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Racism Of Presidential Candidates

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
So many threads are about calling Trump "Racist!".
But Biden seems to escape attention, especially from his fans.
Setting aside the many things he's said, he
has a long record of actual harm to blacks & asians (whites too).
- 1994 Crime Bill ("three strikes")
- Opposition to Vietnamese refugee immigration
- Opposition to the federal government's involvement in desegregation
Those are just the ones I can think of.
What else lurks in his long record?

Everyone can argue who is worse.
But can any Biden fans defend his record,
one which looks worse than Trump's?
 

Eyes to See

Well-Known Member
You know, I was reading the life story of one of the members of the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses yesterday, Samuel Herd.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/watchtower-study-may-2018/poor-start-rich-ending/
Herd.jpg

I bring him up because he was born during the era of racial segregation in Liberty, Indiana, and served in areas of the south where deep-rooted prejudices and racism ran rampant. In his life story he relates: "There were laws in place to make it illegal for the races to mix, and there was also the very real threat of violence. In many places, the brothers had good reason to fear that if the two races met together for worship, their Kingdom Hall would be destroyed. Such things did happen. If black Witnesses preached from door to door in a white neighborhood, they would be arrested—and likely beaten up. So in order to get the preaching work done, we obeyed the laws, hoping that things would change for the better."

He goes on to relate more of the racial tensions he lived through and the brushes he had with the KKK. One was:

"Racism ran high in those days. One time, the KKK held a march in a town we were visiting in Tennessee. I remember another time when the service group stopped for a break at a fast-food restaurant. I went to use the men’s restroom, and I noticed that a very rough-looking character, tattooed like a white supremacist, got up and followed me. But a white brother, far larger than either me or the rough-looking customer, came in after us. “Is everything all right, Brother Herd?” he asked me. The other customer left quickly without using the facilities."

What I really appreciated though, were the thoughts of brother Herd about why racism exists:

"Over the years, I have seen that prejudice is not really about a person’s skin; it is about sin—the Adamic sin that infects us all. And I have learned that a brother is a brother regardless of skin color, and he will die for you if need be."

Racism is a sin that is deeply rooted in some people, from birth. It is not something you are born with, but if you are born into a society where hatred is taught, then it can be deeply embedded in a person at a tender age. And at a young age, it unfortunately will affect the rest of that person's life. Even if later on in life, they realize they were wrong, it can be a very slow and hard process to break free from. And possibly it can continue to creep up in a person.

In some people, even among Jehovah's Witnesses, who were once part of the KKK and were taught racial hatred, who later rejected it after learning the truth about God and that he does not reject anyone based on their skin or race or ethnicity this old personality trait can still surface and perhaps may never fully be rooted out until God's new world and they are perfected.


"At this Peter began to speak, and he said: “Now I truly understand that God is not partial, but in every nation the man who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him."-Acts 10:34, 35.

"Strip off the old personality with its practices, 10 and clothe yourselves with the new personality."-Colossians 3:9, 10.
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
So many threads are about calling Trump "Racist!".
But Biden seems to escape attention, especially from his fans.
Setting aside the many things he's said, he
has a long record of actual harm to blacks & asians (whites too).
- 1994 Crime Bill ("three strikes")
- Opposition to Vietnamese refugee immigration
- Opposition to the federal government's involvement in desegregation
Those are just the ones I can think of.
What else lurks in his long record?

Everyone can argue who is worse.
But can any Biden fans defend his record,
one which looks worse than Trump's?

Kind of wonder why they ended up with Biden as the nominee. I thought the Democrats had a number of good candidates but we end up with someone else.
I understand it is up to the primary voters but I don't really understand the mentality of how we end up with the candidates we do. Sanders seemed to be doing well but then suddenly support fell off.

Some odd forces at play that allows the manipulation of the primary elections.
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
Does Kamala Harris know about this stuff?

I'm pretty sure she does. She criticized him during the primaries for his past associations.

“That little girl was me,” she said,

Honestly, Biden and Harris are strange bedfellows. Or maybe Harris was a strategic pick to deal with some of his peccadilloes.
 

metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
Much like all life forms, people do change over time, and it's not just our physical nature that changes. Thus, I hope people ain't judging me for what I may have said and/or done decades ago, as I'm much more interested in what they've been doing and saying lately.
 

bobhikes

Nondetermined
Premium Member
So many threads are about calling Trump "Racist!".
But Biden seems to escape attention, especially from his fans.
Setting aside the many things he's said, he
has a long record of actual harm to blacks & asians (whites too).
- 1994 Crime Bill ("three strikes")
- Opposition to Vietnamese refugee immigration
- Opposition to the federal government's involvement in desegregation
Those are just the ones I can think of.
What else lurks in his long record?

Everyone can argue who is worse.
But can any Biden fans defend his record,
one which looks worse than Trump's?

