Monthly Archives: May 2021

Point of View Columns

On the Anniversary of the Death of George Floyd – A Prayer for Black America

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd woke up never realizing that it was his last day on earth. On this day, one year ago, George Floyd had hopes and dreams and plans and wishes, just like everyone else, only he did not realize that it was his last day to be alive. And on this day, just like everyone else, George Floyd was already thinking about what he might be doing next week or next month or next year, never realizing that this was his last day to be alive.

George Floyd did not he was destined to be the living/dying embodiment of what systemic racism means in America. He certainly did not know that his killer did not even know his name and was not planning to kill him when his day began, but at some point he decided that he would kill him.

And so George Floyd joined the ranks of random Black martyrs, sacrificed on the crimson stained altar of racism, white supremacy and systemic injustice. But on that morning, he had hopes and dreams and plans and wishes just like everyone else – except that everyone who is Black always has the unspoken Prayer for Black America somewhere in the recesses of their mind.

Please God, let me go through this day without having my patience or my self-respect tested by some aggressive store security guard or snarky cashier or pompous doorman which could lead to my reacting in a way that could get me killed.

Please God, let my son go out of the house today and come back alive. Please do not let him be killed because he has a toy gun, or a bag of Skittles or was playing the music too loud today or doing anything else that would give some white policeman or wannabe deputy a reason to kill him.

Please God, do not let any person, especially a white person, touch my hair, ask to touch my hair or ask me about my hair as if the hair of a Black woman was so otherworldly that it requires this high level of inquiry and investigation.

And while you are at it God please do not let someone mistake for the waitress or the maid or the salesperson or the secretary because in the minds of too many, there is no other role for a Black woman to play in these United States.

Please God, let me go through this day without being stopped by the police while driving with a faulty brake light or an air freshener on my rear view mirror or without my license – any of these things could be a reason for a white policeman to shoot me to death or beat me to death or just simply choke me to death.

Please God, let my son and daughter always remember The Talk that we had – never, never, never run from the police – never talk back to the police – never, never, never resist if you are searched or arrested – always, always remember that in these situations the police literally hold your life in their hands and they might get careless or they just might not care.

And finally God, thank you for the blessings of life and family and love and community that I have been able to enjoy, even in the most difficult of times. So please God, don’t let a white policeman kill me today – please let me live another day.

Amen.

We can be sure that George Floyd offered up his version of The Prayer for Black America a year ago today.

And we can be sure that in these United States of America the prayers of Black America are not always answered.

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Point of View Columns

Majesty and Travesty and Nikole Hannah-Jones

Earlier this week, in its infinite (and non-existent) wisdom, the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina denied Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure at that institution. It should be noted that as a member of the faculty she had been appointed to a chair funded by the Knight Foundation and that tenure appointment has been routine for past faculty members in this position.

It should also be noted that the Board of Governors at the University of North Carolina are appointed by the North Carolina legislature, not known to be a bastion of free thinking (or even intelligence on occasion). And it is quite clear that Ms. Hannah-Jones groundbreaking “1619 Project” which began an historic reconsideration of American history and Black people is the unforgivable sin that has resulted in her application for tenure being denied.

There are many ways to look at this travesty. On the merits, Ms. Hannah-Jones is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship to go along with her Pulitzer Prize and a literal boatload of other prestigious awards. It is inconceivable that any college or university with aspirations of academic excellence would treat her in such an incomprehensible and disrespectful manner.

But, of course, there is the back story. The white members of the North Carolina legislature are part of an underground band of cultural guerillas determined to maintain white supremacy and American mythology at all costs. Keep in mind that Ms. Hannah-Jones has been accused or “rewriting history” when it comes to the narrative of Black people in America.

And of course, the answer is damned right.

American history as it has been taught for over four histories has been built on a foundation of lies, myths and white supremacist delusions. American history has been an exercise in whitewashing the crimes, the genocide, the slavery and the literal theft of a continent from people who were living here. American history has somehow justified the enslavement of millions of Black human beings and then gone on to minimize the pain, misery and eternal jeopardy of being Black in America.

Damned right that American history has needed to be rewritten. The sins, crimes and wrongs that are a literal part of the foundation of this nation need to be acknowledged before true justice, equality and equity can be possible in this country. And the fact that teaching and learning the true American story can be seen as a problem demonstrates what exactly is the problem.

