Some thoughts on what I’m seeing tonight...

There are offensive votes and defensive votes.

Many older black voters sacrificed by making defensive votes their entire lives in order to free up younger generations to be able to step out on faith and make more offensive votes.

That’s why I really am sensitive to the disrespect I’m watching be thrown at Black voters, especially older and/or Southern ones. Calling folks dumb, cowardly, “low information.”

Don’t have to agree w their choice, but respect is due.

Which means that in a prayerfully post-Trump world, there are many Black voters’ whose calculus is stability, not change. Many feel Biden is our best chance to be trump... they feel that “he ain’t perfect by far, but at least I know him.” If you listen, that’s what Clyburn said.

A lot of Black voters, old and young, southern and not, frankly *do not trust white centrists and independents to vote for a progressive.* the electability equation for some is “girl you know how white folks are-they ain’t voting for _____.”

That doesn’t mean voters who think like this are “establishment” or “low information” or another pejorative.

Think to yourself why a Black person who’s lived long enough doesn’t really trust white folks’ private actions. It’s valid, even if you don’t agree w their choice.

There are also older Black voters who are radical, have always been or become more so, and young Black voters who are more moderate, find Joe familiar, and/or also don’t trust White voters’ private actions. There are Black voters of all ages who straight like him.

A lot is true

I believe in progressive politics and policy. I do my level best in my daily work to imagine and work toward the world that everyone says is impossible but which *must* be true for all of us to thrive.

But I understand. I understand harm reduction cause we’ve always had to do it

Being Black in America is deeply complex-more complexity than one vote will allow. Flattening Black voters to fit a narrative that makes you feel better is unwise and disrespectful, lacks context & truth. We actually *are not a monolith.* That’s not just some clever line.

So let’s stop:
-Lumping in all Black voters with one another
-being disrespectful and derisive to people who’ve suffered in ways you can’t imagine
-have productive conversations about substantive differences with love and care.
-stop paternalizing voters of color.

Also, some things are a family conversation.

I said this here for the sake of general understanding but...

PSA: If you are anything but Black, the generational conversations, healing and understanding that Black folks have to do is for US.

For the record, I’m not even talking about me.

I’m just saying. A lot of these “hot takes” from folks who don’t seem to know any actual black people not online and I just...thought y’all should know it’s complicated and we’re allowed to be complex.

Morning.

Just here to remind you that this thread is analysis meant to illuminate the thinking of some Black voters who keep being disrespected, but deserve to be contextualized.

It is not promoting it, merely demystifying it & defending their right to make their choice.

Black voters want change. We NEED change. Some just feel the only path there is through stabilization first-because they believe Biden is someone who can actually beat Trump as step 1.

And some would have given their vote to a progressive if they felt they could truly beat Trump.

But they watched a woman lose* to Trump last time and don’t think a dem. Socialist will ge the votes. Some of them have also feel insulted by the latter & his fans which...don’t help.

All that to say, once again, this thing called “the Black vote” is not and has never been a single thing and context matters.

It is not Black voters that deserve your blame (we warned y’all the first time!).

Nor is it Black voters that deserve your judgmental scrutiny. Judge the system that impedes many marginalized voters’ freedom to vote *solely* from their heart.