I'll admit, I'm starting this one fairly early, since I already have stuff to say, I'll post my complete thoughts after all the speeches tonight. I just feel like I have to rant.
You know, here's the thing that really steams me about this convention. The democrats are trying to be open, a big tent, open to ideas from everyone....except me and other Berners. We're told to fall in line. There are speeches pandering to illegal immigrants, telling them Clinton isn't going to deport them (I'm largely centrist on illegal immigration, I don't like Trump, but these guys are the other extreme). They're having feminists on stage screaming about how they won't sit down and shut up and how Clinton listens to them and listens to everyone. But at the end of the day, the democrats totally snubbed the Bernie people. Want universal healthcare? Fall in line. Want economic justice? Fall in line. Want to fix our problems? Shut up, put a fake smile on that face, and fall in line. What hypocrites. I'm just so beyond fed up with the democrats this election. I'm not even against most of which the democrats are for here. I mean, I'm not gung ho over amnesty to illegals, but I really see it as a necessary evil and don't care. I am for equal rights and support the causes of feminists and racial activists. We have problems there.
But at the end of the day, we have a bigger thing we need to focus on. Something that is impolite to talk about in this society of ours. We need to talk about class. Yes, CLASS. We need to talk about how, at the end of the day, the biggest, most overarching problems in our society, is not the division between black and white, male and female, it's the division between the haves and the have nots. It's the employers and the employees. Those who own the means of production and the wage slaves.
Honestly, all of this stuff the DNC is talking about is secondary to that. Not to mention, the Clinton variety of identity politics is actually harmful. It divides people. It's kinda like dog whistle politics and racism to begin with, but in reverse. Racism was arguably enforced in the US to keep the poor whites and blacks at each others' throats while the rich just held onto their position of power, screwing both groups. By focusing on these politically correct type feminism issues and all, it's the same kind of thing. It's focusing on minor issues, which are important to some degree, but a drop in the bucket from the major issues. But the Clinton democratic party doesn't want to talk about the major issues. They don't want to talk about class. They don't want to talk about the economy. They don't want to talk about real solutions. They want to talk about women and Latinos and their specific concerns, while alienating those who actually want to talk on the bigger issues. And you know what? I actually think the alt right that supports Donald Trump has arose in part due to these toxic politics.
And if you point this out, you're the bad guy. I've heard it all, I'm sexist. I'm privileged, blah blah blah. And I'M TECHNICALLY ON THEIR FREAKING SIDE!!! If I were in charge of the democratic party and its platform and its vision, these guys would still be a part of the party. Their concerns would be heard. We wouldn't talk nonstop for hours at conventions about them, but they will get theirs for the most part.
Again. I do want to emphasize this. I'm not against these concerns. I understand specific groups of people face specific problems. But at the end of the day, focusing on these issues while ignoring the big issues isn't going to fix much. It might make the world better in these minor incremental ways. But it doesn't fix the big picture. But then again, that's all the modern democrats are good for these days. Incrementalism. Minor changes/concessions that allow them to look like the good guys who care and are for progress. But at the end of the day, they don't care about you and me. They're giving the masses token, even symbolic concessions that keep them divided and distracted, while letting the big problems fester like they always do.
Now, I admit, I'm a white male. So maybe I am privileged. But considering how we've had 4 days of this stuff, and the only speeches I really think were on target were Warren's, Sanders', and maybe Obama's, it's a problem to discuss. The democrats, this election, have thrown Sanders supporters and their concerns overboard in favor of identity politics, and it's sickening. Have fun with your incremental change. Keep crawling back to a party every 4 years looking for them to fix your problems, only for them to not do so. Because that's all they're going to do.
Democrats, I'm going to put it in terms you need to understand. You need to be a better ally. You need to LISTEN to us. Not lecture us and condescend to us and ignore us. You need to sit down, shut up, and listen. You haven't done that all year. That's why you got booed Monday night and that's why there are apparently thousands of protesters outside that the media isn't covering (Wednesday's episode of the David Pakman Show estimated 5-6,000 protesters). Because you're not being a good ally. You listen to everyone but us. Maybe you don't want to listen to us... But that's how it is.
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