Black voters just saved America from Roy Moore

[u/Antinatalista]

https://thinkprogress.org/back-vote-alabama-jones-8da18c1d8d7a/

[u/qwilliams92]

As a black voter in Alabama I never truly thought my vote would count, I’ve been proved wrong

[u/[deleted] → u/qwilliams92]

It did and thank you for voting.

[u/[deleted] → u/qwilliams92]

Black voter from Virginia. Same here. :) Thanks for voting yesterday!

[u/[deleted]]

“Everyone automatically thinks that with a Democratic candidate that you’re just going to get the African American vote, and I really believe that Doug Jones did not just take that for granted.”

This right here. This speak truth. Don't take it for granted. Reach out to the voters.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Programs like planned parenthood and chip really help the African American community. But I can't help but fell that the democratic party does take them for granted. They just bank on them coming out to vote but not make massive policy changes that will bennefit African Americans. I'm a natural born Hispanic/Latino and I feel the party is really fighting for my community with the DACA/funding bill fight. I don't see that with other ethnic communities.

[u/thomase7 → u/[deleted]]

It's just about getting people to show up.

[u/TenTonsOfAssAndBelly → u/thomase7]

THIS! Apathy begets apathy.

If you can't be bothered to reach out to your voters and make the vote matter to them, then you can't be mad when voting doesn't matter to them in their minds.

[u/JustGotOffOfTheTrain]

You know, Mississippi is nearly 40% African American. Can we flip Mississippi?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

They can't arrest all of them right?

[u/Stoppels → u/[deleted]]

I'd like to see them try.

[u/outkast8459 → u/Stoppels]

I'd rather not. -law abiding Black guy

[u/LogicCure → u/Stoppels]

Hold my beer

• Mississippi GOP

[u/Skwr09 → u/JustGotOffOfTheTrain]

As a Mississippian, I would freak the crap out and be even happier than this win in Alabama has made me today!

[u/KismetKitKat → u/Skwr09]

I know it's not easily done, but turnout is such a large factor. If you know people who do not vote, this is a good reminder that is matters. A 10% increase from a minority group turned Alabama. They may feel small relative to the population but they can feel a bit bigger relative to the voting population.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Your vote actually matters a lot. It always has.

[u/Droopy1592 → u/JustGotOffOfTheTrain]

God I hope so

[u/albatross-salesgirl → u/JustGotOffOfTheTrain]

Yes you can, neighbor. It takes a lot of hard work and a fair amount of sacrifice, but if y'all take this baton and hit the ground running, we can keep this thing going! As far as I'm concerned, this is the most important movement in the south since 1965!

[u/aquarain → u/JustGotOffOfTheTrain]

Mississippi is much more likely than Alabama.

[u/dcrico20 → u/aquarain]

They’re pretty similar. Alabama is over 30% black so it’s not like they’re staunchly different demographically.

[u/[deleted] → u/dcrico20]

Same with a lot of southern states. Louisiana, Tennessee, Carolinas, Georgia, Florida all have significant black and minority populations... My thoughts (strictly opinion from experience) is it's harder to get blacks involved I'm politics in the south due to obvious past history but also because so many more live in rural areas where in other parts of the country all the black populations essentially live in.urban areas..

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

In FL almost a third of our eligible male African American voters are banned for life due to prior felony convictions. Smoke a join at 17, never vote again. Its a travesty.

[u/Sachath → u/JustGotOffOfTheTrain]

If the democrats ran with a African American candidate, I don't see why not. Otherwise hell no. 10 African American senators.... 10 since the dawn of time, 10. Not from any one state. In the history of congress, 10 African American senators. That number is too damn low.

[u/RosneftTrump2020 → u/JustGotOffOfTheTrain]

It helped that democratic votes were even higher than for Clinton, while republican votes were down by half.

It shows that half of the people who voted trump don’t care for voting for his endorsed candidate

[u/ReallyRileyJenkins → u/JustGotOffOfTheTrain]

Flippissippi

[u/bplturner]

Let’s not forget that black people couldn’t universally vote until 1965. Just think about that.

[u/ChickenInASuit → u/bplturner]

And that Roy Moore legitimately said that the US would be better off without any of the Constitutional amendments after #10 including the ones banning Slavery and letting black people vote.

[u/mnmkdc → u/ChickenInASuit]

What the hell was his reasoning behind saying that?

[u/ChickenInASuit → u/mnmkdc]

He's a racist, misogynist dinosaur?

[u/mnmkdc → u/ChickenInASuit]

I meant like what did he say the reason for that is but yeah

[u/sotonohito → u/mnmkdc]

He claimed that was when "families were strong and stayed together".

By which we can only assume he meant white families, because of course black families were routinely torn apart by slave owners selling husbands, wives, and children to different owners.

[u/ehmath02 → u/sotonohito]

And white families stayed together because it was social/economic suicide for wives to divorce abusive husbands

[u/Thersites92 → u/sotonohito]

Yeah this "families were strong back in the day" is a hilarious little fiction that's used as justification for all kinds of dumbass viewpoints. A co-worker of mine tried to argue that black people in America were better off before civil rights bc there were fewer single parent households and it took me a solid 5 minutes to pick up my jaw off the floor before telling him to shut the fuck up.

