Trump — vicious master manipulator
During Donald Trumps acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention as GOP presidential candidate in Cleveland, he repeatedly used Nixonesque language about bringing back law and order to America.
It’s Trumps politically calculated response to the recent attacks on police in Dallas and Louisiana in retaliation by two former U.S. Servicemen for the killings of Black men.
Trumps insertion of the law and order mantra, into the current political powder kegeven as he says nothing about police murders of Black peopleis a sure signal to police and White America that police abuse of African-Americans will be excused and condoned, as has always been done, under his Administration.
Given Donald Trumps racist history, this stance shouldnt surprise us or be taken lightly. Trumps use of the law and order scare tactic started after the killings of five Dallas Police officers and three officers in Louisianabut, was sprinkled strategically throughout his GOP presidential nomination acceptance speech.
He has several objectives with the primary one being to reassure police officers that he would do nothing to dismantle the institutional racism that is deeply imbedded in the structure of Americas police and other institutions.
Trumps message is no doubt music to the ears of police unions who, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, see nothing wrong with the way police treat African-Americans. Because of his comments he will be fully supported by these immoral police unions who turn a blind eye and deaf ear to brutal criminal conduct aimed at Blacks.
Throughout the Republican Convention, is was obvious these Republicans would not support the issues that affect Black people. Several speakers attacked Black Lives Matter activistswhile saying nothing at all about the rampant police violence and killings Black people face at the hands of police. Some of Trumps supposed cabinet picks are police apologists whove shamelessly slandered the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Failed New Jersey Governor Chris Christie last year charged Black Lives Matter with calling for the murder of police officers. This was a baseless irresponsible lie. As a former prosecutor, Christie knows better but still made this claim, because, at the time, he was seeking to breathe life into his dying presidential campaign.
Christie also accused President Obama of encouraging this lawlessness. He encourages it…by his own rhetoric. He does not support the police.
But somehow, while making this statement, Christie didnt seem to see the lawlessness of having police act like judge, jury and executioner of Black people. Apparently, to people like Governor Christie, Americans should support police even when they are killing and murdering innocent Black peopleand attack those who are fighting to rectify that injustice.
Attacking African-Americans has always been a tactic Republicans and conservatives used to gain support from their racist base.
Then we have other buffoons, like former Mayor Giuliani, who called Black Lives Matter activists “inherently racist.” Does this man really look into the mirror? Under his New York Police Department, Blacks were repeatedly targeted for tickets, summonses, Stop-and-Frisk and Broken Windows police profiling.
In fact, studying what happened under Mayor Giuliani offers a crystal clear view of how statistics are manipulated and inflated to justify the heavy-handed police practices the NYPD uses. The ex-mayor likes to argue that over-policing in Black communities is necessary because of supposedly higher crime. But under closer analysis, this claim doesnt hold.
There is surely crime in Black America, but much of this crime has nothing to do with the inherent nature of Black peoplewhich is the racist insinuation of people like Giulianiand has everything to do with the poverty and neglect in African-American communities. This state of affairs has everything to do with institutional racism and lack of opportunity in America. Why dont these politicians ever talk about poverty and economic policies?
Economic policies have been used to impoverish Black communities and criminalize us. We know that police, not just in Ferguson, use tickets and summonses as a further form of taxation in our communities. We know the NYPD uses a Collars for Dollars, incentive scheme where police get more overtime pay and positive performance reviews when they can show high arrests of Black people.
Across the board, Black America is being constantly besieged by a racist systemthat uses the police as a tool to terrorize. This is an awful truth none of these politicians want to admit. Democrats, sometimes, give us empty lip-service and Republicans pretend there is no problem.
During the Republican Convention there was no acknowledgement that a serious problem with racial policing exists in America. The fact that there were only attacks on Black Lives Matter activists and new calls for a supposed return to law and order is concrete proof these Republicans wont denounce the police violence and murder of innocent African-Americans.
This proves Black lives dont matter much to these family values Republicans, or to Trump.
Trump himself has a history of racism: including his assistance in framing the Central Park Five. The Central Park jogger case is one of those in American history that illustrates institutional racism in how police, and the courts, criminalize Black and Latino people. Five innocent boys: Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson and Raymond Santana were railroaded on no evidenceother than their skin colorsand convicted of allegedly raping Trisha Meili on the night of April 19, 1989.
Donald Trump had much to do with convicting these innocent teens. In fact, the Central Park case fiasco is instructive in showing us how Trump uses hatred and racism to publicize himself. As these teenage boys were being wrongly accused by the police and prosecutors, Trump took out full-page ads, on May 1, 1989, in all four major newspapers in New York City demanding the reinstatement of the death penalty.
Trumps actions created an explosive situationsimilar to what we see now with his racist rhetoric about Mexicans and Muslims. He invited the public into a “mob” mentality attitude towards the arrested boys.
In fact, Yusef Salaam called Trump the fire starter who he said manipulated and swayed public opinion against the Central Park Five. After the ads, there were death threats against the teens. Because of Trump, bigoted sentiments of aggrieved White men are now being amplified.
Lawyer Michael Warren, who represented one of the defendants, claimed Trump poisoned the minds of many people who lived in New York and who, rightfully, had a natural affinity for the victim,” and that “notwithstanding the jurors’ assertions that they could be fair and impartial, some of them or their families, who naturally have influence, had to be affected by the inflammatory rhetoric in the ads.”
However, Trumps behavior after the exoneration of these innocent men, who spent upwards of thirteen years between them, was even more abominable.
By 2002, convicted serial rapist Mathias Reyes confessed to the rape of Meili giving a detailed accountand more importantly, his DNA was the sole match for the semen that was found. After years of getting no justice, incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed to a city settlement of $41 million.
However, Trump instead of admitting to making a mistakesomething weve seen repeatedly over the last year hes incapable of doingdoubled down by calling the settlement a disgrace and making the unsubstantiated claim that These young men do not exactly have the pasts of angels.”
Lets remember, these were all young teenagers before they were obviously framed by the NYPD and prosecutors in New York Citywith Donald Trumps help.
Donald Trumps xenophobic, racist rise in American politics is rooted in the kind of hatred he stirred up during the Central Park Five case. His current adoption of the language of law and order tells us he will do nothing to stop institutional racism in police and the killing of Black men.
