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Senate Unanimously Approves a Bill to Make Juneteenth a Public Holiday
- crypto-cousin 5y agoGreat to hear. America has not been doing nearly enough to empower Blxck people and ensure their ethnic legacy. Also important to keep in mind that white people are the largest ethnic group in the US, so any resulting hit to American productivity will mostly help to dismantle white supremacy.
- hanniabu 5y agoIt bothers me when they're quick to make empty efforts like this yet when it comes to doing anything that actually matters an overwhelming majority of them (on both sides) will vote against it.
- seneca 5y agoThat's a feature, not a bug. No one cares about Juneteenth just like no one cares about Kwanza, so there's no disagreement, so it sails through. When people care, there's disagreement and deadlock. Change to things that actually matter is supposed to be slow and difficult in Government. Otherwise there would be constant change as either side managed to seize power, and our legal system would be completely unpredictable.
- jolux 5y ago> Change to things that actually matter is supposed to be slow and difficult in Government This is mostly only true of presidential systems, and a particular affliction of ours. Parliamentary systems are not like this, nor is there constant instability from too much change.
- bingidingi 5y agoYour use of "no one" here is a little on the nose.
- Larrikin 5y agoPeople care about Juneteenth like they care about MLK day, there's no cultural significance to Kwanzaa.
- artichokes 5y agohttps://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=juneteenth,kwanzaa https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=j... Looks like Kwanzaa was bigger until 2018 when Juneteenth first started getting promoted.
- bilbo0s 5y agoJuneteenth has been promoted a whole lot longer than since 2018. At least in the cities I used to go to. That said, I'm from the upper midwest. Views on Juneteenth are probably different, particularly in certain other parts of the country.
- spoonjim 5y agoThe American system was not intended to be as dysfunctional as it is. Its present state is a consequence of primary elections, which were a terrible idea created by people much dumber than the Founders.
- lupire 5y agoThe American system was intended to be torn up and redesigned by 1800 and every 20yrs afterward.
- krapp 5y agoNo it wasn't. Thomas Jefferson said he hoped the United States wouldn't be without a revolution like Shay's Rebellion every 20 years, but in the context of the letter in which he made that quote, he certainly didn't consider such an event to be legitimate. He was speaking to the spirit of revolution in the American people, not the intended design of the government. If the American system were actually intended to operate as you describe, that intent would have been put into the Constitution.
- ILMostro7 5y agoMaybe they couldn't get it ratified or just wanted to stay in politics for more than 20 years. All lame sarcasm aside, that's a great clarification. Thanks
- loonster 5y agoI would support ratifying article in the first. The only amendment of the original 12 that hasn't been ratified. One representative for every 50k citizens. Clearly the building isnt big enough to hold all those representatives. Force them to work remote and live near their people.
- JMTQp8lwXL 5y agoElection reform seems like a meaningful issue to tackle: what could be more fundamental to our Democracy? Democrats seem poised to make their best effort, but it's extremely difficult to do with 50+1 votes in the Senate. I wouldn't characterize D's as not doing anything on this specific issue.
- nielsbot 5y agoTheir "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 quiet on this whole situation.
- JMTQp8lwXL 5y agoBiden and Schumer can't unilaterally decide Manchin's vote for him. This is a democracy, after all. Conversations are likely happening behind closed doors. So we shouldn't critique Democratic leadership just yet.
- favorited 5y agoAnd, if they piss off Manchin or try to punish him for not getting in line, all he has to do is change parties. Then Mitch McConnell is Majority Leader again, and no one gets anything.
- memling 5y ago> 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 tensions rather than relieve them. One can argue that the deliberate nature of the Senate is inimical to justice and therefore has to change, but when the pendulum swings in the other direction it may prove to move too rapidly to injustice.
- vgel 5y agoI agree that it's frustrating that other efforts aren't being made, and this is easier, but I disagree it's an empty effort. Holidays, statues, rituals -- they're how we define ourselves as a society. They're important. Imagine how people would react if we tried to get rid of MLK day, or President's day, or the extreme negative reaction to proposals to cede Mt. Rushmore? They're symbols of the American national identity, for better or worse. If you're interested, I highly recommend the youtube channel Religion for Breakfast's series on American Civic Religion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x49n90lWi0s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x49n90lWi0s .
- dalbasal 5y agoThere's a difference between empty and symbolic.
- koheripbal 5y agoI 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?
