Comments

118
@111: They never seemed to delete juche's blatantly and proudly anti-Semitic tirades. But say something homophobic and get b& apparently. I've got no problem with them moderating and censoring hate speech, but it rankles me a bit that they leave some of the worst stuff up.
120
If Bernie can be pushed around by a couple of girls. And not do anything about it. Then how is he going to deal with Tyrants around the world?

He doesn't deserve to be President.
121
The crowd reacted to the ugly behavior of the two woman screaming aggressively in Bernie Sanders face. Those two women damaged the cause they pretended to promote with their misguided actions.

Those two women owe Bernie Sanders a public apology ASAP.

It boggles my mind that Pramila Jayapal finds their actions acceptable. Shame on you Pramila.
122
I really don't see how taking a giant shit on the most effective anti-poverty program in the history of the US in front of a crowd that already recognizes and supports BLM is somehow useful.
123
"The crowd (mostly white)"... well of course the crowd was mostly white - Seattle is mostly white, so I don't think that's fair at all. It makes it sound as though a white crowd with a white agenda somehow descended upon an otherwise black community.

The crowd's reaction had nothing to do with race, and the outrage towards these two women had nothing to do with race. It had everything to do with an inconsiderate, selfish, militant and poorly orchestrated protest that hijacked the event - it was a complete hijack, and targeted people who support black lives matter, including Bernie Sanders.

And racist? Those two women started out the gate with racist remarks towards the (mostly white) audience. Had a white person stood up in front of an audience, white or black, and said the kinds of things these two women said, they would be shamed across the country. And that was when the audience really went crazy on them, and it's why I think they're so incredibly stupid.

You need allies to win any battle, and these two women stood up in front of an audience that would have otherwise supported their message and alienated the entire crowd - first with their militant tactics, then by insulting the entire crowd. Bravo for a complete lack of strategy and tactics.

The protesters were bratty self absorbed children who are too stupid to realize when they're attacking their own allies. And while Bernie let them speak, they didn't keep their word. They said if we let them speak they would allow Bernie back on stage, but they didn't. Bernie never got the stage, so everyone left being pissed off at BLM.

It was a complete shit show, and I think you're doing everyone a disservice by even remotely justifying their actions based on the race card. I call bullshit. The color of their skin and the legitimacy of their cause did not justify their tactics or the attack on the (mostly white) audience.
124
@121, 122:

How about this: after two such disruptions at Sanders rallies, in Seattle and Phoenix, he's finally presented a fairly detailed platform directly addressing combating racial injustice, precisely what the protesters demanded, AND he's now including this as part of his stump speeches, as he did yesterday in Portland.

But, hey, you know, Johnson & Willaford should be so ashamed of their ineffectual, counter-productive actions that had absolutely no effect on anyone, least of all on the man they confronted.
125
Why hasn't she supported yet? Who else speaks for her concerns as Bernie Sanders does? As for the organization black lives matter; They offend the people most willing to aid their cause and those who disrupted the Seattle rally deprived those in attendance a chance to see the leader of a political revolution who will be of great help with their issues. But BLM as a movement I will not support. The writer of this article says that black children were terrified by the anger of the white people when blm ruined the event. Those children were in a very safe place. Who wouldn't be pissed off at having their even ruined. I suggest that BLM were those who terrified those kids.
127
Myself, when I see people attacking their political allies, I look around. Because there's usually money somewhere. The big dollars for dirty tricks have already started rolling in. And guess what, we're talking about Palin supporters. Marissa Johnson supported Palin and also self identifies as a radical Christian Mullatanist. (I think that's a coined word meaning Christ was part black, but absolutely not sure of that.) So the question in my mind is simply, who got paid? And how much?
128
@124: He already had that information on his website, and has spoken about it in past speeches, not to mention all the fighting he has done in his career for civil rights issues.

It seems really unfair and dishonest (for anyone) to make claims that he only started caring about these issues, or had not directly addresed them until after he was interrupted twice.
130
@18: I'm a political junkie, and have been studying politics for years: you are spot on about that shenanigan appearing to be a dirty trick perped by the Hillary ( and/or Gopper) camp: they do that stuff all the time in other nations: seems Hillary's Man-Hater faction - which wants ANY woman for prez ( even if she is evil, like Hillary the Bilderberger is ) - has struck again ( against a good MAN: Bernie Sanders the democratic socialist. --- http://www.politicalcompass.org & http://www.berniesanders.com ).
131
Bernie had already been speaking out strongly on the issues before Seattle happened. The protestors were ignorant. https://berniesanders.com/press-release/…
133
Black lives matter but the organization BLM hopefully destroyed itself yesterday. They played right in to the stereotype that red neck racists try to pin on all black people. They did this at a rally who's main speaker, Senator Sanders, will be and has been on their side well before the idiots who did this were born. To them I say learn African American history and when you read about CORE, the congress on racial equality and SNCC, the student nonviolent action coordinating committe understand that Senator Sanders was a member of both and THAT MATTERS. It matters because he is what you call OG and he never stopped being by your side. The crowd they deprived of their speaker are also most inclined to understand their issues. We all move on in solidarity to address this issue without BLM no matter what idocy they do past, present and future.
The writer of the article has not made up her mind on whether or not to support the Sanders candidacy? To her I say good luck in finding a better person to deal with issues that will impact minority and poor people the most.

