So, YDenise, I read your response as carefully as I could, and while I can't claim that I understood everything that you said, I'll try to answer what I can.
First, I ask that you read my response thoroughly and to the end, as I did yours, and I want you to try not to be offended.
Obviously, you are sincere in your beliefs, but your beliefs are often not backed up by facts. This is the case with too many people who have "heard something," but who don't know. Even if you feel insulted, I ask you the courtesy of reading this very long explanation.
Let me share what I call my "magic video" with you, because it explains the legislative process in a far more entertaining manner than I could.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMALeR1i-FM
You're not the first Black person I've encountered who feels that Barack Obama was not authentically Black and didn't "do enough" for the Black community. Everybody and 'they mama turned out for Obama in 2008. However, once we had a Black president, the folks who ran to the polls in 2008 stayed home in 2010. DEMOCRATS LOST THE U.S. CONGRESS AS A RESULT. Did you know that no matter what the president or other Democrats may want, if THEY ARE NOT IN CHARGE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THEY CANNOT EVEN BRING BILLS TO THE FLOOR FOR A VOTE? That's right. Republicans blocked EVERYTHING Democrats tried to do, including block funds to repair the damn Capitol, when chunks of it were falling to the ground below. Were/are you aware of that?
In 2012, since it was a Presidential election year, almost everybody and they mama showed up again, but we stayed home in 2014 and lost the Senate as well. If you have the White House, but don't have either the House or the Senate, then you may as well just stay home. THAT IS HOW MITCH MCCCONNELL GOT TO STEAL A SUPREME COURT JUSTICE FROM BARACK OBAMA. Do you need proof that Obama was Black? All you have to do is look at the ridiculous, racist backlash he got, which is how we ended up with Trashy Trump. Do you think they would have been so blatantly disrespectful to a white man?
Now, about Flint, Michigan and its water. The White House had absolutely nothing to do with Flint, Michigan and its water. The Republican Governor of Michigan was doing everything in his power to take authoritiy away from local Black politiciains. He gave the Republican State Legislature jurisdiction over Flint, Michigan, and here's what happened.
"The Flint, Michigan water crisis began in 2014 when state-appointed emergency managers switched the city's water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River as a cost-saving measure. The Flint River is highly corrosive and the city failed to treat it properly, which caused water distribution pipes to corrode and contaminate the drinking water with lead and other contaminants. Residents complained about the water's taste, smell, and appearance, and at least 12 people died as a result. The crisis also prompted national outrage and drew attention to water contamination issues in the United States." THIS WAS THE WORK OF WHITE STATE LEGISLATORS WHO DIDN'T GIVE THE LEAST DAMN WHETHER WE GOT POISONED OR NOT. It had nothing to do with Barack Obama.
People who don't know how state and national legislatures work often lay the blame for EVERYTHING at the hands of the president. It doesn't work that way.
How about all of those Voting Rights we lost? Let me be blunt here. When people complain about national politics then tell me that they didn't vote, I tell them, "Then shut the hell up. If you didn't help, then you don't get to complain." The Supreme Court is the organ that made it possible for Southern states to turn back voting rights, and some states began rolling back voting rights THE SAME DAY THE COURT HANDED DOWN THAT DECISION. Is there anything we as Black people could have done to prevent that? Yeah. We could have shown up at the polls for every single Presidential election and off-year election. Then we would have had a Supreme Court that looked to our needs.
Now, tell me where I said to vote for Kamala Harris because she's Black. You're going to have to look for that with a microscope, and you still won't find it. What I said was to stop the arguments about whether or not Kamala Harris is Black. I want you to vote for Kamala Harris, and every Democrat everywhere, because if we let the Republicans back in the White House, then our lives are going to be made miserable in ways we can't even imagine. Please look up Project 2025 and see what conservative nuts have in store for us. Just for fun, I'm including a link to a Project 2025 pdf., all 900+ pages of it, for your viewing pleasure. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24088042-project-2025s-mandate-for-leadership-the-conservative-promise
If you can read past the introduction and not fear for the country's future (and that of Black and Brown people specifically) then I don't know what else I can say to you.
So, there is my careful and considered response to your reply. I hope that it provides some new insight into the workings of government. Peace be with you.
