Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Read former Defense Secretary Mattis' statement on Trump's handling of nationwide protests
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/03/read-mattis-statement-on-trumps-handling-of-nationwide-protests.html
When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to
support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops
taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate
the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide
a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military
leadership standing alongside.
James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/james-mattis-denounces-trump-protests-militarization/612640/
“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,”
Mattis writes. “The words ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ are carved in the
pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what
protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying
demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be
distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by
tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we
live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.”
He goes on, “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who
would make a mockery of our Constitution.”
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Fear at the root of America's race problem
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1929128/fear-at-the-root-of-americas-race-problem
More to the point, in this context, is the fact that about 30% of American civilians killed by the police are African-Americans, although they are only 13% of the US population.
More to the point, in this context, is the fact that about 30% of American civilians killed by the police are African-Americans, although they are only 13% of the US population.
When It Comes to Police Brutality, Fear is Also a Factor
https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2014/12/05/when-it-comes-to-police-brutality-fear-is-also-a-factor
Cops can get into a state of mind where they're scared to death. When
they're in that really, really frightened place they panic and they act
out on that panic. I have known cops who haven't had a racist bone in
their bodies and in fact had adopted black children, they went to black
churches on the weekend, and these are the white cops. But you know what
they had in their minds that made them act out and beat a black suspect
unwarrentedly? They had fear. They were afraid of black men. I know a
lot of white cops who have told me. And I interviewed over 900 police
officers in 18 months and they started talking to me. It was almost like
a therapy session for them.
They would say things like, "Ms. Rice I'm scared of black men.
Black men terrify me. I'm really scared of them. Ms. Rice, you know
black men who come out of prison, they've got great hulk strength and
I'm afraid they're going to kill me. Ms. Rice, can you teach me how not
to be afraid of black men." I mean these [are] cops who are 6'4". You
know, the cop in Ferguson was 6'4" talking about he was terrified. But
when cops are scared, they kill and they do things that don't make sense
to you and me.
Twitter says fake "Antifa" account was run by white supremacists
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/twitter-fake-antifa-acount-white-supremacists-removal/
Twitter has shut down multiple accounts that it says were operated by
a white supremacist group posing as liberal groups encouraging
violence.Twitter said the white supremacist group Identity Evropa used one
fake account, @Antifa_US, to call for violence in majority white
suburbs, in the name of the Black Lives Matter movement. The account's
removal was first reported by NBC News.
Arlington’s Decision to Withdraw its Police Officers from the District of Columbia
https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/arlingtons-decision-to-withdraw-its-police-officers-from-the-district-of-columbia/
As has been widely reported, for the sake of a photoshoot for the
President, peaceful protesters were forcefully dispersed without being
given enough time to comply with orders to move back. Our officers had
no idea that the effort to move protesters was for any reason other than
to construct a temporary barrier.
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
'We the People' trumps 'commander-in-chief'
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/02/opinions/trump-military-force-insurrection-act-resistance-suri/index.html
For almost 100 years, this restriction
on presidential power gave cover to flagrant violations of federal
authority in the South -- including voter suppression, Jim Crow
segregation and, worst of all, repeated extrajudicial lynchings, which
continued until 1960s. Even as the power of the president grew in the
shadow of the Second World War, he had little military reach within the
states. Governors and mayors were the heavies; the Constitution set it
up that way.
President Trump's threats to deploy the
US military to states, despite resistance from governors, are claims of
direct authority he does not possess. He is making a political judgment
about the protests, and forcing his preferred response on local law
enforcement institutions operating in their constitutionally defined
spaces.
Citizens should continue to protest
peacefully. We have a right to demand justice in our communities, and
the US military that we support with taxpayer dollars should stay free
of these issues. Our soldiers have plenty of work to do abroad, and this
president has nothing to offer our communities but more suffering and
hate.
Democracy requires justice and healing in our neighborhoods, not military domination on our streets.
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