[u/theoreticaldickjokes → u/Thersites92]

I'm perfectly content with not having a father. Especially if the alternative is to perform backbreaking labor and you know, rape.

[u/CoreWrect → u/bplturner]

And the GOP works tirelessly to prevent them from voting even today

[u/SexWaffles → u/CoreWrect]

It's no secret that "voter ID laws" are targeted to disenfranchise their base. They can't outlaw it outright, so the next step is to make it as inconvenient as possible.

[u/smixton → u/SexWaffles]

Ok, serious question because I honestly don't underst, but how do voter ID laws hurt minorities? Don't minorities have the same types of IDs as white people? Don't hurt me, genuinely curious.

Edit: There are several really good responses here, thank you. Based on what many of you are saying, it seems to me it would make it easier, and more fair, if all states had to abide by federal voting laws and no state could deviate from them. If all Americans had the same voting experience and states and/or local municipalities could not implement their own voting laws that suppress any demographic I would think that would solve some of these issues.

Edit 2: Another thought I just had was why are states allowed to come up with their own voting laws and methods? If the constitution states we have a right to vote (Amendments 15, 19, 24, and 26 use language that protects the right to vote) then shouldn't the federal government be in full control of voting laws nation wide?

[u/Evil_phd → u/smixton]

Imagine that there is only one DMV in your not-that-small town and it's only open for about 3 hours per week during hours when most normal people are in the middle of their work day.

It can be surprisingly hard to get an ID if the authorities don't want you to have one.

[u/ToLiveInIt → u/Evil_phd]

Or, and this happens, it's only open the fifth Wednesday of the month. So, four days a year.

[u/Evil_phd → u/ToLiveInIt]

Holy shit. Now I wouldn't be surprised if they had a vacant building marked "DMV" that was only open on the second Tuesday of next week.

[u/IUsedToBeGlObAlOb23 → u/ToLiveInIt]

That's like opening it on the fucking 29th of February.

[u/skapade → u/smixton]

they limit the opening hours of facilities in poor areas, as well as reducing the amount of locations, so that poor people have to travel farther and at more inconvenient times than people in affluent areas. and affluent people can more easily afford to take a few hours off work to go get an ID than a poor person can to start off with.

https://www.google.se/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/517218/

https://www.aclu.org/other/oppose-voter-id-legislation-fact-sheet

there's like a billion articles about it, just saying

[u/deadbedroomaddict → u/skapade]

Also to expand, it can be the cost of the ID itself. If you don't drive, and are living paycheck to paycheck, its hard sometimes to work in the cost of a state ID. This is especially true of the poor elderly, who are on fixed incomes, and are reliant on someone to get them to and from the proper facility to get a state ID.

Edit: I expanded that cost can be a factor in voter ID and its harmful impact on POOR people and their ability to vote. Its not about race, but a person's economic status. In our country most people have a legal form of ID one way or another, but for some any cost, whether its the cost of the ID, the cost to take time off, or the cost to get to a physical location is a real issue.

[u/my_pol_acct → u/deadbedroomaddict]

More importantly, if you don't have a current valid ID, you need to jump through incredible hoops to get it. You need proof of residence. What if you're living with a relative because times are hard? Two utility bills in your name, which can be hard to do with shitty credit. Then a birth certificate. Again, might be cost prohibitive, or it can be time consuming to get it. You may have lost it in a move - again, affects low income families more. And the list goes on.

[u/curien → u/deadbedroomaddict]

The state must offer a form of voter ID that itself is free, otherwise it's considered an unconstitutional poll tax. But the documents required to get the ID might not be free.

[u/deadbedroomaddict → u/curien]

It varies state to state, but you're right, items needed like a birth certificate can cost $25-35 dollars, plus time off.

[u/CynicsaurusRex → u/deadbedroomaddict]

Woah, I had no idea states are allowed to charge for voter IDs. How is that not the same thing as a poll tax?! My disgust for these laws just intensified.

[u/dalgeek → u/CynicsaurusRex]

Most if not all states have free voter IDs, but many of them don't advertise it, so if you don't know where to look you'll never find it. They can also require supporting documentation that can be costly, inconvenient, or impossible to obtain.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Not only is it unfair to poor people, but impoverished Americans, statistically, are more likely to be African American. While we have made great strides against prejudice in our society, it is unfair and untrue to say it doesn't still exist.

[u/Anghellik → u/skapade]

In more extreme scenarios, they've also studied which forms of ID black people use more than white people, and decided that those aren't acceptable forms of ID.

[u/yeti77 → u/Anghellik]

Also, young people. College IDs are banned in a lot of states whereas AARP cards are fine.

[u/jeffmooo → u/yeti77]

Gun licenses are accepted over college IDs as well in Texas.

Source: http://progresstexas.org/blog/stricken-texas-voter-id-law-allowed-gun-licenses-not-student-id

[u/Dalek_Reaver → u/smixton]

Great question. Take a look at this article on how it is by design intended to get us black people to stay home.

