As we all know, for probably three-fourths of the electorate ― between women and people of color ― the choice for president should have been a no-brainer. Essentially, the choice was made for us; that’s how many people one candidate intentionally insulted.
The GOP nominee actually has addressed the nation’s greatly expanding prison system, which with more than 2.2 million prisoners, is the largest in the world. Left to his own devices, it is certain that he would both privatize and greatly expand it. Not to be forgotten is that his opponent once invoked the specter of Black super-predators, etc. Because she has publicly moved away from that position, on that score she is better than her opponent, however she has not made the dismantling of our new racial caste system the central tenet of her campaign.
Similarly on immigration, it would be hard to find someone more Draconian than the GOP nominee, who has called for the massive deportation of 11 million to 12 million migrants, plus a 2000 mile wall and the exclusion of Muslims from the United States. At the same time, during the refugee crisis involving Central American children two years ago, she is the one who called for them to be deported. Since then, she has become a tad more migrant-friendly as in contrast to her opponent, she is not calling for the immediate elimination of the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
But returning to the topic of “The New Jim Crow,” whoever takes the keys to the White House in January should address these issues on the very first day in office. And personally, I don’t want to be silenced or invisibilized on this matter either.
That which Alexander writes about I have lived most of my adult life, involving two police brutality trials lasting 7½ years, plus “stop and frisk” ad nauseam. For me, this is not simply another political issue. It is a reality that many people of color live. Alexander has always had it right; she understands that these issues involve all people of color, however, it is the mainstream media that treats these issues strictly in Black and White.
For me, I want the candidates to acknowledge these issues, and to include all people of color in this discussion, as opposed to continue with this silencing and invisibilization.
