By Mark Sommer, Buffalo News – 11/8/20
That was Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator who the social critic and political activist backed when he ran for president in 2016 and again this year.
But West is firmly in Biden’s corner against President Trump, who he considers an authoritarian destroying American institutions and someone who he fears will usher in fascism in a second term.
“What fascism does is snuff out the very conditions for the possibility of democratic rights across the board. That’s where Trump was headed,” West said.
“That’s why I spent so much of my time making videos and giving speeches, trying to convince my fellow human beings and citizens to vote for somebody I think is mediocre, milquetoast, centrist, moderate and a host of other things.”
“So if Biden does win, it’s two cheers for anti-fascism, very much so,” he said.
West said it was a choice between choosing a “catastrophe or a disaster.”
“Most of us fought for the disaster,” he said.
West, a professor at Harvard University and author of 20 books, including “Race Matters,” is speaking at 7 p.m. Monday by Zoom at an annual Western New York Peace Center event. Tickets are $15-$30. For more information, go to wnypeace.org.
West is no more fan of the Democratic Party than he is of Biden, which he calls pro-corporate, pro Wall Street and pro-militarism. Neither political party, he said, serves the interests of the poor and working class.
As someone on the political left, West is already hearing the left blamed within the Democratic Party for the poor showing in House and Senate races.
Although Trump repeatedly labeled Biden and running mate Kamala Harris “socialists,” it was Sanders who actually ran as a democratic socialist, and he didn’t get the nomination, West noted. Biden ran as a moderate.
He said the running toward the middle strategy should be the one second-guessed.
“The corporate wing of the Democratic Party does not want to examine its own failures,” West said. “You were looking for the center and Trump got even more Republicans after four years of gangster rule.
“Think you can blame the socialist left when it was the neo-liberal wing in the driver’s seat? It’s a misperception, it’s a frustration, it’s desperation. But there is going to be a tremendous battle within the Democratic Party.”
He said the Democratic Party doesn’t know how to talk to Trump supporters.
“If they did there may not have even been a Trump,” West said. “Not all of Trump’s followers are racists or xenophobic. They are people who also can’t stand neo-liberal elites because they are hypocrites too often, and look down on them. They were looking for an alternative, and the left didn’t provide one because Bernie couldn’t come through.”
West isn’t sure Sanders would have beat Trump, but it’s a race he would have liked to see run.
“I would like to think Bernie would have,” West said. “In order to really beat Trump you have to generate tremendous excitement and enthusiasm, you have to bring in new voters, you have to fuse electoral politics with something fresh and something new.
“That’s brother Bernie; he specialized in doing that,” he said. “On the other hand, it’s also true that with the tremendous apathy in the country — people are just so beat down and tired and fatigued, from the pandemic to political paralysis to dysfunctional electoral politics — that you just don’t know if even Bernie could have brought in enough of the new folks.”
West said something needs to change within the Democratic Party — or perhaps through a third party — to confront enormous challenges ahead.
They include a looming environmental catastrophe, an economy that favors the wealthy, unbridled militarism, entrenched poverty and what West considers to be a spiritual crisis.
Still, he said, Biden was the lesser of two evils.
“You have to have a Lincoln or an FDR, but Biden was the best the Democratic Party could do to stop Trump, and that is why I voted for him,” West said.
West predicts there will be mass protests intended to push Biden to the left.
“I think you’re going to have massive street demonstrations from folk who are part of social movements,” West said.
“Black Lives Matter, thank God, is not going away. The Me Too Movement, thank God, is not going away. The feminist movement concerned about Roe versus Wade in the courts is not going away,” he said.
“And the pressure from the street is much more left than even “the squad” often times, he said, referring to progressive congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Friday, November 6th, 2020
We want to mention that we are still having some issues with our website, and have a wonderful team working to resolve this as soon as possible. We ask that you please note the upcoming event times listed below are correct, but are not currently accurate on our website calendar. If you have any questions about what you are seeing anywhere on our site, please reach out by emailing assistant@wnypeace.org.
Of course we’ll start by mentioning the election; while results are not yet finalized, we are glad to see the count continues moving along and that things are generally calm and peaceful. Please join us tomorrow for the Protect the Results Rally, 12-1:30pm at Niagara Square with masks and physical distancing. We have seen historic voter turnout, with millions of people voting by mail due to the pandemic. Every eligible vote counts!