- geofft 5y ago"Juneteenth" has been used for the celebration for over a century, and the name by which various sub-federal governments have recognized it, and I think a law recognizing a particular holiday probably should not rename the holiday while it does so. That said, "Emancipation Day" has also been historically used.
- moate 5y agoIt'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.
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- DFHippie 5y ago> when it comes to doing anything that actually matters an overwhelming majority of them (on both sides) will vote against it Do you have any evidence that both sides are equally guilty? This is the sort of thing that "everyone knows is true", but they "know" it because it allows them to express resignation and cynicism and get general agreement without offending anyone. It's like talking about the weather. But unlike talking about the weather it has the pernicious effect of dampening democratic action and rewarding the guilty. If a referee refuses to apply the rules of the game, throwing up his hands instead and saying "they all just foul each other all the time", how long do you think the game will have any rules? In a democracy the voters are the ultimate referees. In this particular case, in the US, one side very much wants to fix the flaws in their democracy. Why? Well, in part because it's the right thing to do and in part because they are the ones disadvantaged by the flaws in the current system. If given the chance to vote the Democrats will pass a bill of sweeping electoral reforms with the net effect of equalizing voting power and thus giving themselves a better chance of winning elections. But Republicans will filibuster this legislation, so it won't happen. If by some miracle the filibuster is abandoned, not one will vote for it. On this issue the two sides are diametrically opposed, not equally guilty, whatever you think of the merits of their positions.
- chadlavi 5y agoHonestly very surprised this was unanimous. Maybe a lot of the people I would have thought would vote nay were conveniently absent for the vote?
- standardUser 5y agoIt wasn't a roll call vote. It's a maneuver wherein the measure passes as long as no one present chooses to object.
- andy_ppp 5y agoTo say it is Unanimously Approved is a rather big stretch then.
- jeffbee 5y agoMost Senate business is unanimous consent. I don't think it's misleading.
- andy_ppp 5y agoThat’s fine, I’m from the UK and didn't get that the Senate uses words to mean completely different things from the actual meaning in certain contexts. We do it too, I’m certain.
- arrosenberg 5y agoThe technically correct term is "approved by unanimous consent", which makes perfect sense. Just the media changing it.
- andy_ppp 5y agoBut how is it unanimous? It literally is whoever was there (which is not all senators) and they did not actively approve of the motion (just didn't disapprove). I realise this is semantics but it seemed strange to me.
- baggy_trough 5y ago"Republican legislation to limit teaching a historically accurate picture of U.S. history in public institutions has advanced in some half a dozen states." Mind-boggling propaganda.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- CGamesPlay 5y agoIt's a bit strange to throw this sentence in at the end--it's vague to the point of being useless and seems to throw the 50 Republican senators who didn't oppose in a generic "bad guys" light.
- redis_mlc 5y agoThey're hoping you click on the link in that paragraph, which is full-on Marxist propaganda. Also, it's not 6 states banning CRT, it's 20 states now. (CRT is calling white children oppressors, and black children victims. Neither is accurate or helpful. CRT is derived from Marxist Critical Theory. Since the US doesn't have a class struggle, racism has been inserted to make it a racism struggle.)
- crummy 5y agoAre there some example texts being given to kids on CRT I could look at?
- ecshafer 5y agoMarxism has nothing to do with Critical Race Theory, which is an explicitly non-marxist idea. Marx theory is that all of history is a history of class warfare, so any racism is a result of class warfare. Marx was unconcerned with race.
- seneca 5y ago> Marxism has nothing to do with Critical Race Theory This is just incorrect. Critical Theory is a product of the Frankfurt School. They were explicitly applying Marxist thought to twentieth century politics, and wanted to understand why Marxism wasn't successful in the west. This is a basic matter of record, not some wing-nut attempt to slander. Critical Theory is reworked Marxism to try to apply it to the modern West.
- jdhn 5y agoOn 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.
- always_left 5y agoAgree, but we’re also working with politicians that had discrepancies with a law protecting Asians from hate crimes[0] [0] https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/politics/republicans-voted-no-asian-hate-crime-bill/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/politics/republicans-voted-no...
- ralusek 5y agoHate crimes are already a redundancy over the fact that the underlying crimes are already crimes. Hate crimes against Asians, doubly so. You already can't assault somebody. We don't need laws that say that you can't assault somebody on the basis of their race, and we definitely don't need laws saying that you can't assault somebody because they're Asian.