The problem is that too many white Americans take comfort in myths, revel in the lies and wallow in the mud of deception as long as it reinforces the crumbling concepts of white supremacy, and by extension, Black inferiority. The problem is that the so-called 1.6.21 insurrectionists were not in Washington to simply overturn an election, they wanted to stop the constant and now inevitable erosion of the myth of American exceptionalism and white supremacy.

That problem is the reason why 47 states are trying to subvert the Constitution (into which slavery was embedded, by the way) in order to limit or deny the right the vote so that a white supremacist alternate reality can last a little bit longer. And, of course, Nikole Hannah-Jones represents the voices that must be silenced so that the fantasy – which is a nightmare for everyone who is not white – can continue for as long as possible.

There is nothing that the University of North Carolina can do to ever diminish the majesty of Nikole Hannah-Jones and her life’s work. The travesty belongs to the University of North Carolina and its racist enablers.

And, in the end, the truth about America will prevail and it is then, and only then, that this country will be a better country.

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Point of View Columns

America and Republicans are on a Slippery Slope

We have been watching the slow-motion transformation of the Republican Party from a political party to the vehicle for a crusade – led by zealots and followed by true believers over the last half century. As been noted by many observers, as late as 1960 Republicans included moderates, liberal and conservatives from all parts of the country.

As late as 1960 Richard Nixon garnered over 30% of the Black vote, a percentage never seen again. As late as 1964, the Republicans and Democrats in Congress found a way to work together on a wide range of issues.

And then along came Barry – Goldwater that is. As the presidential candidate of the party in 1964 he proclaimed that “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue”. He was speaking about liberty from government – things like Social Security and civil rights for Black Americans. He was speaking about the need for justice for white Americans who were feeling increasing disenfranchised as the concept of rights for all Americans began halting steps towards reality.

Goldwater lost by a landslide, but Nixon followed the Goldwater playbook and was narrowly elected in 1968 and reelected by a landslide in 1972. And since then, despite efforts to soft pedal the rhetoric of its leadership, the Republican Party has moved inexorably rightward, so much so that the ascendancy of 45 could have been foretold.

In a crasser, brash and obscene fashion, 45 gave voice to the most fundamental and fundamental core values of the Republican Party – nativism, xenophobia, racism, sexism and intolerance. And most of all, he legitimized a total disavowal of any aspect of the governmental system that did not provide infinite and boundless power to the white majority that saw minority status looming on the horizon every time a nonwhite baby was born in the United States.

And now, after 84 million Americans voted for Joe Biden for president, the Republicans and their 74 million voters want to disenfranchise the majority by making false and baseless claims of voter fraud. And now, 70% of Republicans say that they do not believe that President Biden is legitimately the president.

Clearly a democracy cannot endure for long where, in a two-party system 70% of the membership of one party refuses to acknowledge the victory of the other party. Yet somehow the Republicans believe that it is o.k. to keep promoting the Big Lie and they are therefore blind to the institutional consequences.

First, going forward the losing party of either party in any local, state or federal raise is going to raise the false flag of voter fraud. And when a significant portion of the population in a city, state or in this country starts believing lies on a regular basis the January 6th insurrection in Washington is going to look like a picnic when compared to the civil warfare that will rage across this country after every single election.

The Republicans and 45 are playing with fire and either they don’t know it, which makes them fools, or they do know it and don’t care, which makes them malignant domestic terrorists.

These are very dangerous times indeed.

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Point of View Columns

May 2021 – Another Week in the Life of America

May 1, 2021

32,346,895-576,239 (Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – the number of dead at the beginning of the day)

Today it was announced that 101,407,318 Americans have been vaccinated. That amounts to one-third of the nation’s population. That is the good news. The not so good news is that it is going to be more than a struggle to get the other two-thirds to also get vaccinated.

Close to two-thirds of self-identified Republicans (60%) have indicated that they are not going to get vaccinated. Clearly this is a way for the Republican Party to be more of a minority than it already is – but stubborn stupidity is hard to overcome.

How stubborn and how stupid? The Man Named 45 has publicly encouraged Republicans to get vaccinated and while they would clearly follow him over a cliff in true lemming fashion, they are refusing to save their own lives and the lives of those that they love. That’s how stubborn and that’s how stupid.

May 2, 2021

32,415,395-577,007 (Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – the number of dead at the beginning of the day)

Clearly there is no such thing as a slow news day on this planet anymore. Tens of thousands of people are dying in India every day. Like something that might have been written by Dante, bodies are being burned in the streets as all of the crematoria are overflowing with corpses.

India is a nuclear power. India has a modern navy. India has countless billionaires and wealthy families. India is an international destination for concierge-style state of the art hospital care.

