America is tired. America is angry. America is hurting. America is burning. America is in turmoil.
Top News Today
Since the death of George Floyd last Monday in Minneapolis, America has taken to the streets from coast to coast to protest the death of yet another Black man at the hands of police. An unprecedented scene of peaceful protests combined with looting and fires overtook Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Denver, Louisville, Omaha, Des Moines, Washington, Dallas/Ft. Worth, New York, Atlanta, Oakland, Nashville, San Jose, Detroit, Austin, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Newark, Miami, Boston, Houston, New Orleans, Memphis, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, and points in between. The streets were filled with men, women, children, Blacks, Whites, gays, straight, the young and the old who carried placards that read “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice, No Peace.” They came despite the need to wear COVID-19 masks and delivered a very important message: they are tired of being tired.
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A weekend of havoc began on Thursday when CNN reporter Omar Jimenez — who is visibly dark-skinned due to his Black mother and Hispanic father — was arrested in Minneapolis while reporting live on the air despite showing his journalist credentials. His instant guilt as a dark-skinned man along with the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Aubery, Breonna Taylor, and others only served to underline the message that being Black in America is a crime and people are just not going to take it anymore.
DONALD TRUMP
As the protests overpowered the streets of America, Donald Trump followed his usual playbook by pouring more gasoline on the fire and lighting a match to further fuel the flames.
“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” Trump tweeted on Friday. He then added, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” parroting former Miami police chief Walter Headley whose same choice of words spurred race riots in the late 1960s. Trump’s divisive vitriol was immediately criticized by members of both political parties, who were shocked to hear a sitting President of the United States threaten to shoot American citizens on their own streets.
On Saturday morning, Trump called an impromptu press conference which created the buzz that he was ready to be presidential and admit that America is in turmoil. Instead, Trump issued a brief statement about his anger toward China and refused to take questions or even acknowledge the death of George Floyd and the ongoing protests.
By Saturday night as protesters surrounded The White House, Donald Trump was back to being the “Arsonist-In Chief” and still refused to issue any message of calm or unity. Instead, he tweeted “If they had [breached the White House barricades] they would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen. That’s when people would have been really badly hurt.” His message conjured up images of dogs being released against protesters during the civil rights movement. Twitter has since removed the tweet.
Donald Trump praised the white supremacist MAGA supporters who stormed the Michigan State Capitol carrying semi-automatic rifles because they were angry for being told to stay home during the coronavirus threat. However, he has remained silent and gone missing in action over the huge protests in virtually every city in America who are angry about the lives of Black men and women being devalued and being taken.
“When somebody talks about thugs ruining a place, it is almost impossible today that they are referring to somebody with blond hair. It is a sly way of saying ‘There go those black people ruining things again.’ And so anybody who wonders whether ‘thug’ is becoming the new N-word doesn’t need to. It’s most certainly is.” – John McWhorter, associate professor of English at Columbia University
JOE BIDEN APPEARS PRESIDENTIAL
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden made a personal phone call to the Floyd family then delivered a statement of calm and unity soon thereafter.
“We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us. We are a nation enraged, but we cannot allow our rage to consume us. We are a nation exhausted, but we will not allow our exhaustion to defeat us,” Mr. Biden said.
So as to not be outdone, Trump then made his own quick telephone call to the Floyd family but refused to allow them to ask questions or to even get a word in edgewise before ending the call.
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WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN NEXT?
In the absence of real and actual leadership from the current resident of the Oval Office, it’s important for someone to step up somewhere. With America in turmoil, this would be an opportune moment for all of the former presidents to gather together and provide a word of calm and compassion to those who are hurting.
Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama should film a unified message to the protesters, letting them know America hears them and is with them. Joe Biden should continue his messaging and seize this moment to select an African-American woman as his running mate. Additionally, members of Congress should come together with bipartisan legislation aimed at eradicating police brutality and the presumed crime of being Black in America.
