I haven't been writing here in quite a while. Personal stuff and an introspective examination of where I do and don't feel connected have generated a significant pause in my external communications.
So, I may be late the party here. Perhaps, someone else has said this. Still, I'll add my two cents.
I heard about the Black Lives Matter protest at Netroots Nation. I've heard that people have been upset with BLM for disrupting so-called allies or misusing a space or being disrespectful or whatever other critiques people have.
My first thought when I heard: "True allies would have handed over the mic."
Imagine what a positive buzz it would have been if Bernie Sanders had invited BLM members up to the stage to speak, rather than chastising them, shushing them and leaving the stage. Imagine ....
Allies let the oppressed speak for themselves whenever they can.
Allies give away their privilege whenever they can. In this case, the privilege of being connected enough to have a stage to speak from and an audience to speak to.
Allies don't dictate how, when, where the oppressed fight their oppression.
Allies admit that they benefit from the oppression of those they are allied with.
Allies don't put their own agenda ahead of the oppression of others.
Allies don't complain about being inconvenienced or disrespected or pull the "we're your allies, how dare you?!" card when they feel uncomfortable.
Allies don't shame those fighting their oppression.
It wasn't the BLM members who created the divide people are talking about today, or the "circular firing squad" I've seen referenced. That divide already exists. Activists have to remind us that black lives matter because every day the lived experience is that they don't. That no one cares enough to value black lives above their own comforts, or to prioritize black lives over their own concerns.
If there is division amongst civil rights activists today it is because of how people responded to BLM.
The most generative, healing response would have been to invite them up to the stage and give them the mic. They don't get access to stages with large politically active audiences. They disrupt because its the only way they get attention. Like every PR professional will tell you, "bad" press is as good as "good" press. If they can't get good press via their allies - do any supportive politicians ever think to invite BLM speakers onto their stages? - then they'll have to take the bad press.
For a white politician who claims to be supportive of BLM and civil rights to react the way Bernie Sanders did is for him to wield his privilege at the oppressed. I'm sure he was surprised. I'm sure he's not used to being interrupted or upstaged. But those things he's not used to are signs of his privilege, not of his superiority or superior purpose. He could have recovered from the surprise and been graceful. How different it all would have looked if he had said, "we have a rare opportunity here, one that we could create more often. Let's have members of Black Lives Matters come up to the stage and speak. Let's bear witness to their pain. Let's commit to their work as part of our campaign."
What a transformational candidacy he would have, if he embraced BLM and started inviting them on the campaign trail. He could invite other groups, too. Immigrants. Native Americans. Muslims. Women. Transpeople. Instead of speaking for them, claiming to be an ally, he could clear space for them to speak for themselves. He could give them the long-deserved microphones and stages and have them lead him to a truly revolutionary campaign.
It's not too late. I hope some Bernie Sanders supporters will have a talk with him and that he can find his way to responding differently and offering something different.
Meanwhile, I find it ironic to watch people with privilege - or who have latched themselves onto privilege - complaining about BLM when the fact that Netroots Nation is in Arizona is a matter of controversy itself. The board of NN ignored the sentiments of a non-white founder and overrode his boycott call. They claimed that other non-white people had a different perspective and they were actually being allies by going. Yet, look how they respond to BLM ....