135
I am a white man and if you want me to listen to you then stop the shouting, interrupting speeches, rioting, etc. That turns me off in a hurry. I will listen when you talk in a calm voice and if you give information supporting you talk then you have my support. Yes, I know that many blacks are and have been discriminated against but whites now are being done the same way so what is your point now.
137
Also before Seattle, Bernie (himself, not a staffer) hired Symone Sanders as his Campaign Press Secretary for his nationwide 50 state grassroots movement.
Bernie was so impressed he hired her after they had sat down to discuss how to best move forward with everybody, but especially for People of Color and specifically the Black Lives Matters movement. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=…
138
The crowd turned ugly; really? How do you describe the behavior of the two people who stormed the stage? Demanding Sanders come forward and be held accountable, their screaming that the event wouldn't go on, calling everyone there a racist, and refusing to return the mic after it was so graciously given to them. Also, Rep. Jayapal seems to take credit for Sanders discussing race at that evening's event; as noted above a Sawant junior in the making as well. Real leadership by the local politicians present would have been trying to mediate this disruption so that the those who came to see a presidential candidate speak ( how rare is that)could have rather than after the fact editorials.
139
@124 A great deal of that stuff was added after Netroots Nation event, and Sanders has already hired a prominent member of BLM to craft a more detailed policy. So no, they didn't really get much accomplished at all.

In the mean time, do you seriously not understand the benefits of Social Security/Medicare and their effect on poverty in this country? Do you really believe it's appropriate to shit on the poor and old or do you think there might be a way not to turn this into a stupid, zero-sum game?
141
We need to discuss race issues in this country.
BUT, this was someone else's stage, mic, and time.
This was ill-conceived and rude.
Racism is real. It needs discussed.
But taking someone else's time (including ALL those who came to hear Bernie) was just plain childish. And no one can justify it be repeatedly stating the importance of the cause these women represented.
142
I would have been much more impressed with Ms. Jayapal if she had plainly stated this behavior was flat-out WRONG.
The fact she didn't says a lot.

143
@128:

Not until yesterday he didn't. Check the newsfeeds, if you don't believe me. As a matter of fact, only a couple of weeks ago BLM's online petition to Sanders to include just such a platform had still gone unanswered. And he has been consistently criticized for quite some time for his failure to make this issue a priority in his campaign - hence the previous protest disruption that occurred during his appearance at the NetRoots conference last month in Phoenix. Based on what they've subsequently published they clearly had this ready to go, but for some reason it took this additional "nudge" from a couple of angry young black women (who, in typical fashion have been pilloried quite literally from the moment they took over the stage) to get them to finally publish it, AND for Sanders to begin actually directly addressing it in his public appearances, as he did for the first time yesterday in Portland.

And for the rest of the peanut gallery, while Sanders HAS been quite forceful and eloquent on the general subject of economic inequality, that is only one component of the much larger subject that encompasses racial injustice. But talking about only one part of it, while remaining silent on the many other issues that affect citizens of color in this country, simply points up why what these women did on Saturday was necessary - and the reaction from many (granted, not most) of the audience is very telling about how thin the veneer of white liberalism is in this town; scratch it just a tiny bit, as these women did, and the institutional racism that lies just beneath bursts out like pus from a swollen abscess.
144
Beware of Bernie the Betrayer!

Finally the WHITE Elephant in the room is showing itself! Bernie paints a picture of himself as a racial rights advocate, and quickly is trying to revisit his ancient history of how he supports racial justice (seriously, when did Jackson run for president? 30 years ago?).

Yet by supporting the destructive planned F35 basing in Vermont which will cause thousands of Vermonters to suffer health, safety and loss of property values, he has shown that BLACK LIVE DO NOT matter in Vermont to Bernie. Instead of fighting for the rights of the everyday hardworking people who will be most severely impacted, he instead supported the military expansion into densely populated residential neighborhoods whose health and home property values will be taken from them.

Can you guess who will be most disproportionately affected by Bernie's support of the flawed F35 basing decision? Middle and low income, minority, and refugee populations - all Bernie's apparent poster children. So please ask Bernie how much he cares about black lives in VERMONT? He will tell you that the F35s had to go somewhere, so they might as well come to Vermont. What a concerned and caring answer to over 6,000 folks who will suffer significant environmental damage from his actions.

Seriously, folks, do you really believe that he would give the lives and welfare of black across the nation more respect and support that those of his own state? He may pretend that he will, in order to get elected.

But the answer is -- he won't! He has shown us here in Vermont that he can talk the talk very well, but when he had the chance to save the lives of those for whom he pretends to support, he betrayed us all.

145
The sad truth, assuming these women weren't plants, is that they took the mic and didn't know what to do with it. Think of all of the eloquent political and social activists, through the years, who were able to seize the moment, engage an audience, inspire people, and spearhead movements. These two didn't have it. If they could have engaged the audience with a powerful message, or better yet, engaged Bernie Sanders in a productive dialog, they would be heroes today. But they're just a couple of amateurs.
147
@145:

Yeah, just a couple of average black female citizens expressing anger and frustration at this nation's continued inability to address institutional racism at its core; not some slick, pre-packaged, focus-group-tested politician parroting a memorized speech - the horror!
148
I really appreciate your perspective Sen. Jayapal, this is a messy thing to step into. And for those Sanders supporters out there who are heaping criticism at BLM, how on earth do you think Sanders is going to win without the support of black and Latino people? We are never going to have anything anywhere near socialism in this country if those of us on the white left don't take white supremacy head on. The classes in our society who are going to be most likely to fight for this are poor and working class people, a majority of whom are people of color not economically privelaged white people.
149
Bigots can come in any color, as we have seen here...
Bernie was attacked simply because of the color of his skin- the protesters literally had no idea of the man's history or what he is about.
150
Jayapal for President.
151
"Bernie is now seen as weak and milquetoast by many within the Democratic establishment"

