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Senate Unanimously Approves a Bill to Make Juneteenth a Public Holiday

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Re: Senate Unanimously Approves a Bill to Make Juneteenth a Public Holiday

#301

Post by chaorace »

moate wrote: post #288
koheripbal wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dislike this holiday from a purely linguistic point of view. Having a national holiday be named after the portmanteau of June and nineteenth seems like juvenile naming. Was there really no better name for this day?

It's what the holiday has been called for 150+ years, and a bunch of (likely) white politicians deciding to rename something the black community created seems antithetical to the idea of the holiday. Reflect on why you dislike this holiday and the difference between its name and "Christmas". Language is fluid and will survive. It's fine. This is a bad take.

Precisely this. More fuel for the fire: "Thanksgiving", another portmanteau

Re: Senate Unanimously Approves a Bill to Make Juneteenth a Public Holiday

#302

Post by chaorace »

jdhn wrote: post #6

On one hand, that's nice that there's another public holiday, but on the other hand this feels like such an empty gesture, almost like the political equivalent of putting a filter on your selfie.

Holidays may not all be holy days, but they certainly do occupy an important place in the cultural pantheon. Even the act of introducing the Holiday is significant -- Reagan was in office the last time this happened, I wasn't even alive back then!

Even more importantly, however... children will now grow up having the day off and learning about it in class. That's where the real, permanent progress happens!

Re: Senate Unanimously Approves a Bill to Make Juneteenth a Public Holiday

#303

Post by InitialLastName »

Jcowell wrote: post #192
jolux wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to think this was true, but I think the last election has proved this theory wrong. The Democrats won, but there was record turnout for both candidates, and it was a lot closer than many were expecting. Republicans are in the process of making it so it doesn’t matter who wins.

I feel this doesn’t account for districts that were Gerry wandered and what would have happened had there been fair drawing of districts I. These communities. This is Where number allocation is more important that how many numbers there are.

Barring historical arguments about the Dakotas, modern Gerrymandering doesn't meaningfully apply to the presidential election, which was also closer than many forecasters predicted.

Re: Senate Unanimously Approves a Bill to Make Juneteenth a Public Holiday

#304

Post by quesera »

koheripbal wrote: post #298
quesera wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you implying that making Juneteenth a Federal holiday is virtue signalling? Some things are both virtuous, and worth signalling to others.

There might be a healthy balance between actual change, and signaling change. ...but I would argue that modern society is currently obsessed with signaling, and not at all discussing real change.

I agree with you on that.

There's a wide spectrum of signalling between the extremes of "Hitting the Like button Really Really Hard", and "Creating a new Federal Holiday".

I wouldn't argue that this signal is productive, per se. Very few people honor the intent of Federal holidays anyway. But the signal is powerful, and I've learned that powerful signals do make an impact on psychology.

The whole concept of America, quite honestly, is one of symbols and signals. We can never live up to our mythology, but we can make sure the things we aim for are as honorable as possible. That's meaningful.

Re: Senate Unanimously Approves a Bill to Make Juneteenth a Public Holiday

#305

Post by lettergram »

lettergram wrote: post #221

Personally, I have mixed feelings about this. Its a nice gesture, but I am concerned it’ll lead to two Fourth of July’s and further divide the country.

Case in point: https://twitter.com/tombevanrcp/status/1406069086015168515

Re: Senate Unanimously Approves a Bill to Make Juneteenth a Public Holiday

#306

Post by vfclists »

spywaregorilla wrote: post #77
vfclists wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have I claimed that I speak for all Black people?

I mean, you seem to have confidently written "Black people don't need Juneteenth holidays" which I'm sure many Black individuals would disagree with. This is made more ironic when in the line above you criticize white people for dictating what Black people need.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27578984

Re: Senate Unanimously Approves a Bill to Make Juneteenth a Public Holiday

#307

Post by nielsbot »

memling wrote: post #199
nielsbot wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their "best effort" would be to change the filibuster and get it done. You're talking about the current voting reform bill(s)? Manchin is taking the heat for holding this up, but the problem is broader than that: There are a handful of Dems (at least) whose sponsors also don't want this bill to pass, so I'm not holding my breath for any reform happening in this area. And where are Biden and Schumer? They are pretty q…

> Their "best effort" would be to change the filibuster and get it done. This seems like an iffy proposal. Changing most judicial nominations to simple majority has had a significant impact on the judiciary. Eliminating the filibuster for potentially short-lived gains while handing opposition a nearly blank check for future legislative victories seems like a long-term problem. It seems likely to exacerbate political…

I say we try it. Let us not worry about what may happen in the future. We have pressing needs now--for example, reducing the influence of money in American politics.

The Senate should be made more democratic now. If the Senate flips in the future due to the will of the people, we will blow up that bridge when we get to it.

Re: Senate Unanimously Approves a Bill to Make Juneteenth a Public Holiday

#308

Post by memling »

nielsbot wrote: post #307
memling wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Their "best effort" would be to change the filibuster and get it done. This seems like an iffy proposal. Changing most judicial nominations to simple majority has had a significant impact on the judiciary. Eliminating the filibuster for potentially short-lived gains while handing opposition a nearly blank check for future legislative victories seems like a long-term problem. It seems likely to exacerbate political…

I say we try it. Let us not worry about what may happen in the future. We have pressing needs now--for example, reducing the influence of money in American politics. The Senate should be made more democratic now. If the Senate flips in the future due to the will of the people, we will blow up that bridge when we get to it.

> We have pressing needs now--for example, reducing the influence of money in American politics.

Is this a higher priority than reducing political tension/violence?

Or is it worth increasing the likelihood of political tension/violence by eliminating the filibuster?

> The Senate should be made more democratic now. If the Senate flips in the future due to the will of the people, we will blow up that bridge when we get to it.

This seems short-sighted. What does it even mean? How would it solve any problems if the opposition could undo the work in a matter of a few years?

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