Truthout headline:
White House Plans to Implement New Guidelines Making It Easier to Unionize
I hope it works as planned.
Shaun King
20 mins ·
I’m about to confess something.
This country backed me into a corner. At first I hated it. Now I’m glad to be in the corner.
Let me explain…
3-4 years ago, I had mainstream aspirations. I believed in my heart that I could be a crossover leader that was widely accepted. I thought about politics and was asked to consider running for office.
In some ways I was on that path.
I traveled and spoke and organized in 47 states - more than any other leader in the country.
I spoke at Facebook and Google and Spotify.
I spoke at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
I spoke at nearly 200 colleges and universities.
I won awards from Rihanna and the family of Malcolm X.
I privately advised some of the biggest stars and athletes in the world.
I wrote a New York Times Bestseller.
Bernie Sanders asked me to introduce him at his campaign kickoff in front of 15,000 people in Brooklyn and again at his kickoff in Vermont.
But slowly, something started to happen.
People started to spread flat out lies about me saying:
1. I stole from families I raised money for - one of the grossest things anyone could ever do. Doing so would be a state and federal crime. And it’s a complete fabrication.
2. Saying I’m lying about my race. Something I’ve never done a day in my life. Ever.
3. Saying I plagiarized ideas or articles. Also 100% fiction. It’s literally never happened. Not once.
4. Saying I vaguely mistreat people, particularly Black women. Which crushed me. I’ve never mistreated a single soul in this movement. Ever. Never raised my voice. Never used a harsh word. Never abused my power.
And slowly, if you started to believe one lie about me, the other 3 seemed possible.
And the lies were so charged, so genuinely awful, like saying I stole from the family of Tamir Rice, like who the **** would ever do that, that slowly but surely, people stopped supporting me. No matter how many receipts I provided.
People stopped inviting me to speak.
I mean 99% of all invitations.
Last year was my most effective year of organizing in my entire life - but the media erased my role in anything good I did.
And about 300,000 people unfollowed me across social media.
And just now.
As in this month.
I’ve realized I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
If you are still here, THANK YOU.
Shaun
Everybody who worked with Bernie was virulently attacked by the Clinton / KHIVE machine. Briahna, Sirota, Moore. It was a life-changing commitment to support Bernie. I’ll always respect them.
Sean McCoy Rose
@SeanMcCoyPhotog
·
2h
I’m 27 years old, I have $120k in debt from an undergraduate degree. I’ve been paying $970 a month for 5 years and of the nearly $60k I’ve paid in that time, only $2k has gone towards my loan. I ask again: how the **** was this ever legal? #CancelStudentDebt
@edgarblythe,
And yet people on this forum have told me how it would do almost no good to cancel the debts, even though Biden could do it without any help from congress. Wait. I almost forgot. He is constrained by something or other and can't make an actual move.
edgarblythe wrote:
Sean McCoy Rose
@SeanMcCoyPhotog
·
2h
I’m 27 years old, I have $120k in debt from an undergraduate degree. I’ve been paying $970 a month for 5 years and of the nearly $60k I’ve paid in that time, only $2k has gone towards my loan. I ask again: how the **** was this ever legal? #CancelStudentDebt
WikiLeaks
@wikileaks
Almost 10,000 contributors have joined
@AssangeDAO
and raised over US $48.5 million (15859 ETH) to help free Julian Assange #FreeAssangeNOW
@edgarblythe,
edgarblythe wrote:
And yet people on this forum have told me how it would do almost no good to cancel the debts, even though Biden could do it without any help from congress. Wait. I almost forgot. He is constrained by something or other and can't make an actual move.
Absolving debt doesn't solve the issue. Yeah, it's just great for those who will have the benefit of their debt wiped out, but without meaningful changes, in five years, the next batch of college graduates will be facing the same issue.
Start with lowering or wiping out the interest rate on a guaranteed student loan. Eliminate the financing of housing costs and food, where federal dollars only pay for actual tuition. On the other hand, that will stop most low income students from living close by to a campus. There is no easy solution.
But to think the Prez can just swipe a pen and life will be grand again is not helping either.
@neptuneblue,
Making out that the president is a helpless cipher sitting up there is a lot worse. He can wipe out this debt and do lots of good. After he campaigned on giving at least some relief and reneging how many of those people are going to sit out the next election?
@edgarblythe,
Ok, I get that. You think being in Office for a little over a year, Biden should have fixed EVERYTHING and EVERBODY by now. And now you're mad because he hasn't.
A President isn't God, you know. You've written him off, and think everyone who voted for Biden in 2020 is magically going to switch parties and vote Republican. Or just not vote at all. Well, if that's their decision, they have no right to bitch.
@neptuneblue,
You people always give cover to total lack of effort even. No wonder nothing gets even attempted most of the time.
@neptuneblue,
Here goes the personal argument now.
@edgarblythe,
Didn't the Republicans shoot down some of his proposals in that bill? It's not just up to him. Most of these problems are complicated, and wiping out student debt isn't going to fix things for future students.
They should form a bi-partisan committee to deal with the major issues in the US, such as student debt, rent control, etc. Your tuition fees and hospital costs are just stupidly out of control. Deal with issues that affect the most people.
You're blaming this guy for everything, edgar... he's not a dictator.
@Mame,
Politicians should stick to their promises. If Biden promised to reduce student debt he should.
The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg ran a campaign promising to reduce debt, he did an immediate volte face when David Cameron offered him a bit of power.
That was the end to his career in politics but he was fortunate enough yo be of a class that rewards failure, hence his cushy job with Facebook.
