Bernie Sanders - 'When You're White You Don't Know What It's Like To Be Poor'

a reply to: IridescentPhoenix

Sure but did you grow up poor in a black ghetto. I know for a fact it is much different than the poor white neighborhoods you and I grew up in.

a reply to: conscientiousobserver

The pistol toting drug slangin' "black ghettos" are not at all different from the pistol toting meth cookin' "trailer trash" parks you can find all over the midwest..Besides that, you pretty much always have white people living in black ghettos as well(&vice versa)....being poor is not some exclusive yacht club where you have to be black(or any "race" for that matter) to live there...example...Marshall Mathers(Eminem)..

He and his mother were one of three white households on their block and he was routinely beaten by the African-American youths there in Michigan...

Maybe ole' Bernie doesn't know what it's like to struggle...but some of us do...

A2D

Every candidate has to do something to attract voters just like every rap artist talks # about other artists in general.

When it comes to the issue of racism in America NO WHITE PERSON WILL EVER BE ABLE TO SAY ANYTHING TO MAKE AMMENNDS IN HOPES OF BRINGING US CLOSER TOGETHER.

Bernie Sanders was obviously frustrated with Clinton during the debate. Especially considering she is trying really hard to bury Sanders.

But can you at least give Sanders credit in at least making a real attempt to try and stop the establishment from saying all blacks are "unwilling to learn?" I know it is a far stretch from what his rebutall was the next morning but when you have someone like Hillary Clinton saying words like "firewall" making it seem like blacks only have one choice in a presidential candidate? While at the same time indoctrinating the thought that American history will only have on record only one black president?

The way that Hillary is speaking suggests that there will never be another black president. Especially considering they are not allowing President Obama to appoint a Supreme Court justice seat.

Oh please don't tell me you Americans are just going to glaze over this with Hillary and thinking bad about Sanders along the way.

Take the time to look at the bigger picture once in a while and maybe, just maybe, this mistake will actually help to create a much better vision for the portrait of America in 2017 and beyond.

a reply to: GiulXainx

I don't think being frustrated with someone in a debate can EVER justify such a ridiculous comment. Sanders is just as ignorant as the rest of the candidates.

Which STD do you want? #voting2016

A2D

a reply to: Agree2Disagree

So you think we should just vote for Trump then?

I think the real problem when it comes to racism is one group of people doesn't want to let the other group understand them at all. They want to remain mysterious to other.

In my own experience with people of different nationalities is they want to keep up those psychological walls because they are afraid of being the same.

And each time I run into someone other than being considered white I get this odd vibe from them like they want me to not even exist. Even though I did nothing more than suddenly appear in front of them.

So the ignorance on both sides needs to stop being so stagnant and finally sort itself out so we as a body of individuals can properly prosper. Instead of having to remove a thorn from our toes every x number of steps we take.

a reply to: GiulXainx

I didn't even mention Mr. Trump...that being said... I think you should vote for whoever you think is the best candidate. All I'm saying is that if I had a candidate worth his/her weight in nickles and dimes, I'd vote for that one...but unfortunately we only get stinky piles of $@#% this year...in the end, they're all bound to screw somethin up....it IS politics after all...

A2D

Ouch... all the Bern with none of the benefits.

originally posted by: Konduit

First and foremost I'm both a Sanders supporter as well as a Trump supporter and practically anyone who isn't propped up by the establishment.

But this has to be one of the biggest gaffes in the history of politics. I'm really disappointed. Not only has the racial pandering reached a whole new height but Sanders is literally stepping on the demographic that he does best with. And the fact that some of his supporters on social media, especially the SJW's, want to justify these words just leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I guess the people I see panhandling outside of my complex on a daily basis, which happen to be mostly white, is just my imagination running wild. I guess living out of a minivan for over a year while looking for a sustainable job was just a complete fantasy. I guess every time I get hassled by police for having tattoos and every time I get arrested for having a dime bag on me is just an urban legend.

