WHY DO I SUPPORT BERNIE SANDERS?

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

WHY DO I SUPPORT BERNIE SANDERS? 
IT’S SIMPLE - BECAUSE HE WAS FIGHTING FOR MY RIGHTS BEFORE I WAS

Bernie Sanders first captured both my attention, and admiration, because he's a fighter, and his life is symbolic of the American struggle itself. Prior to the founding of this nation, America was a hopeless underdog, yet, it faced-down the mighty forces of England based on principle alone, and Bernie Sander’s entire life has been perfectly representative of that kind of courage. All of his life he’s been an underdog, yet he’s never given up on or wavered from the one solitary pursuit that has defined his existence - the fight for the freedom, justice, and equality that was guaranteed us all by the United States constitution. In spite of the fact that he’s been shunned, dismissed, and laughed at as being impractical and living with his head in the clouds, he’s managed to maintain the courage, dignity, and fortitude to face-down the mighty in the name of justice.

.

In the past Bernie’s been content to fight this battle alone, but now, for the first time in his life, and from seemingly out of nowhere, he’s gained a tsunami of grassroots support from an America that's aching for a change, yearning for justice, and feeling a fierce affinity for this little guy who refused to give up. That’s why Bernie supporters are so passionate, because we all want to feel like there’s a little bit of Bernie in us as well, and that we too have the courage and tenacity to stand firm in the face of impossible odds. So to us, this is much more than just a political campaign; we’re Bernie’s cavalry, and this is a crusade, for good over evil.

.

On the other hand, the Clintons are a perfect metaphor for the arrogance of wealth and power. During the time of our founding fathers, they would have represented the crown. While they have the tremendous clout of establishment backing and a long list of accomplishments, all of their accomplishments tend to benefit the wrong people. Although they talk like liberals, and act like liberals, they always seem to leave behind conservative policies that are detrimental to the average American. For example, Bill Clinton’s 1994 Crime Bill led to the mass incarceration of Black people; NAFTA rewarded corporations for sending American jobs out of the country; the Repeal of Glass-Steagall led directly to the 2008 Great Recession; The Welfare Reform Act only served to devastate many poor Black families; and finally, when Hillary joined the neocons in voting for the senseless war in Iraq, while it greatly benefitted war profiteers, it led to the death of a million Iraqis, and the death or maiming of thousands of American troops.

.

In addition, It has been reported that the Clinton's net worth is over $100 million, and they control the $2 billion Clinton Foundation, so they're comfortably entrenched in the very corporate culture that has the American people virtually enslaved. Even their daughter, Chelsea, is married to Marc Mezvinsky, an American investment banker, co-founder of the hedge fund, Eaglevale Partners, and he was formerly an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. So the Clintons and Wall Street are, literally, in-laws.

.

So I feel that Bernie deserves my support, if for no other reason than to reward him for his lifelong struggle to improve the lives of others instead of feathering his own nest. I'd be willing to bet that Bernie's one of the poorest men in the senate, and there's a good reason for that - he didn't have time to become wealthy, because he was too busy fighting for my rights as a human being, and even before I was.  So that's the kind of man I want having my back in the Oval Office.

.

BERNIE SANDERS FIGHTING FOR BLACK PEOPLE IN 1963

.

ONE FOR BERNIE

.

Receding hairline, failing vision,

hair now turning grey,

an aging boomer in final protest,

Father Time his foe this day.

.

Donning his headband, tie-dyed jeans,

and scorched draft card of protests past,

he set out for one last battle,

as in his youth that had quietly passed.

.

Ode to an aging Boomer,

a different kind of man;

colleagues all now in the wind,

as he makes his final stand.

.

But he found no placards or the sound of Trane,

no passionate speeches in the gentle rain,

no pretty girls wearing mini skirts,

and no solemn guards on pig alert.

.

All he found was a new America,

and more freedom across this land;

the fruit of his struggle

for women's equality,

and the rights of his fellow man.

.

He found Martin, Chavez, and Malcolm X,

all standing by his side;

He found Thomas Jefferson

and all his forefathers

beaming down with pride.

