Here is where the change starts like these people in the video. The more people do this kind of communicating and organizing across racial lines there's a chance to build a more free country with shared economic prosperity for all not just whites or the wealthiest elites.

Dutch Wrote:

Nice story; very clearly laid out. However do you think this "picture" will change? I doubt it. especially if you see the crowds still flocking to an absolute lunatic they want as leader. In any case I've got the feeling that the situation only will get worse because of a lot of things here. Looking at the "total picture of this country as well its stupid structure of governing then this country is doomed. Sorry but is like Rome "the emperor has no clothes"

Furthermore if the Catholic bitch gets appointed forget an "normal" operating government; the "church" will run it. France had their lessons with that, but here they are running a couple of centuries behind. Even if Biden wins he will still "loose" because the GOP (Trump party) will make life miserable for him especially on his age. The "chaos" will remain and gets only worse; more guns will get sold and more unrest because the "management" here are not "managers" . A lot has to be changed here if this country ever wants to be "governable". I wrote many times about what has to change in our laws as well governing system. Seldom this country wants to copy things from other countries and the one time they did, they copied the stupid British system, which is now creating all the present mess. Canada is laughing at us, because they selected something else which happens to work.

Thanks for your response Dutch... I will be honest there's not much reason to be hopeful. Millions of Americans really do believe in Trump and they won't face reality. But he's not the only problem racism and economic inequality are longstanding issues that have not been adequately addressed. Trump and the virus have made these things worse.

We need ordinary people regardless of race to confront racial and economic inequality at the grassroots level. This means getting more people to vote as well as protest. We need to use social media to address these issues and call out people like Trump and other right wingers who want to divide us. If this happens we can change the politics and the country. Sadly there's no guarantee this will happen. Racism keeps a lot of whites from seeing economic issues, and those whites who know the economy is not benefitting working people don't see a common interest with black or nonwhite working people.

Recent protests and civil unrest surrounding the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police are occurring within a larger context of racial inequality. Despite collective and individual progress since the 1960s, blacks still lag far behind whites economically. They are twice as likely than whites to be poor or unemployed even in good economic times. Almost three quarters of whites own homes while the rate among blacks is about 40 %. And regardless of education or occupation blacks make less money and are far less wealthy than whites. It might be convenient or comforting to blame blacks themselves for all this, but that would mean racism went away due to the Civil Rights laws. Overt legal racism disappeared, but covert systemic racism still hinders black people.

At the same time we live in a troubled economy that's hard on all working people regardless of race. The top 1 % controls 38.6 % of the wealth and gets 23. 8 % of the income. Meanwhile the bottom 90 % controls 22.8 % of the wealth and gets only 48.7 % of the income. More than a quarter of people have no emergency savings, and less than a fifth of Americans could live for six months off their savings. When you throw in the costs of healthcare it's no surprise that more than two thirds of those going bankrupt each year do so because of medical debt. For over thirty years despite hard work, productivity, and high corporate profits average earnings have stagnated. It's clear that we have a class problem.

For many liberals and leftists economic issues are paramount. " Standing up for working families or the middle class " is the common refrain. From moderates like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden to Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders and liberal minded Elizabeth Warren politicians have plenty to say. Getting something done is questionable. The problem with this emphasis on economic issues or class is that it's code for - white people. Since the era of Bill Clinton and the New Democrats in the nineties regaining white voters lost after the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War has been essential. Since the election of Donald Trump in 2016 some liberals have been very direct about the issue.

Joan C. Williams wrote in The Atlantic : On Election Night 2016, my social crowd of San Francisco progressives was mystified as to why white people in a few Rust Belt states, many of them union members who’d previously voted for Obama, had just delivered Trump the election. That same night, I wrote an essay for the Harvard Business Review in which I explained what I (a white, liberal law professor) thought so many of my white, liberal, highly educated peers were failing to see: that middle-income white people had voted for Trump not so much because they liked him (though many did) or because they were racist (though plenty were) but foremost as an expression of class anger. After the essay went viral, I expanded it into a book, White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America.

All told, I’ve spent a good deal of the past two years talking with progressives about the broken relationship between elite white people and the white working class. (I use the term working class to refer to Americans with household incomes between the 30th and 80th percentiles. This group, which has median earnings of about $75,000, is also commonly referred to as the “middle class.”) Democrats presently have a unique opportunity to appeal to the working class, because their base is newly open to a populist message: Income inequality has gotten so bad that people across the political spectrum, college-educated and non-college-educated alike, are feeling a serious pinch.

Williams is onto something very important, but she and other liberals should not forget that blacks bear the double burden of race and class. This doesn't mean the white working class doesn't matter. On the contrary this says that both groups matter equally and have a common interest in an economy built on shared prosperity where no one is left out due to race. It's about race and class together. With the 2020 Presidential election little more than a week away Democrats and liberals in particular need to keep this in mind.

Sources

census.gov/library/stories/2020/09/pove...

epi.org/blog/before-the-state-of-the-un...

hbr.org/2017/10/hiring-discrimination-a...

money.cnn.com/2017/09/27/news/economy/i...

cnbc.com/2019/02/11/this-is-the-real-re...

bankrate.com/banking/savings/financial-...

theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/1...

lonely bird Wrote: Barrett has engaged in obfuscation, deflection and verbal tap dancing. The claim that stare decisions applies if people are basically happy with a decision and doesn’t apply if people are not is bullshit. She knows it. She will be guided by her inner “policy positions” (more verbal tap dancing) and will happily legislate from the bench. Striking down a law is just as much legislating as congress actually passing a law that overturns turns a previous law. Now we will get to see 50 states legislating all sorts of bullshit on abortion and gay rights just so this religionist can feel good about herself. I do agree that there are laws that should be examined via cases brought before the court even though the SCOTUS does not have that power constitutionally. I simply am tired of these justices who are opposed to both abortion and gay marriage in particular sitting in their chairs during hearings being unwilling to come out and say what they have said in their writings and verbal commentary.