EDIT: Also, realize that before this step you have gerrymandering the districts to funnel all of the black and minority voters together into a few or one districts. Then you can close down polling places and DMV's near these districts. This is why voter information is so vital to campaigns.

https://www.snopes.com/2015/10/01/alabama-drivers-license/

[u/axehomeless → u/smixton]

In Germany, everybody always has a photo ID, required by law. I'm the us you don't have that. If you don't have a driver's licence or a passport, because you're poor, you don't have that's document. Requiring one just for voting is really inconvenient. That alone would be considered undemocratic in most proper countries, but then you have closing of offices where you can get these documents in black neighborhood, limiting hours, just everything you can do to keep certain people from voting, and because of a non issue.

And key republican strategists are on tape saying that this is the intent. It will not get clearer that this is a full on assault on the democratic principle

[u/mmmmm_pancakes → u/smixton]

It basically targets the poor, because they don't have the time or resources to go get ID, whereas wealthier people get it when they learn to drive. The poor tend to be both Democratic voters and minorities, so it's a double-whammy. The research shows that this has a huge impact on turnout.

It also gives Republicans the power to do stuff like close (or adjust opening hours, effectively closing) offices in minority/Democratic districts.

Really evil stuff.

[u/rex_dart_eskimo_spy → u/CoreWrect]

Literally yesterday they were stopping black people from voting. It's truly disgusting.

[u/JerryLupus → u/rex_dart_eskimo_spy]

With slogans like "tough on crime, " what can you expect?

Keep in mind "crime" is the GOP code word for "non-white." Like when Trump says they're the party of "law and order" it's just a code word for "white people." Because there's nothing lawful or orderly about rapists and pedophiles.

[u/jb2386]

This is why Roy Moore didn't want those constitutional amendments because he would have won if black people and women didn't have the right to vote.

[u/Bartomalow2 → u/jb2386]

don't forget the 1st amendment, freedom of religion. Roy Moore is staunchly opposed to anyone but christians having any rights in america too.

[u/posts_lindsay_lohan → u/jb2386]

There's also a reason the Alabama Supreme Court granted a stay to allow them to destroy voting records.

Mark my words, this is not over yet and it will be a while before Doug Jones gets sworn in (IF he gets sworn in).

According to CNN all this has to take place over the next few weeks:

Each of the 67 counties will have until December 22 to report the results to the Alabama secretary of state's office.

After receiving the results, the State Canvassing Board -- which includes the governor, secretary of state and attorney general -- will have until January 3 to certify them. Alabama law requires at least two of the three members to be present for the certification. The secretary of state's office told CNN before the election they expect to certify the results between December 27-29. That is contingent upon every county reporting their results on time. The office noted that a delay from one of the 67 counties could delay final certification.

Assuming all results are reported on time, Alabama can notify the Senate immediately, which would allow the winner to be sworn in at that time.

I'm betting that in the reporting phase, some counties are going to conveniently "lose" their records.

[u/Inspectrgadget → u/[deleted]]

Every demographic under the age of 45 as well.

[u/throwaway_31415 → u/[deleted]]

Though I’m thankful that black voters were able to mobilize like this, an electorate split down racial lines to this extent throws into sharp relief how racially divided parts of America still is.

[u/TomHardyAsBronson → u/throwaway_31415]

It's only divided because the republican party shits on non-white people constantly. They shit on white people too but they've got a lot of white people so afraid of the non-white people that they grin and bear it. The really funny part about it is if republicans would just stop shitting on non-white people, they would find that lots of non-white people are conservative and they could build a reasonably diverse conservative movement. But nope, they get too much power by keeping a bunch of white folks scared, so they just keep with the fear mongering and throw actual conservative ideals out the window.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

When democrats come out, we win. End of story. All the gerrymandering and vote suppression just make it so we have to work harder to less decisive victories, but in the end, voter participation has always been the death knell for GOP candidates.

[u/cw97 → u/[deleted]]

This is just the beginning. If our country is to free itself of the Trump and GOP plague, we need to keep voting in all elections. Not just special elections, not just 2018 and 2020, but always be willing to go out and vote.

[u/[deleted] → u/cw97]

There needs to be a campaign to push voting in young America. Vote or die was stupid but important to my voting history.

Edit: great discussion below

[u/tyler-86 → u/[deleted]]

Telling people to vote doesn't energize them,unfortunately. They need to see examples like this (and Trump).

[u/GrumpyWendigo → u/[deleted]]

this

mindless cynicism like

"both candidates are the same"

or

"my vote doesn't really matter"

etc

is not how you lose elections, it's how you kill nations

at least the malicious stand up and show their malice. you can fight them and defeat them

but what to do about this cancer of mindless cynicism that just bends over and accepts the malice and becomes willing slaves: what the fuck is that? how do you deal with that?

you have to care about your society

if you don't care, you lose, i lose, we all lose

[u/Shark_Train → u/cw97]

Our collective attention spans as voters are relatively short it seems.

