As usual, Mr. Blow, an excellent op-ed. Of course, RTump doesn't care about anybody but himself and his rich family and billionaire friends. Being non-white doesn't help us out here.
1
The author fails to make the connection between Conner and Trump. If the author really cared about young, Black Americans lives , he would address the thousands of black lives ended by a black male with a gun.
4
At the vanguard of any fascist movement you'll always find law enforcement. Are all police fascists? Of course not. However, far too many are very comfortable with the agenda of Trump's budding dictatorship.
1
Trump is actually worse than Bull Connor. He is the President of the United States, not just a local sheriff. His evil racism and racist policies affects all Americans, not just those of a Southern city. I have no respect for our current President and hope that I am still alive in 2020 to vote him out of office. It would also be a bonus to see the Jeff Sessions and Steven Millers of this administration disgraced and in jail, where they belong.
3
I didn’t vote for Trump or Clinton; I did the only honorable thing possible and voted for Gary Johnson. (And before you Lefties jump all over me for helping to elect Trump, let me recall for you that my state of New Mexico went overwhelmingly for Clinton, anyway.)
But for Charles Blow(hard) to accuse Donald Trump of being a “present-day Bull Connor” is totally “ ‘round-the-bend, barking-mad, off-the-rails, crazy.”
Where are the axe handles and billy clubs? Where are the snarling police dogs? Where are the fire hoses? Where are the jail cells packed with bleeding black people?
To compare these days to THOSE days is an clear indication that Mr. Blow has finally, completely, lost his mind.
This will be the last column authored by Mr. Blow that I will ever read—including the title.
1
You are absolutely correct. Trump attempts to disguise his angry appeals to racism and resentment to his base with meaningless gestures to deceased icons while
using his gifts of demagoguery to rile his base with his usual lies and alternative facts. He is pathetic and a morally depraved sociopath and a total charlatan.
I don't understand how any one can swallow and believe his malarkey!
4
"The only good Indian is a dead Indian." That genocidal chestnut is--isn't it?--roughly what Mr. Trump is saying when he lauds dead black Americans but demonizes living black Americans. The Kansas Trump supporter Patrick Stein who was arrested by the FBI for plotting to kill Muslims said that very same thing: "The only god Muslim is a dead Muslim."
We must all work to find the fortitude and imagination to admit to ourselves that the president of our own country really is expressing such appalling notions.
And cue the pro-trump commenters complaining about the perpetual criticism of him in 3, 2,...
1
Exactly. I could not agree more. The only bright light in this disgusting perverted form of fake equality. More smokescreens so that the people that voted for him can delude themselves and feel as if they don't hate black people. They can declare that they are not racist because "they" pardoned a few of the acceptable black people that are either dead or severely reduced in strength.
I can see how a person could feel threatened when someone tells them that they are racist. I want to deny my racism along with all of my other hypocritical behaviors. But once I let go of my own faux superiority I find it really uplifting to admit that I am racist regardless of whether or not I am overt. This admission gets me to a place of then asking myself; "ok, so what can I do to make it better". Trump see this as a weakness and he doesn't care anyway.
1
Our delusional President truly believes the world is his bubble to stamp with golden "T"s; and he won't rest until he stamps the black community.
Sure he loves a MAGA rally, but garnering adolation from his pardoning of the great boxing champion Jack Johnson was catnip to the self-proclaimed benevolent king.
And the opposite of catnip is LeBron James and Stephen Curry making it clear that the black community will never be Trump-stamped.
When the President's desperation to prevail was revealed, the MAGA hats had to wonder - WHY is Trump rewarding "take a knee" with pardons?
NOT JUST the black community is rolling their eyes about Trump trying to pardon Ali. Ali is A LEGEND loved around the world!
Self-aggrandizing Donald J Trump has clearly deluded himself and believes his greatness is working - even as Americans recoil in disgust at Trump's personal attack on Trudeau: "Very dishonest and weak."
Republicans need to get a grip on their guy.
3
Trump isn't trying to win black votes. He's providing cover for white people to support him while denying they are racist. Everyone knows racist are indefensible so very few will acknowledge it, but deep down they are.
2
Charles, you are right on.
You might take a look at Stephen Miller as a highly likely enabler of Trump's on matters of race and immigration.
I will not put into writing what I think of either of them. It wouldn't get past your screeners.
5
With recent changes in voting rights under Trump and the GOP-packed Supreme Court, a black person is again worth about three-fifths of a white person.
2
Mr. Blow, what direct action today would be capable of forcing action? Now. For BLM, for a check on Trump? What? I really want to know what it would take.
1
For all these reasons, I will forever remain mystified about why 8% of American blacks voted for Trump; and an alarmingly low number turned up to vote for Hillary. Kind of like a negative double whammy, Did his proposition: "what do you have to lose, no one cares about you anyway," really do the trick? If it did, how and why was it so effective?
I have heard and read a lot of intelligent people say: "democrats take us (blacks) for granted." I suspect this is true in more ways than I can imagine. However, how does that translate to an overt (voting for Trump) and tacit (refusal to vote for Hillary) behavior designed to hurt the entire race (and not just blacks, ALL minorities).
Much of the civil rights movement relied on whites feeling some shame about the way blacks were being systematically lynched, killed, and kept away. That shame has now (largely) evaporated under the toxic fumes of ethnic nationalism. There is no shame now, just plain simple feelings of victimhood rooted in imaginary grievances.
Yes, Trump is all you say he is. But, what do you have to say about blacks voting against their immediate, personal interests, or not taking the time to vote for a person who would have healed, not further ruined race relations. This mystery should be addressed by learned scholars of all races in America; and to date, nothing much seems to enlighten.
1
Obviously there is nothing positive about this article. President Trump is a pragmatist who wants to address issues as he see them. Instead of constantly denigrating him why not reach out to him as he offered. Be brave and bold help make something happen. I won't hold my breath. So much easier to be part of the problem than part of the solution. Right Mr Blow
Malarkey of the brainwashed!
Pathetic. He is a coward and a bully and an ignorant
Narcissist.
He is an ignominious con artist and you are one of the conned! Sorry for speaking the truth!
1
If the GOPers would impeach Trump, and then remove him from office this madness would pass, but it is quite clear at this point that a majority of Republicans in Congress are also in favor of destroying America and our alliances. That's good to know when next we vote.
6
"You're pardoned" is the flip side of Trump's "you're fired" simplistic persona -- it's all about him being a god, with unlimited powers of forgiveness or damnation.
Like the Roman emperor Caligula, Trump claims divinity and seems intrinsically ignorant of the workings or worth of democracy.
5
Trump's form of divinity is that he "feels an instinct" -- like he says he'll know what Kim Jung Un will do about nuclear disarmament within a minute of meeting him.
3
Trump acts like a kid at a candy store with those pardons.
It is ego-driven and cynical.
He's seeking praise. Just like he wanted his supporters chanting "Nobel Prize."
It's stunning how he cannot genuinely reach agreement and stay at that point before caving, changing his mind or simply walking away.
The biggest piece of nonsense we were fed was "art of the deal."
6
Only a vile human being could bring about divisive hysteria to create more and more hatred toward each other's race. How dare he?
3
Comparing the NFL's kneeling ballplayers to MLK and the real martyrs who were getting beaten by clubs, blasted with fire hoses, and attacked by police dogs is just ridiculous hyperbole.
Charles Blow should be ashamed of himself.
Time to get a grip or get fired.
4
For what it’s worth, I’m a 62-year-old white man from the south, and Muhammad Ali was my childhood hero not for his amazing boxing ability (though that is uncontested—he is still “The Greatest”), but for his uncompromising stand on Vietnam. Charles’s article is on the money—Trump’s support for black men only occurs if they are safely dead.
7
Everyone should recognize that T pardoning people, "criminals" of color and anyone else that people suggest to him deserving of a pardon, is nothing more than his normalization of issuing mass pardons, particularly now, apparently, to people that the public suggest (and therefore, from T's perspective, what would be "popular" pardons.