Its the blatant approach Trump takes. He keeps throwing it in front of everybody's face with his own words and actions. I would bet 99% of all politicians are racist but put on a good show for the camera. Unfortunately people have less of a problem with covert racism but are uncomfortable when it is thrown in their faces. So to most people Trumps racism is always going to look worse, is it really worse, would need more information and I don't want to collect it.
 

Tambourine

Well-Known Member
II would bet 99% of all politicians are racist but put on a good show for the camera. Unfortunately people have less of a problem with covert racism but are uncomfortable when it is thrown in their faces.
On what do you base this on?
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
Kind of wonder why they ended up with Biden as the nominee. I thought the Democrats had a number of good candidates but we end up with someone else.
I understand it is up to the primary voters but I don't really understand the mentality of how we end up with the candidates we do. Sanders seemed to be doing well but then suddenly support fell off.

Some odd forces at play that allows the manipulation of the primary elections.
The establishment told the fun club to bugger off. Pretty much like it did in 2016. They didn't need to be so overt in 2008 and 2012, but thefan club and establishment were congruent.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
Much like all life forms, people do change over time, and it's not just our physical nature that changes. Thus, I hope people ain't judging me for what I may have said and/or done decades ago, as I'm much more interested in what they've been doing and saying lately.
Exactly. The OP to me is an example of whataboutism that take one person's current behavior and dog whistles and compares it to another person's history.

I'm also reminded how few people are 100% free of racism. I have Black friends and have worked with Black people with no issue. But every so often, something will happy that triggers a reaction given that I grew up with "we don't want 'them' in our neighborhood. People's early education is hard to shake.

As the song goes, "there's a little of the frog in all of us..."

 

Friend of Mara

Active Member
So many threads are about calling Trump "Racist!".
But Biden seems to escape attention, especially from his fans.
Setting aside the many things he's said, he
has a long record of actual harm to blacks & asians (whites too).
- 1994 Crime Bill ("three strikes")
- Opposition to Vietnamese refugee immigration
- Opposition to the federal government's involvement in desegregation
Those are just the ones I can think of.
What else lurks in his long record?

Everyone can argue who is worse.
But can any Biden fans defend his record,
one which looks worse than Trump's?
Biden is a horrible candidate for actual leftists. The only saving grace is that he just "isn't as bad" as Trump. That is weak. But the sheer harm done by president Trump has pushed people into desperation. I know some leftists that say voting for Biden is becoming a class traitor. An actual quote would be "I would rather get the chopping block that vote for Biden". His rape allegation is serious as well. He has made some Freudian slips about race even in this very election. His crime bill was strongly bipartisan at the time. They also didn't have the hindsight that we collectively have today. Though yes I agree even back then the "tough on crime" mentality was harmful and he should be looked at with scrutiny because of it.

My hope is that as we change with the zeitgeist so will he. That he will know what his base wants and will not make similar mistakes in the future. What Trump is doing wasn't 16 years ago. Its right now. I'll take a former racist to a current racist. Hell I'll take a current racist that at least campaigns on non-racist ideas rather than the racist running on racist policy.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Biden is a horrible candidate for actual leftists. The only saving grace is that he just "isn't as bad" as Trump. That is weak. But the sheer harm done by president Trump has pushed people into desperation. I know some leftists that say voting for Biden is becoming a class traitor. An actual quote would be "I would rather get the chopping block that vote for Biden". His rape allegation is serious as well. He has made some Freudian slips about race even in this very election. His crime bill was strongly bipartisan at the time. They also didn't have the hindsight that we collectively have today. Though yes I agree even back then the "tough on crime" mentality was harmful and he should be looked at with scrutiny because of it.

My hope is that as we change with the zeitgeist so will he. That he will know what his base wants and will not make similar mistakes in the future. What Trump is doing wasn't 16 years ago. Its right now. I'll take a former racist to a current racist. Hell I'll take a current racist that at least campaigns on non-racist ideas rather than the racist running on racist policy.
I've no doubt that Biden would publicly regret the 94 Crime Bill
today. Would he mean it? We can't know. Nonetheless its result
of increased incarceration was foreseeable at the time, & point to
Biden's approach to criminal justice.

I'm not so concerned about either Biden's or Trump's statements
that bespeak bigotry. What matters is public policy they've each
effected in office, eg, opposition to school busing for integration.
This is where Biden is most troubling, having been bad news for
black folk far more than has Trump.
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
Exactly. The OP to me is an example of whataboutism that take one person's current behavior and dog whistles and compares it to another person's history.

I'm also reminded how few people are 100% free of racism. I have Black friends and have worked with Black people with no issue. But every so often, something will happy that triggers a reaction given that I grew up with "we don't want 'them' in our neighborhood. People's early education is hard to shake.

As the song goes, "there's a little of the frog in all of us..."


You were educated to be a racist?
How were you educated to be a racist?