.

He found minority children across this land

whose reach now exceed their grasp;

He found Jim Crow angrily cursing him,

as he took his final gasp.

.

He found pride as an aging boomer,

more hero, than common man;

He found a quirky old fart embraced by history,

for having the courage to take a stand.

.

Alone, an aging Boomer,

fellow travelers now in the wind;

but one last time he limps to his trench,

to defend his fellow man.

.

Eric L. Wattree
http://wattree.blogspot.com/
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

.

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

JIM CROW’S DESPERATE CORRUPTION OF THE BLACK MAN

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattre

JIM CROW’S DESPERATE CORRUPTION OF THE BLACK MAN

.

For the past six years we’ve had the opportunity to watch the ravages of cognitive dissonance at work. All their lives conservatives have been basing their self-esteem on the delusion that they were superior because they were born White. Now Barack Obama, and many others, have come along to completely destroy the delusion that has brought them so much comfort over the centuries, and it's just too much for their racist nature to take. So it's, LITERALLY, driving them crazy.
.
They were able to maintain their myth of superiority for so long because an individual’s intelligence is focused on adapting to their environment. So when Africans were taken away from their environment and brought to this strange land, naturally we seemed out of place and clueless - so they laughed at us, pointing to our disorientation as stupid.
.
But when they began to recognize our true intelligence while we were in bondage, they reached into their arsenal and began to utilize a tactic that seems to come so natural to them, and they started doing to our culture as a whole, what they’re currently doing to President Obama as an individual - they engaged in obstructionism, by making it a crime to teach a Black person to read.
.
Thereafter, their worst fears were confirmed when slaves began to escape and educate themselves. Frederick Douglass was a case in point. In spite of being deprived of the great academies of learn of his time, Frederick Douglass escaped from bondage, educated himself, and went on to become one of the great writers, orators, and brilliant intellectuals of his time. He rubbed shoulders with presidents and kings, and became a valued advisor to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, and to other presidents thereafter.
.
In 1852 - nine years BEFORE the Civil War; back when even "nice" White folks would lynch a Black man if given sufficient cause - when asked what he thought of the nation’s Independence Day celebrations, he came straight from the shoulder, and without any hesitation or equivocation. He said, "Your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him [the slave], mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy - a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages!"
.
So what we have in Douglass is a handsome, suave, and debonair Black man, living in pre-Civil War America, yet, had the knowledge and intellect to command enough respect to live life the way he saw fit. He counseled the President of the United States, he 'dated' who he felt like 'dating' - Black or White - because, since you are what you think, Douglass considered his brothers and sisters all those who THOUGHT like him - and he faced down a White supremacist society eyeball-to-eyeball without flinchin’ an eyelash, and he had no "posse," and no "crew." It was just Douglass, his manhood, his intellect, and the fierce determination in his eye - but obviously, that was enough.  
.
That is the Black man that conservatives fear, and are desperately trying to contain with all of their obstructionism, corruption, and brutality; and that is the Black man that every Black parent should be just as desperately trying to forge in every Black child in America. For, when you look at the intelligence, knowledge, and fierce determination in Douglass’ eyes, you’re looking into eyes that will look upon freedom, justice, and equality.
.
But we’ve allowed Jim Crow to corrupt our souls, first, through physical bondage during slavery, and later, through his Jim Crow laws that beat down our character, and convinced us that we were less than who we are. He’s managed to turn many of us into clowns, into caricatures of manhood. As a result, far too many of our young Black men are all swagger, and no substance, where Douglass was all substance, and no swagger. That, is what we must strive to return to, because that, is who we truly are.
.
A true Black man is strong, focused, and resolute like Douglass - not saggin’, swaggerin’, illiterates struttin’ around flaunting fleeting wealth and spewing vulgar nursery rhymes that celebrates the murder of his own, and denigrate the very womb of his culture. No, that’s not manhood - that’s the manipulation of Jim Crow pulling the strings of ladder-day Steppin’ Fetcits, stupidly masquerading as virile, while desperately in search of manhood.
.
But there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with being a rapper - Black people have always gravitated toward the arts. Oscar Brown Jr. and Gil Scott Heron were rappers, but they were rappers because they had something to say. They were educators in the tradition of Frederick Douglass and the ancient griots of West Africa . . .

