of these two GIFs was humorous. I understand that they want Bernie to adopt their specific framing despite his views and policies aligning with a lot of their "list of demands." I may be mistaken, but to me, it's not so much about Bernie's past, voting record or promises, it's mostly about how he frames his positions; it's unsatisfactory to the BLM protesters. They want his campaign to be more centered around their movement because to them, that's the most important issue in the world.

I contend that while it's understandable, if they believe Bernie Sanders to be the better of the possible choices for president, they need to also take into account that his candidacy is a long shot, and thus needs much more support and positive word of mouth than a Hillary Clinton. I don't speak for anyone else, so it's possible they prefer Hillary or don't see much difference between the two. It's also possible that they're ill-informed; I honestly couldn't tell you. My point is that if BLM views Bernie as someone who can deliver on most of their issues, spreading positive word of mouth and actively campaigning for him instead of antagonizing him on stage would certainly help give him a better shot against Hillary.

 

[Trey]

This is fucking embarrassing, do they not understand that this is only making the black community look more aggressive?

We have to keep up appearances, as you know. That Aggressive Step ain't gonna level itself up.

 

[QuiteWhittle]

This is fucking embarrassing, do they not understand that this is only making the black community look more aggressive?

I don't even understand how the actions of three individuals makes us all look 'more aggressive'.

 

[JDSN]

Mission accomplished.

Indeed:

This is fucking embarrassing, do they not understand that this is only making the black community look more aggressive?

 

[watershed]

I don't see what the problem is of taking over events or being a disruptive force. Disruption is often needed to push complacent Americans/voters/politicians into feeling discomfort because sometimes that discomfort is necessary to affect change. That doesn't mean I approve of this intervention but it is probably necessary and on an even larger scale. Emotions are important when what BLM activists are fighting against is apathy. I think maybe democrats and liberals need to feel discomfort before they start taking the issues of police force and unfair policing more seriously.

 

[GaimeGuy]

Kinda weak that he has not being active to the obnoxious level of pandering that he should be doing right about now, he should know that he is being singled out and rather than let his online nerds being patronizing, be proactive,get some new soundbites, talk about past and current stances. A president should find a way to deal with this people and its more dickish elements.

We're mostly just pissed that they're protesting the person that least needs to be protested.


Edit: I stand corrected :/

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

well if you wanna be cute complete your statement. "protest is/can be a form of attack" it looked like you were about to post. but there you go. you already ended the argument before it began because it isn't innately an attack or act of hostility. But its apparent that's how the vast throngs of liberal minded Bernie lovers choose to see it.

Here's how I choose to see it. People are protesting Bernie because they weren't planning on "just voting for Hillary anyway". They actually want to see Bernie change and show himself as a candidate worth supporting. I don't see it as an attack, but I definitely don't see any outreach.

so you( or they) know nothing of Bernie Sanders...

and lol what, they gonna make Bernie "worth" supporting by pushing people of the mic at his events and scream???

Alot of these internet warriors and pro-protesters dont even vote. I've met alot of them they'll give you the usual "the whole system is bad man, they all the same" or some lazy bullshit on that line.

 

[Abinash117]

more aggressive?

Respectability politics never gets you anywhere

Depends on the situation. I think the riots and protests worked, but I don't think acting this way in this specific situation is the smartest thing to do at all.

 

[NumberTwo]

This is fucking embarrassing, do they not understand that this is only making the black community look more aggressive?

The actions of a few make an entire group of people look aggressive? I don't even agree with the approach they are taking but any person stupid enough to take that away from this incident was never on our side in the first place. It's a stupid sentiment.

 

[Jeevesmeister]

Yup. It's amazing how now 3 people dictate what the whole movement is about to some people.

Then maybe said larger movement could make some larger statement about it instead of cheering them on over said hashtag.

If this is true and its just these three, then you gotta disassociate or make a stand at other candidates' events or god, I don't know anything. This isn't about being the most right, this is about convincing people to support your ideals. The people at that Sanders rally were certainly to some degree receptive and tried to be as polite as possible given the circumstances.

 

[benicillin]

I don't see what the problem is of taking over events or being a disruptive force. Disruption is often needed to push complacent Americans/voters/politicians into feeling discomfort because sometimes that discomfort is necessary to affect change. That doesn't mean I approve of this intervention but it is probably necessary and on an even larger scale. Emotions are important when what BLM activists are fighting against is apathy. I think maybe democrats and liberals need to feel discomfort before they start taking the issues of police force and unfair policing more seriously.

It was a weird event to take over in the first place. It wasn't Bernie's official rally in Seattle, it was just a short event talking about social security.

If anyone thinks that Sanders is ignoring racial issues, they should probably read his remarks from the SCLC.

EDIT: Sanders short response.

 

[Maridia]

I don't see what the problem is of taking over events or being a disruptive force. Disruption is often needed to push complacent Americans/voters/politicians into feeling discomfort because sometimes that discomfort is necessary to affect change. That doesn't mean I approve of this intervention but it is probably necessary and on an even larger scale. Emotions are important when what BLM activists are fighting against is apathy. I think maybe democrats and liberals need to feel discomfort before they start taking the issues of police force and unfair policing more seriously.

All this is doing is making Bernie Sanders look like a racist.

 

[Kettch]

Uh, if you're going to abandon the movement and what it stands for because a few of their members crash your favorite candidate's parade, you really weren't a great "ally" to begin with.

Keep in mind that you can abandon a movement, without abandoning what it stands for. Just because someone thinks the BLM movement is going about things in a fucked up way here and doesn't want to support it, doesn't mean they're abandoning the cause of fixing our racist police institution. So yes, they can certainly lose alllies and/or members due to things like this.

