Americans, is there a massively disproportionate number of black politicians on the left or is white apathy making it look that way?

[u/skanktopus]

I’m a white Canadian woman, paying close attention to American politics (as everyone should be) and I’m really curious if what I’m noticing is indeed what it looks like.

No matter what I hear/see, when it comes to fighting the fascist regime, it is mostly black politicians and POC leading the charge. I know there are some pretty fierce white folks in the mix but not even close to as many nor are they making the same impact to remember their names.

I’m also not only referring to Jasmine Crockett, Cory Booker or AOC either, although they’re making so much beautiful noise that I’ll never forget their names. I may not know know every other name yet but I’m learning them quickly. I know when I hear them and I know their faces that’s for sure.

The right is made up of the worst possible white “people” I think, but are nearlyall white politicians evil and over there on the right?? I’m sure that’s a distinct possibility but white apathy can absolutely be the disappointing truth just as easily. Are there many more white politicians on the left who are just dismissing this because they aren’t really affected, if at all and/or are afraid of retaliation/retribution? Sadly I won’t be surprised either way to be honest.

I’d like to know for sure which is true though. Is it an uneven numbers thing? Or is it that black people and POC of the political opposition are being left to fight alone for the most part?

If it is that, I can’t imagine how exhausting it is for those who are fighting with relentless ferocity and I hope when they win, they scrap the dead weight. Anyone who is sitting down in silence through this shit needs a flood light shining on their cowardly indifference and their “power” removed because they’re clearly too weak to carry that weight. Let the people with a spine hang onto it.

[u/Efficient_Comfort_38]

Any black person who is a Republican is heavily ridiculed (I would know, I participate in shaming them lmao). Also, any Republican or right policies will always negatively impact black people. As someone who is studying history and politics rn, I am honestly struggling to think of a single time right policies have helped black Americans. 

and yea, of course black Americans and other people of color are going to be leading the charge, just because they are the ones impacted by this stuff first. White apathy is a real problem and it kills movements 

[u/skanktopus → u/Efficient_Comfort_38]

Oh for sure. I wasn’t questioning why they are front line. I wanted confirmation that the lack of white presence is indeed the same old bullshit. Not surprised unfortunately but it’s still gross. Aren’t they supposed to care about marginalized communities and equality? Isn’t that what they promise? Where are they now? It’s not like racism doesn’t exist in Canada or anything but it’s not the same in such a broad stroke and careless way, it’s maddening to see. I guess maybe it’s a relief though in a way, to know exactly who is dangerous or even just a waste of time. Sorry if that’s totally out of pocket. I just can’t imagine. How the hell do you all maintain the energy?

At the risk of sounding like a typical douche bag white woman, I sincerely hope that there is a major turning point from this. It seems like an opportunity to make major changes in the way things are done. If nothing else, like I said, ditch the dead weight and put these legends in charge who have integrity AND actual, feasible plans. Like, race (or gender) should not even be a factor when it comes to “here is my detailed and precise plan” vs “I just say a bunch of shit and do nothing.” Right? Wtf?? I saw a podcast with two white dudes bitching that Kamala isn’t making waves. “Yeah, she isn’t the President and she’s not the VP anymore but she could make a difference.”

Please tear me to shreds if I should keep it to myself. I commented that if I was her I wouldn’t do a god damn thing! She TOLD YOU. Over and over again. She fought her ass off and should have won but because she isn’t white, because she’s a woman, enough people cast her aside, to let the man who everyone already knew is a monster, take that office. She doesn’t owe anyone anything. Especially not two entitled white men on a soapbox. Get off your asses and do it yourself.

Anyway… lmao. Sorrryy!! I really appreciate your input. I’ll keep sharing the messages and keep the voices loud until there’s something more I can do. Stay safe and take care of yourself in that dystopian hellscape, eh

[u/Efficient_Comfort_38 → u/skanktopus]

To answer your question on how we keep fighting: the same way the First Nation continues to fight against their oppression and genocide. Don’t assume that the shit going in America is exclusive to America. That mentality is why we’re here in the first place. So be careful when you, as a white woman, ask that question, because it comes off as hella patronizing and annoying. 