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The time has come. Enough is enough!
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OK WASSUP! discusses the Top News Today:
From coast to coast, America is in turmoil.
Great summary DJ. I waited a bit before commenting to give other readers a chance to their voices on such an “unprecedented” and critical moment in Our lifetime and Our nation’s history. Hopefully other readers will chime in.
“In the absence of real and actual leadership from the current resident of the Oval Office, it’s important for someone to step up somewhere.” -DJ
I absolutely Agree. In fact, I would posit that in the absence of “real and actual leadership from the current resident of the Oval Office,” it’s IMPERATIVE for Community leaders and “WE The People” to STEP UP and put ACTION to words – doing all that WE can to put out the raging fires (emotionally and structurally). Doing all that WE can to clean up, restore a sense of calm, focus AND purpose within our own respective communities.
There can be no denying the fact that absent “real and actual leadership” *OTHER* groups were able to slither in like venomous snakes in tall grass, with their own destructive agendas (“anarchists” and “paid protesters”). THEY have indeed hijacked Peaceful protests all over this country. They even set fire to at least one historic Church. A CHURCH!
All of it MUST Stop!
That is what I am saying too Truth. In the absence of leadership this is when other leaders from the local level all the way up to Washington have to step up and fill the void. This is a national emergency and things have to change.
I waited before commenting too because I didn’t want to be the first one. But my question is, where is Trump? He talks about other countries and what they do to their people and mean while at home he does the same! Haven’t heard a peep about his country being burned down or the injustice that’s the root of it!!! His new policy No leadership is Good leadership?!
You do not need to wait Monique. All voices are welcome here. Join in the discussion any time you feel you have something to say.
Welcome Monique!
You asked: “…where is Trump?”
Trump is Not actually a “real” leader. He’s never been a “real” leader. He’s always been a FAKE alpha and a serial lying, 2-bit con-man. The man has absolutely NO idea what to do. And the people around him aren’t any more competent than he is (that’s why he hired them). And he ain’t gonna suddenly grow a brain so he’s opted for mostly laying low.
Hiding. Trying to run from his responsibility in all this. In other words, being True to his nature.
So yes…”No leadership is Good leadership” in Trumpworld.
(sidethought)……We have a “Killer cop” problem in America.
Let me be clear. Am I saying that ALL cops are “killers”? No. Of course not. But I am saying this………….
Spare me the “most cops are good cops” babble. This is America. And based on what we’ve all witnessed over decades of law enforcement ABUSES, I don’t know that that statement is True!?!
But THIS I do know..”good cops” KNOW who the “BAD cops” are. And yet, time and time again “good cops” have absolutely FAILED to step forward to STOP a “Killer cop” as they SEE the murder happening right in front of their own eyes.
Time and time again, “good cops” have FAILED to help victims of law enforcement brutality and other crimes.
Time and time again “good cops” have FAILED to help identify, weed out and bring those “Killer cops to justice.
So as I said, Spare Me the “most cops are good cops” babble. This is America.
I don’t know that that statement is True.
Excellent post DJ!! Every point is perfectly covered.
What has been going on in this country is sad but it should come as no surprise to anybody. This has been brewing a long time and it all just boiled over all at once. When I look at the list of cities where people were protesting it is enough to floor you. These people are not only mad about police brutality but also the climate Trump has created these days. The fact he has been silence should tell you everything you need to know. And the fact he called the white men with guns in the capitol ‘very good people’ but called us THUGS says it all too. At this point I do not want to hear from him. There is nothing he can say now to make up for days of saying nothing, plus I know it would not be anything sincere. Stay in the White House with your kkk hood on until we put you out in November and shut the hell up.
“What has been going on in this country is sad but it should come as no surprise to anybody. This has been brewing a long time…”
For what…about 400 years? Yeah. Yes. A mighty long time.
I just heard Obama put out a long statement today. Thank you for being the president this current fool is not.