 

[Merc_]

more aggressive?

It's all coming out now man lol.

 

[msv]

I don't see what the problem is of taking over events or being a disruptive force. Disruption is often needed to push complacent Americans/voters/politicians into feeling discomfort because sometimes that discomfort is necessary to affect change. That doesn't mean I approve of this intervention but it is probably necessary and on an even larger scale. Emotions are important when what BLM activists are fighting against is apathy. I think maybe democrats and liberals need to feel discomfort before they start taking the issues of police force and unfair policing more seriously.

You need to disrupt other things and jam in your own message. That comes at the cost of the thing you're disrupting. Here, they're essentially disrupting their own message.

 

[jtb]

so you( or they) know nothing of Bernie Sanders...

and lol what, they gonna make Bernie "worth" supporting by pushing people of the mic at his events and scream???

Alot of these internet warriors and pro-protesters dont even vote. I've met alot of them they'll give you the usual "the whole system is bad man, they all the same" or some lazy bullshit on that line.

Shouldn't that make them pure Bernie fodder? Bernie should be pandering the shit out of them. If he's interested in taking the patronizing "high road," he shouldn't be running for president.

 

[HighResTomato]

more aggressive?

Respectability politics never gets you anywhere

This is not how you go about debating social issues. This was raw material Fox news is going to use to enforce stereotypes of black people.

What? You'd have to be a racist for that to affect your image of the 'black community', so why would it even matter.

Yeah racist, self hating black man is that a thing now?

 

[Slayven]

It's all coming out now man lol.

It always does, just faster on twitter.

This is not how you go about debating social issues. This was raw material Fox news is going to use to enforce stereotypes of black people.




Yeah racist, self hating black man is that a thing now?

Yeah because black give Fox all their ammo, and they would have nothing if black people just acted right.?

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

I completely agree with you from a pragmatic level, but no-one ever got 50% by demanding 50%. You get 50% by demanding 100%

True that. Highlights the hopelessness of the situation...

 

[A Link to the Past]

I have no Idea why Bernie supporters get so upset about this.

Because he's the new Ron Paul. People are canonizing him something awful.

It was a weird event to take over in the first place. It wasn't Bernie's official rally in Seattle, it was just a short event talking about social security.

If anyone thinks that Sanders is ignoring racial issues, they should probably read his remarks from the SCLC.

EDIT: Sanders short response.

Not a great response. Maybe he's right that they are wrong to have disrupted the movement, or maybe he really does need to try harder to address issues. He's basically saying "I'm doing X and Y, that should be enough."

 

[Infinite]

This is fucking embarrassing, do they not understand that this is only making the black community look more aggressive?

lawd

 

[Ziltoidia 9]

The whole thing just screams BS politics from some offshoot of hillary supporters. Might end up biting them in the ass.

 

[FiggyCal]

I don't see what the problem is of taking over events or being a disruptive force. Disruption is often needed to push complacent Americans/voters/politicians into feeling discomfort because sometimes that discomfort is necessary to affect change. That doesn't mean I approve of this intervention but it is probably necessary and on an even larger scale. Emotions are important when what BLM activists are fighting against is apathy. I think maybe democrats and liberals need to feel discomfort before they start taking the issues of police force and unfair policing more seriously.

They should disrupt the only candidate that has a chance at winning, because otherwise it's a waste of their time and counterproductive.

 

[Black-Wind]

Polls show that people are choosing her based on the affirmative belief that she represents their values and not because her name is better known? Was there a question that said "Do you know the record of all the candidates and believe Hillary has the best one?" Because if not, your post is unsubstantiated conjecture and speculation.

Pretty much.

I don't think he's made himself too well known to reg folk. I know my dad has "had it up to here with the cycle of Bush/ Clinton", my mom can only seem to recognize Hilary and fucking Trump as candidates and ME? I didn't really know what made him different from Hilary until I asked a FB friend posting support for him if there was a debate like event I could watch and someone replied that ... he is more about getting the money outta politics annnnd he doesn't shit talk other annnnd he doesn't credit god for all the good and bad humans are doing.

Only reason I really cared was cause I saw somewhere in a fb meme-ish post from her that he wants to do something about student loans and that got me interested in knowing more about him.

 

[HighResTomato]

more aggressive?

Respectability politics never gets you anywhere

The media already portrays black people as aggressive and this is going to enforce that. Respectability will get you places, shutting down people at their own rally is not the way.

 

[Of All Trades]

Yup. It's amazing how now 3 people dictate what the whole movement is about to some people.

If a movement fails to control it's brand and allows anyone to noisily co opt the message then it can certainly be redefined by 3 people, this is basic politics. Occupy was crippled by poor messaging, 60s civil rights groups worked extremely hard to control message and behavior, etc.

 

[UltimaPooh]

Because he's the new Ron Paul. People are canonizing him something awful.

Except he's no the new Ron Paul.

Ron Paul would have voted against the Civil Rights Act if given the chance.

Please don't lump the two together because they are both under dogs. Their politics and views on the economy are completely different. Completely.

 

[GamerJM]

I hope Bernie wins the presidency more than any of the other people who have any chance of winning, but this is totally fair of the BLM movement. They're right, he needs to have more concrete policies involving race in America stated. I really hope Bernie doesn't just become the "new Ron Paul," as stated by Link to the Snitch.

 

[Trey]

The media already portrays black people as aggressive and this is going to enforce that. Respectability will get you places, shutting down people at their own rally is not the way.

When has respectability politics ever worked? MLK was shot dead in a suit.