Hillary Meets with BLM

[bourbonfan]

I really hate that I can't copy/paste from work or mobile.

www.yahoo.com/politics/hillary-clinton-meets-with-black-lives-matter-126999333761.html

Summary:

5 activists hoped to disrupt her event in Keene, NH but were thwarted by Secret Service. They agreed to meet with her privately afterwards.

Clinton defended her record in racial issues. Said she was trying to put together a way to sell "it" (I'm assuming "it" would be policies?).

She said you can't change people's hearts but you can change policies. BLM felt this was her admission that she doesn't want to challenge bigotry.

2 of the activists were disappointed in the conversation. They wanted self reflection from her regarding her role in bad policies but didn't get it.

Then they talk about her and O'Malley's "all lives matter" thing.

[bourbonfan]

The activists released a video of the meeting. I haven't seen it yet.

[2curlydogs]

abcnews.go.com/Politics/happened-inside-hillary-clintons-closed-door-meeting-black/story?id=33158038

Hillary Clinton held an impromptu, closed-door meeting with five “Black Lives Matter” protesters in Keene, New Hampshire, last week that at times got notably tense, and somewhat uncomfortable, according to videos released late Monday night showing what it was like inside.



Standing inside an over-flow room after one of Clinton's recent campaign events, the Democratic presidential front-runner told the group of protesters she is “ready to do my part" to support their efforts, but at times seemed visibly frustrated during her interactions with them.



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She ultimately offered them some advice on how to be a more productive movement. “You’re going to have to come together as a movement and say, ‘Here’s what we want done about it,’” Clinton said, “Because you can get lip service from as many white people as you can pack into Yankee stadium, and say a million more like it who are going to say ‘We get it, We get it, We’re going to be nicer.’ Right? That’s not enough, at least in my book.”



Clinton, who in a testy exchange appeared to disagree with the protesters on how to implement policy change, later added: "Look, I don’t believe you change hearts. I believe you change laws, you change allocation of resources, you change the way systems operate. You’re not going to change every heart, you’re not. But, at the end of the day, we can do a whole lot to change some hearts and change some systems and create more opportunities for people who deserve to have them."



The protesters also asked Clinton to reflect on policies from the Bill Clinton administration that led to the dramatic rise in mass incarceration we see today.



Clinton gave a policy-driven answer, saying, "I do think there was a different set of concerns back in the 80’s and the early 90’s, and now I believe we have to look at the world as it is today and try to figure out what will work now.”



Two of the protesters who met with Clinton appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" Monday night to respond to the meeting. They said Clinton’s answer “wasn’t sufficient” and accused her of “ducking personal responsibility." (Notably, last month Bill Clinton delivered a speech at the NAACP convention where he spoke about criminal justice reform and admitted, “I signed a bill that made the problem worse. And I want to admit it.” He said certain laws he implemented that made prison sentences longer were “wrong.”)



Clinton's campaign wrote in a statement released today that this discussion will be "one of many" that the Democratic candidate will have.



"This discussion was one of many that the campaign will continue to have with a wide array of stakeholders in order to build on Hillary Clinton's policy proposals to help reform our criminal justice system and achieve racial justice. As Hillary has said, in order to implement real change, we must confront the deep-seated biases and racial injustice that still remains in our country today," the statement read. "We must not only change hearts, but we must do more to face hard truths in America. We must also work together to change laws, raise awareness, and build a coalition to ensure every American knows what it means to be secure, safe and free."



Hillary Clinton met with the protesters, who are part of the local Boston Black Lives Matter movement, after a town hall event on drugs and addiction in Keene, New Hampshire. The protesters had planned to attend the Town Hall, but when they arrived the event was already full to capacity and so they were asked to watch in an over-flow room.



Following the event, Clinton went to speak privately with the protesters. Clinton's campaign did not allow reporters inside, saying that the protesters had asked there be no media. But after the meeting, the protesters told reporters they had never made such a request.



The group filmed the meeting themselves, however, and released the first excerpts from it Monday night.



Clinton, as well as other Democratic presidential candidates, have all struggled over the course of their campaigns with how to address the Black Lives Matter movement.



After facing heat for saying "All Lives Matter" during a campaign stop near Ferguson, Mo., earlier this summer, Clinton has since made a concerted effort to frequently say "Black Lives Matter" when discussing race issues and criminal justice reform.



Clinton has also made criminal justice reform a focus of her campaign. In April, she called for the “end of an era of mass incarceration” and for increasing the use of body cameras by law enforcement agents nationwide during her first major policy speech as a presidential candidate.

