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.
 

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.

 

Trump Threatens to Deploy Military in Response to Protests: A Closer Look

'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.

Trump Sics Military On Peaceful Protesters And Clergy To Make Way For Bible Photo Op

Trump Jr. Directs His Followers to White Supremacist's Fake 'Antifa' Account

https://knx1070.radio.com/articles/trump-jr-directs-followers-to-fake-antifa-account

 

A Twitter account claiming to be 'Antifa' and calling for violence during the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, is found out to be a white supremacist group in disguise. 

The fake account, @ANTIFA_US, tweeted Sunday, “ALERT Tonight’s the night, Comrades Tonight we say “F**k The City” and we move into the residential areas… the white hoods…. and we take what’s ours #BlacklivesMaters #F**kAmerica.”

Twitter has since removed the account, but not before Donald Trump Jr. unknowingly directed his 2.8 million Instagram followers to the account to prove how dangerous ANTIFA is. 

“Absolutely insane,” Trump Jr. wrote on Instagram, sharing a screenshot of the tweet, “Just remember what ANTIFA really is. A Terrorist Organization! They’re not even pretending anymore.”

Ex-police chief: What's the plan now, America?

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/01/opinions/whats-the-plan-now-america-alexander/index.html

 

I am a black American man who has been privileged to serve in law enforcement for 40 years. Today, if a young person of color asks me what they should do if a police officer stops them, I answer: Put your hands on the steering wheel where they can be seen, cooperate and comply. And should they answer me back, as they likely would today -- Even if I did all that, we are still getting murdered -- I would have nothing to tell him or her. With my decades of experience, I would have nothing to say.

The problems we face at this moment are part of our long history. But the complete absence of leadership -- political, moral, policy, strategic -- strikes me as genuinely unprecedented. What's the plan now, America?

Donald Trump and the Politics of Fear

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/donald-trump-and-the-politics-of-fear/498116/

Fear pervades Americans’ lives—and American politics. Trump is a master of fear, invoking it in concrete and abstract ways, summoning and validating it. More than most politicians, he grasps and channels the fear coursing through the electorate. And if Trump still stands a chance to win in November, fear could be the key.

Trump is the frighened little man behind the curtain

Do I need to state the obvious - frightened people issuing threats can not discipline or control those that they are afraid of.

As mamy people have noted Trump ascribes to others his own weaknesses and fears.

I once had a Hebrew school teacher who had no clue as to how to control the class screaming one day that was worse than average "I used to be an Israeli policeman" Things got worse 

Similarly Trumps declaration I am going to use soldiers to dominate the rioters - doesn't work

Once the victim of bullying realizes the bully is afraid of him - it is all over

The only others that are impressed are all the scared white men at Fox News. Lynching generally resulted from fear of black men

The Holacaust resulted from Nazis fears of Jews. Excessive use of force by policemen is simply because the police are afraid of Blacks.

Don't remember anyone claiming our draft dodger President is endowed with personal courage 

He is simply a frightened little man who is afraid of everything he can't buy or corrupt ranging from germs Moslems immigrants, women  and black people in general

Watch: Trudeau asked about Trump, pauses for 20 seconds

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/281245

The Canadian leader, however, did not offer an immediate answer and chose to be silent for more than 20 seconds.

Finally, he said, "We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States. It is a time to pull people together, but it is a time to listen, it is a time to learn what injustices continue despite progress over years and decades. But it is a time for us as Canadians to recognize that we too have our challenges, that black Canadians and racialized Canadians face discrimination as a lived reality every single day."

Trudeau continued by speaking about the systemic discrimination racialized Canadians face within Canada, but did not directly speak about Trump’s position on the issue of the violent protests or even mention him by name.

 

Dana Perino says Trump's visit to St. John's Church was a good idea, but 'not executed well'

https://www.foxnews.com/media/dana-perino-trump-visit-st-johns-church

 fox says peaceful demonstrators can not be trusted but trump has done another "perfect" job

Co-host Dana Perino called Trump's visit to the church a great idea that was "not executed well."

"I don't think that people intended to use it as a photo op. I believe that the president was trying to show resilience, that America is not going to be taken over by people who would actually set fire to St. John's," Perino said. " ... The execution of all of that became the story today when we should really ... talk about the actual horrible destruction of America's great cities, especially New York City."

During the brief visit to the boarded-up church -- part of which was set on fire the night before -- Trump posed for the cameras while holding up a Bible.

Before Trump left the White House, authorities used smoke canisters and pepper balls to clear the park of protesters.

Co-host Jesse Watters dismissed the criticism that peaceful protesters were attacked, claiming that they don't deserve the benefit of the doubt after many American cities have been ravaged by riots and looting.

"They've shown no ability to be trusted at this point, killing cops now, punching people in the face for no reason. They're trying to protest violence against an innocent man, and yet they're committing violence on innocent men and women. It's disgusting. This country has had enough of it," Watters said. "And this fake scandal is just another frame job of the president while the rest of the country agrees with everything he did."

Police brutality prompted the protests. In some cities, the police response only proved the protesters' point

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/02/us/police-protests-use-of-force/index.html

In some cases, police leaders say violence in the streets leaves them with no other choice. And President Trump has pushed for local officials to ramp up their show of force. But protesters and police critics argue that some officers are escalating tensions with their actions.

"They're making the argument for the demonstrators, that American policing remains unreformed and out of control," says Alex Vitale, a professor of sociology at Brooklyn College who studies police response to protest.

He says the firing of tear gas is one telling example of the ways police are not only inflaming tensions in the streets, but bolstering the case he and other critics have been making.

"This is a gross overreaction," he says.