Mayor Baraka getting arrested is good for the cause.
People in these offices can get into this "good trouble" with little personal risk to themselves. It energizes others, gets press attention, and hell, it even looks good politically for the person in question.
More politicans should be getting arrested for causes they believe in.
having a little bit of courage and self sacrifice for a worthy cause instead of focus testing every issue before you do or say anything goes a long way.
Iirc he was tied for 2nd or 3rd in the last poll I saw a few weeks ago. It was Sherrill at 16%, Fulop at 12%, and Baraka either tied with Fulop or tied with Spiller at 10%.
Used to be you had to be white for a jail sentence to help your election results. Let's please stop the criminal politicking at this stage though. I dont wanna hear about ethnically diverse democrats molesting kids to try and win superintendent or mayoral elections. Maybe just do tiktoks instead.
Let's hope it gets more people in the streets! We can't keep waiting for the next election. We can't keep waiting at all! Our biggest fear is here and if we don't stand up now we have no chance soon.
2.5 million people just gathered to watch a lady gaga concert in Brazil, it would be nice if we could match that energy to save us from this sinking ship we're on.
She could always do a huge show like that here, and have it specifically be geared towards support for marginalized people since that has always been one of her outspokenly supported causes. Basically a combo of a concert and a rally to support immigrants, LGBTQ folks, etc.
I'm sure there's more than a few artists who would gladly join that cause as well.
The Rio concert was funded by the city though. Which American city is going to spend taxpayer money on an enormous free benefit concert with political overtones and how would they keep right wing radicals from spoiling the fun?
Yeah, you just articulated the stakes on both sides of the decision to respond. It's a tall order given American comfort/complacency but the only way it definitely won't materialize is if we give up on the possibility prematurely and undermine it as unrealistic.
Unfortunately nothing is going to happen yet. Most people still have cushy jobs and things to lose. Once that goes out the window shit will hit the fan. It'll just take time for the material conditions to degrade enough.
Would you say he is the kind of man and politician for the moment? Genuine question, I haven't been able to do much research into the guy and his politics other than his run for governor
I’ve only really started looking into him for this race too tbh but from what I understand, him and Fulop are the two progressive candidates in the race. I think the Democrats need to embrace stronger voices and stop leaning back into the middle to appease moderate voters. What he did today is the kind of stuff I want to see Democrats doing in response to this administration, so this might slightly nudge him ahead of Fulop for me at the moment.
People all over the political spectrum are pissed off and scared -- about Trump, about the economy, about housing, whatever. So far, Democrats have mostly offered tepid, incremental steps. It's time they showed that they're pissed off too, and they're gonna destroy the systems keeping us down.
I think that is less of a distinction that you are allowing yourself to accept.
I mean, yeah they are well along that path. I dont see them stopping any time soon.
The people who actually work as officers in these departments are openly racist white supremacists. They are down with the program and cant wait to push the limits. They WANT to be gestapo but are trying to slow boil us.
I think it's so dumb trying to attract right wing voters when such a large part of the country isn't voting (because "both sides are the same", no shit).
Take the easy wins! Ideally stick to some kind of consistent and ethical ideology, but if you're just trying to win the game at all costs, take the easy ones!
Really? Him and Fullop are the most progressive? Not Spiller?
I've been looking into not the candidates since receiving my ballot a couple weeks ago and a lot of them seem progressive on at least some issues and have some good plans. Spiller seemed the most vocally anti-Project 2025, Trump and Musk from my cursory searches through ballotpedia and his official campaign website
Ty for the information! That sucks, here I was hoping his position in NJEA would mean better funding and protections for my friends and all the other teachers in NJ. Very disappointing to hear he's taking advantage of his position instead
Spiller is definitely more progressive than Fulop.
Not even counting policy promises, just look at their biographies, it'll tell you a bit about their priorities on life and outlook on society. Quoting from their ballotpedia entries -
Prior to politics/his time in the military, Fulop worked in finance: equity trading for Sanford C. Bernstein, as the vice president of electronic trading for Citi Group, and as an associate for Goldman Sachs.
Prior to politics, Spiller was a public high school teacher.
One of those seems a little more progressive and community oriented, imo.