Sorry, but I really felt the "Bern" on this one.

Has...Bernie..looked...in...the...mirror....he in fact, is, white.

Pandering is a politicians first tool...none of them really 'care' about we the people...they care about themselves, self-interests and who's going to fill their pockets...how did the 'least of us' get into the position to lead us all?

Sickens me.

Question for the OP, I don't know you from the next person, but I'm 1,000,000,000% confident you could do a better job than any of them currently running. Feel like making a grassroots effort to but a break in the never-ending-cycle of career politicians?

Our current 'leader' is anything but, and the last few white house occupants have left me wondering if they were ever even remotely interested in the job they campaigned for so diligently....

a reply to: BlackboxInquiry


Here's a problem I see... Cynicism that the politicians don't really care, and then acceptance that a grassroots effort is needed to make change. Grassroots efforts DO happen, but as soon as that person hits the TV screen, CYNICISM labels them part of the problem. People need to drop the cynicism. There are people in the game who want to help.

If only there was a current candidate with a strong grassroots movement, with a history of caring about people, and political positions that seek to help.... Oh wait.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Quetzalcoatl14

The problem is that people are not left to be people.

And when we spend all this time "educating," I think what we really end up doing is training a whole new generation of racists on both sides. But hey, that works out swell for the activists because it's job security.

By education I mean for example investing in education opportunity for low income or otherwise disadvantaged people. A lot of conservatives agree with this, as it is empowering people from the bottom up to become self sufficient regarding economic opportunity.

As my posts have noted, I do think that the constant race pandering is creating some people of color who give themselves license to say anything they want about white people, accurate or not. A lot of bigotry is now excused if it is leveled against white people.

originally posted by: Kitana

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Quetzalcoatl14

The problem is that people are not left to be people.

And when we spend all this time "educating," I think what we really end up doing is training a whole new generation of racists on both sides. But hey, that works out swell for the activists because it's job security.

The part in bold is the point. All any of this is, is job security. It's not about poverty, its not about helping people. It's politicians offering hand-outs so they keep their cushy jobs, its about the researchers and bureaucrats keeping their cushy jobs. This experiment is one which has nothing to do with poverty, or being kept down "by the man", or police brutality, it has nothing to do with any of it.

If your white, everyone around you tells you to pick your self up by the boot straps, focus focus focus, graduate high school and attend at least some college, if not go for a 4 year degree and no matter what don't go off the rails into party-ville along the way, they tell you don't marry until at least the age of 21 because research shows that your less likely to perpetuate the poverty cycle if you do these things.

But we are told blacks and minorities can't pull themselves up by their boot straps, we are told it's white people's fault that they cannot manage the same things we can in the same circumstances, that its the fault of white people somehow that they cannot focus on education, that its the fault of white people that they are drawn to crime, its the fault of white people that they cannot do the same things we have to, even in the same circumstances. They aren't white, so they are incapable of the same things. We have to give them more because they are incapable without more help than any white man ever got. We have to give them more because cops hate them.

But it's all BS. They can do the same things we can. The point of all this woah is me, is to perpetuate the cycle of poverty for the benefit of others, the point of lying to the American people, is to convince them we have to do the things which only perpetuate the cycle because they are incapable of the same things we are. And its BS for job security, is BS for votes, its just complete BS that blacks are too ignorant to do the same things we both are asked to do, and can do.

They aren't too ignorant, and its not our fault. They can pull themselves up from their circumstance if they want, if they focus, if they do the same things we have to do to pull ourselves up. We are being sold nothing but a lie for the job security of others - and the racists who think they deserve the hand-outs more than they deserve to be treated as equals.

Well, they are the racists. Not whites who say the blacks can do the same things we can. Not the whites. Its the blacks who think they deserve their life and livelihood given to them, and the politicians, intellectuals and bureaucrats who earn their livelihood by these means. They are the racists, and they are perpetuating the biggest lie ever and selling it to Americans who are buying it hook line and sinker.

