My son just asked me if Biden is racist.

[Dream Girl]

My (Black)son who attends college in PA just texted me that his roommate (also black)told him that Biden is a racist. He really wanted me to provide him with background that refutes this, which I provided. I explained that the crime bill was was not even considered controversial at the time and was something black people wanted. I remember it very clearly. My son is pretty low information, he’s an athlete and into other things but he’s starting to get interested in politics and thinking about law school. Anyway,He saw both debates and registered to vote in PA (I’m in CA so don’t need his vote here!).I don’t know if this “Biden is a racist” thing is coming from Russian disinformation or the debates. I know my son is voting for Biden, but I’m finding this distressing because I’m hearing more about black males and disinformation...

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Both. Trump said it and disinformation supports it. It was a targeted drop in the debate. /nt

[Turin_C3PO]

2. Of course, Republicans are pushing that

but polls show Biden doing very well with African Americans. It’s not black people who we need to worry about voting for Trump. Biden has a good civil rights record. Yes, he’s admitted parts of the Crime Bill were a mistake but he’s done much to make up for that.

[TwilightZone]

3. There have been some targeted campaigns on social media pushing that kind of thing.

As I recall, both Twitter and Facebook have banned organizations from Russia and elsewhere pretending to be black voters and spreading disinfo about Biden.

[Barbara2423]

24. And you tell an American did that write that.

[Claustrum]

4. It is partly Russian disinformation and right wing talking points to drive the black voters

away from Biden. I've seen it a lot on twitter and reddit in the last year. Some people (caution, it could just be Russian bots) on the left used it to attack Biden in the primary as well.

Another example they liked to use is when Biden said "you ain't black if you don't vote for me".

[BannonsLiver]

5. This part of the process of awakening politically

Bravo to him for going to a good source. As for his roommate, the fact that he was a loyal Vice President to Barack Obama for 8 years and that he chose Kamala Harris as his running mate demonstrates at a very basic level he is not a racist. I mean there’s not a lot of research needed to get that basic info. There’s also a host of policy stuff that also indicates he is not a racist.

Send him this video and have him show it to his friends:

https://m.

[Dream Girl]

10. That's one of the things I said - would some as brilliant as Obama chose a racist? Also mentioned

Kamala and his overall progressive record. Send him a bunch of links too.

[Hekate]

6. Rev Al Sharpton was on Nicolle Wallace & gave an impassioned defense of Biden on that...

Among other things, he pointed out that Black ministers and other Black leaders also wanted this crime bill because of the steep rise in crime in Black communities in re the crack epidemic.

Rev Al made my jaw drop, because over the decades it has become an article of social justice faith that the crime bill was something imposed solely by Whites on the Black community.

[mopinko]

15. every member of the cbc voted for it.

[Hekate]

17. A fact apparently forgotten, because Rev Al's little history lesson was the first I'd heard mention

I’m old, I’m a lifelong Democrat, I try to keep up — but I’m not the Encyclopedia. In the current environment of Trump trying to destroy Joe Biden by any means necessary, Al Sharpton performed an invaluable service.

[Marcuse]

27. Maxine Waters and ten other members of the CBC opposed the Crime Bill.

A two thirds majority, including Chair Kweisi Mfume and Jim Clyburn voted aye. The bill included an assault weapons ban as well as funds for education and training.

Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, who as House majority whip is the highest-ranking black member of Congress, voted for the crime bill, and he made the same point in vivid terms.

In his first congressional race, in 1992, Clyburn once explained to an audience in the historic black enclave of Atlantic Beach that he opposed mandatory minimum prison sentences, which would become a feature of the 1994 legislation. “Those people darn near lynched me in that meeting, and there wasn’t a single white person in the room,” Clyburn told me. “The atmosphere back then—the scourge of crack cocaine and what it was doing in these African American communities—they were all for getting this out of their community.”

For his part, Clyburn is philosophical about his vote for the bill. “We operated on the theory that we were not going to lose in ’94,” he said. “We put stuff in there that we thought we would build on. But then we lost in 1994, and all of the punitive stuff, the Republicans kept all that and got rid of some of the good stuff.”

