"Kids, Hide Your Eyes" -- Trump, the Un-Role Model During COVID-19

"The minute that we opened, it was like COVID didn't exist and people just forgot and, in some cases, are still forgetting,"

– Mayor of Miami Francis Suarez

The line between righteous and self-righteous is hard to discern in the best of times. In a pandemic – a time without a vaccine and a lack of treatment – it is evident recommendations to follow safety measures do not guarantee a significant part of the population will care about the safety of others.

You would think all Americans would gladly follow manageable safety measures during these deadly times – measures such as face masking, social distancing, and resisting gathering in large groups. However, for many, opening back up has proven meeting that obligation to be meaningless. Why are people so selfish and what could make more folks do these simple things to fight the virus?

Studies on disaster preparedness have found that one of the best ways to get other people to adopt new habits is to model them. Monica Schoch-Spana, a medical anthropologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, says

“The literature shows that people will change their behavior if there are three conditions in place: (1) they know what to do, (2) why to do it and (3) they see other people like themselves also doing it. A crucial part of this is that authority figures, from political leaders to pastors, are all repeating the same message, to the point that people are 'swimming in a sea' of it.”

(Kathy Steinmetz.“Standing Too Close. Not Covering Coughs. If Someone Is Violating Social Distancing Rules, What Do You Do?” Time. April 13, 2020.)

“See other people like themselves doing it” – this is a straightforward, uncomplicated measure that encourages compliance. Modeling proper behavior is a key to stopping the spread of COVID-19.

Yet, America has a president who refuses to wear a face mask, urges less testing to trace the virus, and encourages gatherings of large crowds without social distancing for his political rallies. Donald Trump is a horrible model for those fighting the pandemic. In fact, he is the Anti-Representative of Proper Conduct.

Trump and his top advisers have repeatedly played down the threat posed to American lives by the coronavirus pandemic. In some of the most infamous instances, Trump predicted on February 26 that the number of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. "within a couple of days is going to be down close to zero," while Larry Kudlow, Trump's director of the National Economic Council, declared the virus had been "contained."

The White House has relied in part on a so-called "cubic model" devised by Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser, that showed COVID-19 deaths plummeting to zero by mid-May. Depending on whom you ask, the “cubic model” is either nonsense or not a forecast at all (or both). Vox wrote …

"That's not a prediction, but it is a confirmation that a purely self-interested president should try to do something to alter the trajectory of the death toll.”

(Rachael Maddow.“U.S. media: White House prefers a debunked model over real models for coronavirus policy.”CGTN. May 20, 2020.)

Trump has framed reopening as a decision between saving the U.S. economy or a handful of lives. And his supporters have followed. A growing contingent of Trump supporters have even pushed the narrative that health experts are part of a deep-state plot to hurt Trump’s reelection efforts by damaging the economy and keeping the United States shut down as long as possible.

Trump himself pushed this idea in the early days of the outbreak, calling warnings on coronavirus a kind of “hoax” meant to undermine him.

Long before the outbreak of COVID-19, a Quinnipiac University poll found

while 90 percent of voters said the president should be a good role model for children, only 29 percent said Trump was while 67 percent said he was not. This majority believed Trump lacked moral leadership.

Among those who said Trump was not a good role model were most Democrats, independents, men, women, the young and the old. The major exception: 72 percent of Republicans said Trump was a good role model and 22 percent said he was not.

Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll, told reporters …

"Only 27 percent of American voters say they are proud to have Donald Trump as president, while 53 percent say they are embarrassed--a 2-1 negative."

(Kenneth T. Walsh Poll: Trump a Bad Role Model.”

U.S. News. January 26, 2018.)

Since 2018, confidence for Trump has gotten even worse. The number of voters disapproving of the job President Trump is doing is at an all-time high, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll (June 22 through June 25, 2020) finds.

Trump's approval rating sits at just 40% overall, while a record 58% disapprove. A whopping 49% of voters "strongly disapprove" of the job Trump is doing. That kind of intensity of disapproval is a record never before seen for this president or any past one.

Americans who are “swimming in the sea” of Trump's message about COVID-19 are risking drowning. Not only do they endanger their own health, but in the face of large, new outbreaks of the virus, they put their personal rights and individual desires over the health of their fellow man – while doing so, they trespass into the lives of countless others.

Why do they do this? In part, because they lack a proper role model as President of the United States. The president should possess the character and the temperament that other people can recognize and respect, no matter the person’s political affiliation. Donald Trump fails this presidential requirement. His immoral character fails every definition of “role model.”

The Culture War: News From the Trump Front

This weekend Donald Trump ignored implications of the disastrous U.S. government response to COVID-19 pandemic, preferring instead to engage in a culture war. Memorable Trump-related weekend action included …

1. The White House is taking vigorous efforts to protect him from infection at rallies that contravene social distancing and masking guidelines, and that put even his own supporters at risk of getting sick.
2. Trump found time to defend a statue former President Andrew Jackson, who retired to his slave plantation in 1837.
3. He retweeted a video in which a supporter chanted "white power."
4. He denied reports that he was briefed that Russia offered a bounty for the killings of US and UK soldiers by the Taliban.
5. He lambasted his predecessor Barack Obama for his less prolific golf hobby, made two trips to his Virginia course, despite boasting that he canceled a weekend trip to his New Jersey resort to make sure "law and order is enforced" in Washington, DC.

(Stephen Collinson. “As the pandemic rages, Trump indulges his obsessions.”

CNN. June 29, 2020.)

Make no mistake: a war is raging – a battle of cultural beliefs. It is a struggle to define values – a conflict which constitutes nothing short of a fight over the meaning of America. In the hostile conflict, the war cuts across moral and religious communities. Not since the Civil War has there been such fundamental disagreement over basic assumptions about truth, freedom, and our national identity.

Despite Trump's efforts there has been a shift in the war. Many of Trump's culture war allies are now defecting – NASCAR decided to ban the Confederate flag, and the NFL apologized for punishing its athletes who knelt to protest police brutality.