‘Kareem Abdul-Jabbar defends protests and says racism is deadlier than Covid-19 in powerful op-ed’
Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar defended the protests in a powerful op-ed for the Los Angeles Times on Saturday, writing that while he doesn’t want to see stores looted or buildings burned, the protests are the result of what happens when black Americans have been pushed to their tipping point.
“African Americans have been living in a burning building for many years, choking on the smoke as the flames burn closer and closer. Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere.” – CNN, May 31, 2020
Former President Barack Obama published a piece on Medium on Monday addressing the protests nationwide following the death of George Floyd — and, specifically, how he thinks people can move forward to “sustain momentum to bring about real change.”
“Ultimately, it’s going to be up to a new generation of activists to shape strategies that best fit the times,” he wrote. “But I believe there are some basic lessons to draw from past efforts that are worth remembering.”
His message overall stressed the importance of voting and participating in politics, particularly at the local level, where decisions on ground-level criminal justice and police practices are formed.
The “bottom line,” he wrote, is that “if we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform.”
The nation’s first and only African American president began by acknowledging that “the waves of protests across the country represent a genuine and legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system in the United States,” noting that most people demonstrating have been “peaceful, courageous, responsible, and inspiring.” He also noted that “police in cities like Camden and Flint have commendably understood” that the protesters “deserve our respect and support.”
He also addressed the violence that has broken out at protests in several cities, although the exact root of that violence has been disputed, especially as it differs between locations.
In his post, Obama requested people “not excuse violence, or rationalize it, or participate in it.”
From there, Obama addressed the importance of participating in politics and voting in every election, saying that “the elected officials who matter most in reforming police departments and the criminal justice system work at the state and local levels.”
He said reform agendas will vary from place to place but should be tailored to each community and that it’s up to organizers to educate themselves of what strategies work best.
“The more specific we can make demands for criminal justice and police reform, the harder it will be for elected officials to just offer lip service to the cause and then fall back into business as usual once protests have gone away,” he wrote.
Obama concluded his letter by acknowledging the pain in America, amid protests and a pandemic.
“I recognize that these past few months have been hard and dispiriting — that the fear, sorrow, uncertainty, and hardship of a pandemic have been compounded by tragic reminders that prejudice and inequality still shape so much of American life,” he wrote. “But watching the heightened activism of young people in recent weeks, of every race and every station, makes me hopeful.”
He said the next moment in American history can be “a real turning point” if “we can channel our justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action.”
People dying of Covid. Millions out of work. Black men being murdered in the streets. Riots nationwide. You know what America needs right now? A President!
Welcome Darryl.!
Hear-Hear! And not just *any* President. But the *right* President.
“If Western civilization does not now respond constructively to the challenge to banish racism, some future historian will have to say that a great civilization died because it lacked the soul and commitment to make justice a reality for all men”. – “Making a Way Out of No Way”: Martin Luther King’s Use of Proverbs for Civil Rights
Yesterday I watched several speeches by Dr. King. If you haven’t had the opportunity to do so please check out the following:
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Stanford University – “The other America” 1967
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOWDtDUKz-U
And keep in mind – he was only when 38 y/o when he gave that speech.
He was assassinated at age 39.
CBS:
President Trump unloaded on the nation’s governors Monday morning, calling them “weak” for failing to more aggressively enforce law and order over the weekend, as some of the nation’s biggest cities burned in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
On a video teleconference, the president warned that the law enforcement presence across Washington is set to intensify later Monday. He said the protests are ruining the nation’s standing on the world stage. And he called on governors to pass new bans on flag burning, a constitutionally protected expression of free speech.
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During the call, the president repeatedly called into question the leadership and decisions made over the weekend by governors and big-city mayors, imploring them to make broader use of the National Guard and other military capabilities.