[link:https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/09/joe-biden-crime-bill-and-americans-short-memory/597547/|

Edit: Apologies to betsuni.

[Celerity]

31. No, they did not. Why post such easily debunked untruths?

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/13/opinion/did-blacks-really-endorse-the-1994-crime-bill.html

Ultimately, 26 of the 38 voting members supported the legislation. But those who broke ranks did so loudly: As Representative Robert C. Scott of Virginia explained, “You wouldn’t ask an opponent of abortion to look at a bill with the greatest expansion of abortion in the history of the United States, and argue that he ought to vote for it because it’s got some highway funding in it.”

Mr. Scott had it right: The bill allocated federal funds for up to 75 percent of the cost of new prisons, defined 60 new capital offenses, constricted inmates’ access to higher education and introduced 100,000 more police officers. Less than a quarter of the funding went to prevention programs. Over two decades later, this legislation continues to shape the lives of millions of African-Americans, overwhelmingly for the worse. This legislation further entrenched the idea that vulnerable urban communities are best managed through harsh punishment and heightened surveillance.

Making our neighborhoods places of mobility and fortune, not disinvestment and confinement, means that the voices of the people most affected must be heard and heeded. As we debate how to switch course, our popular understanding of the rise of “get tough” laws should not layer selective memory atop selective hearing of the past by justifying black incarceration with trite references to black voices.

[mopinko]

43. my bad. thank you.

i misremembered joe's comments about the cbc votes.
thank you for correcting the record.

[FakeNoose]

7. Are you kidding? Biden worked for, supported and admired a black man

... and helped him get elected TWICE. Biden was Obama's partner through it all, and Obama always got the credit because he was the President. Biden understood that he was 2nd Banana, and that was OK. On top of all that, they are friends. They GET each other and they enjoy each other's company to this day.

Do you know any racist who could have done that for 8 years? Could a racist white man do that at all? Biden has proven beyond a doubt, he's not a racist.

[GoCubsGo]

25. Thank you. That tells you all you need to know about him.

Apparently, critical thinking skills are no longer being taught in school these days?

[PTWB]

8. The simple fact is that times change.

Joe has been around a LONG time. We cannot hold his (or anyone’s) actions 30 years ago to the 2020 standard.

Joe acknowledges parts of the crime bill did not work. He’s learned what worked and what didn’t. His capacity to learn and grow is one of the reasons he’s a good leader.

Joe’s obviously NOT got a racist bone in his body. He was Obama’s pick for heaven’s sake!!

[stillcool]

9. this is an interesting video..

about 2016, and considering what was done then, I can't imagine what they're doing now, but it's got to be intense.

The digital guru who helped Donald Trump to the presidency

Many of the "Tech Gods" were dismayed when Donald Trump - who holds a very different worldview - won the American presidency. But did they actually help him to win?

A key insider from the Trump campaign's digital operation - Theresa Hong - unravels for the first time the role played by social media and Facebook's in getting Trump into the White House.

Jamie Bartlett learns how Facebook's vast power to persuade was first built for advertisers, combining data about our internet use and psychological insights into how we think.

Watch Secr
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-40852227

https://themoscowproject.org/dispatch/how-cambridge-analytica-may-fit-into-the-collusion-investigation/

[babylonsister]

11. Begs the question, does his roommate support mf45?

If he's concerned about racists, start there.

Knowledge is powerful, but everyone yelling 'fake news' doesn't help.

[Dream Girl]

16. They are pretty young 19,20 athletes so sports are their lives.

It’s their first time voting. If,his roommates doesn’t vote for Biden, I doubt he’d vote.

[babylonsister]

18. I wasn't that interested in politics for a lot of years.

They were delightfully boring in retrospect.

[cwydro]

33. He may be an athlete, but he's still a college student.

I find that disappointing that a college student is "low information" as you call it.

[LeftInTX]

42. I was

I really didn't care until Reagan came along.

I graduated from HS in 1974. I thought the KKK, Barry Goldwater etc were a "thing of the past" until Reagan came along. I was like, WTF...we're going backward here....I really thought there had been change. I had no idea it could reverse itself so quickly. I was 24 when Reagan was elected. (I voted for Ford in 76 and Carter in 80) Gosh election day 1980 was just awful. I was super busy with work, but I had friends drag me to the polls telling me, "Reagan is gonna win this if you don't vote". I think he was announced the winner while I was voting.

