Tuesday, February 26, 2019

'Everyone. Needs. To. Watch...' Democrat Dianne Feinstein Explain to Children Why She Won't Back Green New Deal

This is a meeting between neoliberal Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who justifies the toxic and deadly status quo, and courageous young people who hold exponentially greater consciousness, wisdom, and understanding of the radical changes needed to give them the potential of a habitable planet. These adults who deny these kids what they urgently need to have a future are beyond dangerous, ignorant, inhumane, and brutal. They have to go! — Molly
I also appreciate Norman Solomon’s words:
“Longer version video of Feinstein explaining to young people why it's not a priority for them to have a future. Early on, when she says there's not enough money for the Green New Deal, a child says that money could be used from the military -- which sure makes sense to me!”




LIVE: We’re inside Senator Dianne Feinstein's San Francisco office with 15 middle and high schoolers asking her to stand with our generation and support AOC and Sen. Ed Markey's #GreenNewDeal resolution.
Watch her condescending response, share with your friends, and CALL her office at (415) 393-0707 to ask her to support the Green New Deal!
*****
 "This is a fight for our generation's survival. Her reaction is why young people desperately want new leadership in Congress." —Sunrise Movement

As young people from around the world are marching in the streets and calling on adults and elected leaders to act urgently to address runaway global warming and the climate crisis, this video of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) explaining to youth activists in her office on Friday why she won't back the joint congressional resolution on the Green New Deal has to be seen in order to be believed.
Posted to Twitter by the Sunrise Movement, which had organized the office visit as part of its campaign to garner support for the resolution, the video shows Feinstein responding with "smugness and disrespect" when the group explains that while their futures are the ones that will be impacted the most the scientific community has said there is just 12 years for radical transformation to take place.
According to Sunrise:
Children as young as 7 reminded Senator Feinstein that their generation will be most impacted by the effects of climate change and that she must stand with her constituents.
The Senator responded by asking for their ages, stating: "Well, you did not vote for me."
"I’ve been doing this for 30 years," Feinstein says in the video. "You come in here and say it has to be my way or the highway. I don't respond to that...I know what I'm doing. Maybe people should listen a little bit."
Watch it:
"Everyone needs to watch this video of  disparaging literal children from  calling on her to support  and ’s Green New Deal," said Waleed Shahid of the Justice Democrats.
In the wake of the video, Varshini Prakash, co-founder and executive of the Sunrise Movement, let it be known how disgusted she was with the way Feinstein treated the young activists in her office:
Author and activist Naomi Klein also reposted the video and simply said: "Everyone. Needs. To. Watch. It."

Updated (2/23):
In response to some people criticizing the original video the group tweeted as being a selectively-editing version, Sunrise later issued this tweet along with a link to the full video:
Watch the full 15-minute video for yourself below:
And on Saturday, Prakash posted this subsequent message further reflecting on the encounter with Feinstein:

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