Racism

Empathy And Support For All Challenged Americans

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Americans must be more empathetic and open-minded in the face of horrific challenges. This post will discuss two situations that have and will continue to significantly impact our lives into the foreseeable future.

Scores of family members, friends and acquaintances have contracted coronavirus, and over 100,000 have died in America.

Simultaneously, in a seminal moment in history, the black community is enthusiastically and admirably protesting to increase awareness of pervasive social injustice, in particular as it relates to relations with the police and wide economic disparities between Americans.

The virus is a pandemic challenge that pits a rogue disease against mankind. The bug is an existential threat that has made so many of our neighbors ill. Medical practitioners have been trying to find the key to defuse the disease. It’s been a difficult and frustrating journey with slow progress.

The virus has turned the world upside down. Besides the wake of suffering it has cast upon us, the deadly flu has caused us to change the way we live and associate with other humans. At the same time, the impact of the disease has closed many businesses, perhaps permanently, and caused an economic catastrophe.

Millions of Americans are unemployed or doing their jobs remotely. The entire business community is struggling to stay alive and to protect its workers.

And finally, the disease has altered the way we interface with each other. Family get-togethers are happening online. Hugs and kisses are not permissible under any circumstances. And we must meet each other with masks on our faces. Humans are social beings, but the coronavirus has required us to de-socialize and limit contact.

My heart goes out to all those who are suffering through this pandemic threat and to all the first responders and health care workers, as the world fights back. Together we can defeat the bug and, hopefully, re-socialize again in the near future.

The protests taking place at the same time should not have surprised anyone. Racism is the underlying issue. Blacks are being treated without due respect and subjected to abominable and criminal actions by police officers, the very people who are supposed to protect them.

Our legal system is heavily weighted against people of color. As a result, the subsequent adjudication of offending officers has been too slow. Guilty police officers must be brought to justice more quickly. They should be incarcerated for serious offenses. Sanctions being meted out against offenses have been too soft, frustrating the black community.

It’s impossible for me to understand the feelings of despair in the black community as injustices mount up against it. Yet, I am committed to learning more and having an empathetic ear. Concerned individuals, business leaders and average citizens, should be reaching out to gain a better understanding of the things most important to the black community. It’s time to re-double efforts to find peaceful settlement of disagreements.

All Americans need to be more responsive to the black community. We should do everything possible to ensure that they are safe, have equal opportunities for a quality education and a job that enables them to pursue the American dream.

The current state of affairs and the injustices being perpetrated against people of color is not consistent with the ideals that our founding fathers envisioned many years ago.

Trump Says Baltimore Is “Rat-Infested”

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The name-calling and accusations between the White House and Capitol Hill are escalating every day. The latest involves, who else, the name caller in chief- President Trump, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).

The congressman, who is black, was berating a White House official about the appalling conditions on the border with Mexico. The rant included some very strong statements about abominable conditions that immigrant children are facing at the border. The implication was that Trump and his aides are not concerned with the welfare of innocent children.

Trump responded to the congressman’s tongue-lashing, and as is his style, indicated that Cummings’ district includes the “rat-infested” city of Baltimore. Further, Trump said the congressman has done little over decades to improve the abominable situation in the city.

Trump’s tweet was immediately labeled a racist slur because many of Cummings’ constituencies are black. It was an easy target for Trump-haters.

Many Trump supporters don’t really believe that the president intended to make a racial remark, but who knows what the man is thinking when he goes over the edge on social media in a hissy fit.

Cummings’ was wrong to accuse border guards of treating immigrants inhumanely, as funding has not been sufficient to adequately take care of the thousands who are illegally crossing the border. But Trump was also out of line with his inflammatory statement. It certainly will not be helpful to Trump if he expects to ever have a working relationship with House Democrats. And now this latest chapter of Trump’s bonehead rhetoric will dominate the news for days.

Trump has been in office for nearly three years and he has not changed his nasty and vicious attitude. And there is no expectation that a kinder and gentler person will emerge during the next 18 months through the 2020 election.

But support for Trump is building in spite of his ubiquitous verbal and social media assaults against those that disagree with him. The country is improving and Americans are taking notice.