Life lessons learned.

[NewDayOranges]

12. Your son or his roommate may have been influenced

By a photo of a young Sen Biden standing next to a KKK member. The two men were standing in a group photo of ALL US Senators and that KKK member was Virginia Sen Byrd, who denounced his membership in the Klan in the 50s or 60s.

Anyway, pro-Trumpers have been using the photo to persuade younger Black voters that Biden is a racist too and that Harris was a pawn used to send Black men to prison for drug offenses.

Young Black people are being enticed into what they think is the "Walk-Away" protest but is really just another way of suppressing the Black vote...

[Indykatie]

13. My 26 YO Granddaughter Who Lives in CA Asked Me the Same Stupid Question

When I asked her why she asked and she said she had seen something about it on Face Book. She also mentioned that Candice Owen idiot so I assume that was the source of the misinformation. I set her straight but I was so pissed that this misinformation campaign had influenced her thinking.

[babylonsister]

20. I also saw a Candace meme. I marvel at people

who really believe her, and they're out there.

[betsuni]

14. The Atlantic: The Crime-bill Debate Shows How Short Americans' Memories Are

Please ask him to read this article. Rep. Clyburn explains that the compromises were based on the theory that Democrats weren't going to lose control of the House in the midterms.

"We put stuff in there that we thought we would build on. But we lost in 1994, and all of the punitive stuff, the Republicans kept all that and got rid of some of the good stuff. ... We went left in this country in the 1994 bill when we put in the assault weapons ban. But when it came time for renewal, we didn't have the votes."

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/09/joe-biden-crime-bill-and-americans-short-memory/597547/

[Dream Girl]

21. Beat you to it.alredy and it to him.

[betsuni]

32. It's a good article!

I remember talking to my mother on the phone in the early 90s. telling me about a shoot out down the street between police and a gang. This in a small (one streetlight) town in the Pacific Northwest. Crime was a problem.

The scariest gang violence in the region was a mass shooting in the 80s was between Chinese-American gangs. When the "super predators" thing was used against Democrats I was surprised that people seemed to assume all mention of gang activity was referring to black Americans ("Aren't all drug dealers black?" ). Obviously, organized crime exists all over the world and the U.S. is has a very healthy market for illegal drugs. Easily debunked propaganda.

[hvn_nbr_2]

19. There is meme out there that you should send him

I don't remember details. It was during the primary. Somebody's statement about Biden as VP: for eight years he played second fiddle to a black man and never upstaged him etc. Someone probably remembers it.

[betsuni]

22. And Trump bringing up that "super predator" thing again.

No matter how many times you tell people the super predators referred to were drug dealers (Bernie Sanders, who also voted for the bill, called them sociopaths: "Clearly there are people in our society who are horribly violent. Are deeply sick and sociopathic and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them" ) they don't seem to understand and choose to believe propaganda.

[JonLP24]

37. That isn't the entire quote

It is my firm belief that clearly there are people in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and sociopathic, and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them.

But it is also my view that through the neglect of our government and through a grossly irrational set of priorities, we are dooming today tens of millions of young people to a future of bitterness, misery, hopelessness, drugs, crime, and violence. And, Mr. Speaker, all the jails in the world — and we already imprison more people per capita than any other country — and all of the executions … in the world will not make that situation right.

We can either educate or electrocute. We can create meaningful jobs, rebuilding our society, or we can build more jails. Mr. Speaker, let us create a society of hope and compassion, not one of hate and vengeance.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/policy-and-politics/2019/2/27/18240474/bernie-sanders-mass-incarceration-president-campaign

He spoke out against the mass incarceration aspect but ended up voting for it because there were good things about the bill such as the violence against women act.

Sociopaths do exist so it wasn't an inaccurate statement. In the end Hillary Clinton was given a harder time over the bill when Joe Biden is the one who actually wrote it.