.

.

So rap on young brother, but rap about substance. Carry a message that glorifies our people, that honor our Black women, and that celebrates the strength of character that allowed us to defeat the most severe adversity, an adversity that’s made us more, rather than less. Celebrate your people with dignity, pride, and intelligence. You’re always talkin’ about "bitches" and "hoes" - don’t allow yourself to become a hoe for Jim Crow. The bling ain’t worth it - and Black people, we must stop enriching those who think it is.

.

 

HOWLING WINDS
.

As I watched my son, dapper as they come, walk down our walkway and into manhood,

what I remember most was the howling winds. I'd seen such winds before, but never like this - my old foe was pulling up trees by the roots,

.

So I watched, but I watched alone.

.

As the winds raged on and the mighty palms bowed, a single leaf from our Winter-bare ficus tree

held tough against the ferocious storm. It fought valiantly against the angry gale, as though hanging tough Just to witness the changing of the guard,

.

So I stood, but I stood alone.

.

Like that solitary leaf, all my life I've fought the ferocious winds, and now they’ve returned, this mighty foe, poised to seize the hopes and dreams of my only son,

.

So I cringed, but I cringed alone.

.

Then, posterity glanced back, squared its shoulders, and beat back hopelessness as it

trudged through fields of ivy. Then it spread its wings and rode those howling winds

over yonder mountaintop,

.

So I wept, but I wept with a crowd . . .

.

I NOW STAND FIRM

.

Eric Wattree, Jr.

I now stand firm. My conviction of the power of knowledge is the platform upon which my podium rests. I stand firm, strong, and now free. Free of anger. Free of self-delusion. Free of the folly of empty vanity, and free of the pernicious bane of meaningless pride without substance.
.
I stand free to look upon the eyes of other men, reflecting dignity over sorrow, and accomplishment over pain; I stand with a burning passion, fueled by the very flame that forged ancestral shackles, with a deep sense of pride and a pride that flows deep.
.
I now stand erect. The steel that once degraded my father, that chained him in bondage to this bitter Earth, now reinforce my character, making me more, rather than less; and the blood and sweat that once drenched his brow, now rage with resolve and a sense of purpose within my burning breast.
.
I now stand as a new being - neither simply African, nor simply American, but a hybrid forced to transcend the sum of my parts; no longer simply African, since being torn away from the African motherland to suffer and toil in the fields of America, and more than simply American, after being FORCED to be more than simply American just to survive within the bowels of this prosperous land.
.
Thus, I stand now armed - armed with the wisdom of deprivation, the courage of my conviction, and a deep conviction of my courage; and fortified - with the confidence of a survivor, the empowerment of knowledge, and a ravishing hunger for greatness.
.
I now stand the product of love, struggle, and sacrifice; a witness to man's inhumanity to man, and a monument to the hopes and dreams of a million slaves.
.
I now stand embraced by my creator, as God now smiles upon my people.
.
Yes, I Now Stand Firm.

Firm, Black, and Free.

*

ATTENTION BIGOTS!

.

Don't you think for a moment that you're jumping up-and-down about Obama's  incompetence is fooling anybody in America but yourself, as evidenced by the last election. We all know what's going on - including many White people. You're in absolute misery, and we're taking great pleasure in watching your agony, because we know why you're ACTUALLY screaming. You're not screaming over Obama's alleged corruption or incompetence; you're screaming in agony over having the hell beat out of you with your own bat, and it's an absolutely exhilarating thing to watch.
.
Consider this a teaching moment, Professor Henschel, and take special note of the bludgeoning below.  You're severely out-classed - not because you're White, but because you're White and failed to prepare yourself for reality.  It's a new day, and what’s actually causing you so much distress is having to witness Jim Crow's dying gasp.

