I am a mature black man. I was driving home at about 9 pm. It was dark and the residential road had little traffic. Suddenly a police car was behind me. I confess I was afraid.
Is my taillight ok?
Am I within the speed limit?
Did I put on my blinkers at the last turn?
The cop car passed without molesting me. I was relieved. But, my relief turned to anger. Is this the way I am going to spend the rest of my life in these circumstances? I have had the ‘talk’ with my son and grandson about dealing with the police in these situations. “Be sure to grovel or die”, I told them. I have told them to be sure to treat everyone with respect, including and especially cops. But, respect is not enough. You have to grovel, or you may be killed and the killer will go free. I fear not international terrorists. I fear not North Korean President Kim Jong-un and his nuclear bomb and rockets. Bur, I do fear the police car that is supposed to protect me. But, I am also angry. I have become an angry black man.
But, now it is much worse. Instead of dealing with racist cops, we must deal with a white racist president in the White House. His obvious mission is to make America racist again. For him, black lives do not matter.
When Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio, a man who boasted about his abuse and humiliation of Latinos in his job as sheriff, he was sending a strong message that Latino lives do not matter either. Trump’s attack on the DACA kids is so mean-spirited and cruel. These are but two instance in which Trump announces to all the world that his gun is loaded and Latinos are also his prey.
Of course there is also ample evidence that Muslim lives, immigrant lives, and any non-white group lives, here in America, do not matter. Not only do these lives not matter, but they are in great peril.
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