I don't think I was educated to be a racist but maybe I'm an oddball.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
One thing that concerns me, if I put both men and even their actions aside for a moment, is the responses they draw out in others.

I can't deny that neither of these people are who I'd say make ideal presidents, but I know of few stories where someone has felt riled up over loyalty to Biden and done something detrimental, nor tried to hide behind him for other distasteful actions.

In a nearby city, over the summer, we had a middle school aged Black boy playing on a baseball team. When it was his turn to bat, the opposing side(including adults), starting yelling racist slurs at him. It escalated, and they began to chant "Trump 2020". Disturbing on many levels...
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
If you’ve seen the videos circulating of Joe Biden on the Senate floor in 1993 arguing for the crime bill he shepherded, you may have been caught off guard by the passion and fierce conviction in his voice — something we rarely see from him today. Ironically, and tragically, he was showing his true colors then, which he maintains to this day.

For Black mothers and community leaders like me, the words he shouted are not a distant memory. When he talked about the “tens of thousands of them, born out of wedlock, without parents, without supervision, without any structure, without any conscience developing” whom he demanded “must be cordoned off from the rest of society” because “a portion of them will become the predators 15 years from now," he was referring to our children, our students and our neighbors who are every bit as deserving of human dignity and a second chance in life where appropriate as any other American.

Many of the people locked up under the sentencing laws that Biden helped create are just now — two decades later — getting their first taste of freedom thanks to President Donald Trump’s signing of the First Step Act. Instead of condemning thousands of Black fathers to excessive prison terms away from their families, the First Step Act has given thousands of inmates a second chance to improve their circumstances and become productive members of society.
Opinion: Joe Biden defends damage he's done to Black community
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Much like all life forms, people do change over time, and it's not just our physical nature that changes. Thus, I hope people ain't judging me for what I may have said and/or done decades ago, as I'm much more interested in what they've been doing and saying lately.
What has he been doing & saying to repudiate his record?
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Exactly. The OP to me is an example of whataboutism that take one person's current behavior and dog whistles and compares it to another person's history.
Perhaps it's a canine trait to mis-read.
I specifically addressed records of the candidates.
But you arrive with accusations of "whataboutism" &
"dog whistles" while ignoring Biden's record, & your
justification for his becoming President.
I'm also reminded how few people are 100% free of racism. I have Black friends and have worked with Black people with no issue. But every so often, something will happy that triggers a reaction given that I grew up with "we don't want 'them' in our neighborhood. People's early education is hard to shake.
You've ignored my request to address Biden's record.
Your apologetics are naught but attacking the OP.
 

Quetzal

A little to the left and slightly out of focus.
Premium Member
So many threads are about calling Trump "Racist!".
But Biden seems to escape attention, especially from his fans.
Setting aside the many things he's said, he
has a long record of actual harm to blacks & asians (whites too).
- 1994 Crime Bill ("three strikes")
- Opposition to Vietnamese refugee immigration
- Opposition to the federal government's involvement in desegregation
Those are just the ones I can think of.
What else lurks in his long record?

Everyone can argue who is worse.
But can any Biden fans defend his record,
one which looks worse than Trump's?
Fair points, the big thing against Trump is he had the easiest layup to make it all go away. Then he didn't, instead, he made it worse. Poor guy.
 

Lyndon

"Peace is the answer" quote: GOD, 2014
Premium Member
If you’ve seen the videos circulating of Joe Biden on the Senate floor in 1993 arguing for the crime bill he shepherded, you may have been caught off guard by the passion and fierce conviction in his voice — something we rarely see from him today. Ironically, and tragically, he was showing his true colors then, which he maintains to this day.

For Black mothers and community leaders like me, the words he shouted are not a distant memory. When he talked about the “tens of thousands of them, born out of wedlock, without parents, without supervision, without any structure, without any conscience developing” whom he demanded “must be cordoned off from the rest of society” because “a portion of them will become the predators 15 years from now," he was referring to our children, our students and our neighbors who are every bit as deserving of human dignity and a second chance in life where appropriate as any other American.

Many of the people locked up under the sentencing laws that Biden helped create are just now — two decades later — getting their first taste of freedom thanks to President Donald Trump’s signing of the First Step Act. Instead of condemning thousands of Black fathers to excessive prison terms away from their families, the First Step Act has given thousands of inmates a second chance to improve their circumstances and become productive members of society.
Opinion: Joe Biden defends damage he's done to Black community
That's rubbish, the bill that Trump signed only applies to Federal prisoners, for the prisoners locked up in State prisons, which is the vast majority, nothing changed.
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
That's rubbish, the bill that Trump signed only applies to Federal prisoners, for the prisoners locked up in State prisons, which is the vast majority, nothing changed.

Not my words. The words of a Black mother. Since this is about the relationship between Blacks and Biden I was a little curious about their view. Didn't really see it as my place to comment either way.
I wasn't trying to support Trump but curious why some Blacks still have an issue with Biden.
 
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