The most notable rift came when military leaders, whom Trump likes to call " my generals," broke with him. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said they would not only consider renaming military bases but also rejected Trump's threat to use the U.S. military against protesters.

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort.”

– General Jim Mattis

Trump also faced opposition from retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, his former defense secretary, and several prominent military leaders who criticized his decision to take a photo in front of St. John's Church following the removal of protesters on June 1.

(Mara Liasson. “As The Culture Wars Shift, President Trump Struggles To Adapt.”

NPR WOUB. June 20, 2020.)

Let's not forget how Trump responded to the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests in Minnesota? In a pair of tweets, the president said the protesters “are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd.”

“Any difficulty and we will assume control, but when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Trump wrote in a tweet that was subsequently flagged by Twitter for “glorifying violence.”

It was a threat apparently coined by the late Walter Headley, the Miami police chief who vowed to use violence against black protesters during 1967 protests. “We don’t mind being accused of police brutality,” Headley said.

(Gabby Orr and Laura Barron-Lopez. “Trump confronts a culture war of his own making

as election loom.” Politico. May 29, 2020.)

Oh, and we would be remiss not to mention Trump's stand on masks and social distancing – a battle he constantly wages in the culture war? Remember how he, despite a surge in COVID-19 cases in the city of Tulsa, recommended “people do what they want” when it came to wearing a mask at the event – and even suggested it could be harmful to wear one.

President Trump refuses to wear a mask in public appearances – including one at a factory that produces masks – or in his office, despite a recent outbreak among the White House staff. He evidently views not wearing a mask as a particular vision of masculinity, arguing that mask-wearing is a form of “political correctness.”

Zack Beauchamp, a senior correspondent at Vox, explains …

“The war on masks is a way of taking a public health crisis – a situation that demands political unity and best practices in governance – and reshaping it into a culture war competition. The question is not 'are we doing a good job handling this' so much as 'whose team do you want to be on, the namby-pamby liberals or the strong fearless conservatives?'”

(Zac, Beauchamp. “The partisan culture war over masks.” Vox. May 13, 2020.)

So, what is Trump's overall strategy in the culture war? As he did with his "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan, Trump is invoking an idealized past vision of an America free of political correctness – a nation where white conservative values are dominant and where diversity suffers. At the same time, he pushes the idea that the virus is over to convince voters that a strong economy is on the way back.

Donald Trump is a misguided, narcissistic reactionary fighting a culture war under the title of Making (White) America Great Again. He does what HE wants: HE gets angry and lies online, and HE spawns conflicts just to support HIS personal agendas. And, sadly, Republicans endorse HIS offhand divisive reactions.

The Election of 2020 will tell who won this cultural conflict. If Trump does win reelection, the nation must suffer through four more years of his unforgiving style, his inclinations and impulses, his priorities, his unfitness for office, and his instinct for populist themes and reckless language. Given four more years, Trump's antiquated conception of America will cause irreparable divide for a nation desperately seeking its true national identity.

“At a time when Blue and Red America have split into two warring tribes inhabiting two separate realities, and “debate” has been redefined to evoke split-screen cable-news screamfests, this ferocious politicization of everything might seem obvious and unavoidable.

“But it’s also dangerous. It’s as if the rowdy cultural slap-fight the kids were having in the back seat has moved into the front, threatening to swerve the national car off the road. Transforming difficult analytical questions into knee-jerk emotional battlegrounds will dramatically increase the danger that thoughtless short-term choices will throw off our long-term national trajectory.”

– Michael Grunwald, senior staff writer for Politico Magazine

Black Residents In White Scioto County -- Facing Reality

According to the United States Census, 79,499 people resided in Scioto County in 2010. Estimates in 2019 from census.gov put that total at 75,314.

The Black or African-American percentage of that population

was 2.7% or 1,246 people.

According to Data USA, in 2017, there were 33.9 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (71.8k people) in Scioto County, Ohio, than any other race or ethnicity.

I share this data for the edification of people residing in Scioto County. I believe this information not only gives insight into the racial makeup of the county, but also provides proof on how our population differs from that of most of America.

As Whites in Scioto County evaluate important issues such as police brutality on Blacks, systematic racism, and the impact of Black Lives Matter, I hear most say they understand the reality of the racial unrest and believe they are certainly not racists and are fully capable of understanding the problems faced by minorities.

I do believe most of these people are not prejudiced in explicit terms, but many of them still fall prey to aversive racism – unconscious (implicit) influences on how people think about, feel about, and behave toward others based on group membership.

Aversive racists’ reactions typically involve discomfort, anxiety, or fear. In America, Whites have been able to change their minds about racism faster than they have been able to change their deep-seated, and often unconscious, feelings. In an overly predominate White Scioto County, being an aversive racist is certainly a danger.

Of course, many white residents here have Black friends, and they work and socially associate with members of minorities. In doing so, they see themselves as being diverse and open to matters of racial disparity. I hear many say, “I have black friends. I am, therefore, colorblind.” And, no doubt, they most certainly do have these people as friends and view themselves as free from racial prejudice.

But … let's get back to that perception and confront reality. How many of these same Scioto County Whites live next to Black families? In actuality, how many Whites live in school districts where more than handful of Black students are enrolled? How many of them belong to social groups or organizations with sizable Black memberships?

Consider the question of integrated schools. Public School Review reports the Portsmouth City School District (school year 2020) has a minority enrollment of 26% of the student body (majority Black and Hispanic), which is actually less than the Ohio public school average of 30% (majority Black). Anyone who has lived here for even a short time knows Portsmouth Schools educate the majority of Black students in Scioto County.

The census.gov estimate of 2019 reports 20,158 people live in Portsmouth, 5.7% of which are Black or African-American. That means 1,149 Blacks live within the city limits. And that also means a whopping 97 Blacks live in Scioto County outside of Portsmouth. To me, these statistics are very revealing. There is little, almost no, diversity in rural Scioto County.