“You’re making a mistake because you’re making yourselves look like fools,” he told the governors at one point. “And some have done a great job. But a lot of you, it’s not – it’s not a great day for our country.”
One participant on the call described the president’s words and tone as “unhinged.”
“You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you. You’re going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate,” the president told governors.
The president said that the violence “is coming from the radical left — you know, it everybody knows it — but it’s also looters, and it’s people that figure they can get free stuff by running into stores and running out with television sets. I saw it — a kid has a lot of stuff, he puts it in the back of a brand new car and drives off. You have every one of these guys on tape. Why aren’t you prosecuting them? Now, the harder you are, the tougher you are, the less likely you’re going to be hit.”
This kind of violence has happened before, Mr. Trump said. “It’s happened numerous times. And the only time it’s successful is when you’re weak. And most of you are weak.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-governors-dominate-unrest-george-floyd-death-protest/
Trump unloaded on the nation’s governors Monday morning, calling them “weak” […]
Nothing like a terrified, angry, Old, buffoonish FAKE alpha whose immediate default tactic is to Scapegoat and project onto Others HIS own glaring deficiencies and Failures.
And THIS is the man who is going to “Make America Great Again.” …lol…smh.
Pathetic. And predictably so.
Inequities in the eyes of police combined with a racist dog whistle from 45 {THUGS} is why the streets were taken over. Yes, this is about George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Aubrey, but it’s also about being undervalued by those in positions of power. We need to be heard but we need to vote if we want a real change to come.
Blacks burning down their own neighborhoods. Where’s the sense in that?
In answer to your question I have but four words for you. The Boston Tea Party.
Saleem your referencing “The Boston Tea Party” brings to mind Crispus Attucks- “widely regarded as the first person Killed in the Boston Massacre and thus the first American Killed in the American Revolution.”
I’m sure you know he was of “African and Native American descent.”
Just a thought.
Crispus Attucks is a personal hero of mine. His role in the American Revolution and battle for African American equality makes him a martyr in my book.
I agree!
Welcome Nancy!
Makes NO sense at all. That’s why WE (who believe in Peaceful protests) speak out Against it. As does also Mr. Floyd’s family. SEE his brother’s speech to the protesters this afternoon.
He made it perfectly clear Mr. Floyd’s family is a “God fearing” who does NOT in any way condone rioting and looting. They believe in “Peaceful protests.” In fact, he expressed his family’s sorrow and dismay with the chaos, destruction and mayhem that’s occurred.
(paraphrasing: “If WE ain’t acting out and burning stuff down WHY are ya’ll?!”
And he went to say (paraphrasing: “Let’s do this another way.” The way to honor my brother is “VOTE!”
TAC Reader:
Several years ago a football player knelt Peacefully and half the country threw an absolute fit.
Then they stood behind that unfathomable orange demagogue as he poured gasoline all over everything because whataboutwhataboutwhatabout.
And because ‘he fights’ – as does a thin-skinned fifteen year old girl shit-posting on Instagram comments. She ‘fights’ too.
And now here we are. […]
[San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said President Trump had a “deranged” response to national protests that were sparked across the country over the latest death of an unarmed black man by police.
“It’s unbelievable,” Popovich said in an interview with The Nation.
“If Trump had a brain, even if it was 99 percent cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people. But he doesn’t care about bringing people together. Even now. That’s how deranged he is,” Popovich said. “It’s all about him. It’s all about what benefits him personally. It’s never about the greater good. And that’s all he’s ever been.”
“It’s so clear what needs to be done,” Popovich added. “We need a president to come out and say simply that ‘black lives matter.’ Just say those three words.”
“But he won’t and he can’t,” Popovich said. “He can’t because it’s more important to him to mollify the small group of followers who validate his insanity. But it’s more than just Trump. The system has to change. I’ll do whatever I can do to help, because that’s what leaders do. But he can’t do anything to put us on a positive path, because he’s not a leader.” ] – The Hill, June 1, 2020