.

.

Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)
.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

Attention Tea Party and Black Radicals: Either Fight as Allies, or Fall as Fools

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Attention Tea Party and Black Radicals: Either Fight as Allies, or Fall as Fools

.

 Retired army general, and FOX News analyst, Paul Vallely, is quoted as telling Arizona Tea Party Patriots, "I had a call this afternoon from Idaho. The gentleman said, ‘If I give you 250,000 Marines to go to Washington, will you lead them?’" Vallely said as the group laughed and gasped. "I said, ‘Yes, I will. I’ll surround the White House and I’ll surround the Capitol building, but it’s going to take physical presence to do things."  

.

POWER TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE

I'm just as angry and disgusted over what Black people have been forced to endure in this country as anyone else, but there are two reasons why I don’t spew bitterness. First, I can see beyond my anger, so I recognize that there are issues that are much more important than my right to vent that need to be considered, and one of the most important of those issues is - at least, in terms of the Black community - by constantly venting into the ears of our youth, we give young Black people a convenient excuse for failure. The fact is, some of us are lazy and less than ambitious anyway (just like many in every other group), so when young people are constantly bombarded with a message that says that the White man is evil, conniving, and intent on holding Black people down, it makes it much too easy for them to say, "Why even try? The White man ain't gon' let me move forward anyway." We don’t need that. On the contrary, we need to inspire our young people and instill a sense of confidence and determination in them. We are what we think, so the very last message that we want to send to our youth is one of impotence and defeat.
.
The second reason that I don’t indulge in spewing anger is because it plays into the hands of the enemy. We’re currently knee-deep in a class war, and we’re facing an enemy who doesn’t care any more about poor and middle-class White folks than they do Black people. Yeah, they want to keep Black people down - at least, poor and middle-class Black people - but their ultimate mission is to undermine and subjugate ALL poor and middle-class people of EVERY race, creed and color. And keeping us divided is their most potent and effective weapon in doing just that. So when we’re constantly going around talking about the White man this, and the White man that, we're not only being ignored by those people (including some Blacks) who are actually trying to undermine us, but we're alienating White people who want to be, and should be, our allies in the struggle for universal justice. So why cut our own throats just for the satisfaction of venting our anger?
.
The poor and middle class in this country have been under a brutal and growing assault for the past thirty-five years. It has been documented that Ronald Reagan flooded the inner cities with crack to support his illegal war in Nicaragua (in which we’re still suffering the ill affects, and he should have been both impeached and jailed for); our public educational system has been underfunded and under assault, leaving many of us incapable of accurately assessing our political environment; organized labor, the first line of defense for keeping the poor and middle class out of total destitution, has been all but decimated; and now, these malevolent forces are aiming at the middle-class safety net - programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance - which were initiated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt to protect the poor and middle class from literal starvation during and after the Great Depression.
.
So this is no time for the poor and middle class to be divided. It is essential that we ALL come together to protect our collective interests. If we don't, we’re all going to find ourselves enslaved under the yoke of corporate feudalism - and yes, it can happen here, and that reality looms closer than most people think. Actually, there’s a very strong possibility that it could be as close as one successful Republican election away, because the demographics are against the GOP, so they’re in a panic, and they’ve clearly demonstrated that they’re without limits. So if they ever manage to regain control of government, they’re not giving it up again - regardless to what they have to do.
.
Retired army general, and FOX News analysis, Paul Vallely, is quoted as telling Arizona Tea Party Patriots, "I had a call this afternoon from Idaho. The gentleman said, ‘If I give you 250,000 Marines to go to Washington, will you lead them?’" Vallely said, as the group laughed and gasped. "I said, ‘Yes, I will. I’ll surround the White House and I’ll surround the Capitol building, but it’s going to take physical presence to do things" (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/27/fox-news-analyst-tells-tea-party-group-he-can-lead-a-military-coup-against-obama/).

.

.