The estimated population of the United States is 328,239,523 of which the census reports 13.4% are Black or African-American. It is evident with national percentages at 13.4% and county percentages at 2.7%, the chances of even having everyday interaction with Blacks here is far lower than any kind of American average – five times lower than a projected normal, in fact.

How much of this racial isolation is self-imposed as opposed to forced? Racial and socioeconomic segregation are closely linked - if you're a black person in America, you're more likely than a white person to live in an area of concentrated poverty. This isn't simply a matter of choice, or chance. Pew Research reports even though overall racial and ethnic inequality in wealth narrowed from 2013 to 2016, the gap remains large. In 2016, the median wealth of white households was $171,000. That’s 10 times the wealth of black households ($17,100).

Do Blacks live in self-imposed segregation for purposes of self defense and protection? After all many white neighborhoods have reputations for intolerance and prejudice. Even in less-hostile territory, African Americans find the prospect of being constantly judged by white neighbors – and having to be on their best behavior to disprove white stereotypes – tiresome.

Gregory Smithsimon – associate professor of sociology at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and the CUNY Graduate Center – says one Washington-area resident said …

“I really wasn’t interested in moving into an all-white neighborhood and being the only black pioneer down there. I don’t want to come home and always have my guard up. After I work eight hours or more a day, I don’t want to come home and work another eight.”

(Gregory Smithsimon. “Are African American families more vulnerable in a largely white neighborhood?” The Guardian. February 21, 2018.)

On the other hand, social scientists Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton contradict the idea that people like to live with their “own kind” in their landmark study of racial segregation, “American Apartheid.” They found Blacks don’t express a preference to be as segregated as they are: in surveys, the largest percentage of African Americans want to live in neighborhoods that are a 50-50 mix of black and white people. But few such neighborhoods exist, and almost none stay mixed for long.

So, to those numbers, I hear Whites say, “That is the way it is. I didn't have anything to do with the lack of diversity in the population. I can't change that.”

While acknowledging lack of blame, Whites might be well informed to look at the past. Scioto County has a long history of being a bordering slave state, a state where Southern sympathies run deep and both Black Laws intended to restrict the rights of free blacks and de facto discrimination have deep roots.

You may remember what is commonly known as Black Friday on January 21st, 1831, and the expulsion of eighty Black residents of Portsmouth. They were then expelled under the threat of enforcement of the Ohio "Black Laws” of the early 1800s. The local paper, The Portsmouth Courier, even printed a notice at the time: “The citizens of Portsmouth are adopting measures to free the town of its colored population.” The refugees were runaway slaves and their locally born sons and daughters, who for whatever reason, decided to stay in Portsmouth rather than seek freedom in Canada.

History tells sobering truths. The story of the integration of Dreamland Pool is well documented as is the fact that Portsmouth High enforced separate proms until 1954. Since then, we White residents of the county have traditionally been stubborn to change, and now much of that attitude is aversive in nature. Whites prefer to allow advancements and grant privileges to minorities – they often bristle when these minorities invoke the reins and demand due equality and justice.

The simple point I make is that it is extremely difficult to actually know the heart and minds of Blacks in Scioto County when they do not live “with” you, but instead, they live in very small numbers “around” you. This is a fact we White residents should not ignore as we tackle the reality of what it means to be Black in America. Almost all Whites in Scioto County do not even know what it means to live in a neighborhood with a significant Black population. How in the world can we properly judge the issues at hand in 2020 unless we listen to Black voices and be receptive to their messages.

I'll close with this delineation. Being “attuned,” being “sympathetic,” or even being “empathetic” is not the same as being “involved” and being “active.” The challenge we Whites in this county face is to uncover our own lack of experience with diversity, ask ourselves how we have contributed to these conditions, and then work to evoke needed changes to embrace our minorities. It is not an issue of “race” -- that is a manufactured term as you realize there is more genetic diversity within a so-called “race” than between two races. Rather, it is an issue of racism ... the kind that still haunts the communities of 2020 America.

Losing Friends In Times of Trump

I know all the maxims such as …

“Never argue politics or religion.”

“Two persons cannot long be friends if they cannot forgive each other's little failings.”

“Friends are forever.”

These axioms provide measured, useful advice for people. In a perfect world, the advice would be taken with full reverence and understanding. We, unfortunately, are no longer living in a society that has any semblance to an ethically minded population.

This is the only time in my life I have taken a hard stand on my resistance to a president of the United States. In fact, I normally do not enter the fray of a political election, and I usually do not care for political involvement. However, I believe Trump is an unqualified, narcissistic, foolish president who presents an ever-present danger to our country. I also think his supporters are contributing to this peril.

In what is, admittedly, a divisive, hate-filled society, I now find myself distancing from friends and even strangers who “go over the line” to oppose my activism and anti-Trump approach. This line of tolerance separates people who engage in vigorous and civilized debate and those who use rage-induced responses to make political discussion personally offensive. You may fairly accuse me of engaging too much, but I am deeply dedicated to my beliefs.

I have been called a “libtard,” an “asshat” and an “idiot.” People right-of-center have said I am a “pussy,” a “liar,” and they have employed the use of many other choice, offensive names too colorful to mention to belittle me. Whey people do this, they unfairly attack my character. When someone makes a political argument personal, I no longer wish to have them as friends. I divorce myself from the bond and go ahead with my life.

I respect people that do not agree with me; however, if those folks choose to denigrate me and attack me, I do not wish to engage with them or pretend to see them still as “friends.” I see their divisive words as a betrayal of common courtesy as well as an unwarranted offense to a shared relationship – I believe they do so as a direct result of a president who encourages Americans to turn their hostility away from him and against their fellow citizens. Trump constantly exhibits such offensive behavior and name calling in his tweets and in his unguarded, emotional remarks.

In distancing myself from people who attack me, I understand that many of the offenders are decent and intelligent people. I do not want to belittle them or point my finger in their face. I just no longer wish to pander to their will – a will that chooses to attack my character, the mental and moral qualities distinctive to my individuality.