But clearly, the powers that be do not think that universal health care is a right, but rather its a privilege.

Sound familiar? It should. It sounds a lot like the talking points of too many opponents of the Affordable Care Act right here in America.

May 3, 2021

32,421,989-577,045 (Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – the number of dead at the beginning of the day)

It was reported that over the weekend Senator Mitt Romney was booed mercilessly at the Utah State Republican Convention. It turns out that the Romney was the target of a censure motion, his crime was voting to convict 45 both times that he was impeached.

It is important to remember that it was just nine years ago that Romney was the Republican presidential candidate in what turned out to be a losing campaign against Barack Obama. It is also important to remember that the Romney familiar, devout Mormons to be sure, are part of the institutional foundation of Utah.

And it is also important to remember that, during the ascendancy of the Cult of 45, none of that matters. Blind loyalty to 45 is all that counts and means everything. The Cult of 45 is the reincarnation of the Lost Cause that proliferated throughout the former Confederate states, keeping a tight fisted grip on unreality even in light of the fact that they had lost.

Elements of the Lost Cause exist to this day – consider the proliferation of statues of Confederate heroes and the stubbornness with which so many white Southerners cling to these faux idols to this very day. So it should be no surprise that in the modern era the Lost Cause has now been resurrected as the Cult of 45.

May 4, 2021

32,472,129-577,565 (Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – the number of dead at the beginning of the day)

The tumbrils are rolling down the avenues and boulevards of the Republican Party. The mobs are looking for the turncoats, traitors and apostates that might dare suggest that 45 didn’t lose the election and also dare to state that truth, not lies, should be the brand of the party.

Danton, Marat and Robespierre would have been proud, disappointed only that actual heads are not rolling. But careers, reputations and the work of lifetimes are being trashed – just ask Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney and we can be sure that there will be more.

The fact that 70% of Republicans still believe that 45 won the 2020 election reveals everything that we need to know about the Republican Party – it has become a nihilist tool of authoritarian strategies and ambitions, with healthy doses of white supremacy, racism, nativism, xenophobia, nationalism and guns – many, many guns – thrown in for good measure.

It should be clear by now that what is happening to the G.O.P. is a danger to democracy in the United States and should be the subject of real concern. Of course, figuring out what to do with 50 million Americans that have just gone off the rails of the nation will not be easy.

The last time there was a schism this profound was in 1861 – and we all know what happened then.

May 5, 2021

32,513,803-578,504 (Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – the number of dead at the beginning of the day)

Today an independent advisory group recommended that Facebook continue to suspend 45 from using its services for at least another six months. This means that he is barred from tweeting his brains out in the middle of the night but it will not loosen his stranglehold on the Republican Party for even a millisecond.

We have seen dominant political personalities in this nation, but any historian would be hard pressed to name a man or woman who has ever had such a widespread and devout following. By now anyone who has been paying attention knows that all 45 wanted out of being president was to be the object of attention and adulation.

To be clear, the job of president was always secondary for him – it was being the center of attention 24/7 that fed his insatiable ego. Now that he doesn’t have the busy work of the presidency to distract him, 45 can now spend all of his time cultivating his MAGA mob, which he has been doing quite well even without access to Facebook and Twitter.

It appears that we will not be hearing the last of 45 for quite a while.

May 7, 2021

32,558,718-579,286 (Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – the number of dead at the beginning of the day)

Say goodbye to Liz Cheney – at least as a part of the leadership of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives. It should be noted that Liz Cheney is one of the most strictly conservative members of Congress and has been that way ever since she came to Washington.

However, she seems to be considered guilty of the unpardonable sin (A least on the Planet Republican) of criticizing 45 for continuing to lie about the 2020 election and for fomenting and inspiring the 1.6.21 insurrection.

And for telling the truth and having the temerity to speak her mind on the matter she is being banished to the furthest reaches of the party.

And it should be clear that we are seeing a preview of what this country might be like if 45 was ever returned to power as president. Loyalty tests anywhere and everywhere will be the order of the day and the cult of personality would be a matter of public policy.

We have seen this before – Germany and Italy circa 1935, North Korea circa 1950, Iraq circa 1985 – and it never seems to go well for the subject country.

As Americans we can never say that we haven’t been warned.

May 8, 2021

32,652,416-580,904 (Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – the number of dead at the beginning of the day)

Federal civil rights violation charges against Derek Chauvin and three other officers connected to the murder of George Floyd – this simply never would have happened when 45 was president and William Barr was the Attorney General.

What a difference an election can make.

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