It's too late to do anything now. The political right has enough justices and judges throughout the Federal judiciary to strike down political reforms for a generation or more. The courts should have been an issue for Democrats long ago even before Obama was elected in 2008. However the party is dominated by centrists who won't to fight to protect the Affordable Care Act or abortion rights. These Republican lite politicians are only concerned with advancing the interests of their wealthy backers and avoiding fights over culture war issues like reproductive choice. The ACA and Roe Versus Wade will be reversed. Moreover you can forget civil rights protections for LGBTQ people. This is what happens when you don't stand for anything and fight.

Just look at what's happening on the campaign trail Biden isn't railing against Barrett's confirmation or the threat rightwing judges pose to healthcare for millions of people or women's right to choose in particular. He's mumbling platitudes and demonizing Trump. Just like most Democrats Biden doesn't realize or even care about mobilizing the party's base in mass to fight for an agenda.

Dutch Wrote: It does not surprise me at all. Since Trump is in power the "division" and "racism" has only increased. Also it is true that the most nasty jobs are assigned to "colored" people. Especially in FL we've got about 70% of colored people in the health industry. Some of them are "decent' but a lot of them "copy' the "white" one's in corruption within the trade. So due to the "mixture" here nothing will change for the better as long as our present "leader" stays in place. Furthermore if you observe what is happening at the border with "kids" and "women", then this country is right back at the "slave" period and does not give a shit about "human life" or compassion/decency. It looks more like an zombie Hitler regime all over again.

Thanks Dutch for your response and insights....however I did find your use of the word colored off putting. I'm sure you didn't mean it to be offensive, but the term is archaic and generally offensive among blacks and others. People of color is better. Thanks...

https://khn.org/news/health-care-workers-of-color-nearly-twice-as-likely-as-whites-to-get-covid-19/

We know that blacks and other people of color are more likely to get COVID 19 and die from it compared to whites. However this article points to a disturbing trend among healthcare workers treating those with the disease. Black and Latino healthcare workers are also more likely to treat coronavirus patients and die from contracting the virus.

Here's part of an article from Kaiser Health News :

Health care workers of color were more likely to care for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, more likely to report using inadequate or reused protective gear, and nearly twice as likely as white colleagues to test positive for the coronavirus, a new study from Harvard Medical School researchers found.

The study also showed that health care workers are at least three times more likely than the general public to report a positive COVID test, with risks rising for workers treating COVID patients.

Dr. Andrew Chan, a senior author and an epidemiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the study further highlights the problem of structural racism, this time reflected in the front-line roles and personal protective equipment provided to people of color.

“If you think to yourself, ‘Health care workers should be on equal footing in the workplace,’ our study really showed that’s definitely not the case,” said Chan, who is also a professor at Harvard Medical School.

The study was based on data from more than 2 million COVID Symptom Study app users in the U.S. and the United Kingdom from March 24 through April 23. The study, done with researchers from King’s College London, was published in the journal The Lancet Public Health.

Lost on the Frontline, a project by KHN and The Guardian, has published profiles of 164 health care workers who died of COVID-19 and identified more than 900 who reportedly fell victim to the disease. An analysis of the stories showed that 62% of the health care workers who died were people of color.

Also according to the article researchers found healthcare workers of color were 50% more likely than whites to report using inadequate or reused PPE. Some workers also claimed they were discriminated against.

that guy in AZ Wrote:

An article in today's New York Times explains why an avowed feminist, who believes Tara Reade, is still voting for Biden.

Here is the key paragraph:

"So what is the greatest good or the greatest harm? Mr. Biden, and the Democrats he may carry with him into government, are likely to do more good for women and the nation than his competition, the worst president in the history of the Republic. Compared with the good Mr. Biden can do, the cost of dismissing Tara Reade — and, worse, weakening the voices of future survivors — is worth it. And don’t call me an amoral realist. Utilitarianism is not a moral abdication; it is a moral stance."

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/opinion/tara-reade-joe-biden-vote.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I understand the logic of her argument and I want Trump gone too but this is still troubling. Trump supporters and people in Alabama who wanted Roy Moore for the Senate probably rationalize things the same way she does. Are we so filled with fear and contempt for Trump that we will do anything to get rid of him ? If we don't have morals and principles or they can be easily set aside for expediancy then what else matters ? Whether we support Biden or want him off the ticket every Democrat needs to struggle with this as a real dilemma. Our integrity and humanity demand no less.

Dutch Wrote:

Chet, it is not "consumerism"; even an "monkey" can do that; "give him an banana and you get the "peel" back.

Sorry it is the "common sense" which should drive it and try to get an "balance" in any society which interacts with the world. Anyone should be able to sustain itself and have food on the table as well get an decent education. Of course the people who are sick or mentally incapable should be cared for.

If you have an happy prosperous mentally sound society then everyone is happy.

Right now due to the fact that we have an leader as well an system which favors certain groups and the rich, then you get the imbalance which ruins any society. Only the greed for "power" and" wealth" have the overtone.

But yeah our system is badly broken and therefore we get what we deserve.

Dutch... I'm not ready to give up on trying to make things better. It would help if we stopped being cynical about politics. Moreover we need to understand that conflict can be tamed and is the basis for compromise both parties can live with. We don't have to accept the way things are.