Had these protestors been forced from the stage, Bernie's reputation would have been permanently altered in a negative way. This would have happened to any candidate on the left and the 'establishment' knows this. Bernie knew this, BLM knew this which is why they stood their ground. In the end I believe it's BLM that took a blow in public perception and Sanders has come out on top. I support their cause 100%, I don't want to see them fail but their tactics are not working from what I can see. If this is an isolated case it may work out in the long run but if they continue to be so divisive, it's a waste of time. We need solutions, not more anger and divisiveness. Angry protest has a place but calling supporters 'white supremacists' and the most far left candidate we've seen in years is really just stupid.
152
@147, some of your comments are good, others really suck. You were pretty far off-base. Process what you read, before you type. There is a long tradition of social activism, here and elsewhere. We all, presumably, have our heroes. I have mine. I presume Johnson and Willaford have their own. From all reports, it doesn't seem to me that they met the standard. Screechy and pedantic tends to undermine the message. If you're going to hijack the stage at a big event, make the most of it.
153
@149:

Or perhaps they DO know his history and were frustrated by the fact that he's been essentially skating on a reputation he established 50 years ago - long before they were born - and,\ had been demonstrably reluctant to confront the subject of racial injustice head-on (and no, talking about general economic inequality - only one component of the much larger issue - isn't enough) until literally just a couple of days ago, prompted to some degree at least by their own actions.
154
How do we call people in while calling them out? You engage in a protest like BLM did, you make your point without calling a crowd that is mostly likely supportive 'white supremacists', and then you exit the stage and let the rally continue. The issues that BLM is trying to address is the result of centuries of racism, what played out at this rally is not. It was a miscalculation that may have hurt their cause in the short term. Suggesting that a verbal reaction from the crowd was anything more than frustration at being denied what they came to hear is part of the problem with this debate. 'Ugly' insinuates near violence, very misleading. Insinuating that they were reacting because the protestors were African American or suggesting that it was opposition to their cause is not reality based. Projecting racism when it's just not there only shuts down debate when we need to have serious debate about racism and people getting murdered by law enforcement because of their skin.
155
@152:

Well, from MY processing, they were damned effective. There are three separate threads, just on SLOG alone where debate, not just over their tactics, but the whole meaning of BLM, the larger subject of racial injustice in this country, as well as Seattle's white liberal sublimation of our own institutional racism, is raging; it's all over the Internet (FB, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr, blogs, news media are equally a-buzz with discussion, debate, condemnation, support, and analysis); Sanders' campaign FINALLY posted a comprehensive platform statement on the issue on their web site, AND he's now publicly addressing it directly in his stump speeches, as evinced by his rally yesterday in Portland.

So, if the standard is: "did they get results?", then every indication I see leads me to say, "yes, they did. And exactly the ones they wanted."
156
@115, if you can't find specific refutation of your pointless diatribe across these three stories, that's an issue between you and your optometrist. As far as not replying to you, I feel a duty to point out to fools when they've gone into a battle of wits unarmed. It might be quixotic, but it is who I am.

BLM has officially disavowed these women. You continuing to say otherwise cannot change the reality of this situation. The 16 yo did not post the official apology on Twitter. Just the unofficial one on FB. You see there were two different apologies, which you would have known if you were bothering to pay attention or actually cared more about the situation than your own fever dream about this protest.

Regarding Malcolm X, I find it very telling that you didn't take Per to task, considering he was the one who brought Malcolm X up in the first place. Instead, you decide to pick on my response to Per, because disagreeing with me is clearly more important than what has actually been posted, and by whom.

Thank you for misgendering me though. I've been out as trans on these boards for months, so it really shows your attention to detail. As well as your mansplaining, and your tendency to project all over other posters.

Get over yourself. Everyone else on these boards has already gotten over you, I assure you. Your diatribes are laughable and completely out of touch with anything that happens on Sol 3. You do a disservice to your position with your every attempt to make a point.
157
@3 I think you would find that, for black children born to married, middle class black parents...

are still significantly behind their white peers.
158
Socialism has it's roots in northern Europe. They've always had the same demographic makeup, so I'm not surprised that recognizing minorities was an afterthought.
159
@35 on one hand, we have a conspiracy theory that the "disruption" was a Clinton-backed effort to derail the Sanders campaign.

On the other hand, we have people saying that they can "no longer support #BLM", which.... would be a boon to the Sanders campaign, as he could then ignore a marginalized BLM movement, where he trails Hillary; and focus on wealth inequality, where he is stronger than Hillary.

I think it's all a moot point. Politicians will continue to not truly give a shit. You think Hillary Clinton loses sleep over the fates of black boys and girls in the ghetto? hashtag get-real. Anyhow, at the right moment Bill Clinton is going to put his stamp of approval on the Hillary campaign, and that'll be it.

The bigger shame is, 8 years after Obama - who had only been in politics 11 years at the time - the DNC couldn't support a single minority candidate. Obama went from relative unknown in 2003 to president in 2008. Who was (or wasn't) following in that wake?
161
I wish people would at least acknowledge that Bernie has made huge strides on addressing racial justice in recent weeks.

