“However, I too often see people using that line to diminish the importance of speaking out for minorities under attack”

Thanks for succinctly making my point. My post is how economics unites all kinds of people and is something they inescapably share, and how it’s a true driver of change–you then say “yes, but” and mention minorities under attack.

The democrats have shown and highlighted the human rights, discrimination, disadvantages, abuse and fucked up experience of minorities in the US for decades…and how would you say that has gone? They’ve lost incredible amounts of policy ground since the mid 20th century while still having moved to the right.

To achieve meaningful, systemic progressive change in the US the left needs to bring more centrist and center-right Americans into supporting progressive policies. Centrist and center-right, white Americans, as has been (sadly) statistically shown again and again do NOT identify with minority groups under attack and the approach to focus the discussion on abused groups makes them vote for someone like Trump who tongues their insecurities in a changing world. These groups DO identify with economics; healthcare, retirement, overtime, inflation and many other things that the democrats have a slam dunk on–and the Dems keep playing right into the culture wars the right is using to drive culture wars, which keep the middle voting Republican.

Note; the above is not my preference, what I think is right, or how I wish the world should work. I wish photos of imprisoned children kidnapped from migrants motivated white centrists to think the Republicans and fox news are fucked up. I wish statistics on police violence vs. minorities made centrist Americans ashamed and pushed them to support police reform. I wish many things. But they aren’t the way the voting has gone, and the Democrats approach to identity politics has been disastrous. None of the above is meant to communicate in any way that abuse of minorities is ok, but rather to say that Democrats need to focus on abuses (economic) that are universal and easier to identify with for centrists.