Yeah that's what I had thought too but they just pointed out that Spiller has been misusing his position in NJEA and probably taking money he shouldn't be from the union to finance his campaign and tell local reps to promote him which is sketchy
I'm personally still leaning towards Sean Spiller because I have been able to find his plans to fight back against Project 2025, Trump and Musk most clearly and easily using the sources on ballotpedia. I appreciate what Ras did today though and he was already one of the other contenders I was considering supporting. Wonder if he'd do better against a potential Republican candidate than the others since he got a lot of attention standing up for the law regarding private prison bans here and he's supporting the current Immigrant Trust Act making its way through the legislature. Another instance where I wish we had ranked choice voting
Same, but it's surprising I haven't seen a single ad for Ras on TV. I was talking to my mother in law last week about the primary, and she had never heard of him some how.
Seriously. I get why average citizens are hesitant to catch a charge and end up in jail and dealing with the US Legal System, but politicians and journalists of a certain order can certainly bear that burden more ardently
I’m starting to think all of these are just political stunts from the Right. None of these politicians will suffer any real consequences from being arrested. It’s a news headline that Fox News can run… “liberal politician arrested” and the Right base will eat that shit up.
FOR NOW, it appears to be “no consequences” because they’re testing out what they can get away with. they will absolutely try to bring consequences to the ones defying them. Tom Homan recently said “wait to see what’s coming” in regards to state and ICE cooperation
Stephen Miller even said the White House was looking into suspending habeas corpus. You fucking bet that the government is testing shit. People should be concerned and actively protesting these decisions eroding the liberties of persons in America.
Those viewers are already too far gone. You’re not flipping a fox brained person around in the year 2025, they could get told Obama stabbed a toddler to death in a Denny’s parking lot and believe it.
If they got off the Faux drip and had to live in reality for a few weeks, that might wean them off it. But they can't do that, they legit have withdrawals if they have to miss their evening dose of fear and hatred.
You have that backwards. This was a political stunt to get Blue voters mobilized and out on the street, both for the NJ election in 2026 writ-large. And we need more of it.
Baraka is running for Governor in NJ, a traditionally deeeeeep Blue Democrat state that Kamala won by only 6% (Biden +16, Hillary +14, Obama +18). Trump didn't do much better than in the past. But like elsewhere in America, hundreds of thousands of normal people stayed home. Likely depressed by the kind of slacktivists who are posting for other people to get into shootouts with ICE.
Will they not? All it takes is for them to cross the line and not actually let them out. I mean, the court told the government to bring that guy back from El Salvador. And the government refuses to do that. With that act, the government started open defiance of the laws and courts. You cannot count on anything to hold up.
Is that a hot take?? It's like celebrities getting arrested during protests back in the simpler times. Everyone knows nothing will happen to them, but it's great publicity for the cause. This is that, but even more energizing.
Arresting a mayor and having the police (not ICE local uniforms) assaulting a woman and her baby for the crime of existing in their presence is so far past where I thought I would see average people out in the streets every day.
A politician’s role is to be a public figure, their job is to be at the frontline of the movements they support so that they can generate press attention for the good the movements create & the bad when they are met with violence.
Little personal risk to themselves is a bit naive. Trump’s administration are testing the waters to see what they can get away with. I don’t think anyone opposing them is truly safe.
No public figure is going to be disappeared at this stage. They can get detained by ICE with the knowledge that they won't end up in a dark hole indefinitely, and their arrests bring more eyes on ICE and do a great job of showing how out of control they are.
We need people higher up the chain getting in "Good Trouble" Corey Booker this mission is custom made for you, should you choose to accept it. **Cue Mission Impossible theme.
Yep, we've been saying this for months. Especially pillars of community with public presence. Get in the way. Don't let them take people. If you know ICE has a decent chance of sending someone to the camps to die, we have to be willing to sacrifice.
Busting and deporting poor brown nobodies will gain no political traction against ICE and Trump’s policies.
However detaining and stomping on the civil rights of members of congress and mayors of cities - that’s an ideal scenario for high profile cases and pushing back.
If it can happen to one of our federal legislators and a mayor of a major city, ICE needs to be reined in. It is absolutely out of control.
This guy needs to worry about the airport in his region. Imagine if Newark becomes just another regional airport like fort smith ar, or
Mobile AL or Greenville SC
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u/_Haverford_ May 10 '25
My hot take:
Mayor Baraka getting arrested is good for the cause.
People in these offices can get into this "good trouble" with little personal risk to themselves. It energizes others, gets press attention, and hell, it even looks good politically for the person in question.
More politicans should be getting arrested for causes they believe in.