No, no we do not hate anybody—we have heard that from our parents, our teachers, and our clergy since we have been able to decipher words. From the first time, you said to a sibling, ‘I hate you’ after they kicked over your blocks or for a new generation, disconnected your Legos, you have seen that disapproving parental look. I wanted to blurt out I hate this guy [Donald Trump] yesterday and immediately remembered my great-granny’s disapproving voice. The moment Donald Trump finally found the courage to use the Defense Protection Act (DPA), that allows a president to direct industry to put aside self-interest for the public good, I immediately asked myself; why now?
Ostensibly, after weeks of the President saying he would not deploy the DPA because he did not want to supersede the powers of Governors, the move was finally made to ensure the continued production of pork products, beef, and eggs. On its face, it is hard to criticize the move, but one cannot help but think what Mr. Trump’s real motives are. With the economy tanking, the failures of his small business loan program, and making a complete fool of himself by suggesting we inject disinfectant as a cure for COVID-19, the prospect of Depression-like food lines and Trump Ville encampments was more than his ego could stand. For months, millions of front line workers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, doctors, cashiers, grocery clerks and the people stocking shelves at Walmart begged for gloves, masks, and tests.
Most of the dead and sick, in [some cities 70 percent], were either old, poor, black, and brown. The President gave away the game a few days ago when he tied financial relief to sanctuary cities, “What’s happening is people are being protected that shouldn’t be protected and a lot of bad things are happening with sanctuary cities,”Trump said. Aside from the vagueness of the words ‘bad things’ meaning black and brown immigrants in his mind, whom he portrays as rapists and murderers, punishment not protection is at the forefront of his thoughts. Almost lost in that statement was his assertion that certain human lives are not worth protecting.
From the beginning of Mr. Trump’s public career, he has made judgments on the humanness or worthiness of people’s lives. Blacks were not worthy of housing in his family-owned apartment buildings in the 70s. Black and brown teens were not human and only worthy of death even when their murder conviction was later found to be in error. Imagine the father of a teenage daughter musing about what it would be like to date her. Disrespecting war veterans, saying avoiding a venereal disease was his Vietnam. Dismissing the pain and suffering of a veteran fighter pilot, held for five years in a prisoner of war camp. Belittling the Gold Star parents of an Army Captain. Ridiculing the grieving widow of a dead Army Sergeant, pouring virtual salt into her wounded heart.
Twisting and gesticulating on stage mocking a disabled reporter. Offering to pay for violent retaliation to people who would dare protest his actions. Finally, presiding over 50,000 deaths in a month, with very few words of condolences for his neglect and incompetence. It would be hard to work any harder to get people to hate you. I asked the question in the beginning; Is hate ever appropriate? Forgive me—granny,
Vote in 2020 for Change.