[pixy0stix]

WTF is this shit, Hillary?

"“I’ve spent most of my adult life focused on kids,” Clinton said, “to try to give kids — particularly poor kids, particularly, you know, black kids and Hispanic kids — the same chance to live up to their own God-given potential as any other kid.”"

[cap]

This article has the whole transcript:
www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-black-lives-matter_55d2ad41e4b055a6dab1453f

[bourbonfan]

Thank you 2curlydogs!

[pixy0stix]

I have to agree with her that you can't change hearts. You can change actions, but hearts? I don't know if that's possible.

[bourbonfan]

Aug 18, 2015 14:24:27 GMT -5 cap said:

This article has the whole transcript:
www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-black-lives-matter_55d2ad41e4b055a6dab1453f

Thanks! I keep trying to watch the video but my work computer is fighting me on it.

[cap]

Aug 18, 2015 14:26:15 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I have to agree with her that you can't change hearts. You can change actions, but hearts? I don't know if that's possible.

This is the whole of that statement, which was the last thing said, basically:

"Look, I don’t believe you change hearts. I believe you change laws, you change allocation of resources, you change the way systems operate. You’re not going to change every heart. You’re not. But at the end of the day, we could do a whole lot to change some hearts and change some systems and create more opportunities for people who deserve to have them, to live up to their God-given potential, to live safely without fear of violence in their own communities, to have a decent school, to have a decent house, to have a decent future. So we can do it in one of many ways. You can keep the movement going, which you have started, and through it you may actually change some hearts. But if that’s all that happens, we’ll be back here in 10 years having the same conversation. We will not have all of the changes that you deserve to see happen in your lifetime because of your willingness to get out there and talk about this."

[bourbonfan]

Aug 18, 2015 14:31:46 GMT -5 cap said:

Aug 18, 2015 14:26:15 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I have to agree with her that you can't change hearts. You can change actions, but hearts? I don't know if that's possible.

This is the whole of that statement, which was the last thing said, basically:

"Look, I don’t believe you change hearts. I believe you change laws, you change allocation of resources, you change the way systems operate. You’re not going to change every heart. You’re not. But at the end of the day, we could do a whole lot to change some hearts and change some systems and create more opportunities for people who deserve to have them, to live up to their God-given potential, to live safely without fear of violence in their own communities, to have a decent school, to have a decent house, to have a decent future. So we can do it in one of many ways. You can keep the movement going, which you have started, and through it you may actually change some hearts. But if that’s all that happens, we’ll be back here in 10 years having the same conversation. We will not have all of the changes that you deserve to see happen in your lifetime because of your willingness to get out there and talk about this."

And that was in response to the activist telling her she can't tell Black people what to do and accusing her of victim blaming.

[bourbonfan]

Yeah... That first video is bad. Hillary should read this board before she meets with BLM again. :/

[ttt]

Aug 18, 2015 14:22:11 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

Two of the protesters who met with Clinton appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" Monday night to respond to the meeting. They said Clinton’s answer “wasn’t sufficient” and accused her of “ducking personal responsibility." (Notably, last month Bill Clinton delivered a speech at the NAACP convention where he spoke about criminal justice reform and admitted, “I signed a bill that made the problem worse. And I want to admit it.” He said certain laws he implemented that made prison sentences longer were “wrong.”)

Which actions are they wanting her to take personal responsibility for? I don't understand this. 

[ESF]

I'm trying to watch the video but I'm on my cell on the subway en route to a meeting, and it keeps cutting out on me. I only caught the first minute or so of the HuffPo one with the guy talking. I only skimmed the transcript. There were definitely missteps, like the quote Pixy referred to and she dodged an opportunity to strongly denounce what happened under her husband's watch. But in general, the gist of it seemed at least productive, if not all together perfect.

I'm not black though, so I'm reading it through my own privilege. I hope we can have a long discussion about this because I learned a lot from the Bernie thread.

[ESF]

Aug 18, 2015 15:39:58 GMT -5 ttt said:

Aug 18, 2015 14:22:11 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

Two of the protesters who met with Clinton appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" Monday night to respond to the meeting. They said Clinton’s answer “wasn’t sufficient” and accused her of “ducking personal responsibility." (Notably, last month Bill Clinton delivered a speech at the NAACP convention where he spoke about criminal justice reform and admitted, “I signed a bill that made the problem worse. And I want to admit it.” He said certain laws he implemented that made prison sentences longer were “wrong.”)

Which actions are they wanting her to take personal responsibility for? I don't understand this. 

