Orwell, Trump, and Black Lives Matter

In a case of Orwellian doublespeak the fascist thug in the White House claimed to be “an ally of peaceful protesters” while tear gas and rubber bullets were fired to disburse crowds near the White House so Trump could walk across the street to stand on the steps of a church he doesn’t attend and flash a bible he is unlikely to have read. Days later he ordered troops to confront and intimidate peaceful protesters on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial further demonstrating that he is the true threat to our republic and our democratic institutions. US Park Police, Arlington Police, DC Metro Police and the Secret Service have all denied using any kind of tear gas on peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C.’s Lafayette Square Monday last week even though numerous canisters were recovered by journalists on the scene.  The kinds of authoritarian actions taken by this president over the last week are what I have feared since he was first elected in November of 2016.

I am not a fan of Sen. Mitt Romney (R) and his brand of vulture capitalism but it’s important to give credit where it is due so I am obliged to point out that he joined a thousand evangelical Christians marching in support of  Black Lives Matter in Washington, D.C. Sunday. Romney told reporters that he was participating in the demonstration "to make sure that people understand that black lives matter."

Former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday "We have a Constitution. And we have to follow that Constitution. And the President has drifted away from it." Powell joins nearly 500 other former Generals, Admirals, Ambassadors and State Department officials who "are concerned about the use of U.S. military assets to intimidate and break up peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C."

150 demonstrators participated in a peaceful march protesting police violence against black people in Vidor and other east Texas over the weekend. If it can happen in a town like Vidor which has a reputation as a racist stronghold it should be a wakeup call for Sen. John Cornyn (R) and members of the Republican congressional delegation that it’s time for them to get on board the call for racial justice; whether or not they’ll head that call is anyone’s guess.

When asked what he thought of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police our Guadalupe County Sheriff, Arnold Zwicke, made a fool of himself saying “if people would simply comply with a lawful order, they wouldn’t find themselves in those situations.” If all lives really mattered to Zwicke and his supporters we wouldn’t be seeing protests by Black Lives Matter activists because police wouldn’t be treating our black neighbors with the violence and scorn so often aimed their way.

Admittedly Gov. Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz have made a few remarks directed at their Texas Republican colleagues calling them out for claiming that the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis was staged and similar non-sense but I have yet to see either of them call for actually addressing the underlying reasons for the protests. No calls for accountability, no calls for systemic change in recruiting and training police, just calls to tone down language. That’s the same and saying take a nap and it will all go away. Abbott, Cruz and Cornyn need to do better and if they don’t at least Cornyn and Trump can be replaced come November.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - June 10, 2020