via
http://ift.tt/2jUDXM9:
thismessedupworld:
Roy Moore might have lost the election, but let’s not forget:
That roughly half of Alabamians knowingly and willingly voted for a pediphile
That a man who believes homosexuality should be illegal and Muslims shouldn’t hold public office has been a federal judge responsible to uphold American law
That Moore believes the Amendments past 10 should be eliminated, and he almost represented a state in Congress
That not only Trump, but the entire RNC chose to back Moore
That Black Alabamians (specifically black women) are the main reason for this political upset
That these Black voters were not targeted by Jones until the very end because of fear of losing the white vote
That Black Alabamians changed this vote DESPITE disenfranchisement and institutional hurdles
That there are more elections coming in 2018 and 2020
That if a Democrat can win Alabama, then the Republican Party better be shaking in their cowboy boots
Christ almighty, this gets so much shit just plain wrong and is needlessly reductive about the rest. I’ve seen it go by and been sort of like meh whatever up until now but by now I have seen this so many times and my heart screams out, fucking educate yourself. If this is the best Tumblr as a viral mass can do– fucking, educate yourself.
if you care about current events, do not rely on viral Tumblr posts. I hate Twitter but that’s where actual facts get posted, apparently, though there as here you have to curate a bit to find people who know what the fuck they’re talking about. This post right here is clearly someone’s heartfelt and well-intentioned feelingsvomit post, and that’s great, but it’s being treated like it’s truth by a lot of people, and the sheer repetition is giving it an authority it does not warrant by any fucking stretch.
SO, number one: For the record, it’s not half of Alabamians that voted for Roy fucking Moore. It’s half of the Alabamians who turned up to vote, who voted for him. I’m really fucking sick of Hot Takes where they conflate voters with population. Not the same! Likewise half of America did not vote for fucking Trump. THINK about that.
The previous election for that seat, Jeff Sessions ran unopposed. He got about 795,000 votes. There were 22,000 write-ins.
(Think about that, by the way. A national-level election. The Democrats were so sure they couldn’t win that they didn’t show up.)
(There were about 22,000 write-ins this election too. Surprisingly consistent.)
A lot of Alabamians who would have voted Republican did not come out for this election. They couldn’t vote for a Democrat, but they weren’t going to vote for a pedophile either.
And the other difference?
The DNC sent money and people to support Jones.
They spent a lot of that money through the NAACP, and they used it to get out the vote. I haven’t seen a source on the allegation that Jones didn’t target the Black vote until the end, but I have seen the great Twitter thread about where the work got done.
Another big factor: a large number of formerly disenfranchised people had their right to vote restored in May, after the Alabama governor clarified the wording of a law that had prevented former felons from voting. And, in the current climate, there were programs (and funding for those programs) to help them through the complex process of registering to vote. More on that, and Florida’s attempt to do the same, here.
(Also, I’m sick to my fucking teeth of takes on White Women: here’s a great thread about how most of the white women voting Moore are Evangelical, which is an entirely different beast than your generic Becky at the PTA. Yes, we white women need to hold one another accountable but have you ever tried to talk to an Evangelical about anything?? They are as foreign to me as if they were from another planet, they are emphatically not “my own kind” and I have no more insight into them than I would any other demographic. This is not me “not-all-white-women”ing, this is me saying this is not my wheelhouse and I am as confounded as you. We need to listen to those raised in that culture for insight into what is making white Evangelical women vote the way they do.)
(Side note: phenomenal analysis here from Leah McElrath on white identity politics.)
(Side side note: why is holding white men accountable for their vote just off the table by default???)
If you care about news analysis, your best bet is to follow Sarah Kendzior, who wrote up a really great article for the Globe and Mail– remember that guy who opined that rape never resulted in pregnancy because in legitimate cases the woman’s body would shut it down? and how he was hounded out and McCaskill got her seat? what a contrast, now, that a man who thinks homosexuality should be illegal would get as far as 49% of the vote in a national Senate race.– but there was another great thread about how on earth Roy Moore got this far. Ah, here it is, by Alex Burns of the NYT.
In short– yes, we need to thank Black Alabamians in particular for this, but we also need to pay fucking attention to the fact that the clear lesson here is that anyone who cares about a democratic society needs to invest actual resources in underserved communities, over the long term. Enough fucking hot takes on “economic anxiety”. Invest in Black voters. Donate to Black women’s campaigns.
Here’s a phenomenal resource thread collating all the current election campaigns of Black women, compiled for your convenience.
(Your picture was not posted)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