The WNY Peace Center’s 53rd Annual Fundraiser: An Evening with Dr. Cornel West is now just three days away! If you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, there is still time – visit bit.ly/wnypeace_cornelwest for all of the details! If you are unable to attend, please spread the word, share this email, and/or sponsor a ticket for someone! Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this exciting post-election event will be held entirely on Zoom along with a week-long online auction to benefit the WNYPC. Please see our program below:
- Gnonyoh by Jill Clause, Tuscarora
- Introduction to student groups
- Awards, including Alt-imate Activist to Jillian Hanesworth; Emerging Leaders Award to Jalonda Hill; Lifetime Achievement Awards to Roger Cook and June Licence; and two surprise awards!
- Jillian’s performance of her poem, ‘The Revolution Will Rhyme’
- Keynote by Dr. Cornel West
- Q&A
- Gnonyoh by Jill Clause, Tuscarora
We are so excited for the guidance and wisdom Dr. West will surely bring to us at this critical time. We are ready for whatever comes next and know that we have plenty of work ahead of us!
Please see details and much more below, including special and regularly scheduled events this week, plus campaigns, fundraisers, and more at wnypeace.org, on our Facebook page, Twitter (@wnypeace), and Instagram (@wnypeace)!
Peace, thanks, solidarity, and yes – love!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Saturday, October 24th, 2020
This is a critical time, and we know this especially because our website is regularly being hacked. Someone doesn’t want us to do what we need to do, so we want to alert you all since it has affected our posts, including our event calendar. Please note that the upcoming event times listed below are correct, but are not currently accurate on our website calendar. If you have any questions about what you are seeing on our site, feel free to email assistant@wnypeace.org.
We would also like to take this as another opportunity to thank all of you, our members and supporters, for participating in the Women’s March last weekend as well as recognizing the WNYPC as People’s Choice for the Buffalo Spree’s Best Activist Group. We know that this has been a difficult year for so many, and through all of that, we recognize the peoples’ part in this important work and are so grateful for your support.
TODAY IS THE DAY! Early voting begins in New York, so if you haven’t already, now is the time to make your voting plan! All active registered voters are eligible to cast an early voting ballot at any of the thirty-seven (37) designated early voting locations in Erie County or two (2) locations in Niagara County. Election Inspectors now use Electronic Poll Books and Ballot-on-Demand systems to facilitate early voting, so it is as easy as walking right in with your ID! For a full list of locations, dates, hours, and more details about early voting in WNY, visit bit.ly/wnypeace-gotv2020.
If you are voting today, you can join the Souls to the Polls CommUNITY Early Voting March hosted by a variety of groups including 1199SEIU, Open Buffalo, Coalition for Economic Justice, Voice Buffalo, etc. The rally kicks off at 12:30PM at Community Access Services, 3297 Bailey Ave., Buffalo 14215. We will then march to cast our ballots at the Gloria J. Parks Community Center, 3424 Main St.
On Sunday, Colored Girls Bike Too presents their Halloween Family Bike Ride. Please note that all CGBT events are intended for Black women (cis, trans) and/or Black gender nonconforming individuals to create safe-er spaces. If you received an invite are not a Black woman or GNC Black person, please extend this invite to support the cause and invite someone who is! Please see below for more details.
Lastly, the WNY Peace Center’s 53rd Annual Fundraiser: An Evening with Dr. Cornel West is now just about two weeks away! Visit bit.ly/wnypeace_cornelwest for all of the details and to purchase your tickets! Due to circumstances related to the public health crisis, we are no longer offering the theater broadcast option, so please join us on Zoom! (For those of you who purchased theater tickets, we will be contacting you via email shortly regarding conversion or refund options.) As with our previous annual events, we will offer a basket raffle, auction, and program book – only this year we are going virtual! We are in need of submissions for the auction items and baskets as well as program ads, so please contact assistant@wnypeace.org if you would like to donate! If you would like to submit an ad, visit the event page above.
Please see details and much more below, including special and regularly scheduled events this week, plus campaigns, fundraisers, and more at wnypeace.org, on our Facebook page, Twitter (@wnypeace), and Instagram (@wnypeace)!
Peace, thanks, solidarity, and yes – love!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