[u/TwoCells → u/Shark_Train]

So long as the neo-nazi-twit-in-chief keeps going as he is we will have daily reminders for why we should get out and vote.

[u/kalitarios → u/TwoCells]

Still though. The complacency of some eligible voters is disheartening. Even today some people in the office don’t bother because they truly believe they cannot make a difference.

[u/Andures → u/[deleted]]

Not just about Democrats or sides winning. A proper democracy needs the vast majority of the population to vote in order to work and make sense. If the vast majority of the population does vote Republican, then so be it. But when the elections are won by a voting bloc that comprised of only 30% of the country in a non-representative, 2 party system, then it only serves to weaken the concept of democracy, regardless of who the 30% voted for.

[u/ell20 → u/Andures]

Heck I would go as far as to say that had we had a much larger turnout, we would have never gotten here in the first place. Studies show that low voter turnout actually contributes to our political polarization.

[u/Lancemate_Memory → u/ell20]

mandatory voting folks, coupled with a "no confidence" option. that's the best solution.

[u/Lancemate_Memory → u/[deleted]]

The election is halted, and nominations must be re-submitted, preferably with completely new nominees. after a period of a few weeks for new campaigning, another vote takes place and we try again and again until the parties decide to get their heads out of their asses and put forward good candidates, not just whatever stooge will work for the donors.

[u/Sly_Wood → u/Andures]

Fine but above all a proper democracy needs a properly educated populace.

[u/Davidfreeze → u/[deleted]]

Jones campaign had a huge GOTV operation. That's the playbook. Compete everywhere, and get the vote out. Canvas everywhere. Everyone on this sub is way too informed politically to just vote. We all have to canvass in 2018.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

This drives me crazy. If all dems would just vote, we could overcome all the cheating the GOP has to do in order to win.

[u/MrEko108 → u/[deleted]]

You're absolutely right. Dems need to show up. To often, we don't, and Republican turnout rarely changes year to year. Did you know Republicans are more likely to win when it's raining? They still show up.

Republican politicians have proven time and again that they won't represent the disenfranchised. If you care about the poor and minorities, and you aren't one of those things, you have to get out and vote every damn time. Those people may not have the same opportunities as you, they may have work or have trouble accessing polling places. Get out and vote, people.

[u/evil420pimp → u/[deleted]]

And it's long past the time when they should have seen the rest of us following through. Maybe we should, you know, not take them for granted like always seems to happen?

[u/PumpItPaulRyan → u/evil420pimp]

No one takes black voters for granted. That's why voter roll purges and road construction during election days always seem to target them.

[u/[deleted] → u/evil420pimp]

It's been a vicious cycle of disenfranchisement and apathy that they just broke by giving the DNC a win. I'm hopeful that with its current leadership, the DNC will do their part and support candidates for real change.

We'll see.

[u/PuddingInferno → u/[deleted]]

As happy as I am about Moore’s defeat, any political strategy that requires democratic political competence is far from certain to succeed.

[u/TjW0569 → u/PuddingInferno]

As Will Rogers so elegantly put it: "I'm not a member of any organized political party... I'm a Democrat."

[u/TheKingOfSiam → u/[deleted]]

The DNC has it's work cut out.
They need to enable those of us who are progressive and who are looking for positive change and using government to serve the people, BUT they can't be smug about it and push progressive/liberal change above all else. The numbers arent there. They NEED moderates, and so they need moderate candidates.
And those of us who are more progressive who arent thrilled about moderates need to vote in the primaries, but then follow through and vote for those moderates we don't approve of in the general election. If we don't show up and vote because the moderate isnt pushing enough change, then we lose all of that and hand the Republicans a win.

[u/Manungal → u/evil420pimp]

When only one party in a two party system is even willing to represent your interests, that party can reasonably expect little backlash when they don’t follow through on campaign promises.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

As a white person, I gotta ask, “What the hell is wrong with white people in Alabama?”

[u/wiscowonder → u/[deleted]]

Single issue voters (abortion) mixed in with a dash of old school racism

[u/Djerrid → u/[deleted]]

#BlackVotesMatter

[u/meatduck12]

Now it's time to enact policy that actually benefits them!

[u/CoreWrect → u/meatduck12]

At the very least grant them a decent opportunity in the nation that takes their taxes

[u/GunnieGraves → u/CoreWrect]

Yeah it’s not so much that they need policies that benefit them as policies that don’t target them.

[u/[deleted] → u/GunnieGraves]

Por que no los dos?

[u/highsnturd]

They did more than that.

They proved that Trump's minions are not all-powerful, even in red states. His time of power is waning.

What representative in his or her right mind is going to belive Trump can hurt them any longer? They will all start standing up to him now.

[u/AgITGuy → u/[deleted]]

In the last week, we have seen people and elected officials begin calling for his resignation. The more "winning" that Trump has, the more people are going to distance themselves. We saw that with perfunctory gestures and lip service in this election from Republican officials of Alabama distancing themselves from Moore and by extension Trump.