That said, I have friends with whom I never talk politics in the first place, and with whom I am now afraid to do so. Still, in such a mutually agreed upon charade – a pretense usually involving relatives – I regret the fact that talking about issues and concerns is now taboo. It is very difficult to skirt all discussion of current events because of political difference.

Why do I find myself taking such a rigid stand on refusing to allow name calling and denigrating comments? After all, many of these people I distance myself from are lifelong acquaintances. I feel these people put personal relationships ahead of serious moral disagreements when they cross the line and make an argument about me, not about an issue or a politician.

Yet, I fear there is more to my rejection of certain people. Would I be friends with a Nazi, a racist, a misogynist, an alt-right proponent, or a person whose prejudice about any human right colors his character. No.

How about those who defend an incurable liar, a classic narcissist, and a leader focused on his personal gain over the principles of justice and equality? Should I cave to their bullying behaviors and their unabashed white nationalism? Do I simply let their divisive words overcome me, someone they commonly refer to as a “snowflake” – a political insult for someone who is perceived as “too sensitive.” No.

I regret losing friends due to my current political views. Still, I do not regret losing those friends who choose to attack me and disparage me as an unintelligent, nasty person. Even if, like me, those people want what’s best for our nation, they have no reason to destroy my character. As another old saying goes: “Maybe they weren't that good a friend in the first place.” Damn, I hate saying that … but these days, don't tell me you haven't thought about that same possibility more and more.

To close, I admit I have pissed off many friends in my life. I have also made many apologies to those same friends for going “over the line.” Many of them have also apologized to me when they realize they have unfairly inflicted a hurt.

Making mistakes is inherent in the human condition. I certainly have made my share of mistakes. I have so many things I would change if I could, and I have never regretted apologizing for my hurtful errors in judgment. God help us all with our differences and disagreements. Still, I cannot fathom meaningful relationships without “lines” that separate acceptable from non-acceptable behaviors.

Abusing Black Lives Matter: Trump's Tweet of "Treason" Has Deep and Ugly Roots

“Black Lives Matter leader states, ‘If U.S. doesn’t give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it’. This is Treason, Sedition, Insurrection!”

– President Donald Trump (June 25, 2020)

The Black Lives Matter Global Network is debunking a tweet posted by President Donald Trump wrongly associating the statements of an unaffiliated activist to the group. The New York City activist Hawk Newsome, who is a former president of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, said in an TV interview this week that those protesting the death of George Floyd would “burn down this system and replace it” if activists’ demands weren’t met.

A managing director for the BLM network founded by Black women who coined the slogan issued a statement saying Newsome does not represent the network or any of its affiliate chapters. In a response to The Associated Press, Newsome said no one can claim ownership of the movement.

A BLM spokesperson said ..

“As BLM has told Mr. Newsome in the past, and as is still true today, Mr. Newsome’s group is not a chapter of BLM and has not entered into any agreement with BLM agreeing to adhere to BLM’s core principles.”

(Christina Wilkie. “Trump cranks up attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement

for racial justice.” CNBC. June 25, 2020.)

In truth, there exists a history of attacks by nationalist groups on the Black Lives Matter movement. Many of these attacks are politically based and falsely accuse BLM of being akin to a hate group.

Back in 2015, the Editorial Board of The New York Times stated …

“The Republican Party and its acolytes in the news media are trying to demonize the protest movement that has sprung up in response to the all-too-common police killings of unarmed African-Americans across the country. The intent of the campaign – evident in comments by politicians like Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky – is to cast the phrase “Black Lives Matter” as an inflammatory or even hateful anti-white expression that has no legitimate place in a civil rights campaign.”

(The Editorial Board. “The Truth of ‘Black Lives Matter,'”

The New York Times. September 3, 2015.)

In the week before Trump's June 25 tweet, Trump had deployed a racist nickname for the deadly coronavirus, demanded that a toppled Confederate statue in Washington be restored, tweeted context-free videos of black people attacking white people, tweeted a doctored video purportedly showing a “racist baby,” and accused former President Barack Obama of “treason.”

Christie Wilkie of CNBC says …

“By cranking up the same culture wars that helped Trump to win the White House in 2016, the president hopes to galvanize his core supporters, and to drive a wedge between suburban middle-class White voters and the activists protesting in cities across the nation.”

(Christina Wilkie. “Trump cranks up attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement

for racial justice.” CNBC. June 25, 2020.)

Black Lives Matter was intended to make Congress and Americans confront the fact that African-Americans were being killed with impunity for offenses like trying to vote, and had the right to life and to equal protection under the law. The movement sought a cross-racial appeal, but at every step of the way used expressly racial terms to describe the destruction that was visited upon black people because they were black.

The Editorial Board says …

“Along the way, there was never a doubt as to what the struggle was about: securing citizenship rights for black people. The “Black Lives Matter” movement focuses on the fact that black citizens have long been far more likely than whites to die at the hands of the police, and is of a piece with this history. Demonstrators who chant the phrase are making the same declaration that voting rights and civil rights activists made a half-century ago. They are not asserting that black lives are more precious than white lives. They are underlining an indisputable fact — that the lives of black citizens in this country historically have been discounted and devalued.”

(The Editorial Board. “The Truth of ‘Black Lives Matter,'”

The New York Times. September 3, 2015.)

The Black Lives Matter Global Network started out as a chapter-based, member-led organization whose mission was to build local power and to intervene when violence was inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. In the years since, the network is committed to struggling together and to imagining and creating a world free of anti-Blackness, where every Black person has the social, economic, and political power to thrive.

BLM’s #WhatMatters2020 is a campaign aimed to maximize the impact of the BLM movement by galvanizing BLM supporters and allies to the polls in the 2020 U.S Presidential Election to build collective power and ensure candidates are held accountable for the issues that systematically and disproportionately impact Black and under-served communities across the nation.

“The Black Lives Matter Movement has to be understood in the context of the historical legacy of the ill treatment of blacks by the police and the criminal justice system and American political and social institutions more generally. That legacy is a fact.”