That way, when T gets the stack of pardons on his desk for his mafia-like crime family and campaign conspirators, we'll all be so numbed and confused about what constitutes a "good" vs. "bad" pardon, that no one will effectively complain about or counter his illegal pardons (in the sense of obstructing justice).
And then the devolution to banana republic will be complete.
3
You’re comparing Kaepernick to Martin?
6
It is always easier, safer, less disruptive, to go with the flow, to not object to the actions of the majority. It would have been very difficult for Donald Trump to be a conscientious objector, as Muhammad Ali was. For this is what Don would have said, had he spoken the truth:
"I object to serving in the Vietnam war because I cannot make any money while I am over there. My competitors (everyone who gets in my way) will get ahead of me if I take time out to travel to Vietnam. There is money to be made in every pocket of this nation, people to be fleeced, contractors to be stiffed, students to be bilked. There are gullible people everywhere with money that belongs in MY pocket. I cannot get my money if I am in Vietnam. So on that basis, I object to serving."
11
Keep writing, Charlie. Your columns educate all and remind of us of how long we have been fighting for civil rights for all.
6
A majority of white people in America may or may not be racists regarding black and brown people, but it is obvious that enough of them are to sway elections in some states and districts in favor of white, Republican candidates.
It’s easy for us older white people to see it and say it: Donald Trump and nearly all of his law-and-order supporters are raging, fulminant racists.
High on the to-do list for our nation is the need to excise this cancer.
Given today’s decision by Chief Justice John Roberts and his Republican colleagues approving Ohio’s aggressive suppression of black voters, the U.S. Supreme Court is a fine place for decent Americans to mount an attack on the national disease.
6
I think Blow owes MLK one yuuuuge apology for comparing him to Kaepernick. Geez, Charles. The men are not even close to being equal. For one, MLK fought real injustice. There is zero evidence that the police are targeting black men. Unfortunately, for Charles Blow, the answer is always "racism" no matter what the question is.
9
"there is zero evidence that the police are targeting black men"? WOW. let me venture a guess. you are NOT a black man. seen those "stop and frisk" numbers lately?
7
In the beginning there was faith, which is childish;
trust, which is vain;
and illusion, which is dangerous.
Elie Wiesel "Night"
#NeverAgain2018
#StopFascism2018
#VoteBlue2018
9
If I was a betting man I'd say James Brown would be the next one to get pardoned.............Good God!!!!!!..Trumps Got a Brand New Bag
3
Mohamed Ali, who grew up in the poor black neighborhoods of Louisville, resisted the draft and risked jail time on behalf of a real civil rights issue. Colin Kaepernick, the blackest white man you'll ever meet(outside of Barrack"dont call me Barry"Obama) protested because he had to sit on the bench and risk not making a million dollars. Ali was "self-less".....Kaepernick is "self-ish"......I feel sorry for Mr. Blow if he refuses to understand this basic distinction...........
7
Blow spends so much time looking backward one of these days he is going to walk right off his ivory tower because he doesn't see the edge. I guess hatred can do that to a person.
7
I agree. He's obviously a smart guy but so filled with hate and anger it's very sad. There's not one thing that happens in society that Blow can't or won't turn into a racial injustice. Anyone who teaches his children (and other blacks) to distrust all whites is doing a disservice to a whole generation. Very sad.
1
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.".
George Santayana (1863-1952), Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason, Vol.1
Hatred can do that to a person, especially if they and theirs are still having to live with the same inequity's to this day.
Why be so blasé about people being abused and murdered?! Why are YOU not upset?!
1
Trump got those two Black college basketball players released from a Chinese jail last November.
Would Bull Connor have helped them?
Would Charles Blow give Trump credit?
8
I think it is time to take Kaepernick seriously. We should assume that a man who wore a shirt in public with the image of vicious communist dictator did so because he sympathizes with the goals of communism and had no serious reservations about the brutal nature of the particular man. It is not as if Castro is from the 13th century where we can easily ignore his depravity. It is jarring to read Blow compare Trump to Conner and in the same column seem to indicate respect for Kaepernick, who chose to dress himself in homage to a man whose brutal oppression of his fellow man was more lethal and more long-lasting than Conner. It would be considered an outrage if a popular American athlete wore a shirt with the image of Conner on it - and rightly so - yet Castro is okay? It is if you do not respect human rights.
5
Completely accurate and right on. And this covers only a fraction of Donald's similar actions with law enforcement, environment, women's empowerment, veterans, miners, workers, etc. - Donald Trump is only in favor of people and groups that favor him at this instant and all others are castigated. What a sad, sad excuse for a man.
5
Trump has one principle: use the Presidency to make himself and his family wealthier. That's about it.
7
Can Mr. Blow produce data that supports the premise of his column; namely, that white police officers across the US are targeting innocent, unarmed blacks with increasing frequency? In a country of 325 million people, some horrific tragedies and baseless shootings at the hands of the police will inevitably occur, and when they do the criminal justice system should address any related criminality. If, however, one read Jason Reilly's column in the Wall Street Journal in late May (Mr. Reilly is a regular African-American columnist for the Journal), one is led to believe that in fact, police shootings of blacks and all other races in the US are declining, not increasing in frequency and were much more prevalent in the 1970s. So please Mr. Blow, before expressing your support for Colin Kaepernick's and others' protests against racism and police brutality, please demonstrate that this is a systemic and growing problem in our country. Thanks.
8
I read that column. It’s never mentioned. Guys like Blow would rather stick to anecdotes.
1
Note that the WSJ no longer has anybody writing for their editorial pages, liberal or conservative, who is not pro Trump. Not a single critic remains. In that light, the WSJ editorial pages have become just another outlet for the Trump Fox Republican state propaganda organ.
TommyStaff writes:
"... If, however, one read Jason Reilly's column in the Wall Street Journal in late May ..."
2
Blow did not say anything about "increasing frequency."
We don't have to make excuses to you about supporting BLM and Kap based on whether the problem is getting worse. It's bad, and that's enough.
Black people are systematically targeted because of their race. If you don't know that it's because you are uninformed.
"The hypocrisy of lauding a deceased boxer who protested while simultaneously trashing living football players who protest seems completely lost on Trump."
The difference here is that Ali did not protest while he was in the ring. The football players in question are protesting while they are on the clock and, therefore, expected to behave as their employers mandate. They are free to protest on their own time.
5
First of all, they're not on the clock. That happens when they start play. The league even said they they have the right to go back to the locker room.
Since they can do that in protest, they can do it on the field. All the league cares about is the effect on the bottom line, the money. There is no "principle" involved based on whether or not they're on the clock.
Second, no employer has the right to require its employees to participate in a patriotic or political ritual. That is not part of anyone's job description, and is a direct violation of the First Amendment.
Third, Ali was subjected to mass condemnation of the sort Kap has not had to endure. Ali was stripped of his title and license and was reviled by the media and people all across the political spectrum. It was years until the public turned against the war and Ali was vindicated.
6
It gets harder and harder to take the cries of the sky is falling seriously. From the get go, there has been nothing but criticism of the president in most of the media (document by Harvard, hardly a liberal bastion). Today's headlines keep up the frantic pace of wild accusation, as wild as any of the silliest claims Trump himself sometimes makes. Now, he's Bull Connor. In another article, he is out to destroy the West. I didn't vote for him and don't particularly think much of him. Still, virtually no day goes by when some element of the resistance doesn't make him more sympathetic and doesn't highlight how well he is actually doing under the circumstances, despite all his faults, by the gross exaggeration, character assassination and sometimes outright lying. How is this different from birtherism or saying HC murdered Vince Foster? Both sides do it, but, since I've become more politically aware in around 1980, this is by far the worst I've ever seen. The press was more reasonable and respectful with Nixon than they are with Trump. Not that he hasn't often acted like a jerk. But, any semblance of responsible journalism is gone. I know where I am writing. Most everyone disagrees.
8
Mr. Trump and his cult are a clear and present danger. E.g., David Eisenberg who writes, "How is this [criticism of Trump] different from birtherism or saying HC murdered Vince Foster? ..." David has lost touch with reality.
I think Charles should have listed side by side the characteristics Trump and Connor have in common. But he did not. Connor was referred to just once in the essay and Trump constantly.