[betsuni]

40. The point is that both of them were talking about drug dealers but only Hillary and Biden

are accused of being racist because of the bill. Of course there were good things about the bill. If Democrats didn't lose control of the House after two years, the good things would've still been there and the bad things wouldn't. Here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=14348245

Who do think Hillary Clinton is? Maya Angelou: "I thought this white girl would come to Arkansas and play croquet on the lawn and throw tea parties. And she was just the opposite. She worked on public health and education ... even prisons."

[Barbara2423]

23. You explained it well, people use that bill against DEMs all the time

the execution of the bill at the local level is what most people believe it is racist.

[dustyscamp]

26. He's probably getting all his disinfo from gaming, movies, sports, reddit, discord and other forums

RW and libertarians spout it all the time, but nobody takes the time to try to debunk these false statements and allegations at these places

[struggle4progress]

28. Biden chose a woman with Indian and African ancestry as his running mate

[gratuitous]

29. Biden served eight years under a black president

And he chose a black woman as his running mate. If you still see "racist," then I have no words for you. But if you look at the man Joe Biden and compare him to the man who ran a full-page ad in the New York Times demanding the execution of the Central Park Five after their exoneration? Then I have words for you, and they are not complimentary. Use your head.

[UCmeNdc]

30. Yes I have some friends who were exposed to this propaganda too

The GOP and Russians use social media to push certain negative messaging to young minorities, it works.
They showed me a debate clip in which Joe Biden failed to answer clear and forcefully he supported reparations for black Americans as an example.

Here is an example of what is passed around:

&feature=youtu.be

&feature=youtu.be

[oasis]

36. So is Ice Cube is making a bid to be Chairman of the Board in charge

of handling the wealth gap?

Qualifications?

[obamanut2012]

44. He is just ridiculous

[Raine]

34. That idea could've come from the "you ain't black" comment he made in jest

on that radio show. 🤔

[obamanut2012]

35. Those idiots Ice Cube and 50Cent aren;t helping any, either

They are encouraging black men to vote for Trump.

I'm not including Kanye, because even though he is an asshole, he is a severely mentally ill asshole. O'Shea Jackson and Curtis Jackson aren't, they are just selfish assholes.

[Trumpocalypse]

38. Is the only person to run on two national tickets

with people of color a racist? I think that question answers itself.

[radius777]

39. Dems have never explained the Crime Bill properly

and it has allowed disinfo - that comes from the RW, far-LW and Russians - to work to suppress and divide the youth and PoC vote.

When things like the Crime Bill passed in '94 it was not controversial at all. During the 70s and 80s there were record increases in drugs and crime across all types of (including white) communities. Dems lost badly in the 80s specificially for looking 'weak' on crime. Bill Clinton only won in '92 due to being viewed as tougher on crime (and pro-death penalty) than the typical Dem of that time. Clinton specifically stated that he wanted to be 'good for civil rights' while dealing with the crime issue. He never hid or obfuscated his positions on these issues and yet was supported overwhelmingly by voters of color - because people were sick of crime. Even liberal NYC elected a 'get tough' Repub Mayor in Giuliani in '93 - which tells you how people felt then about crime during that era.

What Dems failed to take into account was systemic racism that would affect how the new laws would manifest in the real world. Biden has acknowledged that.

[JonLP24]

45. I learned that the crime bill was bad from the 13th

13th is a 2016 American documentary film by director Ava DuVernay. The film explores the "intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States;"[3] it is titled after the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for conviction of a crime.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_(film)

The New Jim Crow also criticizes the crime bill

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness is a book by Michelle Alexander, a civil rights litigator and legal scholar. The book discusses race-related issues specific to African-American males and mass incarceration in the United States, but Alexander noted that the discrimination faced by African-American males is prevalent among other minorities and socio-economically disadvantaged populations. Alexander's central premise, from which the book derives its title, is that "mass incarceration is, metaphorically, the New Jim Crow".[1]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Jim_Crow

At least Bill Clinton apologized for it.

[Southern lefty]

41. I don't like some of the things he has said,

But I believe that's just a nature of the beast as the way he talks. I don't think he meant for them to come out the way they did in the past.

[onecaliberal]

46. Let me get this straight. He wants to know if Biden is racist? What does he think about trump?

I mean, republicans don’t even go through the trouble of hiding it any more.