– Professor Daniel Nagin, Teresa And H. John Heinz III University Professor Of Public Policy And Statistics at Carnegie Mellon

Asia A. Carter-Lamb of Roger Williams University tells about the biggest misconceptions associated with Black Lives Matter.

Carter-Lamb says the most dangerous misconception is that by declaring that black lives matter, the group is actually claiming that other lives do not matter, thereby elevating black lives to a superior status. Carter-Lamb exposes the extent of the false belief …

“This fallacy is even believed by former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani, who claimed that the movement was 'inherently racist.' However, this belief directly contrasts one of the BLM guiding principles, which states that the movement is 'committed to acknowledging, respecting and celebrating differences and commonalities.' This is why many protests by BLM have drawn notably diverse participants.”

(Asia A Carter-Lamb. "Black Life Mater: Debunked!"

New and Dangerous Ideas: Vol 1, Article 8. 2018.)

Another misconception cited by Carter-Lamb is that BLM encourages needless violence against police officers. In the article “More Hypocrisy from Black Lives Matter,” Ian Tuttle details the story of Micah Johnson who opened fire during a march in Dallas, which resulted in the death of five police officers. Although Johnson attended the protest, it was later discovered that his alignment with violent black nationalists is what spurred his violence. Though his extreme actions do not represent the values of the movement, they are now intertwined with its reputation.

Violent acts committed in the name of the movement have led the movement to creating Campaign Zero in association with social activist DeRay Mckesson, explicitly outlining the changes they wish to see in modern policing. Their initiative shows the true intentions of BLM, which is not to attack police officers, but to collaborate with them in order to make all citizens feel safe.

Carter-Lamb concludes …

“Out of these gross misconceptions, the Blue Lives Matter counter-movement has sprung. Though their mission statement does not contradict the BLM movement, it directly attacks the movement, even claiming that the purpose of Black Lives Matter is the “vilification of the law.” … By contradicting us, bigots only create more division, more intolerance, and more hatred between us. This leaves society stagnant.”

(Asia A Carter-Lamb. "Black Life Mater: Debunked!"

New and Dangerous Ideas: Vol 1, Article 8. 2018.)

The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture affirms that the Black Lives Matter movement has been and remains explicitly and strongly anti-violence. The Black Lives Matter movement seeks restorative, not retributive, justice. The society says, “There are a few in any crowd who are angry and hurt and who don’t respect what the movement would prefer they do. The actions or words of that few do not speak for the many.”

Demonstrators clash with police near the Seattle Police Departments East Precinct shortly after midnight on June 8, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. 

At what risk to themselves do Black Lives Matter protesters hit the streets?

“Out of the blue, they started breezing pepper spray into the crowd. There was one officer on the median who was spraying as well. Then they started with tear gas. Someone who was right in the front – who had a tear gas canister hit his head – started running back. And we were trying to help him, flushing his eyes and then he just fainted and started having a seizure.”

– Lizzie Horne, a rabbinical student who was tear-gassed in Philadelphia on June 1, 2020

Amnesty International has documented 125 separate examples of police violence against protesters in 40 states and the District of Columbia between May 26 and June 5 2020, a period when hundreds of thousands of people in the USA and other countries protested against racism and police violence and to demand that Black lives matter.

To evaluate these incidents, Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab gathered almost 500 videos and photographs of protests from social media platforms. This digital content was then verified, geolocated, and analyzed by investigators with expertise in weapons, police tactics, and international and US laws governing the use of force. In some cases, researchers were also able to interview victims and confirm police conduct with local police departments.

The analysis shows that law enforcement officers violated human rights daily out on the streets instead of fulfilling their obligations to respect and facilitate the right of people to peacefully protest.

Brian Griffey, USA Researcher/Advisor at Amnesty International, reports …
“This unlawful use of force included beatings, misuse of tear gas and pepper spray, and the inappropriate firing of less-lethal projectiles, such as sponge rounds and rubber bullets. Those abuses were committed by a range of security forces from state and local police departments, federal agencies, and the National Guard.”

Brian Castner, Senior Crisis Advisor on Arms and Military Operations at Amnesty International, says …

“The analysis is clear: when activists and supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement took to the streets in cities and towns across the USA to peacefully demand an end to systemic racism and police violence, they were overwhelmingly met with a militarized response and more police violence.”

(Brian Griffey. “USA: End unlawful police violence against Black Lives Matter protests.” Amnesty International. June 23, 2020.)

Freelance writer Austa Somvichian-Clausen says many have compared the current Black Lives Matter movement to the events of the Stonewall Riots in 1969, when history was made after the first brick was thrown to protest the injustice being faced by the LGBTQ+ community. Somvichian-Clausen reports, “Just as the Stonewall Riots catalyzed a movement and changed the course of the narrative for LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S., these past two weeks have already made changes that certainly should go down in the history books.”

(Austa Somvichian-Clausen. “What the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests have achieved so far.” thehill.com. June 10, 2020.)

In conclusion, Trump on June 25, seizing on a quote by a man who runs a fringe Black Lives Matter knock-off group, and a chant that is not popular with protesters, suggested in tweets that the loosely organized racial justice movement poses a threat. Donald Trump has a history of opposing Black Lives Matter.

In September 2015, Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, said during a Fox News interview with Bill O'Reilly:

"I think they're (Black Lives Matter) trouble. I think they're looking for trouble …

“I looked at a couple of the people that were interviewed from the group. I saw them with hate coming down the street last week talking about cops and police, and what should be done to them. And that was not good. And I think it's a disgrace that they're getting away with it …

"I think it's disgraceful the way they're being catered to by the Democrats. And it's going to end up kicking them you-know-where. I don't think it's going to end up good. The fact is all lives matter. That includes black and it includes white and it includes everybody else …

"He's wrong. (Trump was speaking about former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a prominent African-American Republican leader and former military general, who defended Black Lives Matter.)

“He's totally wrong. It's 'All Lives Matter,' and that should be the theme of this country, frankly, or one of the themes. So he's obviously catering to somebody. I don't know who he's catering to."

(Colin Campbell. “Donald Trump trashes Black Lives Matter: 'I think they're trouble.'”