- fighterpilot 5y agoIt's not all just redundancy since it imposes stiffer penalties on the strict subset of crimes deemed more important to punish or deter. I don't really like that one kind of assault is punished more than another even if the physical harm is identical, although I can see why some people would.
- yerwhat01010 5y agoWait till you hear about Senate Amendment No. 1456: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1G2lyeWYAYSQnn?format=jpg&name=large https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1G2lyeWYAYSQnn?format=jpg&name=...
- chaorace 5y agoHolidays 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!
- paxys 5y agoWhat does making it a public holiday mean? I assume federal government offices will be shut on that day. What about state offices? Banks, other services? Private companies?
- threatofrain 5y agoCompanies and schools tend to echo federal holidays, so this will have some small effect but on a very big scale.
- lupire 5y agoMost schools already close for Juneteenth; it's summer break.
- verst 5y agoI assume they are making it a federal holiday not unlike Columbus Day or Veterans Day. If you work in the private sector the chance you have those days off is fairly low. [Edit: I am not saying that Juneteeth won't get special treatment. See my nested commented in this thread.] State governments may or may not recognize a given federal public holiday.
- tinyhouse 5y agoI guarantee you all private companies will make it a day off.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- m3kw9 5y agoHow does a new holiday impact the economy? Does it factor into a decision?
- maxerickson 5y agoIt doesn't particularly. Federal employees are the only workers that are directly impacted.
- leipert 5y agoMhm. I find the list of minimum annual leave by country interesting. [0] Seems like companies are not obliged to honor this holiday. Personally I think national holidays are probably having a positive impact, because it will give almost all folks an opportunity to rest, maybe do a small vacation, so they’ll come back and be more productive or have spent some savings to boost the economy. [0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave_by_country https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave...
- great_reversal 5y agoMaybe it'll reduce the number of trading days in a year from 252 to 251. All the quants will need to update their models :)
- eganist 5y agoThis is a good symbolic gesture, but making election day a federal holiday equivalent in standing with Christmas would have real and positive impact. But the latter never draws the votes in congress, so that should tell us how meaningless this vote truly was.
- Alex3917 5y agoMLK’s birthday should be changed to Election Day. No extra day off, and everyone goes into the polls reminded of his legacy.
- nopzor 5y agodo you mean election day should be changed to MLK's birthday?
- dalbasal 5y agoThe Queens Birthday (a public holiday) is on a different date in different commonwealth countries... so maybe not that wild a suggestion.
- robotresearcher 5y agoIt's not a public holiday in the UK. Some civil servants get a 'privilege day' off, but most Brits don't even know about this.
- saalweachter 5y agoI maintain that the Fourth of July should be made a floating holiday, on the first Thursday in July, to facilitate 4-day weekends. So this year, for instance, the calendar would go July 4 (Independence Day, Thursday) - July 1 (Friday) - July 2 (Saturday) - July 3 (Sunday) - July 5 (Monday).
- mikepurvis 5y agoThis is basically what happens in Canada, where our national holiday is official July 1st, but ends up moved to the closest Friday or Monday.
- murat131 5y agoAs long as slavery is still legal and well and alive and kicking in US prison system (thanks to 13th amendment) gestures like this won't mean much.
- MuffinFlavored 5y ago> Penal labor in the United States is explicitly allowed by the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." What are most prisoners forced to do?
- hairofadog 5y agoIf you're sincerely interested, I found the documentary "13th" to be informative and thought-provoking. https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741 https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741
- jreese 5y agoLast Week Tonight on Prison Labor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjqaNQ018zU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjqaNQ018zU
- verall 5y agoThey are "forced" to work at below minimum wage rates both for the government and individual firms in public-private partnerships. I use "forced" in quotation marks, because although prisoners are no longer forced chain-gang style, these jobs can be a prisoner's only source of money, which is required to purchase communication with the outside world.
- jasonhansel 5y agoIn some states (e.g. Texas) prisoners aren't even paid any wages--they're just punished if they refuse to work. An article about this: https://truthout.org/articles/unpaid-labor-in-texas-prisons-is-modern-day-slavery/ https://truthout.org/articles/unpaid-labor-in-texas-prisons-...
- tinyhouse 5y agoThe more the merrier!
- vfclists 5y agoWhite people deciding what they feel Black people need. Black people don't need Juneteenth holidays. They need respect from the nation's institutions and they need to present and articulate their case for reparations in an emphatic and uncompromising manner.