I often think Charles Blow's columns would be less vitriolic if he actually came down to the street and marched with us instead of analyzing the scene from an armchair high up in the New York Times building, quoting the first-hand reports of other activists. That's just my opinion.
The paper itself throw bricks at Israel every chance it gets, and Blow does the same to whites.Koepernic put his whole career on the line to further black justice. Charles hopes to do the same by writing not acting and not risking his career.
4
First of all, Blow is a writer. That's his profession. And as such he keeps himself better informed than the great majority of other Americans.
Whether he marches in the streets or not makes no difference. He's just one individual in a parade. But as a writer he reaches millions.
Second, I don't see him throwing bricks at whites. He analyzes the US political situation from a black perspective, but I've never once seen him writing anything reviling whites per se.
Third, writing is acting. Getting the written word out is every bit as important as shouting it out in the streets.
3
I'm ashamed, embarrassed, disgusted, and very angry. This country had a real chance to do the right thing after the election of Barack Obama and instead we did the exact opposite.
9
You mean he did! He was an utter failure.
In most of the cases you mentioned a biracial jury found the policeman not guilty.
In all those cases the problems arose when civilians didn’t obey the policeman orders.
There is no reason to demonstrate for that
3
They aren't demonstrating against criminals being punished.
They are demonstrating against them being summarily executed by cops without due process.
And they are demonstrating for all the cases in which police murdered an innocent person and were not punished for it.
A bi-racial jury is no guarantee of justice against the cops. Juries are carefully selected by the system, which prosecutors and judges are part of.
Juries more often than not tend to find for cops, when they would probably otherwise find against a civilian charged with a similar crime.
4
You COULD say that President Trump is a modern-day Abraham Lincoln. While Charles apparently feels bad about too many black Americans actually getting HIRED, Donald Trump is representing black workers like few before him.
Black children's futures look better as Trump cleans up government and calls for imprvements in schools. hat a contrast with the idler we used to suffer from who needed black people upset all the time but subservient and dependent on government.
So, in that way, Obama was the Bull Connor.
3
Only someone who can equate Barack Obama with Bull O'Connor shows how out of step with reality some white people are in this country. SAD.
6
Trump and his cult are a clear and present danger to themselves and all of us. E.g., "L'osservatore" who writes, "... Obama was the Bull Connor." A racist obsession with President Obama and no connection whatsoever to reality.
DT chose his alliances when he pardoned Joe Arpaio, a despicable man who ran a concentration camp, and continued to zealously persecute ethnic minorities even after being found out, and forbidden, by court order.
The first, most basic alliance is with unlawfulness. And then, with hate, cruelty, and mind numbing ignorance. Bereft of enlightenment.
Now, instead of responding in kind to the seriousness of Colin Kaepernick, and engaging a different perspective than his own, he wants celebrity athletes to perform for the cameras. It's an offering that misses the basis of their cause, which is systematic injustice. These activists have been so patient and dignified, so full of clarity and resolve, I hope they don't even blink for him.
* * * * *
It's nonsense that we've become numb. We feel a nausea that is so powerful, polite people don't speak his name, because of the revulsion it brings up in us. Instead, we use code, just as we do to speak of what goes on inside a bathroom.
Nausea grows in waves. It hits, there's a lull, it hits again. Until its power is surprising, growing stronger and then suddenly overwhelming, and there is nothing else.
Soon I think all of us will be unable to hold down the daily diet of anxiety and violence, the destruction and degrading of the good, the cruelty to the vulnerable.
I'm just waiting for that moment when all of us to revolt.
5
Exactly, Charles, exactly! We need to collectively refrain from letting him use us in this fashion, and that is all that he is doing. Hell, he didn't even know who Frederick Douglass was, give me a break!
10
Mr. Blow, your abject hatred for President Trump has apparently fried your brain. He has done more for African Americans than any modern day Democrat.
African American unemployment under Trump has hit a historical low--as it also has for Hispanics.
And who appointed an educational reformer, Betsy DeVos to change the horrendous, union-infested school systems that have consigned so many inner city Blacks to lives of failure and underachievement?
Who was it that stood in front of an African American audience and asked them, "What do you have to lose?", (in electing a Republican)?
Mr. Blow...Democrats have systematically destroyed African American communities in the cities they have controlled for generations. They have presided over poor schools, drug-infested neighborhoods, substandard public housing, and prison systems that are disproportionately filled with minority inmates. Furthermore, Democrats have championed the rights of illegal aliens who drive down the wage scale--for jobs on the lower end of the scale--which historically have given African Americans an entry point into the work force.
Add to that, the fact Democrats have created a welfare state which systematically traps minorities into lifestyles of poverty and dependency, and you have a complete picture of the destruction created by Democrat politicians.
To call the President "A Present-Day Bull Connor" is ignorant, Mr Blow. Instead, look within, at how Democrats have failed your people.
8
Hius "people"?
Yassuh, massa, suh.
1
I strikes this reader that the columnist may have mistitled his essay. A far more fitting title might be:
"A Present-Day Bull Thrower."
1
When my family moved from Jackson, Mississippi to Atlanta in 1972, I remember hearing a lot of crap about where I came from. The suburb we moved to was filled with transplants from all over the country, and I was mocked on multiple levels because of where I was raised.
After my sophomore year in high school, I went back to my hometown for a week or so. I was stunned when, in just the first day back, I heard the N-word half a dozen times.
In hindsight I realized that because it was all I'd ever known, I hadn't really been aware of the difference. Once in Atlanta, I had struggled to defend where I came from, not understanding why the perception was so negative.
That weeklong visit dispelled any notion I may have had that I'd grown up in Mayberry.
Footnote: When I was ten or twelve years old, we had a black family that mowed many of the lawns in the neighborhood. There was a small boy, about the same age, whose name was Buzz-aleePop. He was the best!
One day he showed up and I called him by his name. He responded with, "My name is Emmitt Till."
I had no idea what that meant until I got to college. That, along with Muhammad Ali, had a profound influence on me.
7
“I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.”--Muhammad Ali, 1967.
White Americans have been entitled by their skin color to look down upon those who struggle beneath them for the very fruits and benefits of citizenship which they've taken for granted from Jump Street. This was particularly true of the revered and reviled Muhammad Ali.
Shortly after his electric dethroning of Sonny Liston in Miami Beach in late February, 1964, then-Cassius Marcellus Clay changed his religion and his name. He became a "black Muslim," whatever that was, but the specter of black violence being visited upon white America in the person of the new heavyweight champion of the world was too much to bear.
White America was uncomfortable, as the graphs accompanying this article, prove beyond doubt. One supposes that it's much easier for a majority of the population to feel secure in denying to other citizens the benefits that, being bestowed upon another, do not in any way mitigate against their own rights as citizens. Clay was cheered after he won the gold at Rome in the 1960 Olympics. He later said "back home I was still a nigger."
Clay was cheered as he climbed the ladder to the top, but after arriving there, threw off the yoke of white supremacy. Whites couldn't understand how someone so talented and handsome and wealthy could not appreciate "his place" in America. What else did he want, they snarled?
Donald Trump isn't Bull Connor as much as he is himself.
And, isn't that awfulness enough?
8
Another gem of an article, Mr. Blow, thank you. BTW: Trump may be hoping to garner personal praise but he continues to play the race card—big time. Dissension and reciprocity of opinion mark the high points of democracy, not knee-jerk reactions and dogmatism. If white people cannot understand discrimination from an African-American POV, perhaps they might at least give the black NFL pros who want to take a knee the benefit of the doubt and listen to their complaints. Whose skin is the color that catches the policeman's eye and often his bullet, anyway? Vive la dissension, thank you. It marks acceptance and responsibility.
Tom Claire
1
What do you think Mr. Blow, will Trumps gambit work?
I'd hope not...but...the world, and people today...?!?
1
Blow and other Trump-haters want to conveniently ignore the fact that Trump was one of the first (if not the first) to open up his private club in Palm Beach to blacks and Jews.
4
Oh please. Just how many Blacks do you think either want to go to his private club, or can afford the outlandish fees?