Note his substantial speech of July 25 to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference:
Sanders Addresses Southern Christian Lea…

Before Seattle, Bernie’s hiring of Symone Sanders as his Campaign Press Secretary for his nationwide 50 state grassroots movement, after being impressed with her after they had sat down to discuss how to best move forward especially for People of Color and specifically the Black Lives Matters movement. Ms. Sanders introduced Bernie to the 15k enthusiastic people (12k inside UW’s Huskies Basketball arena & 3k outside) this past Saturday.
Symone Sanders, National Press Secretary…

And the belated unveiling of his racial justice platform on the campaign site.
Bernie Sanders’ Racial Justice Platform
162
@160 dog, it ain't interesting to find out, it's been found out already: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/arch…

163
@155 If you think comments on a message board are meaningful then I have a lovely pink outfit for you this fall.

By the way, you still aren't dealing with the fact that these protestors took a giant shit on the most successful anti-poverty program in the history of the United States. You seem to think that acheiving success at any cost is worth it, but you ignore the fact that we don't actually have to chose between not shooting black people and not committing the elderly to poverty.
164
@156:

No, BLM has not done any such thing. You can't point to a single credible statement to that effect anywhere - because it doesn't exist: not on their web site, not on their Facebook page, not on their Twitter feed or Tumbler account, not in any press release, nor any public statement. IT. DOES. NOT. EXIST. In fact, if you review these, you'll note that whomever is maintaining these various and sundry "official" online access points has been quite clear in stating they have NOT asked the women to apologize, nor have they done so on their behalf.

I'm sorry to have to inform you, but your WANTING it to exist doesn't make it so.
165
@27, if you want more community policing, we need to be staffed like Boston PD, in Seattle. They have the same population and 750 more cops. The 8 cars in the S. Precinct per shift just respond to 911 call after 911 call after 911 call. Even if they are "suspicious person" the cop has to drive through the area 4 hours later, note he did not see the described person and clear it. Detectives, particularly property detectives can't keep up with case loads. Stuff doesn't get investigated and we have the highest rate of property crime of any state and that overwhelmingly occurs at the locales you can see from the top of the space needle.

Want police to have more de-escalation and Critical Incident Training (CIT - For dealing with the mentally ill) you need more cops on the payroll. Why? Because to take a cop off the street to do more training on more subjects on an ongoing basis, you have to have the cops to back-fill responses to 911 calls and investigations. The police can't just close up for the day, like other businesses, and pull people into training.

A lot of the reform SPD needs and the public wants them to have, requires more staffing overall to make it happen. Want a cop to spend more time in the schools, you need to hire a cop to do that because the existing ones chase the 911 call queue or are buried in investigative caseloads.
166
@156 Addendum:

You sure like to speak with the Voice of Authority on behalf of others - both living and dead - don't you? Given your patent inability to do basic research, you're willful obtuseness, and general failure to make any sort or salient counter-argument against what I've posted thus far, I would have to say your "assurances" aren't worth the electrons used to display them here.
167
The problem at the Sanders' event was lack of respect. The right way to proceed would've been for the young women to arrange with Sanders' staff beforehand to talk briefly after the first speaker and before Sanders, and to hold their minute of silence for all unarmed black people killed by the cops, but not to hijack the event! Sanders being Sanders would most likely have agreed to the additional commentary. This is how grownups do things (or should) - with respect. Then, when the mostly white audience objected for good reason, they were called racist. And the whole thing degenerated.

There are times to be angry and to take it to the streets. This wasn't one of them.

168
@120: So you're saying that when someone faces a meaningless provocation that poses no threat, they should take the bait and respond with aggression. And THAT is the kind of guy we want for POTUS, the guy who will respond to North Korean death-to-America saber rattling by sending in the troops. Ya don't think much through, do ya?
169
I feel very bad for all the white people. :(
170
This event was focused on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, programs which benefit all older and disabled Americans, including people of color who have the highest rates of poverty and lack of medical insurance because of economic inequality. Those programs are under heavy attack from the Republicans in Congress. Shutting out Bernie Sanders, who is the only candidate talking about economic inequality and who is about as far from the Republicans as you can get in this country, was just plain stupid.
171
Wrong place, wrong time, wrong crowd.

I am white and would join protests against racism in a minute if I could count on them being peaceful - not anger-fests (Granted there is plenty to be angry about) with the potential for violence and property damage.

I am as appalled, I can't feel the pain as blacks do, but it is appalling and (Police targeting minorities) has been going on much longer than the past two years that most people talk about.

As for the punishment disparity in schools I wonder if black parents mete out punishment to their children so that the children are not punished fairly, but unfairly. So when the child is in school and is reprimanded he reacts guiltily so that the teaching authorities - since he looks guiltier than the white students, exact punishment according to his reaction. Or perhaps his reaction is angry and rebellious so he is given harsher punishment.

I think some of these problems have to land in the lap of Black America.

What I would like to see is the pillars of the Black Community in America, the successful models - and I don't mean financially necessarily, but those that have achieved lead a campaign for reparations.

In 1840 - 59% of America's GDP (If that is what it was called then) was from cotton. The wealthiest Americans lived in Miss. The wealth generated by slaves made America.

It is time to at least talk about reparations. Every year US congressman Conyers of Detroit introduces a bill not to award reparations but to just talk about it. Every year it fails to make even to the floor for discussion.

One thing that is needed is to give Black Americans a feeling of pride and accomplishment about their not just participation or their role but the fact that American would have struggled for independence and probably would not be a sovereign nation now without their labors.