Economically liberals are hoping for a downturn so Trump will not be able to use the economy in his campaign rhetoric. Liberals want the world economy to also come crashing down as a result of the trade war between China and the US. Liberals want the US’s allies to abandon us and to support the dangerous and existential Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration. Liberals want the situation at the Mexican border to blow up, even as border officials are working under the most adverse conditions while the pols “talk” about it daily.

But, intelligent Americans are able to look beyond Trump’s horrible personality and belligerent perspectives, if his performance warrants them to do so. The economy is not showing any signs of tailing off. Iran is going bankrupt, as Trump has cut off its revenues from oil sales. North Korea will also go belly up if Kim refuses to give up his nukes. China is not looking so strong these days as it faces growing unemployment and credit problems. And most recently, citizens of Hong Kong, who want to elect their own leaders democratically, are challenging Mainland China.

The only thing that has gone haywire in America is Washington D.C. The left and the right are not capable of working together. Democrats are still trying to find a crime by Trump that is impeachable (instead of spending their time improving America and Baltimore). And Democrats have offered the electorate socialists and people who are unable to add and subtract as candidates for president.

The Democrats are going to lose in 2020. Armageddon is not around the corner. The US is still the strongest power in world. Voters will see the light and agree that the only thing worse than Trump in the White House, would be one of the liberal candidates in the Oval Office.

It’s shameful that among 330 million Americans we cannot find one person who is moderate, truthful, empathetic, intelligent and truly patriotic to be our president.

 

The Racist Card

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I decided to delve into an extremely controversial issue inspired by President Trump’s comments about four congresswomen. The issue is the use of the word “racist.”

Before continuing I should stipulate the following:

  • Trump frequently makes comments that some people can easily interpret to be racist.
  • The president’s recent comment that the four congresswomen referred to above should “go back to countries from which they came” was an inane and unproductive racist blathering.
  • I do not endorse any of the perspectives of the four congresswomen.
  • These women have an absolute right to speak their minds. And I have an absolute right to disagree with them.
  • Many comments made by the women are wrong, exaggerations, naïve and hurtful to the president, Republicans, Democrats, Nancy Pelosi and most importantly to our country, in my opinion.

 

With this in mind, I remain very sensitive about expressing my opinions about a number of social and political issues, especially those relating to race relations, women, entitlements and immigration.

Why you ask? Because if I disagree with a liberal perspective the “default” charge against me will inevitably be that I’m a racist and/or a bigot.

Some people characterize this phenomenon as minority privilege. In other words, if you are a member of a minority group you have free rein to say whatever is on your mind. If you are not of a minority, you are a racist if you criticize a minority or downtrodden group.

While in a heated discussion about restitution (relating to slavery and all the actions over the years that have disadvantaged blacks), my opponent said my perspective was racist. For me, that effectively ended the conversation.

It should be noted that we are on opposite sides of many controversial issues. But he, like many of my liberal friends, is quick to use the racist card, and say I just puppet what I hear on Fox News. I could just as well say that CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC and CBS are the sources for his competing opinions.

Our disagreements and engagements are a microcosm of why our country is so divided, and our leaders can’t get a damn thing accomplished. From my perspective liberals are protectors of free speech so long as what is said does not stray from liberal ideology.

As an example I offer the outrageous misbehavior of Berkeley students who rioted to prevent a conservative from speaking on campus. Berkeley has been an iconic defender of free speech, and now violent liberalism has dashed its reputation.

Trump is culpable in the agonizing battles between liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, women and men, people of color and white folks, etc. He feels obligated to express in an unfiltered manner whatever is gnawing at him in tweets. He truly believes that keeping things stirred up increases his political capital. I think he’s acting juvenile, and his behavior is not befitting a US president.

But the Democratic Party is not going to survive by inciting revolution. America is too great of a place to be subjected to violence on its streets, no matter what the four congresswomen say. Our nation has come a long way from the days when blacks were enslaved and women could not vote. Just look at the composition of Congress if you doubt this. Blacks and women have never been more powerful socially or politically. And there is more to come.

I suggest that Congress and all of our elected officials lead the way to negotiated solutions for our country. The use of the word “racist” should only be applied when it really exists, and not as a default comment in heated debate.