So it behooves poor and middle-class Black and White people to wake up, put our petty differences aside, and come together as a viable political force that’s ready to pitch a tooth-and-nail battle for the future of this nation. If we don’t, the Tea party and the Klan, the Black Guerilla Army, and the Mexican Mafia, are all going to find themselves shoulder-to-shoulder picking virtual cotton on the very same plantation. 
.
Ironically, many White people already recognize this fact - that’s why Barack Obama is President today. But due to our unique historic background, lack of formal education, the proliferation of urban legends disseminated by poverty pimps, and lingering bitterness, many Black people are resistant to this reality. 
.
While it is undeniable that some White people are dogs (just like some Black people), we now have undeniable evidence that MOST of them are good people who just want to live and let live in peace and harmony. If that were not the case, Obama wouldn’t have been elected president - twice. No, Obama’s election doesn’t mean that this is a post-racist society, but what it does say is, bigotry is being maintained and perpetuated by a minority of the White community.
.
Consider this - even if they had allowed us to stay home, and they automatically posted the vote of every Black man, woman, and child in America for Obama, there still wouldn’t have been enough of us to elect him President of the United States. Black people are only 13.6 percent of the population. So if only one hundred votes were being cast to determine the presidency, and every group was given the number of votes that corresponded to their percentage of the population, Black people would only be given 14 votes. But in order for Obama to become president, he needed 51 votes. Where did those other 37 votes come from? I’ll tell you where they came from - many of them came from White people. Obama could never have been elected president without them. So that’s in direct conflict with the message that the majority of White people are racist bigots. Numbers don't lie, so while it may satisfy the anger of those who allege that to be the case, the numbers simply don't validate their claim.
.
In addition, even during the Civil War, as brutal as this country was toward Black people, there were enough White men of good conscience around who decided to leave the love, advantage, and comfort of their homes and families to engage in the most brutal war that this country has EVER engaged in to free Black people from bondage - yes, there were other issues involved, but I’m not going to entertain a lot of nitpicking on this issue, because I see through it, just like I see through the racist arguments of White bigots.
.
Well, maybe I'll address the most prominent argument -  that this was not about slavery for these people; it was just a matter of citizens falling in step behind their government. The biggest obstacle to that argument is, we know that the Civil War involved much more than just a routine conflict between opposing government policies. The reason that we know it involved deeply felt, soul-searching, and moralistic passions, was because fathers were fighting sons. That fact alone speaks volumes. Personally, I can't even imagine a cause that I would be so passionate about that I would take up arms against my son. But these people did find such a cause.
.
The bottom line is, the ultimate impact of these people's sacrifice brought slavery to an end. That’s a fact that cannot be denied. So when we run around talking about "THE White man's a racist dog," that not only implies, but specifically states, that ALL White men are racist dogs, which constitutes the very worst kind of profiling of, for my money, some of the finest and most selflessly courageous people who ever lived. Black people might STILL be on a plantation - YOU might still be on a plantation - if it were not for these morally courageous people. So by broad-brushing ALL White people it represents the thumbing of our noses at many people, and their families, who made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. So to lump such people in with racist bigots, is the very height of ingratitude.
.
Thus, as I see it, we who truly believe in justice, and not JUST-US, and are not just using the word "justice" as a pretext to spew garden variety racism, should be just as dedicated to ensuring justice for those who didn't just pay lip service to the concept, but who actually sacrificed their lives for the cause of justice. They had our back, so we should have theirs, and the backs of the descendants that they left behind.
.
For that reason, I asked a very good friend of mine to focus on solutions rather than bitterness when posting to my Facebook wall, because when I say I believe in justice, I mean it. I seek justice not only for Black people, but for ALL people. Therefore, I’m not going to tolerate racism or bigotry of any kind on my wall - regardless to which direction it comes from - and I was very gratified to find that my friend understood that fact by indicating that we were on the same page, because there's a word for the concept of justice for some - hypocrisy - and it's poised to destroy us all, and this nation.

 .

LOOK AT HOW LONG THE GOP HAS BEEN TELLING THE SAME LIE

.

Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)
.

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content