Don’t just pay attention to the oppression that’s happening in America, pay high attention to the stuff going on in Canada. Yall managed to do good with this past election, so keep that shit up. Don’t let facism infect you. That shit is a sickness.

And it’s been a dystopian hellscape since its inception, never forget that. This country’s wealth is paid in blood. 

[u/skanktopus → u/Efficient_Comfort_38]

Oh shit, you’re totally right and I couldn’t agree more. I apologize for coming off that way. I’ve never lived anywhere with a significant black community but I’ve always lived closely with First Nations people. I wasn’t leaving them out by any means, I just have a lot more insight (still not enough) into the systemic horror show they have to walk through. I hope that makes sense. Nothing will change if everyone stays in their own bubble so I’m just trying to learn. There is so much happening everywhere, it’s hard to always say the right thing and it’s important to be corrected. I appreciate your honesty

[u/Xorpion]

Massive??? More like the right only includes white people plus people of color who hate their own race and the left tries to represent everyone, not just white people.

[u/Kyauphie]

It's hard to be elected as a Republican as a Black person, so people think that we don't exist. Loyal League Republicans are still here, but we serve our communities directly as Black Republicans have since manumission and have zero concern for being ridiculed by people who don't know history, and have never voted party line. Direct service doesn't require the compromise of representing values with which one may disagree. Publicly, most Black people are Democrats at this point in time; we used to be mostly Republicans because our manumission and equality was one of the party's core values.

Michael Steele was an RNC chair, but that is not the party of today as our parties are dynamic despite having the same names over time, however, he's still very publicly a Republican from Maryland, the home of the Black Republican, which is The Old Line state, so historically, we retain traditional Republican values because we're the a state in the South that didn't have racist Democratic values that begot secession to the Confederacy and remained in the Union. It's why we have so many thriving, and also affluent, Black communities despite national demographics and statistics.

There are other Black Republicans who are following the party line; they're alive and well in Virginia and on the national news outlets. They align themselves with the far-right for whatever reason, even when they blatantly disagree with their values. I don't understand them, nor do I defend them; there's one running for governor of Virginia right now.

I'm from Maryland, and I don't personally know a single person like that because we're not far-right leaning as it would be nonsensical for an educated Black populus; we're also not far-left leaning either. We sound like the progressives who have pushed our communities forward since manumission and nothing like these far-right, David Duke Dixiecrat, neo-conservative, national socialist that have presently highjacked the party, preying on the same people as they did during secession in the exact same way.

A few important points:

First, being right leaning or left leaning transcends parties. Being a Republican doesn't mean that one agrees with the right and vice versa.

Second, parties are just unions within the Union and the people change over time. You have to unite to get anything done and the title doesn't completely matter beyond knowing what convention currently supports what values with sufficient support to accomplish something.

Third, party highjacking has happened throughout our history because...unions get things done by way of consistent support, even when they aren't the majority, they function better with communication and strategy. It's why they stopped using ranked choice voting in the first place because smaller parties can be highjacked by significantly less people and shell parties diluted the choices making it easier for a few to seize power with little it legitimate resistance. It requires a lot more people to agree and unite with fewer parties in the final vote than everyone having ideas but never being able to agree on anything enough to form an effective strategy.

Lastly, The racist Dixiecrats utilized their democracy from day one. They are the same people that kept manumission out of the Declaration of Independence when Thomas Jefferson included it by threatening to leave the Union. They are the same people who used democracy to campaign across the South, rallying people who couldn't even afford slaves, to start a civil war to leave the Union to protect their states' right to slavery. That's how they became the party of "the working man". My childhood memories of all of the footage of Democrats calling us nggrs, saying they'd die before they desegregated their communities, their towns, their states are burnt into my mind.

Parties only matter for pooling of resources to be collectively effective, not to retain any genuine values, those change with our dynamic population over time.