I say we need leaders that can shine a light on the economic contribution of African American - give credit to that community for the underlying reasons we had the financial resources to defy King George in the first place.

We need to go positive about Blacks - its all negative. Of course, it will take constantly repeating over and over and over again that this nation was founded on the backs of slaves. So lets' do that where are the leaders?

As for the ugliness on Saturday. Just because you are black and have suffered centuries of abuse doesn't give you the right or the privilege to disrupt a public meeting and deny another American the right to speak.

172
@143: I am just unsure that some "newsfeeds" or an online petition changes the reality that the information was on his website (although I grant it was not on a link on the front page, your outrage may vary), nor does it change the fact that the man has been talking about and fighting for civil rights for decades. But you did have to click more than one link to get there, so maybe that invalidates all that history of fighting for actual civil rights a bit.

But hey, a petition went unanswered for a couple weeks? Well, I guess that undoes 50 years of support and actual action, what a racist.

The rest of you comment is speculation, so I am not going to address it.
173
@172:

So, what everyone seems to be saying is "Oh yeah, Bernie totally had this extensive, comprehensive policy statement posted to his web site days/weeks ago" and yet, not a SINGLE news outlet noticed it was there until just yesterday, and all those headlines alluding to its sudden appearance are ALL categorical misstatements?

Okay, sure, you betcha...
174
Typical racism perpetuation at their own hands. Think Kanye West.
175
#16....absolutely amazing post...wonderful and thank you!
176
Blacks continue to take and destroy everything given them while audaciously demanding more and blaming whites for their own bad decisions. I'm done with unending second chances... the vast majority of Blacks are the most socially destructive racist people I have ever known. Build them a beautiful new library, park, or school... it's soon covered in tags, trash and social unrest. Ungrateful and uninspired, they only enjoy complaining, blaming and fighting. The proof is in the pudding.
177
COMTE @ 143, post hoc ergo propter hoc.
178
@176 "...given them..." Yes. It's all because "they" have no idea how good they have it.
179
They were BLM protestors. They were radical christian Palin supporters there to disrupt and agitate. http://americannewsx.com/politics/allege…
180
@177:

Funny that the Sanders campaign itself hasn't been all over the Internet touting the "fact" they had this posted all along - one would think they'd be making special note of that, if it were in fact the case. What's also interesting is that, when one performs a cache-search of the site for a number of random dates prior to yesterday (I've used the three standard search engines: Google, Archive.org, and Coral), and particularly the period after July 19th when the BLM disruption of his speech to the Netroots Nations Conference in Phoenix occurred, not a single result shows the "Issues: Racial Justice" page having existed before August 9th.

Yes, very funny indeed...
182
Funny that you think they'd suddenly whip all that up in 24 hours.

I'm not saying that they weren't prompted by the Netroots thing, but at most these women prompted them to go live with it earlier than planned.
183
@182:

I don't think anyone disputes this was in the works, at least since then, but one does have to wonder why they didn't publish it prior to this latest incident. Bet somebody at Sanders HQ was being kicked around pretty good at their Monday morning meeting.
184
I would figure they were planning on publishing it soon. Sunday isn't a typical news release day.
185
Bernie added a thing to a thing on a website. VICTORY IS OURS!
186
"Real leadership by the local politicians present would have been trying to mediate this disruption so that the those who came to see a presidential candidate speak ( how rare is that)could have rather than after the fact editorials."

Bingo. The huge amount of organization needed to get a presidential candidate to speak in Seattle, detailed by Sen. Jayapal in her editorial, was utterly squandered by the lack of political leadership *at the rally itself*. Also totally squandered were the time and dedication of thousands of local citizens, who were denied the appearance and speech they had been promised by the organizers. Sunny weekend afternoons are a scarce resource for citizens of Seattle, and now Sen. Jayapal and her fellow organizers wasted one of those great days as well.

Whatever Sen. Jayapal learns from this event, I hope it includes a future resolution not to allow guests -- Sen. Sanders and the 5,000 attendees -- to be mistreated and their valuable political support squandered.
187
What are the odds that a similar spontaneous demonstration of the masses will march itself down to the Medina jetty when the HMS Clinton enters port to pick up a couple of $1M checks.

188
Black Lives do Matter, but the State Senator (author) is just as guilty for perpetuating the very problem she seeks to find answers to. Statements like, "When the disruption first happened, the crowd (mostly white) turned ugly." As if the white population in attendance were somehow at fault for being irritated that the function they had been standing in the sun for hours to participate in was not a sh*t show. Are we to believe that if the crowd were mostly black or brown, they would have been more cordial. It's the actions of these protesters and the re-actions to these events from elected officials (such as the author) that drive folks in the middle away from supporting these liberal issues. Are there wrongs that need to be corrected and addressed, especially institutionalized racism? Absolutely. But glossing over stupid behavior and then somehow blaming "the mostly white crowd", even if only subtly, just defeats the cause.
190
People are losing their minds.

1. Anyone who crashes a speaking engagement to take the engagement off topic should not be coddled to. They are looking for free publicity and attention when they are lacking to organize on their own.

2. The United States is HUGE. Do people keep forgetting this? To think all brown people, brownish people, white people all have some robotic, homogenized, monopolized thought process is unfair. You can take 10 black folks and all 10 can have a completely different take on a situation. Same with any other race or gender, etc. We have to stop comparmentalizing everyone in America and forcing everyone into simplified, prescribed standards and beliefs.

