This week the reader discussion was on the limits of electoral democracy in the United States and the accommodation of diversity in American imperialism. âThe âFeminismâ of Rich, Mass Murdering Women,â âFreedom Rider: Trump, Democrats, and International Fascists Attack Venezuela,â and âWhen Politicians Use Marginalized People As Shieldsâ made you pen responses.
âFreedom Rider: Trump, Democrats, and International Fascists Attack Venezuelaâ by Margaret Kimberly that both the forces behind Trump and the those behind the liberal resistance are on the same page on the fascist attack on the Latin American nation.
Tom Graf writes:
âI appreciate Ms. Kimberley calling out (yet again) the total hypocrisy of the Democrats in this latest pathetic US move to undermine democracy and the endless Russian meddling chorus.
That said, I do take exception to the reference of the Gore and Clinton campaigns of being cheated out of the election. Iâm all for getting rid of the electoral college, but to assume that if we didnât have that the elections would have tilted in these two candidates favors is not knowable. How many Texans, for example, donât bother to vote because they know it's going âred.â Many I can tell you as a citizen of the state. And it must be noted that these two candidates ran hoping to game the Electoral College. Hillary did so blatantly by ignoring states she thought she had in the bag.
âPopular vote-count presidential elections would be an improvement as it would force candidates to more accountability to all voters. Thatâs what we should be peddling on the progressive side of the equation.â
In âThe âFeminismâ of Rich, Mass Murdering Womenâ Dean Spade points out thefallacy in âthe logic that any population should know itâs free when it has the opportunity to become executioners, police or soldiers and work inside those institutions that produce harm.â
Kathleen Murphy writes:
âIf the KKK were to start hiring white women and people of color to do their work, NONE of us would be fooled. So, why are we fooled when the mass-murdering corporate power structure does it with our government? Martin Luther King dreamed we'd dismantle "the world's greatest purveyor of violence," not that someday a black man would be at the helm of it, no?â
Doug Herrschaft writes:
âThe diversity con. People want a chance to participate, but never ask themselves if what they want to participate in is worthy of them and their efforts. Would they have fought so hard to join the Luftwaffe?â
In âWhen Politicians Use Marginalized People As Shieldsâ Teodrose Fikre warns about the Democratic Partyâs use of identity politics in the 2020 presidential election. Speaking of candidates of color like Kamala Harris he goes on to say: âWe should be even harder on those who should know better and choose to amplify injustices.â
Makheru Speaks writes:
âThat is the absolute truth and it should be the global political mantra for Afrikan people. Neocolonialism has been the bane of Afrikan people for the past 50 years. It reached its zenith in the United States under Barack Obama -- the most brilliant stroke of disguised hypocrisy in American political history. Others are lining up to be first at the feeding troth of neoliberal white supremacy and to emulate Obamaâs servitude to the American oligarchic psychopathocracy.
We desperately need to break the monopoly which the corrupt two-party system has on our minds and see these self-aggrandizing neocolonial politicians for what they are.â
Marc Salomon writes:
âPower has learned to tip its bayonets with women and people of color.â
Certainly, power has adapted to maintain its hegemony over the masses. However, it is through the work we do here that can clarify the ideological struggle for movements challenging power.
Jahan Choudhryis Comments Editor for Black Agenda Report. He is an organizer with the Saturday Free School based in Philadelphia, PA.
A 1989 talk by Black feminist Beverly Smith reminds us that for Black women, the right to abortion can be a womanâs right to life.
Contributing Editor Ann Garrison continues her reporting from the Horn of Africa. She is once again in Ethiopia.
John Parker is the Socialist Unity Party candidate for U.S. Senate in California on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket. Parker is on a fact-finding trip observing the U.S./NATO proxyâŚ
This weekâs featured author is Nick Nesbitt. Nesbitt is Professor of French and Italian at Princeton University. His book is The Price of Slavery: Capitalism and Revolution in the Caribbean.
