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I think it is important for Joe Biden to choose the running mate he clicks with, someone he can trust and who will be comfortable in that position. My preference is Kamala, but I won't lose it if he chooses and another woman of color like Duckworth or Demings
#BidenHarris2020
#BidenHarris2020
But let's talk about the rank exploitation of racism that underlies the Kamala is a cop smear from the Sanders hive. You can see the racist logic that underlies it. Black people are over-policed, over-charged, and over-incarcerated by a racist criminal justice system, therefore
Black people must hate all law enforcement, therefore, associating Kamala Harris with the police will turn people against her. Berners actually thought Black people would be upset that murderers, child molesters, and rapists were prosecuted by her.
You can see this coming from the same white racism that associates all Black people with criminality. It would be amusing to see the people who claim identity politics is a distraction crafting an entire campaign based solely on racist assumptions if it weren't so damned racist
People of color are under-represented in criminal justice and that has grave consequences. Even things like dress codes keep some people of color out of the profession, though dress codes are being relaxed somewhat. But take the requirement that police be clean-shaven.
This discriminates against Black men who are more likely to have razor bumps that become inflamed (pseudofolliculitis barbae.) Here's a 93 case that Domino's Pizza lost about PFB
Or this in 1998, from Maryland regarding police beard bans.
Then the old prohibitions against tattoos were common in the past when API and Latinos were the most likely to have tattoos. Those prohibitions are gone now that tattooing has become more common with white people, too. Even in subtle ways, the police have privileged whiteness
It gets even worse if you look at the district attorneys & prosecutors. 95% of elected prosecutors are white. They are the people who make the decisions about who gets charged with what. By punishing Black people who run for this office, Berners ensure it remains a white enclave
Judges, white men are 58% of state court judges even though only a third of the population. Most state court judges are elected at large which means white candidates win more easily. They hear 95% of the cases tried https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/courts/news/2016/09/15/144287/racial-and-gender-diversity-sorely-lacking-in-americas-courts/
So, by claiming that a Black woman is a sellout because she challenged the white hegemony in the criminal justice system by seeking a job as a prosecutor the Sanders smear artists are telling any Black person with political ambition to stay away from the DA's office.
It is interesting that Lara Bazelon who wrote the tendentious NYTimes OpEd (no fact-checking on the Op-Ed page) maligns Kamala while her sister Emily who wrote the book on the need for more progressive prosecutors called her a reformer.
There are a few progressive prosecutors now, all elected in 2016 and 2018. When Kamala was elected, she was alone - not part of a national movement, but she still made huge changes to promote transparency and address bias.
Attacking Kamala as a "cop" was a way for white racists to pretend to be "woke." They're waving their hands saying see me being oh-so-aware of racism in the criminal justice system. Sure they are using it to attack a Black woman while ignoring the other prosecutor, Amy Klobuchar
Somehow John Kerry was not a "cop" either. The only candidate whose record was scrutinized was Kamala and she was held responsible for actions of the police department (not under her supervision) and by police in other counties.
It was bizarre how hard they worked and equally bizarre who uncritically other people in the media just ran with it without checking. That opinion piece was cited again and again without the particulars being fact-checked. The NYT imprimatur was enough, even with an opinion piece
One of the few pieces actually examining Bazelon's opinion essay was published in Medium - not in legacy media. https://medium.com/@gayleleslie/kamala-harris-fierce-prosecutor-vs-the-progressive-activist-lara-bazelons-big-fail-1f679b70663a
Lara Bazelon even took a bow, gloating over how well her opinion essay worked to derail Kamala's campaign. But is there a cheaper or more tawdry way to claim anti-racist credit than by making even working in criminal justice disqualifying for Black people https://theappeal.org/kamala-harris-criminal-justice-record-killed-her-presidential-run/
Haven't Bazelon and the "is a cop" thugs really just told Black people to stay out of criminal justice, to leave it to the white people to police, prosecute, and judge the law because if a Black person DARES to trespass on criminal justice, they will be taken down?
Because this was all in the service of this candidate so please, don't tell me they care about the criminal justice system.
The Kamala is a cop hashtag was all about performing racial justice activism while pushing a racist agenda of discouraging Black people from pursuing criminal justice careers and promoting a candidate who mocks civil rights organizing with scare quotes and identity politics