Huff Po gives more context:



Jones and Black Lives Matter Boston leader Daunasia Yancey, who was also at the meeting with Clinton, told MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry on Monday night that they felt the meeting was productive and appreciated the candidate's desire to focus on reforming discriminatory policies.

"I feel as if the encounter was good. It moves the conversation on race to a newer and deeper level," Jones said.

Still, the activists said they were disappointed that she "ducked personal responsibility" for the current state of affairs. In the meeting, Jones asked Clinton about stringent crime policies during her husband's presidency that disproportionately targeted blacks. President Bill Clinton's administration imposed mandatory minimum sentences on nonviolent offenders, spent more money building prisons and undertook a number of other measures that facilitated mass incarceration.



I don't love the assumption that because he is her husband, fault is automatically imputed to her.  BUT, she's a democrat, and this is her party. It would be incredibly meaningful if she used that role to denounce previous proposals adopted by the party, and acknowledge that in her view, the party was wrong to support them.

[bourbonfan]

Aug 18, 2015 15:39:58 GMT -5 ttt said:

Aug 18, 2015 14:22:11 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

Two of the protesters who met with Clinton appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" Monday night to respond to the meeting. They said Clinton’s answer “wasn’t sufficient” and accused her of “ducking personal responsibility." (Notably, last month Bill Clinton delivered a speech at the NAACP convention where he spoke about criminal justice reform and admitted, “I signed a bill that made the problem worse. And I want to admit it.” He said certain laws he implemented that made prison sentences longer were “wrong.”)

Which actions are they wanting her to take personal responsibility for? I don't understand this. 

She lobbied for the criminal justice reform her husband passed. The acitivist basically asked her something along the lines of "what changed in your heart that has changed how you view this now?" And she basically didn't answer and instead talked about concerns being different in the 80s and 90s. The activist again said those policies sucked then too, so she came back with how bad crime was back then and how it was affecting minorities, etc.

What I got from reading the transcript and watching the video was that they just wanted her to say something like, "Look, I was wrong. I have seen now how badly those policies affected blacks and other minorities, and now I just want to make it right." At least something that is along the lines of, I've really thought about this and about how I was part of the problem. But she sort of side stepped that and kind of came across as #sorrynotsorry.

[bourbonfan]

Aug 18, 2015 15:47:32 GMT -5 ESF said:

Aug 18, 2015 15:39:58 GMT -5 ttt said:

Which actions are they wanting her to take personal responsibility for? I don't understand this. 

Huff Po gives more context:



Jones and Black Lives Matter Boston leader Daunasia Yancey, who was also at the meeting with Clinton, told MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry on Monday night that they felt the meeting was productive and appreciated the candidate's desire to focus on reforming discriminatory policies.

"I feel as if the encounter was good. It moves the conversation on race to a newer and deeper level," Jones said.

Still, the activists said they were disappointed that she "ducked personal responsibility" for the current state of affairs. In the meeting, Jones asked Clinton about stringent crime policies during her husband's presidency that disproportionately targeted blacks. President Bill Clinton's administration imposed mandatory minimum sentences on nonviolent offenders, spent more money building prisons and undertook a number of other measures that facilitated mass incarceration.



I don't love the assumption that because he is her husband, fault is automatically imputed to her.  BUT, she's a democrat, and this is her party. It would be incredibly meaningful if she used that role to denounce previous proposals adopted by the party, and acknowledge that in her view, the party was wrong to support them.

She also did actively lobby for these policies (Annual "women in Policing" Awards/C-SPAN interview 1994, her book "It Takes a Village" 1996). Her views started to change in 1998-2000, but the point remains that she was a vocal supporter of this legislation, even if it was her husband who passed it as President, not her.

[ttt]

Aug 18, 2015 15:52:31 GMT -5 bourbonfan said:

Aug 18, 2015 15:39:58 GMT -5 ttt said:

Which actions are they wanting her to take personal responsibility for? I don't understand this. 

She lobbied for the criminal justice reform her husband passed. The acitivist basically asked her something along the lines of "what changed in your heart that has changed how you view this now?" And she basically didn't answer and instead talked about concerns being different in the 80s and 90s. The activist again said those policies sucked then too, so she came back with how bad crime was back then and how it was affecting minorities, etc.

What I got from reading the transcript and watching the video was that they just wanted her to say something like, "Look, I was wrong. I have seen now how badly those policies affected blacks and other minorities, and now I just want to make it right." At least something that is along the lines of, I've really thought about this and about how I was part of the problem. But she sort of side stepped that and kind of came across as #sorrynotsorry.