Now that this R loss for Senate is national headlines, it could and should be the beginning of a wider remission of Republican influence and strength. People are more aware of their hypocrisy and double standards. We cannot sit idle and let elections happen and not press to get out the vote. Regardless of who you vote for, the more that vote means a more accurate and representative election of the will of the people.

[u/LewsTherinTelamon → u/highsnturd]

Standing up to him would imply they want him to stop. Most of the people complicit in Trumps rise are likely as bad as Moore and his supporters, but smart enough not to out themselves.

[u/Ravaha]

I would say the College Campuses of Auburn, Alabama, and South Alabama also played their part.

For instance, Lee County and Russell County Alabama don't have that many black people compared to many other parts of the state. Both of those counties went blue when Lee County is usually Red. Both are also mostly rural counties, with Lee County becoming more Urban in the last decade due to Fort Benning, Columbus, Phenix City, Opelika, and Auburn all being so close together.

As a white male in Alabama, holy shit, white male republicans are a disgrace to this county and humanity.

Edit: because more deserves to be said about the shitty people who voted for Child predator scum Roy Moore

Down here in the south Black people and white people have their own churches and its pretty obvious that black people are not learning the same bigoted stuff in their christian churches that white people are learning in their churches.

The big problem is religion, it just so happens that black people go to churches with good christian values and white people go to churches with evil, anti-science, pro nazi, anti-facts, pro-gun, pro-hate, pro-racism, and anti-american values.

A lot of the racism, comes from that separation and the bigoted values of white people, especially white males is reinforced inside their evil values churches. They take all those evil, anti-science, and anti-fact values on faith.

Lets Analyze Roy Moore and question how the hell people could support this human scum.

1. Child Molester (His lawyers were even making excuses for him) You know the allegations are true when the lawyers are throwing out ridiculous excuses for his actions.
2. Child Rapist (His lawyers claimed all the 18+ girls were married when he came back from vietnam so his only options were high school girls)
3. Child Predator ( His lawyer claimed young girls were more pure than women, despite the fact that Roy Moore tried raping them on their first dates.)
4. Believes being gay should be illegal
5. Thinks women shouldnt be allowed to vote.
6. Wants to get rid of half the constitution such as the parts that get rid of slavery, let black people vote, let women vote, and much more.
7. Believes Bibilical law surpasses US law and the US constitution or the Alabama constitution for that matter.
8. Doesnt respect the constitution and was removed as a judge 2x.
9. Hes as racist as you can get. Tells the 1 black person at his last rally that the country was great when slavery was still around because families were together, completely ignoring the fact that black people were constantly ripped apart from their own families and sold off.
10. He also thinks only christians should be able to serve in government and attacked Muslim Keith Ellison for being a muslim congressman.
11. He praises Putin and Russia, but has nothing but insults for the United States constitution and American values. He hates the United States.
12. He believes the US derserved what happened on 9/11 because of how many gay people live in the United States. Hes a traitor to this country and our values.
13. Forgot to mention, he also has stated he doesnt think women should be allowed to be politicians, in addition to not be allowed to vote.

What kinda scum supports a man who supported the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

This man is pure scum. Anyone who voted for them is pure scum in my book.

I bet it pisses off so many of the Alabama fans that Nick Saban (A Big ole Democrat) played a big part in helping Doug Jones get his campaign up and running and helped Doug Jones win.

There are youtube videos of his lawyers making excuses for him, him claiming being gay should be illegal, him claiming we deserved to be attacked on 9/11 and him supporting Al Qaeda's actions because of gay people in the US. There are also youtube videos of much of what I stated above and its almost entirely coming from his own mouth our from his attorneys'/lawyers mouth.

[u/[deleted] → u/Ravaha]

I went to Bama. For one short second I did not hate auburn, and that is when I saw it voted for Doug jones. So proud of the students of Alabama who did the right thing and so disappointed in the old white people.

[u/aquarain → u/[deleted]]

Every vote was crucial for Doug Jones. He won by 1.5%.

[u/Drpained → u/Ravaha]

As a white former-male Texan, I definitely see the same stuff. Somehow, we're the elitists because we're judging people for wearing white hoods.

[u/bongggblue → u/Drpained]

Did you move from Texas or move from the male gender?

[u/[deleted] → u/bongggblue]

Well their flair still says Texas, so if I had to guess it would be the latter.

[u/YankmeDoodles → u/bongggblue]

No you see, the gender moved him

[u/barktothefuture → u/Ravaha]

Haven’t seen any stats on age. Just gender race and education

[u/[deleted]]

Look, i think this is great. But the framing of this puts the work for change on the backs of blacks where the real story is the moral failings of white voters. Black alabamans(?) voted for their self interest while 75% of WHITE MALE VOTERS voted for a CHILD MOLESTER. Where are the think pieces on that?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Weren't the numbers crazy, something like black women turning out for Jones at 175% the rate of black men?

It was pretty impressive.

(Especially young black women. Whoo-eee)

[u/sammythemc → u/[deleted]]

People really need to stop thinking about this stuff in terms of individualized will, it doesn't really work that way on a macro level. Looking at these kinds of structural forces to explain the disparity should be our default.