Business Insider. September 9, 2015.)

Then, in 2016, Trump addressed the fallout from deadly police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, and the killing of five police officers in Dallas, during both an interview with Fox News and a rally in Westfield, Indiana.

Even as he expressed concerns over the police killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, describing videos of the encounters as “tough to watch”, Trump blamed Barack Obama and Black Lives Matter as primarily responsible for divisions over race.

In 2016, Trump told Fox News host Bill O’Reilly that he opposes the phrase “black lives matter” …

“I think it’s certainly, it’s very divisive and I think they’re hurting themselves. (in reference to the phrase 'black lives matter' and the movement leading national demonstrations for criminal justice reform) …

“The first time I heard it I said ‘You have to be kidding. I think it’s a very, very, very divisive term. There’s no question about it.”

(Sabrina Siddiqui. “Donald Trump strikes muddled note on 'divisive' Black Lives Matter.”

The Guardian. July 21, 2016.)

In this blog entry, I am presenting the statements and the facts as they pertain to Black Lives Matter and Donald Trump. It is up to you to decide the truth of the matter as it pertains to Trump's emotional evaluation of their actions as “Treason, Sedition, and Insurrection!”

There is no doubt Trump's displeasure with the movement has much deeper roots than the words of Hawk Newsome in 2020. You can question Trump's claims “he has done more for black community than any president since Lincoln.”

In fact, you may want to evaluate his boisterous claim in the light that he took out ads for the execution of the teens who comprised the so-called “Central Park Five,” whose convictions were later vacated after they spent seven to 13 years in prison, and the city paid $41 million in a settlement to the teens. Remember, Trump in October 2016 said he still believes they’re guilty, despite the DNA evidence to the contrary.

And, if that's not enough, remember the 1991 book by John O’Donnell, former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, who quoted Trump’s criticism of a Black accountant: “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.”

(German Lopez. “Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2020.”

Vox. June 24, 2020.)

And who could forget this timely statement? in August 2017, Trump repeatedly said that “many sides” and “both sides” were to blame for the violence and chaos that ensued – suggesting that the white supremacist protesters were morally equivalent to counterprotesters who stood against racism. He also said that there were “some very fine people” among the white supremacists.

I rest my case. The jury of American citizens must now decide.

What So Proudly We Hailed? A Question Partly Unanswered

“No refuge could save the hireling and slave
from the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

The Third Verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner,”

the National Anthem of the United States

I'm sure many of you know the narrative about what we continue to call our “National Anthem.” It is a story that is relegated to the back pages of history because it is a part of our so-called heritage represented in a song we do not truly understand. Crowds of Americans never sing but one verse of the anthem – they fail to investigate the musical composition in its entirety. Still, the racist roots of both the writer, the lyrics, and the history of the anthem should be shared. Many consider the song offensive in nature when they learn its history.

Some enslaved blacks in the United States escaped and joined the British army to fight America in the War of 1812 – they were called the Colonial Marines. These slaves joined the British to get freedom.

The slaves and people of color living along the Chesapeake, and in the Tidewater regions of the mid-Atlantic states, were faced with several choices during the War of 1812. They could either fight for the United States, a nation that professed equality and freedom but lacked delivery, watch from the sidelines, or take a chance to secure freedom by joining the British forces.

Precedent for such action was set during the American Revolution when Lord Dunmore, Royal Governor of Virginia, issued his 1775 proclamation offering enslaved persons freedom if they fought on the side of Great Britain. It is estimated that between 800-2,000 served in what became known as Dunmore’s Ethiopian Brigade, which saw limited combat during the war. After the Revolution, many of these former slaves turned soldiers of fortune and relocated to islands in the Caribbean or to Canada.

By the time the War of 1812 erupted many northern states had abolished slavery. However, such states granted few, if any, rights to citizens. In the South, slavery remained a way of life and an economic pillar.

On April 2, 1814, a proclamation issued by Sir Alexander Cochrane, Vice Admiral and Commander in Chief of His Majesty’s Ships and Vessels in North America stated that those who served in the King’s forces would be liberated after the war. Cochrane had a thousand copies of his proclamation printed and distributed to the enslaved population residing in the Chesapeake Bay region. Cochrane hoped to “annoy Americans, and bring the consequences of the war home to their own doors.”

Francis Scott Key, the lyricist of the National Anthem in August of 1814, witnessed the Colonial Marines, as part of the British troops that attacked Americans outside of D.C. and drove them back into the city, setting the White House on fire.

So it was that in September, Key also witnessed 25 hours of continuous British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore. After seeing the fort survive, Key became so moved that he wrote a poem called “The Defence (sic) of Fort M’Henry” that became the national anthem.

In the third verse, Key had a direct and special message for the enslaved people who had dared to fight for their freedom – we will pursue you to get revenge. His unmistakeable message to the blacks fighting for freedom – we will hunt you down and the search will leave you in terror because, when we find you, your next stop is the gloom of the grave.

Jamie Stiehm, Washington columnist for Creators Syndicate, speaks of Key …

“Lawyer-poet Key, born to massive slaveholding wealth in Maryland, was one of the richest men in America. He liked it that way.

“As he grew older and darker, Key sought to buttress slavery, known as our own 'peculiar institution.' He did just that, past his last breath. The U.S. Supreme Court, which he helped shape, stood strongly for slavery. So beside the anthem, his political legacy as a critical political player in upholding slavery is devastating.

“In his (18)50s, Key became an adviser to President Andrew Jackson, who was also a wealthy self-made Southern slaveholder.

“At the same time, Key was named by Jackson as the U.S. district attorney for the nation’s capital, where he prosecuted race and slavery laws to the fullest extent, even to the death penalty. He also aggressively prosecuted early abolitionists, who had founded the anti-slavery movement in 1833 … Jackson’s presidency brought brutal, racially motivated mob violence like never before, including a race riot in Washington, D.C. Jackson had no sympathy for mobs, but even less for slaves and free blacks.