Thanks - I didn't realize she had been so involved in that.

[zoegirltx]

i didn't open this thread b/c I was thinking BLM = bureau land management & was confused.

This makes more sense. I'm not sure this is the best route for anybody to accomplish anything, but I do think the activists are doing what they think they need to do & are obviously getting some attention from her & nationally for their cause.

[downtoearth]

Aug 18, 2015 16:43:01 GMT -5 zoegirltx said:

i didn't open this thread b/c I was thinking BLM = bureau land management & was confused.

This makes more sense. I'm not sure this is the best route for anybody to accomplish anything, but I do think the activists are doing what they think they need to do & are obviously getting some attention from her & nationally for their cause.

Me too, but I work with BLM permitting all the time, so I keep getting confused.

I'll watch tonight. But why can't politicians say,," I listening and don't have it all figured out. Thanks for the perspective."

[5thofjuly]

Aug 18, 2015 16:49:23 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

Aug 18, 2015 16:43:01 GMT -5 zoegirltx said:

i didn't open this thread b/c I was thinking BLM = bureau land management & was confused.

This makes more sense. I'm not sure this is the best route for anybody to accomplish anything, but I do think the activists are doing what they think they need to do & are obviously getting some attention from her & nationally for their cause.

Me too, but I work with BLM permitting all the time, so I keep getting confused.

I'll watch tonight. But why can't politicians say,," I listening and don't have it all figured out. Thanks for the perspective."

I would love this, but, unfortunately, I think their opponents would jump on them. "So and So doesn't even have a plan! I have the answers!"

[heyjude]

So now Bernie and Hillary are equal in blowing BLM encounters.

[downtoearth]

Aug 18, 2015 17:52:23 GMT -5 heyjude said:

So now Bernie and Hillary are equal in blowing BLM encounters.

I think it's -2 for Bernie and -1 for HRC. But I am happy that they are targeting Dems - that means BLM doesn't even consider that the Repubs will have a chance at getting elected or making real changes, right?

[heyjude]

Aug 18, 2015 17:55:04 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

Aug 18, 2015 17:52:23 GMT -5 heyjude said:

So now Bernie and Hillary are equal in blowing BLM encounters.

I think it's -2 for Bernie and -1 for HRC. But I am happy that they are targeting Dems - that means BLM doesn't even consider that the Repubs will have a chance at getting elected or making real changes, right?

I think they protested Jeb recently.

[ESF]

Aug 18, 2015 17:52:23 GMT -5 heyjude said:

So now Bernie and Hillary are equal in blowing BLM encounters.

Yeah, I watched some of the videos and I can see why her campaign released the transcript and not the videos.  The videos, like the part where there's she's interrupting him, are not good.  WTF is it with these politicians and the interrupting? OMG. STFU and listen.

I do think if there's a winner, it's her for at least inviting them in and agreeing to have a videotaped conversation.  She kept talking with them even after her staff tried to shut it down. Bernie could take a hint from that.

[bourbonfan]

Aug 18, 2015 18:38:05 GMT -5 ESF said:

Aug 18, 2015 17:52:23 GMT -5 heyjude said:

So now Bernie and Hillary are equal in blowing BLM encounters.

Yeah, I watched some of the videos and I can see why her campaign released the transcript and not the videos.  The videos, like the part where there's she's interrupting him, are not good.  WTF is it with these politicians and the interrupting? OMG. STFU and listen.

I do think if there's a winner, it's her for at least inviting them in and agreeing to have a videotaped conversation.  She kept talking with them even after her staff tried to shut it down. Bernie could take a hint from that.

I agree and disagree. I think it would be an entirely fair comparison if they had interrupted her in the same way Bernie was and she had invited them to speak privately or whatever. But her SS stopped them and then must have let her know they were there. She had the option to decide how to handle it without being caught off guard and on stage in front of cameras and a crowd. Bernie obviously had the option to handle it once it happened as well (he chose the wrong option) but the two situations are kind of different. Talking to them though is definitely > walking off stage.

And yeah, they were hard to watch. I really thought she would have done better. Her head nodding was bugging me so much. I'm sure she was listening to what he was saying, but it came across as the opposite. It reminded me of what my dad does to my mom when he feels she's taking forever to make her point.  

[Deleted]

Aug 18, 2015 14:26:15 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I have to agree with her that you can't change hearts. You can change actions, but hearts? I don't know if that's possible.

Eh, I think it is. Mine has been changed on at least a few crucial issues since I began participating on this board and with varying opinions and experiences.

It's not easy, not one bit. But it's possible.