And that still doesn't take away from th fact that he had several federal lawsuits against him for housing discrimination...Get real.
3
Wealthy ones,of course. Money is color blind.
1
Maybe among hard-core racists that makes him a phenomenon.
To the rest of us that's just "doing the right thing," which is what is expected of all decent human beings.
Unfortunately, whatever his reasons were, they did not change him from being a racist, homophobe, xenophobe, misogynist.
Yes, Mr. Blow. Trump is a bigot and an awful person. We hear that all the time. It must be true!
Is there anything we can do to get him out of office as soon as possible? Write a column on that, please.
3
It’s a classic case of American whitewashing. Civil rights agitators are embraced only after they’ve lost their ability to protest (Ali) or dead (MLK).
MLK was probably the most hated black person in America when he was alive but his image was sanctified and whitewashed after his murder. White America loves to mention the “Dream” speech and ignores everything else. It’s almost like he died in 1963.
Don’t be surprised if Colin Keapernick receives the same treatment. John Carlos and Tommie Smith went thru that too.
2
To be a pathological liar, and a hypocrite , even if one's playbook has been stolen from Joseph Goebbels, is not illegal. Being a clear and present danger to our national security, being compromised by a hostile foreign power, obstructing justice with a flagrant disregard of the rule of law, is not only illegal, it is impeachable and it borders on treason .
It's time for the rest of the press to follow Charles Blow's lead in calling out this malignancy in the White House that is an ever increasing danger to our country. And when November comes, it will be time for those of us possessing a clarity of conscience,to vote.
4
A year ago, in a room full of Black people of all ages, I made the comment that the Sacramento County Sheriff, Scott Jones, was a modern day Bull Connor. The mummers of agreement were clearly audible, mostly from the older folks who the remember Bull Connor era.
Law enforcement, the system that supports it and the officers who are the enforcers, is and has been the umbilical cord to a authoritarian state. And white people have been the beneficiaries of this system from the beginning of this nation.
Until white people are willing to learn our real history, and then listen and believe Black people, we will remain complicit with oppressors.
3
Give him credit, President Trump is an equal opportunity hater. For every Colin Kaepernick there is a Bowe Bergdahl. For every Barack Obama there is a Justin Trudeau or Angela Merkel. President Trump loves only one thing. He loves to hate, even himself. Especially himself. No person with self-love or self-respect would behave the way rump does.
3
Blow has the best pieces on Trump but I think he's preaching to the converted; Trump supporters will 1) not read his pieces and 2) say it's fake news. Trump is a despicable human being with morals and attitude of a gangster but it's his supporters who need to come to their senses about this miserable human being.
3
I will say first I do support President Trump, but comparing him to Bull Connor is stupid like Forrest Gump or that Corky guy who had down syndrome on TV. Anyway, I am not agreeing with the President on Colin Kaepernick, but again comparing him to Bull Connor is deranged and is clearly slander. They are not in the same league, they are not in the same ballpark, and they are not even playing the same game.
You know I really liked your Op-Ed pieces Mr. Blow when they were short and sweet; now you write long ones which are not as good.
1
"Well, that’s eerily similar to what happened to [Trayvon] Martin: The unarmed teen was returning from a store with candy and a drink when Zimmerman shot and killed him."
Is that all that happened? Zimmerman was acquitted by a jury. Obama's and Holder's Justice Dept. then declined to follow up with hate crime or any other civil rights charges which might have been indicated if the jury had reached a biased verdict.
2
The jury refused to convict Zimmerman of the only charge available to them, murder.
Jurors afterwards said that they would have convicted him of manslaughter if they had had the choice.
The verdict wasn't biased. It was hampered by the prosecution's limited charge.
3
Jurors cried when the facts forced them to conclude that George Zimmerman acted in self defense when he shot Trayvon Martin.
Trayvon Martin was smashing a man’s head against concrete. The racially diverse jury found that Mr. Zimmerman was in reasonable fear of his life.
Try this experiment. Ask a well informed friend if the knows that Trayvon Martin’s school locker contained a bag of rings and earrings - and a screwdriver suitable for burglary. This is solid fact, known to every on-the-spot reporter, but you had to leave the U.S. mediasphere and read the U.K. Daily Mail to learn it.
I just searched the Times for “Trayvon Martin, rings, earrings” - nothing found.
1
The Daily Mail? Really?
That paper is a Right-wing rag devoted to promoting Rupert Murdoch's favorite lies.
And your trying to justify Zimmerman's murder of an unarmed boy whom he stalked and forced into a confrontation is just as bad.
By the way, jurors said that they blamed Zimmerman, but were not permitted to convict him of a lesser charge, such as voluntary manslaughter. It was the prosecutor's error to insist on the only charge being murder.
They should find that portrait he must have hidden in an attic somewhere, and burn it. Then his supporters could see what they really voted for.
African-Americans aren't going to be fooled by Trump's occasional tokenism, whether it's being seen with Dr. Carson applauding him or being heard extolling Frederick Douglass as if he were still alive. But will African-Americns vote accordingly, this year and in 2020, or stay home? (Will disaffected Democrats vote for the 2018/2020 version of Jill Stein? Will American Jews vote for the embassy-mover who's an apologist for neo-Nazis? As The Leader would say, "We'll see how it all turns out".
1
Bigger question - will American Jews vote for a party where half it's members support the Palestinians and decry Israel's efforts to defend itself from a people who would slaughter them without a thought.
2
It’s easy to see why Donald Trump and Mike Pence are smiling in this picture, Charles - photo op!! photo op !! However I have to keep repeating to myself that the other black leaders in the photo are not applauding Trump, but the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. The problem is that then I look at Trump apologist Ben Carson and know exactly who he’s applauding - our racist-in-chief. Sad.
2
"The hypocrisy of lauding a deceased boxer who protested while simultaneously trashing living football players who protest seems completely lost on Trump."
Yes, Charles, so much is completely lost on Trump. A know-nothing moron who has neither the attention span or desire to learn anything. He cluelessly bounces around day by day in child-like reaction to his critics and perceived enemies. But what if there is a method to his madness? What if he really knows what he's doing by stirring up the racism, bigotry and xenophobia of his base that allowed him to win just enough electoral votes to become "president."
Trump is certainly no genius. But he may well be an evil genius. A cartoon villain is still a villain.
4
I think it's fair to say that most Black people in this country aren't fooled by Donald Trump's recent pardoning, and see it as nothing more than a ploy to appear as something other than what he really is, namely racist.
Why else would 'his Negro', Ben Carson, suddenly be on hand for the photo-op?
This kind of patronization should be seen and discredited for what it really is.
It's no coincidence that the number of hate crimes against people of colour have sharply increased since Trump's term in office, and the list of his racially insensitive remarks is legend; stretching all the way back to his time as a New York City real-estate developer when he refused to rent any of his propeties to Blacks, and publicly called for the death sentence in the case of the 'Central Park 5'.
After all, as a presidential candidate Trump was formally endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan.
And while he may succeed in fooling himself about his past by refusing to remember this, Black folks will not forget.
At least, this one won't.
3
Lies and ignorance; what a sad combination. Ali was one of the most popular figures in America and the world decades before he became a memory. In fact, it was pretty much the "undies bunched" white folks that ever had a problem with him and that group even mostly changed their minds over the years. Listen to the crowd when Ali stepped out to light the torch at the Atlanta Olympics. If that's "unpopular" it's obvious that word doesn't mean what I think it means.
1
Yesterday I said to my husband that Trump thinks that by pardoning black people he will suddenly become popular with them as a group.
The idea itself is demeaning. In Trump world African Americans are so dumb and so gullible that all he has to do is dangle a treat like a pardon and they will fall in line behind him. They will forget the "good people" with torches in Charlottesville and Trumps comments that players that take a knee should be deported.
Trump is a racist. End of story.
13
This is a cynical attempt to market himself to black people and proove he's not a bigot. I'm not buying it.
That he wants to pardon Mohammed Ali who has no convictions just goes to show how deeply ignorant trump is.
5
Thank you for this. It helps to call a racist a racist...