“Then came the worst cut of all: Key prevailed on Jackson to name Key’s own brother-in-law, Roger Taney, to the Cabinet and then to the ultimate prize: chief justice of the United States.”

(Jamie Stiehm. “‘The Star-Spangled Banner’s’ racist lyrics reflect its slave owner author, Francis Scott Key.” The Undefeated. September 6, 2018.)

And, by the way, all of Francis Scott Key's descendants sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War. Key, himself, owned around 20 African-American slaves at the time.

This is just a small window into the reality of affirming that the heritage of America is based on White supremacy in the original sin of slavery.

Elizabeth Martinez – American Chicana feminist and a long-time community organizer, activist, author, and educator – in her paper “What is White Supremacy?” defines the term in this way:

“White Supremacy is a historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of continents, nations, and peoples of color by white peoples and nations of the European continent, for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege.”

(Elizabeth Martinez. “What is White Supremacy?” February
 1998.)

Martinez cites three stages of White supremacy in the U.S. The first stage was the European seizure of the lands inhabited by indigenous peoples. Next, the United States could not have developed economically as a nation without enslaved African labor – the second stage. And, the third major piece in the true story of the formation of the United States as a nation was the take‐over of half of Mexico by war – what we know as today's Southwest. 

The Crossroads anti-racist collective uses the following definition of internalized racist superiority:

“A complex multi-generational socialization process that teaches white people to believe, accept and /or live out superior societal definitions of self and to fit into and live out superior social roles. These behaviors define and normalize the race construct and it outcome – white supremacy.”

Why would we continue to recognize Key's “Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem? I cannot understand how the song has stood for so long. In deference to the brutal cruelty of slavery, one would think the song should be replaced.

The song bothered abolitionists of the day. They, too, were irked by how easily the deaths of enslaved Africans could be celebrated in the same stanza in which this land was hailed as “the land of the free.” Abolitionists even created other songs to the tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that spoke of the true pain and costs of slavery and how desperately freedom was desired. Change, if and when it does occur, is usually a long time coming.

The Color Blind And Their Aversive Racism -- Confronting Hidden Bias

“The most effective adaptation of racism over time is the idea that racism is conscious bias held by mean people. This “good/bad binary,” positing a world of evil racists and compassionate non-racists, is itself a racist construct, eliding systemic injustice and imbuing racism with such shattering moral meaning that white people, especially progressives, cannot bear to face their collusion in it.

“(Pause on that, white reader. You may have subconsciously developed your strong negative feelings about racism in order to escape having to help dismantle it.)”

-- Katy Waldman, staff writer at The New Yorker in a review on White Fragilityby Robin DiAngelo (2018)

I am white. I have no conscious bias, yet over the years I have felt that old “tug” or “pull” every now and then – a disposition to cave to an unconscious racist bias. Listening to a decidedly racist joke without objection, affirming some kind of simple white privilege, asking myself if something is indicative of a race – these are all examples of refusing to confront my duty to dismantle racism. All are errors deep-seated in the white psyche … yes, in my own psyche … and all are undesirable biases in situations I should have confronted at the time.

I reckon I am like most whites in a state of “white fragility”: Being raised in a society in which racism is the bedrock, I am guilty of presupposing a world full of the good/bad binary. Now, I often realize I inhabit a society of friends and relations whom I know are not purposely or consciously racist … I inhabit a world where decent, intelligent whites fail to recognize their obligation to confront their own aversive racism.

Yale professor Robert Mitchell says: “Aversive racists sympathize with victims of past injustice, support principles of racial equality, and genuinely regard themselves as non-prejudiced, but at the same time possess conflicting, often non-conscious, negative feelings and beliefs about blacks.”

I believe most whites are oblivious to aversive racism. They find any suggestion that they might be prejudiced aversive as well. Discrimination occurs “in situations in which normative structure is weak, when the guidelines for appropriate behavior are vague, when the basis for social judgment is ambiguous, or when one can justify or rationalize a negative response on the basis of some factor other than race.”

(John F. Dovidio, Samuel L. Gaertner, and Adam R. Pearson. “Aversive Racism and Contemporary Bias.” November 2016.)

“In America, whites have been able to change their minds about racism faster than they have been able to change their deep-seated, and often unconscious, feelings. The vast majority of white Americans currently know we should be non-prejudiced and egalitarian. But the emotional impact, the “gut” impact, that race has on people still lags behind.”

(Staff. “Five Questions for John Dovidio, PhD.”

American Psychological Association.” 2009.)

In more than twenty years of running diversity-training and cultural-competency workshops for American companies, the academic and educator Robin DiAngelo has noticed that white people are sensationally, histrionically bad at discussing racism. DiAngelo says …

“Like waves on sand, their reactions form predictable patterns: they will insist that they 'were taught to treat everyone the same,' that they are 'color-blind,' that they 'don’t care if you are pink, purple, or polka-dotted.' They will point to friends and family members of color, a history of civil-rights activism, or a more 'salient' issue, such as class or gender.”

(Katy Waldman. “A Sociologist Examines the 'White Fragility' That Prevents White Americans from Confronting Racism.” The New Yorker. July 23, 2018.)

“Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” I recall these unmatched, compassionate and merciful words of Jesus as he hung near death on the cross. The words apply to 21^st century racism in that the clash of justification and real misunderstanding occur daily. Whites have been warned not to go outside their racial comfort zone. If they do become uncomfortable racially, they repel the challenge and get back into that pleasant zone.

Confronting aversive racism as a person groomed with white fragility is not easy. In fact, acknowledging you were taught to treat every person the same, and, at the same time, addressing personal issues of unconscious racism is very difficult. Beyond the surface of bias, there exists more prejudice. If we are to eliminate racism in America, we must plot a course that includes both identifying white fragility and aversive racism and reinforcing strategies that combat these conditions.

Race shapes the lives of white people and blacks, too. But, the conspiracy of racism is hardly invisible to people of color. It is me, a white person, who must recognize the invisibility. I need to realize that combating my inner voices of racial prejudice – though subtle and barely realized – is a life’s work. I must also acknowledge I should continue to be a work in progress, a person open to new understandings and new challenges that call me to action.