- spywaregorilla 5y agoDo you speak for all black people?
- vfclists 5y agoHave I claimed that I speak for all Black people?
- spywaregorilla 5y agoI 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.
- vfclists 5y agoThe emphasis here is on need, not that's a nice gesture
- awb 5y agoThe point is that starting a discussion with “black people ______” and “white people _____” sounds like you’re speaking about all (or even most) black / white people. If you say “As a black person, I feel uncomfortable with a majority white Senate granting a holiday when I don’t feel respected by government institutions or feel like the need for reparations is being respected” it gives space for people who disagree with you to still hear your opinions.
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- williesleg 5y agoAll holidays are fucked up.
- Seattle3503 5y agoIf anything the last few years showed me, it is that gestures do matter. Giving public recognition seems shallower cheap until you have a leader that refuses to observe even basic decencies. Of course the work doesn't stop with public gestures, but what we publicly celebrate shows us what we collectively value.
- chmod600 5y agoI'm not convinced. Memorial Day and Labor Day are just three-day weekends to most people. There's not a lot of somber and thoughtful observance. I hope that popular culture uses the opportunity to discuss Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. What a great moment (right in the middle of a lot of terrible moments).
- awb 5y agoMy kids ask about it when they have the day off school so it’s a conversation starter. They also usually learn about holidays in school.
- lupire 5y agoWeak article I already know what Juneteenth is. What is a "public holiday", legally? Is is the same as "federal holiday"? What is a "federal holiday"? Is Flag Day a federal holiday? Public holiday?
- rubyist5eva 5y ago> What is a "public holiday", legally? Days off for federal bureaucrats, and that's about it.
- protomyth 5y agono ACH on Federal Holidays Flag Day is a National Holiday but doesn't count as a Federal Holiday https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/6103 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/6103
- shusaku 5y agoI imagine the non-Americans in this comment section have to be snickering after seeing the Americans ask “what’s a public holiday?”
- steve76 5y ago> Why does the national conversation revolves around issues stemming from race? Liberals had the bright idea to burn the world when out of power, as they always do. How about we teach: - The Marxist bioweapon which just committed one of the worse acts of mass murder in history. - The ever doubling murder rate. - The lawless hell hole which is now your home. - The junkies you will be taking care of the rest of your life. - The people who made trillions off of those awful acts, and now slam the door shut on your future. Oh! We're talking race. okay: - More people live in far worst slavery today than anytime in human history. Drugs, prostitution, cheap consumer goods and electronics, all advocated on behalf by liberals and their moral relativism. - If you are a minority in the USA today, odds are it's because of air travel and illegal immigration, which is a serious crime. It's not reciprocal. I leave home to make others rich, not myself. I'm murdered. And illegal immigration worsens awful smuggling. Immigrants had a choice to come here. The people here for whatever reason don't. Perhaps, you're the weak one from running from your problems. - The original slave trade started in response to horrific African barbarity. There was zero influence from ancient cultures dating to Mesopotamia, the start of civilization itself which resulted in apathetic mass murder, human sacrifice, cannibalism, and torture. - The US was and is still very much frontier. Sensationalism and yellow journalism whips people up. The world burns. Millions die. And a few people who look like you and me show their true monstrous nature. People who don't fight, yet someone tell everyone who are fighting what to do all the time. Throw the animals food far far away from you, and leave. Things like railroads, the oil industry, banks, and the electrical grid, big media and big tech. If you let yourself be grinded up for a dollar, trust me, someone is going to cash your hide in.
- ummonk 5y agoThis has become a cultural date so it makes sense to ratify June 19th as the holiday. But since the article talks about historical accuracy, it should be noted that slavery had not ended on June 19th - slaves in some border states had to wait till December for their freedom.
- stikit 5y agoHow is this post not off/topic per HN’s guidelines? > Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon... If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.
- softwaredoug 5y agoThe fact it’s apparently NOT political is a (perhaps) surprising “new phenomenon”
- softwaredoug 5y agoSymbolic gestures are still statements of shared values, which is pretty surprising to even have in the US. So while, yes, it’s not substantive legislation that helps black people, we can still be happy this happened.
- lettergram 5y agoPersonally, 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.
- lettergram 5y agoCase in point: https://twitter.com/tombevanrcp/status/1406069086015168515 https://twitter.com/tombevanrcp/status/1406069086015168515