3. Being uneducated knows no race, gender or religious beliefs. Should we be surprised that someone berating someone for lack of a commitment to civil rights worships the ground Sarah Palin walks on? We have Trump waging a war on undocumented workers when the real threat to America is the large wage gap, corporations becoming the ruling class, and the destruction of education. The rebel rousers exemplify skin color does not necessarily inform one's life experience to be an informed one.

4. Bernie Sanders has got to figure out how to handle hecklers. These are just a couple ignorant Sarah Palin worshippers... How would he handle foreign policy when dealing with potential terrorists?

Hello!
191
What the thesis statement here? Is the author heartbroken because white liberals showed up to support Bernie, the candidate most sympathetic to BLM, or because the most sympathetic candidate was disrupted? I can't tell.
192
So COMTE still doesn't give a shit about Social Security or Medicare. You know, the greatest anti-poverty program this nation has ever seen. It's only been mentioned a bajillion times, and yet no fucking mention.

I wonder why that is?
193
I guess those who forcibly commandeer the public square are the only ones with 1st Amendment rights of free speech and assembly. Those unwilling to match that force to prevent it, don't get to assemble with those they choose to assemble with and to listen to speeches about the topic of their choosing. Free speech and assembly go to the person or persons willing to use the most force to take over the stage.
194
@164, "Nuh-uh" is not a credible retort. BLM does not need to meet whatever internal burden of proof you have. BLM has responded. They don't care what you choose to believe. Nobody lives by your leave. Again, get over yourself.

Regarding your addendum in 166, you still choose to project your failings on other people. I'm just glad other people are now trying to help you. I think the optometrist recommendation was a little off the track. Apparently you need a cognitive behavioral therapist.

At this point, you're making yourself into the next Sgt. Doom, Seattleblues, or Raindrop. Get a hold of yourself, for your own sake if not anybody else's.
195
@194:

Where is this so-called "response" to which you keep referring? I've already shown you where their lines of communication lie, what they've said - and more importantly NOT said - about this incident. Your choice to disbelieve their own words, printed on their own online media is just that - a choice, completely divorced from either facts or reality.
196
Calling the vegan Subaru crowd "white supremacist" may be the dumbest political moment in Seattle history. That's like accusing the crowd at a NASCAR race of being sober intellectuals; and to think the author is spinning what amounts to a meathead bum rushing of the stage and a national embarrassment as an indictment of an audience that didn't handle being inappropriately insulted politely enough.

What would the reaction be if a white person belligerently hijacked the mic at a Real BLM event and started preaching sustainability? Silence? Please.

If you're too lazy to make the distinction that all white people aren't the same and don't condone police brutality or vote Republican than you should just keep your counterproductive mouth shut.
197
You know looking at the picture of those two yelling in the Senator's face makes me cringe as it looks like elder abuse.. Speaking of seniors, isn't THAT the entire subject of the event? Coming from Everett, do you have ANY concept what it took for his target audience to get there? Yes, it was free admission. Public transport to there is affordable, but not realistic for this population. Navigating the bus changes and uncertainty is a game stopper for most. Hours arranging carpooling, actually getting there, parking, having to walk, wait in the heat. Only to have one of your last chances to hear a Presidential candidate that has fought for you vaporize as two women start calling you a "white liberal". Some of the most fragile of our population were robbed of their chance to hear about THEIR LIVELIHOOD from the person they planned for, travelled to, and were turned away from by people with an agenda that should probably be aimed at someone who really doesn't give a shit. There are at least 16 running for President. Shame.
198
Great strategy. Shut down the most compassionate, open-minded candidate who could have done more to advance your cause than every president in history combined. I cannot begin to comprehend what racism feels like. I'm a middle aged white dude. I'll grant you that. But for effs sake, engage the daggone brain for two seconds. How about going after the right wingers who frankly would just prefer you all to die already. But no. You shut down Bernie Sanders. That's like protesting the evils of eating meat by protesting outside a vegetarian restaurant. You're largely preaching to the choir, and it simply isn't necessary or productive. Keep up this idiocy and if you REALLY want some racism to complain about..well you might just have inadvertently advanced the cause of racism yesterday. Wait'll a republican gets in the Oval Office. That'll give you plenty to do then. Sad when a cause with genuine points to make completely destroys their credibility, entirely and completely.
199
@197:

Why aim a protest at people who are never going to "give a shit"? That sounds like about the least productive thing one could do. Everybody keeps whinging about how ineffectual this disturbance was, yet for the past three days, it's just about the ONLY thing most people, including most liberals, not to mention a goodly portion of the MSM, have been able to talk about. Are "white liberals" too fragile to confront racism when it's thrown up in their faces? Are they so insecure in their own sense of where they stand on the issue that two angry young black women can completely overturn their support for what BLM represents in a matter of seconds? That's the proverbial elephant in the room few good, clean, white Seattle Liberals seem so reluctant to acknowledge: that their professed solidarity with minorities is so tenuous; that their opposition to institutional and cultural racism is so brittle; that one little incident could so completely spoil their anticipated afternoon of feel-good Kumbaya with the Socialist of The Moment, that in a literal instant they're ready to throw whatever sympathy with the movement they might have professed straight to the ground and declare themselves as BLM's most ardent opponents; simply because they got upset at being called "white liberal racists"? That's all it took, right? All some black person has to do is CALL someone a racist, and people fall all over themselves turning into one, despite their protestations to the contrary. Well, as someone in a previous comment said, "the proof is in the pudding." There's the proof AND the pudding all rolled into one.