2
Bull Connor had his fire hoses and police attack dogs. He never learned. Donald Trump has the Central Park Five and Charlottesville. He has never learned.
They both should have heeded the wisdom of Rosa Parks:
"People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true ... No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in."
"You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right."
"I would like to be remembered as a person who wants to be free ... so other people would also be free."
3
If Trump had control of police dogs, he'd release them. In every way imaginable, he is a FRAUD.
1
"The hypocrisy of lauding a deceased boxer who protested while simultaneously trashing living football players who protest seems completely lost on Trump."
Presumes Trump is an idiot and not completely evil, a degenerate moral weakling.
Dear Charles it may be the other way around, and you may giving Trump too much credit by calling him a hypocrite whose hypocrisy is lost to him. He may be fully aware of the contradictions of his extreme lies and his attempts to incite hatred and violence. He may even consider his extreme dishonesty extreme intelligence.
1
Your completely correct about the Dons erratic behavior and statements. Trump is worse than bull Connor. Trump wants to create a dictatorship based upon himself. WithFox News as his ministry of propaganda. Bull Connor was an strident segregationist and wanted to keep Jim Crow in place. At any cost. Trump wishes to destroy and lock up. Crazy is as crazy does. Bull Connor thought he too was a law unto himself. Trump thinks he can make up his own laws no matter how bizarre they may be. Trump cannot and does not read. He probably has no idea who Jim Crow was. If you explained it to him, he would think that it was the best thing that happened to the southern states and people of color. He also wants the same for Hispanics. Lock that crazy man up!
3
I have a suggestion for our scientists, please formulate an easily injectable substance that can be administered to all white supremacists that would turn them black for one year. I can almost guarantee their damaged minds would see the world much differently and maybe as a result understand what being human should mean by now.
4
Or read the terribly unsettling book "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin. He injects himself with some chemical to become dark, shaves his head, and goes into the Deep South in the 1960s, where and when prejudice and hate thrived.
Griffin never got over the psychological damage done to him for his time spent there. I could hardly read the book; it was like reading a detailed description of someone getting repeatedly raped.
1
Charles, we all know by now that Trump is a racist hypocrite and clearly deeply disturbed.
Would love to see you focus on the Republicans in Congress who give oxygen to the dumpster fire that is Trump's presidency.
3
I stopped trying to understand trump. He is a hater and a conman the most non-American to occupy the WH.
3
Mr. Blow....you're the one that's prejudiced here. "No good turn, huh?" Even pardoning Blacks has your hackles up. I don't support everything the Pres. does, but gee, it's significant that it's happening, and I'm happy for the families of those pardoned.
5
He pardoned a couple, while his administration is cracking down even harder to imprison people with draconian sentences for nonviolent and victimless crimes.
That's "significant" for its extreme hypocrisy.
1
If you think that this act of Trump's is anything other than just that ... an act, then his con job obviously worked on you.
But most Black people have no problem seeing it for what it is. And there's no way this will ever erase all of the racist things he has said in the past, and is still saying.
The reason Trump has pardoned Alice Marie Johnson and Jack Johnson and is talking about "pardoning" Ali who had is conviction overturned is his play for the African-American vote.
In his shallow stupidity he thinks this will counteract the fight he as picked with the NFL players. Trump is a racist fool.
2
For our transactional president, paying lip service to dead civil rights leaders, and pandering to certain celebrities, is a calculation that his minor effort might appease those that consider him racist.
Yet those that don't consider him racist will just use this as fodder to show that he isn't, while the rest of us see yet one more example of hypocrisy.
#hypocriticalpresident
#racistpresident
4
Isn't their a Pundit's Guild rule that says that every time you mention Bull Connor, you have to mention Emmett Till twice?
So many times in the nineteen months, I've been thankful I watched the Frontline "Choice 2016" doc when it came out. It's like the missing instruction manual for the defective, useless piece of IKEA junk we're all stuck tripping over all day. It's less crazy-making when you can look at the thing hurting you and go, "ohhh, that's what that's supposed to be."
This is another Roy Cohn inspired PR stunt; play both sides, muddy the waters, and always say later that you were on the right side all along. This is for his white base, not anyone else. It's not meant to win over Black people, any more than Muslim Americans like me are the intended audience for this johnny-come-lately Iftar joe. (What, did he think it was like leap year, and we didn't have one in 2017? Or did he just assume we'd be "celebrating in New Jersey"?)
He's making the rounds to all the brown people this week, but it's for the white audience who will call that "being the bigger man." It's really just setting up next week's episode, when North Korea is no closer to nuclear disarmament, another black person is murdered by law enforcement, and/or a hateful manchild in another country drives into a crowd of innocents because he doesn't know his holy book and claims membership in a death cult he's never met. (Killing innocent people is murder; assuming otherwise is like reading your Bible and thinking you should get Dad drunk and repopulate the earth.)
That's when Trump will shrug at a camera and say, "I tried."
1
Trump will turn out to be the greatest criminal in human history. There's no telling how many will die because of his sadistic policies.
2
Charles says "Effective protest often only works when it is disruptive and discomforting". By this standard Trump is the most successful disrupter, but when it comes to Trump Charles has a different idea. According to him, Trump's disruption is because he is a bully, ignorant, idiot, racist, Nazi....But Trump's disruption brought lowest unemployment for African American in history, wiped out ISIS, and N. Korean dictator to negotiating table. Trump's disruption regarding other matters like tariffs, Jerusalem, Iran may bring similar results. So, Charles should start to praise Trump.
3
Anyone who was white and was on the right side, knows how popular and relevant Ali was during the 60s. The Champ stood up against all that was wrong with white America. For Trump to even hint at unpopularity is sinful. If you were coming of age and had generational opposition to the Civil Rights Movement and our country's war in Vietnam, there was not a single person on the planet more influential than Mohammad Ali. God I loved the man, everything about him and all he stood for, became the foundation for millions of young white boys like me.
I'm with DeNiro, but my chant is far more hateful. The racist, borderline moron President must go!
4
Ditto to everything you said.
He's also pardoning these sympathetic, high profile black Americans to inoculate himself from the coming uproar over the pardons he will issue for his co-conspirators and eventually himself.
"But look! I pardoned all those blacks! You didn't protest then!"
We went over the cliff on 11/8/16.
We Just haven't hit the rubble heap yet.
2
It is unfortunate that Mr. Blow references principles in the latter paragraphs while referring to Trump’s marketing over meaningful substance regarding King or Ali. Principles are what has been lacking in Mr. Blow’s columns since an election of over 19 months ago in a continuing diatribe of excess. Mr. Blow has sadly become the angry racist, the man who refuses to acknowledge the highest black employment numbers, the rising tide of economic progress.
Instead, he, like the entire left, is left with boots stuck in the past, goose-stepping his way to authoritarian oblivion. As a result, he is no longer readable as he is merely predictable while he traverses on this incessant loop of hostility and irrelevance.
2
I really get tired of hearing this nonsense.
Presidents don't create jobs. The economy is slightly better than it was because it has been getting slightly better since Obama first took office.
But real unemployment is double the official figure, and working people are no better off, because the new jobs are low-paying and wages for existing jobs are stagnant.
There is no working class prosperity, much less anything approaching one due to Trump.
It's ironic to accuse the Left of "goose-stepping," when the Nazis and alt-Right are all for Trump, and he has praised some of them as being "very fine people."
2
Funny, but I never thought the word I would associate with Trump, that started with Bull, would end up with the word Connor.
1
Remember the “black power salute” of John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics? Here’s the whole story.
Our family went to the 1967 NCAA Track and Field Championships at BYU in Provo, Utah. My parents were friends of the Ohio track coach.
BYU run by the Mormon Church did not allow black people to join the church until 1978. USC won with many black athletes incl OJ Simpson helping to set a fast 4X110 relay race.
BYU had REFUSED to allow the black athletes to stay in their dorms. Most ended sleeping in their buses or driving 150 mile round trip from Salt Lake City. The Ohio coach was gobsmacked.
He went on to coach the 1968 Olympic team.
Carlos and Smith were two of the athletes refused housing in Provo.