[u/AJWinky → u/[deleted]]

Black women have been an unrelenting force for positive change in this country, and none of us should ever forget it.

[u/chadmasterson → u/AJWinky]

My neighbor Judy won't let me forget it. But I do love that lady.

[u/thomasscat → u/chadmasterson]

Fuck YEAH, Judy!!!

[u/timidforrestcreature → u/thomasscat]

Classic judy

[u/JaviWonderz → u/timidforrestcreature]

Not all Judies wear capes

[u/xraj489 → u/chadmasterson]

Aunt Judy!!

[u/weeb2k1 → u/AJWinky]

Unfortunately if they aren't Rosa Parks, history largely has. Even with Ms. Parks her role has been largely reduced to one action, ignoring the rest of her contribution to the cause. Black women were on the front line during the Civil rights movement, but the men get all the attention. Black women were on the front line of the women's liberation movement, but the white women got all the attention.

[u/ul2006kevinb → u/weeb2k1]

Ms. Loving, too. Sure she got interracial marriage legalized but she also fought in numerous other causes, including same sex marriage.

[u/[deleted] → u/weeb2k1]

people always forget Angela Davis

[u/KingPinBreezy → u/AJWinky]

Non-American here. Could you provide examples? Im curious.

[u/getzdegreez → u/KingPinBreezy]

There are countless, but here is a good starting point.

[u/[deleted] → u/AJWinky]

They have been all throughout American history tbh

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yet they’ve been reduced to “welfare queens” and “hood rats” by so many on the right. Black women have been the backbone of so many social movements in the US. Yet they are constantly forgotten, disrespected, and pushed aside.

[u/thephoenixx → u/[deleted]]

Don't forget the "screaming in your face loud black woman" stereotype that still gets traction today.

[u/chakrablocker → u/thephoenixx]

It's a better dog whistle than uppity.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Let's hope Doug Jones acknowledges who really carried him and actually puts up an agenda to help these people in a deeply xenophobic, racist and sexist environment.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

He said it in his victory speech. I mean, there's a ton more that he can acknowledge, but he couldn't have thanked them for his win any sooner than he did.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Ah, interesting. I went to bed after the election was called, it was ~5am where I live.

Good to hear, maybe he's such a positive influence that Alabamans rethink their party affiliation, atleast a small subset of them.

[u/MaddiKate → u/[deleted]]

Or even if they stay GOP, they'll learn to like Jones. It got buried under the anti-Moore coverage (which rightfully deserved to be front-and-center), but Jones is an upstanding guy in his own right. And not just compared to a looney pedophile.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I think he will. He's got to know he isn't going to get re-elected. Might as well go all-out in helping the people in his state that need it the most.

[u/uma100 → u/[deleted]]

Oh, he could get re-elected, this is with 30% black turnout, build some infrastructure and get it to 50% - we will be electing all kinds of Dems then. The Democratic party in Alabama has said for years it's possible if they could get some money and support.

[u/[deleted] → u/uma100]

I’m from South Carolina. It’s not possible here. It’s not like West Virginia where broad candidate infrastructure is buildable. Everything here is so divided on racial lines that no white conservatives will vote for Jones unless they have literally no other option (and as we saw here, even then only a few switched over).

[u/uma100 → u/[deleted]]

But that's the thing, it's different in Alabama because 26% of their population is black. You don't need to turn out Republican moderates, just turn out POC and progressive white people. Trying to get those moderates is what has been killing us. There are over 1.2 million African Americans in Alabama, more than enough to swing any election. They do not vote because they don't believe in either Democrats or Republicans. They were given a reason to turn out this time, people went in their communities and asked for their vote.

[u/Redwhitesherry → u/[deleted]]

If the GOP manages to nominate a complete fuck stick again in 2020 it will certainly be possible that he wins re-election. And that is a very real possibility. Another possibility is that the events of the next 2 years could see the GOP completely fracture to the degree that you see the conservative vote being split with a third party or independent candidates who could also win Jones reelection.

[u/FalstaffsMind]

75% of white men in Alabama just voted for a man who preyed sexually on underaged teenage girls. Why? Because he was a Republican? Or because he was a Dominionist? What exactly qualified Roy Moore over his opponent in this particular case?

It wasn't because he was a Christian and his opponent wasn't. His opponent was a Methodist and belonged to his church for 33 years.

Something is very broken in white america. It's very disturbing.

And we do owe a debt of gratitude to black voters in Alabama. They did the nation and the world a great favor.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Has Jones come out against guns?

Gun rights Jones described himself in September as "a Second Amendment guy" but said there are "limitations" and called for expanded background checks in an interview with MSNBC. "We've got limitations on all constitutional amendments in one form or another," Jones said. "I want to enforce the laws that we have right now. The biggest issue, I think, that's facing the Second Amendment right now is that we need to make sure we shore up the National Crime Information System, the NCIC system for background checks, to both keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but at the same time, cut down on error so that law-abiding citizens can get those."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/27/politics/doug-jones-on-the-issues/index.html

A quick google search, makes it seem like he is not anti gun.