Scioto Commissioners Discuss Locals' Trips to Myrtle Beach Amid COVID-19 Spike

The Scioto County Daily News reported on June 25 that Scioto County Commissioner Cathy Coleman questioned whether recent cases of COVID-19 in Scioto are actually connected to travel. She said, “I find it hard to believe that they can identify that they picked it up on their trip.”

The County Daily News also reported “Commissioner Coleman said she understands that the family who traveled to Myrtle Beach were all tested for COVID-19 and only half of them tested positive. She said the husband had COVID-19 but the wife tested negative.”

(Cyn Mackley. “Coleman Doubts Myrtle Beach COVID Link.”

The Scioto Clounty Daily News. June 25, 2020.)

According to Coleman it’s possible the family picked up the virus in Myrtle Beach but there are plenty of other possibilities as well. “Who knows if they got it from here before they left?” She pointed out that travelers would stop at restaurants, hotels, and gas stations on the way to Myrtle Beach and back.

Coleman's doubts about the transmission seem to oppose the view of Scioto County Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Martin who blamed travelers to Myrtle and Daytona Beach for a recent spike in Coronavirus cases this week. The County Daily News reported, “Cases held steady for some time, but nine new cases were reported since Monday.”

Coleman continued, “I have a home there. I was there recently. It's not in Myrtle Beach but I can assure you the businesses and the people there were actually going by the guidelines, I think, more than here. Everywhere you went people were social distancing and wearing their masks. Then I come back here and I see multiple people not following the same guidelines.”

Commissioner Bryan Davis added: “What we don't know exactly is what there people did. Were they dancing? Were they hanging out with other people? Who knows?”

Coleman also questioned policies regarding quarantine. She asked why the wife who tested negative and showed no symptoms was also quarantined, but added, “That’s my opinion.”

The Reality

This week, Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach mayors are considering implementing laws to further combat the spread of the virus. Greenville and Columbia have recently passed emergency ordinances requiring people wear face masks in public places and in some businesses. As Horry County saw its single-day record of coronavirus cases shattered Wednesday, June 24, (The state Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) reported 183 new cases, topping Tuesday's record of 133 cases.) at least six states are warning their residents about visiting Myrtle Beach.

Right now, wearing a mask in cities and towns along the Grand Strand remains optional. But on July 2, Myrtle Beach city council members are expected to discuss a mask ordinance during a workshop. Myrtle Beach city council member Gregg Smith said he thinks a mask mandate should come to Myrtle Beach.

“I think in the long run, wearing a mask to tamp the pandemic down is probably the best solution that we have right now,” Smith said.

(Katherine Phillips. “Myrtle Beach leaders to discuss possible mask mandate during July 2 meeting.” WMBF News, Myrtle Beach. June 25, 2020.)

According to DHEC’s numbers, Horry County’s seven-day average is about 131.43 cases per day. The daily rate has nearly tripled (196%) over the last three weeks and up about 858% from four weeks ago.

Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach have had several employees in quarantine due to exposure to the virus. As of June 24, Myrtle Beach has 43 employees in quarantine, with seven of those testing positive, City Spokesperson Mark Kruea said. In North Myrtle Beach, 16 are out on quarantine with various return dates, City Spokesperson Pat Dowling said, noting that five employees have tested positive for the virus since its inception in March.

(Anna Young. “‘Do something’: South Carolina, Myrtle Beach area leaders slow to react to COVID-19 surge.” myrtlebeachonline. June 25, 2020.)

This outbreak has drawn warnings from Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky and Gov. Jim Justice, R-W.Va, who said …

“If you are thinking of going to Myrtle Beach, rethink what you are doing and everything. The other thing is if you have been, go get tested.”

Belmont County, Ohio, health officials say 20 people were infected on a high school trip to Myrtle Beach. “We’re still having people think it’s a hoax,” said Rob Sproul, who’s Belmont County’s deputy health commissioner. “We still have people thinking they don’t need to wear a mask.”

In addition, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have issued a joint travel advisory on June 24, requiring anyone coming from nine states, including the Carolinas, to quarantine for 14 days.

On a person note, my niece now lives and has lived in Pawley's Island for many years. She reported on June 25 the following:

“ I live less then a half a mile as the crow flies from Litchfield Beach...the beaches were packed Memorial Day weekend and will be packed again July 4th...very few are wearing masks AND the highest median age of those infected are between the ages of 18-30 as they are not practicing social distance. I personally know the stories of people infected here … and the restaurants that have had employees infected some closing … some staying open. UNTIL you are resident of a beach community with high infection rate, it really hard to take a stand on media...But hey … come on down if you like to gamble with your life and your families and neighbors lives … smh”

She also said …

“I dont think the beaches are packed hourly. I think especially during the holidays BUT everyone is tired of complying to the rules and wants a break. I totally understand that … i'm tired of wearing the mask and not being able to just go see a friend.

“When people go on vacation they want to be able to relax and they do 90 percent of the time without the requirements that should be taken. The other morning I went to the local gas station to get my gas. It is a tiny one with a limit of 13 customers and there were 9 there including me – me being the only one wearing a mask. Customers were lined up with the beers and wine coolers getting their cigarettes, in groups laughing and dressed in beach gear getting ready to purchase their ice and essentials. Did I feel safe? No...but did I leave? No. I needed gas so I could go to work. So i go out and spray everything including my shoe treads, keys, cars … then take off gloves...hand sanitize again just in case. It's tiring and honestly it's probably not enough.”

“Honestly probably not enough” – that phrase sticks in my head as I consider the risks of going to Myrtle Beach in the middle of a pandemic. I love my niece, and I pray she and the rest of her family make it through this surge of cases unharmed. The vacation paradise is experiencing a terrible outbreak right now. I would hope anyone even considering traveling there would take all proper precautions. Then again, considering the swell of population, the excitement of beach goers, and their lack of consideration for the virus … a prayer is “honestly probably not enough.”