Bernie Sanders: "When you are white, you don't know what it's like to be poor."

[bbedward]

 

I know there's already plenty of spins to this, but yikes.

 

I grew up pretty poor, I think if I drove through East Cleveland late at night I'd probably get dragged out of my car (or worse)

 

This rhetoric adds to racial divides IMO - keeps pushing the idea that you're black, you're white, you're Hispanic, you're asian. The bottom line is you need to be American first IMO.

 

[LogicIsForSquares]

Many people in Appalachia wish they were as well off as people in the ghettos of major cities.

[calfoxwc]

what a stupid thing to say. But it gets that black base riled up again.

 

The dems have divided this country up enough.

[The Cysko Kid]

And shit like this is why bernie can't have my vote

[MLD Woody]

If you watch the video, he isn't really saying what the title to this thread would have you believe. The wording isn't the best, but I get what he's saying.

[gftChris]

If you watch the video, he isn't really saying what the title to this thread would have you believe. The wording isn't the best, but I get what he's saying.

Care to explain it? Because on the face of it, from the transcript I've read, it seems like he's saying that only black people can be *really* poor.

[Westside Steve]

And shit like this is why bernie can't have my vote

Actually I watch the debate last night and yes Bernie was ridiculous but Hillary was just as bad if not worse trying to skirt around everything he said to the left.

I didn't grow up dirt poor but in my years in East Ohio I knew lots of kids who did.

The entire exchange, among others, made me wonder how any thinking person could vote for either of these guys.

 

WSS

[gftChris]

Actually I watch the debate last night and yes Bernie was ridiculous but Hillary was just as bad if not worse trying to skirt around everything he said to the left.

I didn't grow up dirt poor but in my years in East Ohio I knew lots of kids who did.

The entire exchange, among others, made me wonder how any thinking person could vote for either of these guys.

 

WSS

Funny, I have the same reaction watching Trump and Cruz go at it.

[The Cysko Kid]

Actually I watch the debate last night and yes Bernie was ridiculous but Hillary was just as bad if not worse trying to skirt around everything he said to the left.

I didn't grow up dirt poor but in my years in East Ohio I knew lots of kids who did.

The entire exchange, among others, made me wonder how any thinking person could vote for either of these guys.

 

WSS

I've already said numerous times I'll vote for satan before lizardy.

[Westside Steve]

Funny, I have the same reaction watching Trump and Cruz go at it.

Fair enough. What particular position was that? Again I'm not a Trump or a Ted Cruz supporter.

The problems I have with the Republican debates have less to do with substance then the childish give and take.

 

WSS

[LogicIsForSquares]

If you watch the video, he isn't really saying what the title to this thread would have you believe. The wording isn't the best, but I get what he's saying.

I get where he was trying to go but it is all in the phrasing. I would also probably pump the brakes on the "they are terrorized by the cops" angle. I have had the misfortune of being in some pretty heinous neighborhoods and cops are nonexistent or actively trying to avoid helping you. It may be a different thing all together elsewhere but NJ ghettos are more or less anarchy.

[gftChris]

Fair enough. What particular position was that? Again I'm not a Trump or a Ted Cruz supporter.

The problems I have with the Republican debates have less to do with substance then the childish give and take.

 

WSS

That's exactly it - you watch the democrat debates and it's "well you have had this position on this issue" "But you had that position on that issue" - you might disagree with their policies but it's generally about policies. Meanwhile at the GOP debate, you have people trying to shout over each other to insult each other, and now literally boasting about penis size (as opposed to metaphorically which has been the case for a while).

 

I mean, I'm not in 100% lockstep with Sanders or Clinton, but I can at least watch a debate and see two people discussing issues and trying to make the case that they have a better track record of governance, whilst Trump's bully tactics have dragged the level of debate around him down drastically. Even Rubio's getting in on the act now, throwing out insults to try to 'cash in' on Trump's 'he says what he wants' bandwagon.

[bbedward]

He's just really trying to pander to the black vote because he's only been getting 20% of it, I don't think this was the way to do it.

[LogicIsForSquares]

He's just really trying to pander to the black vote because he's only been getting 20% of it, I don't think this was the way to do it.

Well if pandering is his goal then he did a great job. To be honest, rural white poor who could argue that they are much more poor than urban poor tend to vote Republican in presidential elections. It wouldn't matter what Sanders said. So I really don't think this will hurt him at all.

[Westside Steve]

Well if pandering is his goal then he did a great job. To be honest, rural white poor who could argue that they are much more poor than urban poor tend to vote Republican in presidential elections. It wouldn't matter what Sanders said. So I really don't think this will hurt him at all.

But hillbillies don't vote Republican in a block. As a matter of fact most of the ones I know hate Republicans. Some of the biggest issues are not getting enough disability money and not being able to go to two Drs for oxy prescriptions.

And one thing that makes me laugh is that they hate Mexicans and Muslims as bad as anyone you will meet but bitch that Republicans are racist.WSS

[The Cysko Kid]

https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/

 

More disingenuous sanders nonsense. Whites are demonstrably victimized by minorities at a rate of no less than 10x the opposite. Often just for being white so making as if we're the greater problem is ridiculous.

[Westside Steve]

Another bitch from my hillbilly brethren, Medicaid is inconvenient.

