Senator Bernie Sanders turns blind eye to racism by supporting Graham Platner
No, Jimmy Kimmel, Rep. Jasmine Crockett shouldn't have to prove her IQ score to Trump
The following post is part of my former Substack publication “One Black Woman’s Vote” that is now in “I Do See Color.” To see more OBWV posts from 2025, click here. To see OBWV posts from 2021-2024, click here. New OBWV posts will be published on the last Wednesday of each month.
Senator Bernie Sanders is tough to defend on a few issues, mainly his obliviousness of racism versus the economy. During the 2016 primaries, I voted for him anyway. When he lost, then I voted for Clinton in the general election. (Write-in votes were a waste of a vote by that time.)
As soon as I think I can compliment him and respect his march with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he always manages to remind me why Clinton would have been a better choice had she won the electoral vote. His latest reminder: defending Graham Platner, the progressive U.S. Senate hopeful running in Maine’s Democratic primary.
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Even if you don't know Platner's name, you probably know him as the political candidate who had a Nazi-inspired tattoo on his chest for nearly two decades. (Even Maine Senator Susan Collins should be “concerned.”) And the Maine candidate somehow wants voters to believe that he had no access to Google to figure out this tattoo should have been a reason for a cover-up tattoo the next day after he “sobered up.”
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According to what Sanders told Axios: “I’m not overly impressed by a squad of media running around saying, ‘What do you think about the tattoo on Graham Platner’s chest?’ … Between you and me, there might be one or two more important issues.”
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I sighed and shook my head. I don't know what it is about a particular segment of older (and younger) white men who claim to support equal rights, but this “Meh, get over blatant racism” attitude is not doing you any favors.
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Jimmy Kimmel, stop instigating this pointless IQ fight with Trump
Then there's nighttime talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who announced how great it would be for Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett to take an IQ test live with Donald Trump. While the crowd cheered and clapped, I shook my head at the level of condescension.
Crockett already earned her bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College in 2003, got her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 2006 and was a public defender for Bowie County, Texas for several years before going into private practice. She’s proven herself to be qualified in and out of a classroom, in and out of a courtroom, in and out of an oversight committee, and in and out of a ballot box choice. She has nothing more to prove to anyone but Texan voters.
Why would a civil rights attorney still have to prove how smart she is for the enjoyment of Trump supporters or Kimmel viewers? People are getting kidnapped off the street, yanked from their children and pets, and helicopters are landing on top of Chicago multi-units.
But Kimmel wants Trump and Crockett to take an IQ test for fun, which would be an excuse for him to get off the topic of Gaza, the government shutdown, the Epstein files, the peculiar destruction of the East Wing of the White House, SNAP benefits and an extremely dishonest reason for killing random fishermen.
After this House Rep is done being the source of entertainment for Kimmel’s ratings, should she count jelly beans before she votes too? She ran for Congress, not a circus. Let her do her job and focus on the worst possible choice for president failing at his.
Black women spend damn near every single day of their lives proving their worth. Give Crockett the benefit of the doubt on an IQ test she’d clearly smoke Trump in. Focus on what she’s in Congress to actually do — and no, it’s not to take IQ tests for Jimmy Kimmel!
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But while (potential) voters are paying attention to who’s on the ticket in Texas and Maine (and other local elections), pay attention to how many candidates running for the Senate and House do not have a Nazi tattoo nor do they have to scramble to get a tattoo cover-up. Even the guy who put out a full-page ad to imprison the Central Park Five had a high enough IQ to know not to make this stupid, racist tattoo decision. Vote for someone with enough common sense to have laser surgery before we knew who he was — or someone who knew better in the first place!
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday. Thanks for reading!