The two US athletes received their medals shoeless, but wearing black socks, to represent black poverty. Both wore a necklace of beads and “were for those individuals that were lynched, or killed and that no-one said a prayer for, that were hung and tarred. It was for those thrown off the side of the boats in the Middle Passage.”
Sociologist Harry Edwards, had urged black athletes to boycott the games.
THIS is the kicker! Avery Brundage, head of the IOC said Smith and Carlos’s actions were “a deliberate and violent breach of the fundamental principles of the Olympic spirit."
But Brundage had made no objections against Nazi salutes during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He was a noted Nazi sympathizer!
History is repeating itself!
5
Thank you for this story!
2
Well said, Charles. I no longer marvel at the roughly 30% of our population, and a much larger percentage of Republicans, who happily swallow Tump’s tripe on a daily basis. I do wonder however, how those who have been elected to serve this nation can stand idly by and watch while he leads the country into an increasingly dangerous and shameful spiral. Clearly, Republicans in the House and the Senate have no backbone to speak out and/or do anything effective about Trump. His supporters are so hell bent on eliminating any debate or alternative perspectives to anything Trump says that those leaders left who have anything resembling principles are all heading for the exits or sitting silently on their hands. As it’s been said often recently, history will not judge them kindly. We cannot expect hate-filled kooks who hurl racist slurs and consider the Confederate flag a symbol of honor to do anything other than worship the ground Trump walks on. But those elected officials who took an oath to serve this nation and defend the Constitution must be held to account for dereliction of their duty. This latest pandering with pardons is yet another attempt by Trump to distract and create the illusion that he has some kind of heart or empathy for someone outside of himself. We know better and must seize every opportunity to spotlight this charlatan and, using all the power we as citizens have in our Democratic system, defang him and remove him from his position of power.
3
I'm waiting for Trump to break out the dogs and the fire hoses...........
3
Football players, Like MLK, have a right to protest. MLK chose civil disobedience and he took the penalty for his actions.
So if Kaepernick (CK) "does the crime" he should be OK (like MLK) with "doing the time". A QB is a team leader, if the coaches /owner cannot have a QB that leads the team in the direction that the club wants to go,instead doing what CK thinks is right, why should they keep him? Why would any club want to hire a non-team player? CK had a union negotiate a players contract; an agent and a bevy of lawyers negotiate his personal contract; and if he finds himself without a contract now under the terms of those contracts, it is a matter of contract law.
At an NFL press conference CK sports a t shirt "Like Minds Think Alike" sporting the visages of Malcolm X (a human trafficker / pimp) and Fidel Castro who once boasted that "even [Cuban] prostitutes had college degrees". How advanced Cuba was in the world.
https://us-east-1.tchyn.io/snopes-production/uploads/2016/08/colin-kaepe...
CK is not a leader, or thinker, and making him a civil rights icon is a joke. He is a self-aggrandizing hustler who uses media stunts for self promotion.
Socks that depict police as pigs (SEE Kaepernick, Cops as pigs socks)
Fined $10K for hawking headphones at a Press conference (See Beats, $10,000, Kaepernick)
Celebrating a mass-murderer, Che Guevara (SEE Kaepernick, Che Guevara t-shirt)
2
Martin Luther King did not willingly go to jail. He was not "OK with doing the time." He was forced to.
He had no intention of being a martyr. He was trying to change conditions that punished blacks for wanting to be equal to whites.
Kap's political preferences are not the issue. His protest against the treatment of blacks by racist white America is the issue.
I can see that you don't support him, which is your right. But your arguments against him have nothing to do with what he is protesting.
1
I hope Ali's family has made it clear that they want nothing to do with #45 and his 'pardon'. It would be beyond disgusting to see the draft dodger trying to steal some of Muhammad Ali's stature to try and drag him out of sewer. 45 is a creature of the sewer and that's where he belongs.
I have to admit that as loathsome as Bull Connor was, comparing him to Trump is a disservice. No matter how evil and racist Connor's beliefs were, he HAD beliefs. Trump is all about Trump, always has been and always will be. He will burn down the United States if he thinks it will give him some sort of momentary glory. And make him some money, of course.
Imagine a country led by a man lower than Bull Connor? And the people willing to be led by a man like that.
2
I grew up on n Birmingham in the 1960s. I saw what Bull Connor did. My grandfather a Lieutenant in the fire department at the time was one of those who refused to turn the hoses on the kids when Connor so ordered.
You have no idea what you are talking about comparing Trump to Connor. You weaken the argument you make by equating Trump to Connor. How this ever got by the Times Editorial board... oh I forgot- this is the New York Times- the paper that is so out of touch with flyover country that the believe anyone who supports Trump is a racist. So out of of touch they cannot imagine why anyone could possibly think ill of Hillary. Clueless that a vast swath of the public hate the elite down your nose view of them that this op-piece embodies. So internally focused that they don't realise that their know everything attitude is one of the factors driving people to Trump. I neither voted for Trump or like him. But editorials like this are not only wrong they are hurtful. Can the New York Times wake up?
8
Thank you Charles Blow. I count on you to clearly articulate the ongoing outrage.
2
Trump is just throwing baubles with his pardon or offers of pardon of black people. This hypocrisy doesn't make him any less of a racist.
2
As usual you are spot on. I have suggestion ........ the stupid NFL policy speaks to kneeling. So if the players hold clenched fists upright the way Tommy Smith did, they would be making their point in a historic and even stronger way. I have been a season ticket holder for 27 years and I would love to see that and hold my fist up too.
3
Silly Charley....still lying about poor little innocent Trayvon, eh? And btw, Bull Connor was a Democrat. But you already knew that.
5
Southern Democrats then were what Republicans are now.
But you already knew that.
2
Trump already has shown, that in today's America
"marketing tactics" are far more effective than
"statements of principle."
He is winning. We (the country and its people) are losing. But he's winning. That's all he cares about. And we are letting him set the terms that allow him to win. We are the losers because our actions deservedly make us losers. "The fault dear Bull, is not in our stars, but in us."
3
Racism is a lifelong theme for Trump. In the 1970's the Justice Department sued Donald Trump, his father, Fred, and Trump Management for discrimination in their federally subsidized housing projects. Trump's fraudulent Birtherism attacks on Obama formed the basis of his political career and drew in his most fervent fans. After racist protest marches he said there were "many fine people" protesting alongside the people carrying swastika flags and shields bearing racist symbols.
We cannot forget his hateful lie that Mexico sends us its racists and murderers. Nor the racist lie that blacks commit 80% of white homicides. And what bout the bigoted lie that he saw Muslims celebrating 9/11?
Trump has no scruples. His truest fans know that at heart he is with them in their deep-seated racism even when he pretends to be someone else.
4
Yes the President does not care about Black people. So he's taking an issue that they care about and doing something about it. Something tangible.
Trump is a bigot who is pardoning the people he hates. Makes perfect sense.
1
Oh? What is he doing?
Any person with half a brain can easily see through Trump's scam.
One more fraud from Don the Con.
3
Rule by disdain: Blacks, America abroad, America at home.
Rule be destruction of everything that was decent in America. Even a peace accord with North Korea will be tainted because it will have been the product of a fraud.
3
Poor leftist, still working the civil rights angle! So they compare a black women who has to go to the back of the bus with a multi millionaire black athlete who doesn't share all of the facts with his protest! And they conflate the issue to stay with the racist ploy! and they are the only ones who believe their own propaganda! How sad for the black community!
Mr. Blow have you ever asked yourself why a conservative black is called an Uncle Tom or a sell out? My be an interesting topic! You may actually learn why your community stays stalled in time!
3
Mr. Trumps supporters say he's Not a Racist. Many who know him for years say he's Not a Racist. But what does it say about a person who blows the dog whistle to Racist's ears? Trump sure tries had not to offend the Bull Connors of today. Never has Trump ever spoke about why Kapernick and others took a knee. There is an old expression if it walk like a duck, and talks like a duck it's a duck.
1
Like other (non-Hispanic) groups, why don't you all stop whining and do things for yourself? I've never seen people afraid of their country like you all, and I think it's because pity isn't of value as a currency there.