 

WSS

[OldBrownsFan]

Bernie needs to get out more. He has no clue about poor white people. Being poor is color blind.

[One Post]

I don't think there's too many millionaires on this forum if you know what I mean. We all work for what we have and Bernie needs to learn the difference between being lazy and being poor.

[bbedward]

https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/

 

More disingenuous sanders nonsense. Whites are demonstrably victimized by minorities at a rate of no less than 10x the opposite. Often just for being white so making as if we're the greater problem is ridiculous.

You're just missing your privilege. You need to call and get it.

 

Whenever my checking account balance is low I just call the bank and tell them I'm white and they say of course and add more money

[Clevfan4life]

I can't look at the video right now but is he saying white people don't know what poverty is or white people don't know life in a central American warzone? He has a point if he's talking about the latter.

[The Cysko Kid]

Considering central americans are usually categorized by the government as white (hispanic) I'd say you'd be wrong about that.

[bbedward]

As he was also talking about the police abuse - it's probably relevant to mention that 99% of the violence in the "ghettos" Bernie is referencing is black on black, not police on black.

 

Last year we had like 4-5 young kids get killed in drive by shootings on the east side.

 

And Bernie's full quote for context:

 

 

He said, no, I don’t get cabs in Washington, D.C. This was 20 years ago. Because he was humiliated by the fact that cabdrivers would go past him because he was black. I couldn’t believe, you know, you just sit there and you say, this man did not take a cab 20 years ago in Washington, D.C. Tell you another story, I was with young people active in the Black Lives Matter movement. A young lady comes up to me and she says, you don’t understand what police do in certain black communities. You don’t understand the degree to which we are terrorized, and I’m not just talking about the horrible shootings that we have seen, which have got to end and we’ve got to hold police officers accountable, I’m just talking about every day activities where police officers are bullying people.

So to answer your question, I would say, and I think it’s similar to what the secretary said, when you’re white, you don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto. You don’t know what it’s like to be poor. You don’t know what it’s like to be hassled when you walk down the street or you get dragged out of a car.

[MLD Woody]

I get where he was trying to go but it is all in the phrasing. I would also probably pump the brakes on the "they are terrorized by the cops" angle. I have had the misfortune of being in some pretty heinous neighborhoods and cops are nonexistent or actively trying to avoid helping you. It may be a different thing all together elsewhere but NJ ghettos are more or less anarchy.

He didn't do the best job with the wording, but i think he's just trying to say many black Americans still deal with racism in some form. For poor blacks, that could be police abuse (in many forms), which we've seen.

 

Of course this slights the struggle some poor people from other races have.

 

And I'm not trying to get all "check your privilege" with it either. Just being realistic

[Pumpkin Eater]

He shouldn't be making any type of generalizations about "white" people. Making any generalizations based on anyone because of their race is the textbook definition of racism is it not?

[gftChris]

He shouldn't be making any type of generalizations about "white" people. Making any generalizations based on anyone because of their race is the textbook definition of racism is it not?

Only derogatory, I would have thought? Like 'white people are more likely to have ginger hair' isn't racist.

[Clevfan4life]

He shouldn't be making any type of generalizations about "white" people. Making any generalizations based on anyone because of their race is the textbook definition of racism is it not?

 

racism is generally associated with some form of negative stereotype...ie Messicans are lazy. Generalizations maybe not so much. Like black people tend to be really good athletes if they're so inclined. That's a generalization. But not one that's gonna have someone scream racist at you.

[LogicIsForSquares]

But hillbillies don't vote Republican in a block. As a matter of fact most of the ones I know hate Republicans. Some of the biggest issues are not getting enough disability money and not being able to go to two Drs for oxy prescriptions.

And one thing that makes me laugh is that they hate Mexicans and Muslims as bad as anyone you will meet but bitch that Republicans are racist.WSS

You haven't spent much time in the sticks in WV. They absolutely love the GOP and hate Dems. Our legislature is overwhelmingly Republican after almost a 100 years of Dem dominance. If Sanders were to sit down with them and explain that they would get more SSI or disability, they would be out voting twice for him.

[gftChris]

You haven't spent much time in the sticks in WV. They absolutely love the GOP and hate Dems. Our legislature is overwhelmingly Republican after almost a 100 years of Dem dominance. If Sanders were to sit down with them and explain that they would get more SSI or disability, they would be out voting twice for him.

The uneducated white/redneck pillbilly stereotype probably is widely pervasive among trump supporters, I would imagine.

[OldBrownsFan]

Are Some Losin the Bern?

 

 

Even Bernie Bros Are Upset With Sanders' Comment On Poverty

 

Bernie Sanders alienated even some of his most committed fans when he said during Sunday night’s Democratic debate that white Americans don’t know what it’s like to be poor.

“When you are white, you don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto, you don’t know what it’s like to be poor,” he said, answering a question about his racial blind spots.

The remark inspired an onslaught of a criticism across Twitter and Reddit, with more than 11,000 tweets talking about poor whites during the debate, Vocativ found. Some slammed Sanders’ comment as not only offensive to whites but also to black Americans.

http://www.vocativ.com/news/294143/even-bernie-bros-are-upset-with-sanders-comment-on-poverty/