And I guess they just assume black people aren't taking any notice of this whatsoever...
200
This woman is s hopelessly wishy-washy and substitutes a string of seemingly well meaning, but in reality useless goo-goo feel-good phrases for a coherent, well thought-out argument.

If this is the kind of person you have representing you in your state legislature, I feel sorry for the people of Washington State.
201
@155 this isn't pin the tail on the donkey, it's chess. Bernie may be talking about racial injustice more just so people will stop disrupting events that are being held so Bernie can talk to the people that will actually vote and get him elected. If he gets interrupted again after doing so...
202
This woman needs someone to proofread her articles before putting it out. The typos are horrible.
203
@199
What racism was thrown in the crowds face? Getting called a "white supremicist" didn't make me think, "wow, this is a moment where my paradigm is shifting", it made me think "wow, these folks are terrible at speeches and totally losing it."

I dont think you understand how offensive it is to white people to be called a racist. There aren't really any racial slurs that hurt white folks, but "racist" is the thing that gets the closest reaction. Calling a big group of white folks racist is a really great way to completely and unnecessarily offend them. Unless it is a group that is actually racist, say the KKK or a group trying to exclude people of color, it is way out of line. Folks getting pissed off at two people calling them racist doesn't prove they are racist. It proves that if you give people the finger, they give you the finger back.
It doesn't make sense to hit your natural allies. People are not more likely to want to show up at a BLM thing because of this. Start fights with your enemies, not your friends. How is infighting a winning strategy?
204
First of all many of us are kind of tired of people assuming that the only minority in Seattle are blacks - they are vastly outnumbered by other minorities like Asian and Hispanic.

Second these young women don't represent Black Lives Matter and one of them posted on her facebook account about being a Sarah Palin supporter and hoping that the GOP would groom her.

They are nothing more than media "sl*ts" who no nothing about building a coalition or bringing about change. They only agenda was to further their own selifsh interests and then running home to Daddy's house in View Ridge.
205
190 "People are losing their minds."

"4. Bernie Sanders has got to figure out how to handle hecklers. These are just a couple ignorant Sarah Palin worshippers... How would he handle foreign policy when dealing with potential terrorists?

Hello!"

excellent point. Bernie would probably react the exact same way to both situations. /sarcasm

can't tell if you are calling the interruptors terrorists
206
@195, I already told you the official apology was from their Twitter account. Are you even paying attention?

You have not shown me where their official lines of communication lie. You have done nothing of the sort.

I choose to believe BLM's words, printed on their own online media, over your ramblings.

You still have that projection problem. You seem to enjoy having things almost literally backwards.
208
Gee, I don't like the movement now because of what they are doing to Sanders. Is this the end result they are going for? Because I won't be the first to start disliking them. Then they lose their message and their audience. Then they're just a bunch of assholes interrupting speeches.
210
Ok - this is what bothers me a LOT about the progressive movement in the United States (and I am a hardcore, red-diaper progressive longer than many of you have been alive.)

It's this: YOU don't GET to "Call me Out". You don't have that right. You have the right to debate me, you have the right to engage me. You can argue with me, persuade me, educate me, disagree with me - but you don't get to "call me out". Because "calling me out" means - ipso facto - you are right, I am wrong, you are smarter, I am dumber, you have rights, I do not.... there is my (wrong) way of thinking - and the clearly obvious "correct" way of thinking - and YOU own it. It presumes that you know best, and I am automatically on the wrong side of the fence. And it's as hideous a tactic as any on the right as a way to quell debate, silence voices, and to not hear a thing the other person might be thinking. You know, when you hear right wingers complain about the fascism of the left? This term "Call you out" sums it up. When they claim that we are intolerant - yep. We often are. We claim to be the party of inclusion, a big tent, a big umbrella - yet when push comes to shove? We can be just as horrid, just as puritanical, just as polly-purepants as any radical Christian.
211
Ok - this is what bothers me a LOT about the progressive movement in the United States (and I am a hardcore, red-diaper progressive longer than many of you have been alive.)

It's this: YOU don't GET to "Call me Out". You don't have that right. You have the right to debate me, you have the right to engage me. You can argue with me, persuade me, educate me, disagree with me - but you don't get to "call me out". Because "calling me out" means - ipso facto - you are right, I am wrong, you are smarter, I am dumber, you have rights, I do not.... there is my (wrong) way of thinking - and the clearly obvious "correct" way of thinking - and YOU own it. It presumes that you know best, and I am automatically on the wrong side of the fence. And it's as hideous a tactic as any on the right as a way to quell debate, silence voices, and to not hear a thing the other person might be thinking. You know, when you hear right wingers complain about the fascism of the left? This term "Call you out" sums it up. When they claim that we are intolerant - yep. We often are. We claim to be the party of inclusion, a big tent, a big umbrella - yet when push comes to shove? We can be just as horrid, just as puritanical, just as polly-purepants as any radical Christian.

It's worst among the younger progressives, who kind of assume they discovered the whole thing... and haven't been taught enough US history to realize that people have fought and died to create a more just world.
212
@185:

I seriously doubt anyone affiliated with BLM is ready to roll up the battle flag and go home, just because the Sanders campaign published their Racial Justice platform. It's a battle won, but the fight continues.