Though the NRA, Fartbriet, and a bunch of right wing garbage would say otherwise.

[u/kill-dash-nine → u/[deleted]]

Hmm, almost sounds like Moore was actually the one who was going to be taking away the rights of the people of Alabama... oh wait, it's only taking away your rights if you disagree with someone else or they have a (D) next to their name.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

But I do genuinely wish everyone could have abortions whenever wherever they wanted.

[u/kenman884 → u/[deleted]]

That is a damn reasonable response. I find it hard to believe most people from either side would disagree with that stance.

[u/legalpothead → u/[deleted]]

My family is conservative, and in my parent's house, Fox News is on literally all day long. I feel your frustration.

I try to tell them that because disinformation is being weaponized, it's critical that they get their news from a wide variety of sources. But if my dad turns the channel and watches CNN or MSNBC, he gets angry within minutes and switches back to Fox. He dislikes anyone who criticizes Trump, in any way.

It's absolutely insane. They didn't used to be this bad. Now they just accept whatever Fox News feeds them. It's like they joined a cult.

[u/BearTerrapin → u/[deleted]]

I make the argument that advertising to a degree, when done well, reflects the character of the target market they're hitting. MSNBC tends to have more mainstream advertising, because that's who's watching. CNN is advertising heaven if you're going for moderately smart, middle aged Americans who maybe still while not always being cognizant of privilege, don't generally get rubed and can be spoken to. Fox advertises to the old and successful, but increasingly stupid due to diminishing mental capacities elderly of this country who "grew up in a different America." Then they fill the rest of that market with the young and uneducated poor whites in rural America, catching the stupidity before it can break out of it. Hence, GOLD! commercials, and other cringy ads that reek scam appeal to that target market.

[u/PM_PICS_OF_GOOD_BOIS → u/legalpothead]

my dad turns the channel and watches CNN or MSNBC, he gets angry within minutes

It's going to take bringing down Trump to pull him from this, just so you know.

He is so into the Kool-Aid that he sees any argument against something Fox says as a clear "liberals trying to BRAINWASH ME!"

[u/[deleted] → u/PM_PICS_OF_GOOD_BOIS]

Bringing down Trump might only solidify his ideas even more. He will think it was "the deep state" and that it was a witchhunt. The cult of Trump isn't going away until they literally drink the Kool-Aid.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Y’all can’t drive, and obviously you can’t be trusted with voting either

The voice of a man who loves democracy

[u/DangerousPuhson → u/[deleted]]

Hilarious. His diatribe about how everyone's rights will be taken away is held in the same breath as a call to take away everyone's rights.

The hypocrisy is palpable with these people. It's a shame that they hold everyone else back.

[u/Cyke101 → u/[deleted]]

And when you look at their respective platforms, even the accusation that Jones will take away rights is absurd. One candidate wants to increase rights, and the other doesn't believe any amendment after 10 is valid.

Even then, it wasn't Jones supporters who were closing down polling places in primarily Black counties, either. If anyone wanted to take away rights, it was Moore.

[u/dalgeek → u/[deleted]]

America is screwed. Great job dumbass Alabamians. Way to screw America by electing the baby killer Doug Jones. Kiss your rights goodbye.

Killing fetuses = bad

Raping children = OK

Got it!

[u/StealthRabbi → u/[deleted]]

Y’all can’t drive

huh?

[u/twointimeofwar → u/StealthRabbi]

Guesses: Stereotype about women can't drive and shouldn't be trusted to vote? Some stereotype about POC can't drive? Possibly some commentary on undocumented persons (who also can't vote) and how they can't drive? Maybe some sort of neural synapse about needing identification (usually a driver's license) to vote?

[u/thephoenixx → u/[deleted]]

Legit request. Ask your brother, if he was in a burning room that had 5000 embryos in a jar, or one actual child, which one would he choose.

[u/[deleted] → u/FalstaffsMind]

Something is very broken in white america. It's very disturbing.

There is definitely a sickness. If you watched the Roy Moore "victory party", once the results started coming in saying Jones won; they brought on stage two creepy, wax-figurine-looking 20 something year olds to sing hymns. It was like the church scene in the Purge.

[u/robotevil → u/[deleted]]

Do you have a link for this? This sounds awesome.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Disturbing.

[u/baby_mike → u/[deleted]]

I was cringing the whole time. Good god that's painful. My schadenfreude is through the roof right now.

[u/SerHodorTheThrall → u/[deleted]]

Its like a fucking funeral. I love it.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Literally has all the pieces minus one element - maybe the singer pulls the wrong lyrics up on his phone and it mentions pedophilia or something like that. At some point in the skit the guy would try to hand of the mic to the woman but get boo'ed intensely until he took it back.

[u/malhuff → u/[deleted]]

Just didn't share the microphone whatsoever.

[u/handlit33 → u/malhuff]

lmao, why did the chick even go up? I sang in church my entire adolescent life and it just really isn't that hard to put a mic between two people. What a dick.

