From my blog post, Picking Up and Dropping the Mic, a quote from Will Rogers bears repeating: “Never miss a good chance to shut up.” And, on the flip side, a quote by Maggie Kuhn, “Speak your mind even if your voice shakes.”
Yesterday was a full moon, the Full Flower Moon. Early in the morning Roseanne Barr began her day tweeting hate speech, racist comments, and recycled conspiracy theories. Later in the day ABC fired her, cancelling the new season of her commercially successful, rebooted sitcom, Roseanne. Perhaps she learned a lesson, never tweet during a Full Moon.
Yesterday, 8,000 company-owned Starbucks locations closed for racial bias training. The training will become part of the onboarding process for new hires. The need for training stemmed from an incident on April 12 in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood of Philadelphia when two young black men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, were taken away in handcuffs. They were waiting for a friend for a scheduled meeting, and needed to use the restroom, without having ordered anything.
This is not the first time, or an isolated instance. A young black man in Milwaukee in 2014, Dontre Hamilton, who suffered from mental health issues, was shot 14 times by a police officer and killed after a Starbucks employee called the police earlier when he was lingering outside in the Red Arrow Park. See the documentary, The Blood is at the Doorstep.
Just under two weeks ago, I watched the HBO remake of Fahrenheit 451, a film adapted from the dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature that books burn. In this futuristic society books are banned and burned because they encourage free will. The original story asks the question, “If you had to memorize a book to preserve it, which book would you choose?” I’d choose this one.
One of the slogans in the futuristic and oppressive authoritarian society was “See Something, Say Something”. In this scenario it was intended to report anyone reading or possessing books and other content. There’s some irony in that it’s actually a program today implemented by Homeland Security to combat terrorism, suspicious people and activity, and it’s been repurposed as a reminder and strategy to prevent school shootings.
Sadly, it has also been abused by some people (mostly whites) to call 911 when black guests are leaving their Airbnb rental, or when a former Obama White House staffer is confronted by police in the lobby of his upscale NYC apartment for “Moving while black”, and when nonwhite American citizens, are speaking in their native language in a restaurant in NYC or other public places, and are harassed and threatened. These are just a few examples of the culture of intolerance and hate that has been modeled and encouraged by the leader of our nation. Yes, Trump’s added fuel to the fire. The racism, hate, and bigotry must stop.
Trump’s Tyranny of Tweets
Trump’s tweets are characterized by conspiracy theories and outright lies, including early on his unrelenting and disproved claims that President Barak Obama was not born in the United States and that he was Muslim, as if that were a crime and not a religious belief. Beginning when he descended the escalator in Trump Tower, and announced his candidacy for President, he attacked Latinos and immigrants as animals, murderers, drug dealers, and rapists. He added, some were good people. He has demonized POC, non-Christians, and progressives (“the elites”), and has made them “the other”, a warning sign of an authoritarian government and despot.
Trump & Bart Simpson (twins separated at birth)
During the campaign Trump, like a schoolyard bully, called other candidates disrespectful and demeaning names. He verbally-attacked women moderators during the primary debates, and later stalked Hillary Clinton on stage like a predator.
When his remarks and alleged history of assaulting and sexually-harassing women was revealed and victims of his abuse stepped up, he threatened to sue them, or he paid to silence them using his “fixer” Michael Cohen, as he did with Stormy Daniels, possibly breaking campaign finance laws.
During campaign rallies he made fun of a reporter with a disability and threatened to have protesters beaten up, thrown out of amphitheaters, or arrested. He continued a campaign of lying about his democratic opponent, accused Clinton’s campaign of meddling in the election, breaking campaign finance laws, and President Obama of illegally wiretapping Trump Tower.
In interviews with the media before and after he was elected he insulted his opponents, including Senator John McCain, diminishing his heroism as a veteran and hostage survivor. This coming from the man who received multiple deferments for heel spurs.
Legacy of Lies and Harbinger of Hate
The second most dangerous sign of Trump’s authoritarianism, besides his hate speech, racism, and conspiracy theories, is his attacks of the media and the drumbeat call and tweets of “Fake News.” Besides attacking some media outlets and preventing them access to press conferences, he uses networks like Fox News and the National Enquirer as his personal public relations channel and communications team.
Now, a year and-a-half into his presidency and a year after the start of the Mueller Investigation, he is continuing to attack his own Justice Department, his appointees, and cabinet, berating, threatening, and firing them. Devin Nunes has become a co-conspirator, by helping to obstruct justice, undermining Congressional investigations, and creating partisan divides. Trump has accused the FBI of spying on his campaign, the Mueller Investigation of meddling in the mid-term elections, and blamed everything else on Crooked Hillary or the Democratic leadership.
On the world stage Trump has disrespected world leaders, called some by names, then days later lavished them with praise. The United States has lost respect as a world leader. He has brought us to the brink of nuclear annihilation then retreated to America First isolationism. Trump’s mental health has been called into question as well as the deception about his physical status and medical history.
The most egregious byproduct of Trump’s presidency to date has been the hate and intolerance he’s fueled in his base of supporters. People are arming themselves at alarming rates, more school students have lost their lives to gun violence then soldiers in the battlefield. POC, immigrants (whether DACA Dreamers, legal, or undocumented) are being harassed, families broken up, and yes, children lost in the system. Non-Christian and nonwhite citizens are being told to leave this country and “go home”, when in fact America is there home. They are being treated like criminals, not citizens.
See Something, Say Something
Like my blog post earlier this month, Picking Up and Dropping the Mic, I revealed who should pick up the mic and speak, and who should drop the mic and listen. This topic has a 
similar theme, though it’s more dangerous and risky. The people who “See Something, Say Something” who’ve been calling 911 on their neighbors and people they don’t know has sometimes had life-changing and tragic outcomes. Many of these calls were prompted by and are evidence of intolerance, hate, racism, and bigotry.
On the flip side, the Republican Congress, state and local legislators, judges, and religious and civic leaders, and each of us, should “See Something, Say Something” when we witness crimes and prejudicial treatment of religious and ethnic minorities, the mentally ill, the vulnerable, LGBTQ people, the disabled, and children. It is our responsibility to speak truth to power and hold our leaders accountable. One way we can do that is at the ballot box and vote. Another way is to speak out and resist.
We need to protect the First Amendment, the Five Freedoms, and the constitution, which mandates equal protection under the law for all people. We need to prosecute the people we have elected or hired to protect and serve on all levels of for crimes committed, from collusion, to obstruction of justice, for illegal campaign funds, sexual harassment, and more, all the way up to the Capitol and The White House. Our leaders and public servants are accountable to the people, We the People.
Related Reading from Mixed Metaphors, Oh My!
Picking Up and Dropping the Mic
Related Reading and Content
Starbucks Closes to Fight Racial Bias
Yale Student Questioned for Napping
What’s Your Emergency? 911 Calls Different for Black or White