Last night it appeared that the country was coming unglued.
I'm not talking about the pandemic or massive unemployment or peaceful demonstrations staged all over the U.S. (and overseas) by people outraged by the Minneapolis policeman's murder of George Floyd. The murder was only one of many deaths of black men by police over the years.
Some of the peaceful demonstrations were hijacked by others who just want to watch the cities burn. Nobody seems to know who they are. White supremacists? Antifa activists? Anarchists? Police provocateurs? All of the above?
One thing is clear -- citizens of Minneapolis/Atlanta/NYC/Denver/L.A./D.C. saw their efforts go up in the smoke during the past week. In some of those cities, police put down their batons and marched or knelt with the marchers. A powerful gesture by people under siege.
By far, the worst provocateur of all was Donald Trump. Using typical strongman tactics, he brought in police to clear the streets near the White House with tear gas and rubber bullets. His goal? Posing in front of a church that he last visited on Inauguration Day, 2017. It was a photo op for his rabid base of followers that for some odd reason includes millions of evangelicals. To the rest of us, it looked like a desperate gesture by a pathetic loser. Comical, too, in that he apparently did it because he looked like a coward on a previous night when he was hustled by the Secret Service into a bunker beneath the White House. He took shelter out of fear when young black D.C. residents chanted "I Can't Breathe" with pictures of George Floyd. We already knew that Trump is a bully and a coward. This act crystallized his reputation.
I could say that "I have no words" but apparently I do (see above). This year has been a shitshow from the start. First, we weren't prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. Then leadership in D.C. showed no leadership and we ended up with (at last count) almost 2 million cases of the virus and more than 100,000 deaths, so far. We are the world leader in COVID-19. Not something you want in the Guinness Book.
Trump has lied repeatedly about the U.S. response. It was no big deal, he said. It will go away quickly. Hydroxychloroquine is he magic elixir. Anybody can get a test -- we have millions of them. Blame China! Take off your masks and get back to work at Wal-Mart.
All ridiculous. Trump is ridiculous except when he's not. He has all the traits of a dictator and none of the redeeming qualities. Hitler, for instance, loved his dogs. After his death, Franco became an ongoing skit on Saturday Night Live. Mussolini made the trains run on time. Putin is buff. Juan Peron was married to Madonna (or someone who looked like her).
Trump does not have a dog and has no sense of humor or wit. His only hobbies seem to be golf and grabbing certain parts of the female anatomy.
Where do we go from here? I donate to causes I believe in. As always, I will vote. I requested an absentee ballot due to possible COVID-19 restrictions in November. Also, Tinpot Dictator Trump may call off the election due to a fake national emergency. Dictator-for-Life seems to be the title he seeks. I will take to the streets when necessary. Rapper Killer Mike gave a rousing speech in Atlanta the other day and named some social justice orgs we can get involved in. Last night on Colbert, KM urged everyone but especially blacks to get involved in politics. Outrage doesn't always translate into action but it can.
Perhaps the activists of the ACT UP movement, such as the recently departed Larry Kramer, said it best. Silence=Death.
Silence=Death.
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