[u/moskonia → u/[deleted]]

The presenter really looked like Kenneth from 30 Rock.

[u/SovereignGW → u/[deleted]]

The chants of "USA" at the end of this video when he comes on stage... What the actual fuck. These people are so far gone.

[u/bigbeats420 → u/robotevil]

Seconded. I'd really like to see this.

[u/banpeiSF → u/robotevil]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gcJGM7htXr0

It’s around the 2h19m mark. It’s just as weird as it sounds.

[u/petevalle → u/[deleted]]

I think it cannot be overstated how important an issue abortion is for many who voted for Moore (and Trump for that matter). Yes there are blatant racists out there but not a plurality IMO. A lot of people dislike these candidates but end up voting for them because they view the "murder" of unborn babies as a greater evil.

[u/iamexplodinggod → u/petevalle]

I think you are absolutely correct. This is issue is far more divisive then I think people realize, which is saying something. It is pretty much an unwinnable argument. There is a fundamental difference in how many pro-choice and pro-life people define life and yet both sides still try to “logic” their way to changing peoples’ mind. I lean left and my dad is incredibly right, after a very long discussion he said he could get behind a lot of leftist ideas with proper implementation. Said he still considers himself a republican and when it comes down to it he is a one issue voter and would never vote for someone who is pro-choice.

[u/Neat_On_The_Rocks → u/iamexplodinggod]

I think younger dems (redditors) really vastly under estimate how effectively the GOP has politicized abortion. They have convinced huge portions of their base that abortion is actual child murder. Theres a lot of white noise about religion that goes with it but you can remove religion from it all together if you want.

The bottom line is, millions of these people believe abortion is child murder, and it really seems like there is no way to change their mind.

If you look at it from simply that perspective, it becomes a whole lot less surprising that people are voting for these awful candidates, voting "party over country" ect ect.

Its because to them, anything is better than child murder. I really dont know what we are supposed to do to get around it. The right has done such a good job politicizing this issue and making people believe it that it seems impossible to get around.

I know my own dad is similar to yours. Probably ~8 years or so ago he went full tilt Ron Paul Libertarian for a while, and has undergone a lot of political view changes to the point of voting for Bernie Sanders in the primaries.

However, he still has a HUGE issue with abortion and most of the time it stops him from voting Dem.

[u/Oxirane → u/FalstaffsMind]

Why?

I think they might be so deep in Fox La-La-Land that they just didn't believe the allegations had any weight. That's the only explanation I can think of that begins to explain how so many people voted for Moore.

Regardless of why, something is incredibly broken here.

[u/A3rik → u/Oxirane]

You’re not wrong- I’m on mobile and don’t have time to chase down a link, but I recall seeing polling that indicated a huge percentage of republicans thought the accusations were completely false.

[u/Dreamtrain → u/FalstaffsMind]

Because some conservative people are so against a pro-choice that they think someone who molested kids is not that much worse than someone who kills them before birth, it's unbelievable but thats how many of them think

[u/wholesomepupper → u/FalstaffsMind]

And 2/3 of white women!!

[u/bandswithgoats]

They did but white liberals need to drop this "black women will save us" mess that never coincides with courageous action to improve their lot in life.

Instead of waiting to be bailed out by the black vote again and again, as white people we need to be doing work in our communities to address shameful shit like the pro-Moore margin among white voters. (Every white demographic I've seen would have given Moore the win except, specifically white college-educated women who only narrowly broke for Jones.)

It should be embarrassing. Backing these con-artists should cost you friends, customers, and opportunities. It's a mark of great shame that white women backed Moore and white men backed him by a much greater margin. We need to stop avoiding these difficult conversations with our peers.

[u/UniversalSpector]

Can black people no be taken for granted? If you want to maintain high turnout for black voters, push policy initiatives that actually improve the welfare, security and education of the average black American.

It is time to start taking that seriously.

The idea of white supremacy is far too ingrained in the minds of many whites to even think that you can sacrifice the black vote to reach them.

Don't be stupid. Plus laws that help blacks will undoubtedly help many upon many whites.

[u/jquince]

So, at the end of the day, Dems are viewed just a bit more favorably than a child molester? This might be a problem.

[u/Zer0_Context → u/jquince]

...in Alabama.

[u/Darko33 → u/Zer0_Context]

A gargantuan caveat if I ever heard one

[u/elshizzo → u/jquince]

I mean if we are gonna look at this realistically, white people in Alabama still overwhelmingly preferred the child molester to the democrat.

[u/RemoveTheTop]

For everyone wondering:

According to the data from this image

Out of 100% of eligible voters:
9.45% white men voters (35*.27)
10.85% white women voters (31*.35)
10.23% black man voters (11*.93)
16.66% black women voters (98*.17)

(47.19% of all ELIGIBLE voters voted for Doug)

Putting that into another statistic:

20% of votes for Doug were white men
~22% of votes for Doug were white women
~22% of votes for Doug were black men
35.3% of votes for Doug were black women

Very interesting data!

Thank you to ALL the people who went out and voted. Many of which this would be impossible without.