And for all those out there wondering WHY they selected Sanders as a target, instead of, say, the multitudes of GOP wannabees? Ask yourself this: would ANY GOP candidate even think to embrace such a platform, regardless of how many times their rallies & speeches were disrupted?
213
To all of those who say that they no longer support Blacks Lives Matter, what's the alternative? To believe that Black lives don't matter? To accept police brutality and abuse? To accept mass incarceration? I'm curious. If you no longer support the position of Black Lives Matter, what do you support instead? And, if your support was conditional on the "good" behavior of anyone who claims to be speaking or acting on behalf of Black Lives Matter, then how committed was your support before? What form did that support take?

"After this I no longer support Black Lives Matter" is a very curious statement. I would really like to hear it explained more fully.

I'm also curious about those who want to supplant concern about police killing unarmed citizens with a pretense of concern about criminals killing citizens. Why do you hold the police to no higher a standard than the criminals? Can't you see the difference between them? Yes, it is terrible that criminals kill people, but isn't it qualitatively different and terrible in a completely different way when police kill people? Isn't it possible to address these problems separately? Shouldn't it be easier to stop the police from killing people than it would be to stop criminals from killing people? Just because someone is working to end police killings, why do you presume that they aren't also concerns about other killings? The two are not mutually exclusive, you know.
214
This is interesting and really thought provoking...one thought I have after reading this is how bereaved I am of losing our black President. I can only imagine how invisible people of color might feel with all these white candidates and so many of them clueless. I honestly never thought of this until now. Bernie Sanders is a good person, but Why is there not a strong candidate of color running for office, too? Why are our choices so damn limited?
215
COMTE seems to have a lot in common with Johnson and Willaford. He starts out with some valid grievances about racism in society at large and the hypocrisy of white Seattle liberals. But when he gets the chance to speak, it's all obnoxious name-calling. No substance. No inspiration.

Just think of all of the great black activists of the last 250 years - abolitionists, post-war civil rights activists of the MLK/Malcom X generation, the heroes of South African Apartheid. Johnson and Willaford did not live up to that legacy. All they did was take the mic. They had no idea what to do with it, other than perpetuate the worst possible stereotypes about women like themselves.
218
Per the statement issued by Black Lives Matter Seattle, "white Seattle progressives in general... are utterly and totally useless (when not outright harmful) in terms of the fight for Black lives." If this is true (and it IS from #BLM Seattle's "official" statement after SATURDAY'S EVENTS) then that 'activists' were not at Westlake to rally support or to gain allies. Please stop perpetuating the falsehood they were there for any other reason than to attack the Sanders campaign.

https://www.facebook.com/BLMSeattle/post…
219
@218, can you do me a favor and see if that FB page has any posts prior to August 8th? It doesn't for me, and if it is that recent it pretty clearly makes it a copycat page as opposed to the actual BLM Seattle page.

Also, the only reference it gives is Marissa Johnson. BLM Seattle wouldn't be so stupid as to use her as the sole supporter of her own position. They'd refer the public to a third person, wouldn't they?
220
@12 "WHY they selected Sanders as a target, instead of, say, the multitudes of GOP wannabees?"

Because they're admitted conservative whores, you jackass. Just because they're a couple of black gals doesn't mean that they can't be Sarah Palin loving scumbags whose only purpose in life is to destroy a good man for Republican greed.
221
@217: Police use-of-force policies don't actually allow the use of lethal force against unarmed persons who are simply resisting arrest unless they give the officer very good reason to believe they are carrying a dangerous weapon (such as the old sudden-grab-for-jacket-pocket). Some police scholar you are...
222
Those two a-holes neither protested the presidential candidates who oppose everything they stand for nor the actual president, who has done f-all to help. Nor did they perform their little stunt to interrupt some other speaker. So their real purpose was obviously to hurt the Sanders campaign, which helps the other candidates in the race. I leave it to others to conclude which candidate they were trying to help.
224
I agree. White people should recognized or acknowledged what we have wrought and continue to inflict on black people: the welfare state.
229
@228 it's the neo progressivism. micro-aggresions, trigger warnings, (insert)-phobic. if it hurts 'our' delicate feelings then it must be banished so those feelings don't have to be confronted. literally trying to nerf the world
230
Exactly who or what is the BLM community trying to speak to or draw attention to? I understand your plight and I wish I had the answers you deserve, but my question is what do you hope to gain by interrupting a planned event that ordinary citizens came out to see and hear. Ok, there was a candidate there, who never had a chance to open his mouth because you decided that the crowd wanted to hear you more than him. I know you want to be heard and I agree that the black community has been unjustly treated. However, Making the crowd mad, and stopping an event people were anxious to see and hear got you what? Attention? Your name in the news? Does it really change anything for the black community. My other question is why did you pick on Bernie Sanders? Why not Hillary Clinton? Because Hillary pretends to be a friend to the black community? Tell me what she's done for you in the 22 years since her and Bill first moved into the white house? If you read and listen to the candidates you'll see that Bernie Sanders is the most honest and open candidate there is. He see's PEOPLE, the American people as a whole, which includes blacks. Out of 20 something candidate he is the ONLY CANDIDATE with INTEGRITY. Don't you think it would be better for your cause to look for the candidate that you truly believe is your best shot at helping you with your cause, elect him and then go after you goals. Disrupting people, making them mad and as some see it, being radical, your only hurting a cause that needs to be addressed. Violence begets violence, but dignity and respect may get a lot more.
231
"HILLARY PRIVATE PRISON TIES QUESTIONED BY LATINOS"
http://drmactioncoalition.org/hillary-pr…

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