Our strategy is to leverage our votes for actual benefits...
does that mean only voting when you feel it benefits you? that's not really a strategy fam. you should vote off rip from a strategic perspective.
it seems bothsides look to politicians as a savior. that's not what that is. political representation is a tool and should be used in combination with economic and social pressure. like our peoples did back in the 50s and 60s. the gov had to interfere in our communities and with our leadership to stall that progress. and then a lot of us took our foot off the gas to be honest.
a recent snapshot in time of how exerting political and social pressure works to our favor is summer/fall 2020. businesses and politicians had to fall back. sustaining that type of effort is very difficult, but that's very likely what it will take.
....but it's impossible when people like you won't even PRETEND to be willing to not vote Democrat to pressure them into bending the knee.
people like me...
fam, i can only hope that you've done as much for black folks in your circle as i have. and i don't tell people how to vote.
that said, most black folks are practical and vote for those more likely to advance our political agenda (or at least not block it). in a national election, when my choice comes down to one or the other, i'm voting dem because they are far less likely to railroad us compared to repubs. for example, only one of the potus candidates said straight up he would block any idea of reparations. only one guy is dead set on scaling back previously enshrined protections and safety nets for the less fortunate. fukk that guy, i don't need him or his minions in the way.
If Black people 20-40 years or so ago all said "no tangibles, no vote" in unison, and stuck to it, we wouldn't even be here...
you seem to think these politicians would suffer without the black vote. they'd still have their jobs. they'd still get lobbied. they won't be hurting for shyt. repubs would consolidate even more power and try to do even more evil shyt. again, it takes more than just voting, but it and also take more than just voting for president. there's non-political work to be done and very few folks committed to doing it.
The Democrats would have folded or lost, and then been forced to fold, and Black people would probably be in infinitely better shape, and reparations would be in progress, or on the way. There's a decent chance Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, etc. would be alive. Black people's fear and willingness to go along to get along with Benign Neglect is why we're circling the drain.
i agree dems have been pussified when it comes to using the power given. repubs are ruthless. dems want to meet people in the middle or come to a consensus. fukk that. the supreme court says you can get away with murder...at lest flex like you might use it.
as for the brehs and brehettes taken by those power tripping boys...they deserve justice. period point blank. i also know there would be even more of us murdered or caught in the prison cycle unjustly if we let repubs run wild. do the knowledge on incarceration rates and prison sentencing after dem admins compared to repubs. rates traditionally decline after dem admins, but increase after repub admins (or stay high in red governed states).
at the end of the day i'm all for benefits/tangibles and i've always been a supporter of reparations. you won't find me saying otherwise. i'm also don't have short term expectations given the history and systematic racism in this country. we can't depend on politics to save the day, but we need to make sure they aren't in the way. that may be the simplest difference between dems and repubs.
