To The Editor: With respect to the commentary for clemency, this president will not pardon Dr. Mutulu Shakur for the same reason that his department of justice did not get involved when district attorneys throughout the U.S. didn’t properly prosecute police for murders of black citizens even when recorded on video one example being Eric Garner.
Just like he didn´t close the illegal prison in Guantanamo, Cuba, despite promising to do so. President Obama only responds to powerful white forces in American society and that of course doesn´t include issues important to the black community.
Charisma can´t hide Obama’s subservience to the interests of powerful white people. Obviously we have decided to forget how he ran away from his black minister, Rev. Jeremiah Wright so as to please his handlers. His inability to respond to our interests has shown time and time again for eight years. We had better come to our senses because Donald Trump won’t even give us the lip service we have enjoyed for two terms.
With respect to the article about Trump, Dr. Ron Daniels is right about Trump being the sequel to Ronald Reagan. Both of them tricked white working class voters into voting race rather than economics. However, there is nothing temporary about Trumpism. What we are witnessing is the coming to the surface of deeply held feelings and attitudes within the white population.
Trump isn’t an anomaly in U.S. policy but a continuation of the way powerful American politicians have seen the world since the time of Thomas Jefferson. If one becomes familiar with the writings of Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt it is obvious that what Trump advocates for the country is nothing new.
It may seem new because most modern politicians have had too much sophistication to be openly racist but since 9/11 the gloves have come off and the mask has been dropped.
There will be no more beer at the White House for Henry Louis Gates Jr., nor invitations for tea to the leaders of the Urban League and NAACP. Unlike the Democrats Trump will not even pretend to being on our side.
He and his cabinet choices will be playing a very hardball game with us. How can we respond is the question?