Are you suggesting that we storm the White House and evict Trump, and then storm Congress and eject all the GOP politicians?
It would be a good idea, if we had the means.
1
Every year on July 4th The Times prints a facsimile Declaration Of Independence on the back of section 1. A great reason to buy the physical paper on that day.
This year the Times should, on the reverse side, print MLKs Letter from a Birmingham Jail, to encourage and foment bigger, louder, more rigorous protests of this deadly administration.
3
Trump is a racist, just like millions of Americans, including educated ones.
3
You lay out this case with perfect clarity.
And not a single racist bigot Republican will understand or change their mind. Least of all the Racist in Chief (not that he would bother to read it anyway)
1
Bull Conner was a Democrat.
Southern Democrats then were what Republicans are now.
Charles is correct that Trump uses pardons to bring the spotlight on himself, not to extend mercy or to correct a blatant and outright wrong. In Trumpworld there is nothing that is not, first and foremost, about Trump. Arpaiao's pardon? Pure publicity stunt while simultaneously pandering to his deeply racist core supporters. Hinting at preemptive pardons for Cohen and Manafort? The very definition of the acronym CYA while simultaneously being a publicity stunt.
I was in high school, college, the army and in Vietnam during the years of King and Ali. I can testify to the accuracy of the feelings of whites as reflected in the polls Charles references. Myself included. And, very much so, our current president.
But my life experiences and formal education instilled in me a respect for people who don't look like me. Unlike Trump, I have friends who are black, who don't speak fluent English. Unlike Trump, I have friends but thankfully, due to my station in life, no toadies. Trump, on the other hand, appears to have a surfeit of the latter but not a single true instance of the former.
I have said it elsewhere, but I continue to note that there is another important aspect to Trump's decision to the deceased Muhammad Ali: Ali does not have the ability to refuse Trump's overtures.
Trump cannot handle the idea that someone does not acknowledge his "greatness." That is why he prefers being surrounded by military personnel who are restricted by law and honor from publicly rebuking him. Trump is also happy to speak at service academy graduations where each student would be breaking the law by walking out on him (not so much any civilian colleges). He fears to stray out of the sycophantic safe spaces of Fox News, his self-congratulatory rallies, like-minded authoritarians or compliant religious leaders.
But black athletes have become a problem. He can't control them directly, so he tries to get the NFL to do it for him. They've made it abundantly clear that they do not consider photo-ops with him to be an "honor." Enter Muhammad Ali. Trying to associate himself with Ali must seem like a golden opportunity for Trump. Here is a black athlete with all (if not more) fame of Lebron, Curry, Kaepernick, etc.! Much more importantly, Ali cannot criticize Trump from beyond the grave.
But no one is so silly as to think Ali, of all people, would not be excoriating Trump. Trump's not so subtle attempts to imply otherwise is pitiful.
More than ever, it's become clear that a President of the United States holds too much power, and this power has become dangerous in the hands of a lazy, pathetically uninformed and emotionally unbalanced president. Trump has figured out that his very easy-to-use power to pardon is a wonderful way for him to be able to manipulate his image amongst his base and to look all-powerful, and it's becoming clear that there is no deeper logic to anything else he does, really. Please get out the vote in November.
1
Trump loves to be uneducated more than any other leader in history. A clear understanding of bigotry would not sit well with him, as it might make him see the grievous errors of his ways.
1
Charles, your clarity makes me embarrassed by this corner of my nations history of which i am a part.
Well written ........
Next thing you know is Trump pardoning Martin Luther King Jr. for his 1963 arrest and confinement to jail because he and others were protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama.
We just need a celebrity to make that suggestion to Trump. How about Roseanne Barr doing the honor?
Right as usual, Mr. Blow. Polite protests that don't make anyone uncomfortable will gain at most a pat on the head and a remark such as "Thank you for sharing your concerns."
Despicable, fraudulent behavior by a despicable fraudulent man. Sadly, we have reached the point where no conduct is too offensive. The cellar just becomes lower and lower.
"Trump's curing cancer is racist. It disproportionately helps white people while does very little for my black brothers and sisters" - Chuck's take on Trump curing cancer.
Yet, Donald Trump was elected President of The United States.
Trump and Kanye is like that photo of a laughing Sammy Davis Jr. grabbing Nixon. "What's wrong with this picture?" The cognitive dissonance is enormous.
Trump's wrong about Muhammed Ali not being that popular when he was young. Even when he was a young boxer speaking out against the Vietnam War, Ali was enormously popular and was regularly mobbed by people everywhere he went. His talent, beauty, courage and dignity were obvious from the beginning of his career.
Let's not forget when Trump spoke on a stage standing in front of a group of uniformed police officers. He turned to them and asked them to stop being careful of their arrestees having their heads banged when police put them into police cars. Trump told them to stop being careful and go ahead and bang their heads. What's more disgusting than the president asking police officers to make an effort to assault people?
Speaking as someone who was once falsely arrested (charges were dropped within hours), I recall the officer who put me in the car making sure he banged my head hard when he was 'guiding' me into the police car.
Donald Trump is the garbage president.
1
Mr. Blow is absolutely correct. Trump is an opportunist who lies at will - pretending to care about people he knows nothing about is par for the Trump course.
I do have a quibble with this column, though - how could Mr. Blow leave out the covfefe of fake civil rights opportunism: “Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who's done an amazing job & is being recognized more & more I notice” said Trump.
Yes, Frederick Douglass certainly IS, isn't he, Mr. Trump?
1
As a white 67 year-old male, I'd like to propose a thought experiment. Knowing what we do about the white culture, suppose the situation was reversed. Suppose that the racial injustice that blacks have endured for centuries (and do today) had instead been directed at whites.
Imagine being handcuffed and hauled away for going into a black-owned coffee shop and asking to use the restroom. Picture, as a white man, being pulled over once every few months because the officer didn't see you use a turn signal, or your tail light was out (again, even though you fixed it last time), and you had to be properly submissive to the officers who were so blatantly harassing you. Imagine, as you were growing up, being subtly (and not so subtly) told you were next to worthless. That you'd never amount to anything and would most likely be a drag on society.
Suppose all these things (and a lot more) and ask yourself (as a white man) if you would start protesting. Duh . . . you bet we would! And knowing our nature, the protests would definitely NOT be non-violent, and they would have occurred centuries ago.
As whites, I think we need to acknowledge the patience of African Americans, be thankful for the peaceful nature of their protests, and get to work in establishing some long-denied justice, rather than ginning up some lame claim of disrespecting the flag. Such claims are what overlords do in an apartheid society.
Trump is dissing black NFL Americans for future votes, his fanbase and control. NFL owners are dissing those same players for their white fanbase, control and money. Don't the 1st Amendment rights apply to these Americans? Hmm, makes one wonder.
I have to say this is one of Mr. Blow's better recent columns.
Thanks!
1
Trump is just trolling us all. Period.
Everything he does is to get attention. It "energizes" him, as a NY Times headline put it.
And he's only going to get worse. You can count on it.
If Charles’ notion of “equality” extends to people like Trayvon Martin - who was literally bashing George Zimmerman’s head into the pavement while on top of him, as Zimmerman was screaming for help before shooting the teen - can white people like me really be blamed for not wanting any part of this racial “equality?”
The facts of that case were so clear cut, that it was a no brainer not to prosecute. A neighbor’s 911 call had Zimmerman screaming for help in the background, he required stitches from the head-smashing, and Martin had been on the phone with his friend telling her he was about to “jump” Zimmerman right before he did.
I’m sure Charles and his readers who agree with him here know all of this, so the only conclusion I can come to is that they think that “equality” means people of other races should lay down and take it, and not defend ourselves, when victimized by black people, because “racism.” It’s absurd, and we’ll have no part of it!
So if you want us to view MLK and past civil rights advocates in the same way we view today’s, I think many of us are at the point where we’re happy to play along. Personally, I have no problem with ignoring the sacralization of St. Martin Luther King. I’m happy to remember his philandering, his Communist sympathies, his appeal for reparations and redistribution. So I’m happy to never give the King or Civil Rights Centers in Atlanta a single cent, and to teach my kids the truth about these people.