It's all nothing but one big lie.

That's false. A LOT of us work extremely hard on poverty issues. For example, I can tell you that I spent countless hours, degrees, thousands of dollars, and a LOT of either volunteer or low paid time working on these issues. Very few of people in my field have a "cushy job." Most of us have the education and experience to be making a LOT more money in let's say the private sector.

Even those who do have good jobs in the field, as let's say a manager or director of some organization, are making far less than the equivalent position in the private sector. They may be making $60,000 or $80,000, with 10-20 years of experience and lots of education, while their counterparts make double or triple that in the private sector...

Most people are making next to nothing, as in $35,000 a year or something.

a reply to: spiritualzombie

It's all lip-service and the solution is half-baked, in more ways than one.

a reply to: BlackboxInquiry


Then you should look for someone such as the OP to maybe start a grassroots movement to chang--- Wait, nope, that went to far. The OP doesn't really care about anyone, just part of the problem. What we need is someone, a person of the people--- Nope, imaginary person doesn't really care about any of us. Damn, if only we didn't rubber stamp every person who jumps in the ring as 'not really caring'.

originally posted by: burgerbuddy
Poor is a state of mind.

Even if you can't feed your kids?
Sorry..

originally posted by: kaylaluv
a reply to: burgerbuddy

He is talking about generational poverty among a group who has suffered systematic racism for a couple of hundred years (in this country).

Whites as a whole have not suffered generational poverty, or faced systematic racism throughout the history of this country.

Historically I think Bernie was trying to say.
Bl@ck people grew through rape, murder, inequality and of course slavery.
Pity he said in this way

Well doesn't that just put the nastiest sour note onto the cases heard about not very often, but that take a grip on you if youre unlucky enough to hear it reported where a white seemingly well to do businessman is discovered to have lived several years desperately trying to fix his finances but to no avail and rather that tell his family he is a "failure," he is so far in shock that he convinces himself his family wouldn't love him if they knew he didn't do well in his business endeavors and takes the lives of his family and then himself in a final attempt to keep the ones he loves by his side. Very ill way of reacting but I can think of many scenarios like this where if you tell me a white person cant be poor, and at the absolute rock bottom of it, then your statement shows just the same level of poor judgement

I read the OP, maybe in terms of stereo types the poor white man don't know city poor like the black man, but he knows country poor and living in a shed to a extent...

But for real that statement he made is just plain silly, there's poor folks in every race and in every city, country county ect ect ect....

Well bummer that Bernie used such a "poor" choice of words to make his point. I'm still voting for him. I think this is one of those areas where his age has influenced how he sees the world. In his lifetime he has seen racism in ways many of us never have. I also think that that one of the reasons we are seeing such popularity with both Trump and Sander's is because the BS that blacks have had to put up with has now started to be imposed on whites.

Some examples would be harassment by police and record numbers of people being thrown in jail, predatory loans, lack of good jobs, crumbling infrastructure and communities, lousy schools, to name a few.

I dont believe he is pandering

I think he truly thinks black people are forever victims

I think he truly thinks women are paid 72 cents on the dollar for a man for the same exact job

I think he truly believes many of the misinformation and terrible mindsets being pushed, because it once was true when he was young, because indeed black people were at one point victims, because women were generally second class, but thing is, times change.

He hasn't changed though, or recognized the change. I think he needs less ideals, and more facts. He isn't a bad guy..arguably the only honest politician I have seen in awhile. Honesty means nothing if you got bad facts and are honestly being short sighted.

originally posted by: greydaze
Such BS..You're wrong Bern,Go to some parts of Appalachia...

You're right. My parents grew up very poor in that very area of the country. They worked hard, moved to a bigger city where there were good jobs, etc. No freaking hand outs or an ounce of help from the government.

So long Bernie, not interested in you anymore.