In kicking off this week's "White Dudes for Harris," organizer Ross Morales Rocketto quipped that throughout history when hoards of white American males organize, they're usually wearing pointed hats. "The reason we are doing this is because the left has been ceding white men to the MAGA right for too long. Trump won over 60% of white men in both 2016 and 2020, and that needs to change," said Rocketto, a progressive political organizer. By the time the call ended late Monday, the group had raised more than $4 million to support Vice President Kamala Harris' bid for president. Rocketto started by acknowledging the organization Win With Black Women, which organized a virtual call less than 24 hours after President Biden announced that he was leaving the race and endorsing Harris. That first call, which raised about $1.5 million, was just a week ago. Subsequently, a group of white women organized a fundraising call for 200,000 that pulled in $8.5 million. For a hot second, Rocketto sounded like he was about to get all Hillbilly Elegy, noting that the economy has left behind many hardworking people. "The silent majority of white men aren't actually MAGA supporters; they're people who just want a better life for their families. They want more economic security, better healthcare, and better schools. There's a crisis of loneliness in this country, with men representing 70-75% of all deaths of despair, such as suicide and substance abuse," he said. He added: "These issues don't only affect white men but also Black and brown people, LGBTQIA+ individuals, especially trans women, indigenous people, and others in our society who are marginalized and hurt. These people are our friends, neighbors, and partners, but even if they weren't, they are fellow human beings, and that should be enough for every one of us on this call." Democrats have lost white men in every presidential election since 1960, so it remains to be seen whether this week's efforts will translate into victory. In the meantime, let's read more about the star-studded fundraising call for white men. Sorry, no data points this week but I will tell you more about this week's episode of "Reckon True Stories." Let's talk about it. |
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On a “White Dudes for Harris” virtual call, it was probably fitting that “The Dude” dropped in. Actor Jeff Bridges addressed a fundraising event geared toward white men supporting Vice President Kamala Harris and sang her praises on Monday night, before channeling his iconic role as “The Dude” in 1998′s “The Big Lebowski,” declaring, “As the Dude might say, ‘That’s just my opinion, man.’” (The original line was “That’s just, like, your opinion, man.”" The call lasted more than three hours and organizers said it attracted 180,000+ people who donated more than $3.7 million. It was the latest in a series of Zoom gatherings to raise money and rally support among tens of thousands of supporters for Harris, after President Joe Biden announced he was leaving the presidential race and endorsing her. Zooms have previously been organized by supporters’ backgrounds — including Black women, Hispanic women, Black men, Asian Americans, Native Americans and the LGBTQ+ community. It reflected how Democrats, including Biden, have frequently relied on voters from broad and disparate backgrounds to piece together a diverse coalition of support. The president’s 2020 victory, for example, relied on segments of the population ranging from organized labor to conservative, suburban women disillusioned with Republican Donald Trump. The “white dudes” Zoom event also featured appearances from actors Mark Ruffalo, Mark Hamill and Bradley Whitford, who deadpanned about so many white male speakers being “a rainbow of beige.” Also participating were Democratic officials including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, all of whom have been mentioned as potential Harris running mates. |
On Parents, Forgiveness, and Grief |
In the latest episode of Reckon True Stories, Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon discuss the complicated process of writing about family — specifically parents. They talk about the ways parents fail, how they disappoint, but why it is important, and necessary when writing about family and those we love, to give them grace, and allow them the room to make mistakes. They ask the question, What do we owe to those we write about? And they call for writers to be guided, first and foremost, by love. Deesha and Kiese talk about their own relationships with their parents, the processing and tending to those relationships, and how they moved through feelings of shame and anger while working through layers of grief. Please rate, review and share the episode on Apple podcasts, Spotify and more. |
ICYMI: Our live web event was phenomenal if I do say so myself. I had a great time talking to the hosts of Reckon True Stories about the show, how they came to be professional writers and breaking down this haunting piece by Danyel Smith on working with Sean "Diddy" Combs as a journalist over the past 25 years. We even had too many wonderful audience questions that we didn't get to ask them all. If you couldn't make it, that's fine. We recorded the event. Click the button below to watch. |
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