How’s that for a deal?
2
Trump is a narcissist, and his respect for people, regardless of color or nationality, is determined by their flattery of him. The only people he respects are sycophants, regardless of color or nationality.
1
I was born in Birmingham--"Bombingham" as it was later known--where Bull Connor was Commissioner of Public Safety for two decades, and I grew up in Anniston, AL, sixty miles away.
I was fourteen when the KKK torched and locked a Freedom Riders bus on the outskirts of Anniston, trying to burn alive the civil rights activists inside. When the second Freedom Riders bus arrived in Birmingham soon afterwards, the KKK was waiting and beat the occupants senseless--while Bull Connor purposely delayed the arrival of the police.
I was fifteen when a huge group of black children walked out of the 16th Street Baptist Church to march on Birmingham City Hall--after Connor had had their demonstrating parents and relatives attacked by dogs, firehosed and jailed. Connor had over 900 of the children thrown in jail, some as young as six. And the next day, when more students tried to renew the march, Connor ordered police to sic attack dogs on them and literally blow them away with fire hoses.
Connor did it all in the name of "law and order"--open code to any southerner in the 60s for keeping blacks in jail and in their place. That's why "law and order" was a major tenet of the GOP's southern strategy--and why it remains a central theme of Trump's rallies and a major plank in his platform.
Trump's patronizing call for black athletes to nominate blacks for pardons is nothing more than all-powerful Massa doling out random favors--while holding his attack dogs and fire hoses on the ready.
1
Exactly. This celebrity pardon showfest gives HIM the opportunity to say
" I pardoned MY blacks, I can't be racist, Fake News ". After all, he has Uncle Ben Carson in his Cabinet, an exemplar of helping those in your own Community. NOT. Ben is still working his way thru the furniture maze, to locate the restroom. We all know what, and who, Trump is. He's using a bullhorn. The dog whistle has been sold off down south.
I sympathize and agree that police brutality and pressure are disproportionately directed at black people. But don't talk about "white privilege" or assume that the only prejudice is whites against blacks. I'm white and intolerant of racism by anyone, against anyone. That said, I've been a victim numerous times of black racism against me. I've been chased down the street by a group of young black men, who chased me just for being white. (Fortunately, I escaped before getting my head bashed in.) I've been called "honky M.F." and told I have "white privilege" which essentially equates to guilt by reason of my color. I'm supposed to feel guilty because I'm white, due to some kind of trans-generational Original Sin. It's said that "The worst oppressors are the oppressed," but hatred of whites is not the answer.
2
Donald Trump is only in favor of law and order when he wants his base to think that he’s tough on “black crime.” But where is own criminality is concerned, he reminds us all that he can pardon himself.
Trump continues to stain the office of the president in his shameless appeal to his political base. He suggests that African-American atheletes do not belong in America when they exercise their constitutional rightof freedom of expression. That is free speech.He and his henchmen insult Justin Trudeau. Schoolyard taunts.Maybe Trump does not belong in America. His abuse of office is like his ancestral homeland. Germany in the nineteen thirties.
Mr. Blow, Trump doesn't care about the African American community. He doesn't care about civil rights. He doesn't care about any social issues that impact America.
Let's just say it like it is; Trump is an asset of Putin and Russian intelligence, whose mission is to remove the U.S. from its position in the world, and destroy our liberal order.
Say it, say it, say it!
Trump's war on anyone or anything that opposes him continues, with his attempted demolition of the Western Alliance (70 years old). Now, he is attempting to bully world leaders. The only ones he appears not to bully are those who bully too! His war on truth and facts may do more than destroy the Western Alliance, it may send us back to the Dark Ages, where the only ones who had access to truth, were those who could read and been educated to think for themselves. (Over 700 year old Western Civilization). Civility, honesty, integrity, laws, have no authority in Trump's administration. It is the recreation of absolute monarchs who decide what is true and sponsor propaganda campaigns to the populace to make it so. He is more than a 'Bull Connor', he is modern day Cardinal selling indulgences before the protestant reformation (500 years old), stealing from the poor to build his own cathedrals. No way does this wannabee dictator and his adminstration represent Christ and His church, anymore than they did then. Justice will be served. The day of reckoning is coming. Thank God we have good people who are doing something, so that this evil does not flourish. Praying for more 'Bravehearts'.
Mr. Blow is still bewildered as to how a bombastic, self-promotion reality show host could sweep through all the Republican candidates and the person who Mr. Blow and others had already anointed the next President of the United States. Today he is attacking Trump for his pardon of Jack Johnson, his proposed pardon for Mohammad Ali, and commuting the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson. Maybe Mr. Blow could take a time out and ask why this fell on Trump's desk. There has been a hundred years to pardon Jack Johnson and I hope there are at least one or two of those presidents during those 100 years that he admires but they did nothing. Alice Marie Johnson was in prison 21 years and nothing was done. Obama turned down the idea according to Robert Gibbs, the president’s press secretary who told reporters that the Justice Department had recommended against a pardon. Even so, there was an opportunity and it was rejected. I wonder if Alice Marie Johnson, who is alive free and can speak for herself, expressed any resentment towards Trump. She doesn’t need Mr. Blow or anyone else to define the meaning of clemency for her. She deserved it and it should have been done before Trump ever became president
1
He's been a racist his entire life. He's not going to change now that he's a 71 year old adolescent intent on 'showing' all of us that he's a 'real' man. He shows us that by bullying those who can't defend themselves. Anyone who supports him can rightly be smeared with the same racist brush simply because ignoring his overt racism makes you an accomplice.
With several years of data points, we now know Trump is perverse, demented, narcissistic . . . .
Let's start writing about concrete action, grass roots and above, to bring new leaders, young people, to politics.
Trump is dangerous and exhausting. Though I "enjoy" god writing, we need to shift into removal mode - off Trump and all the grifters he has brought into his new swamp.
1
Although it is undeniable that Trump is a hypocrite, I think in the instance of the "pardon" of Ali it is really a combination of willful ignorance, arrogance, and a desire to emphasize what he sees as his powerful trait of unpredictability. Also, he is not smart enough to see the irony of condemning a football player and pardoning a boxer for essentially the same protest.
We must never forget that this man did not seize power. He was elected by more than sixty million white voters who believe, as he does, that demands for equality by ethnic minorities are an attack on their privilege. Trump supporters continue in lockstep with him because they believe exactly as he does. His support hasn't lessened since the election -- in fact, it has solidified.
And his rabid supporters will do anything to keep him in power. Why? Because they believe this is the only way that they, as whites, will exercise sole control of this country. As long as he spews his hateful, disgusting language, he will remain in power.
Understand that Trump will remain in office as long as this 40% of our citizens want to continue to cling to their hateful, disgusting bigotry. He may suspend elections and claim that he alone rules this country, he may call for internment camps, and he may declare martial law and seal our borders. Would any of these actions cause his base to leave him? Absolutely not. In fact, this is what they want him to do. They would be thrilled if he rounded up minority citizens like my family, stripped us of our civil rights, and worse.
We need to take the gloves off when speaking of Trump voters. Trump isn't destroying this nation -- they are. But for them, we wouldn't have this bigoted, mentally unfit man in our nation's highest office. Those of us who detest the bigotry he and his supporters stand for need to start fighting back. It starts now.
2
The old, male, wealthy, white infrastructure of American power hates anyone who challenges their total domination of the US. Having an ignorant, draft dodging president casting respectful protests as anti-American is particularly distasteful. Perhaps US citizens of color will respect their country once it starts to respect them. I am white and at this point I barely respect the US. I have no idea why any American of color or of conscience would approve of the behavior of this country. You earn respect, you do not command it at the point of a gun. That is something that the US has failed to do in my opinion.
1
I could see T on a soapbox in middle of the day, white planters suit and a panama hat delivering the "Segregation forever" speech of George Wallace. And loving the cheers
"Trump is using these pardons of black people to play to their celebrity petitioners. But he is also using them as a marketing tactic rather than a statement of principle..."
The words "Trump" and "principle" can't be used in the same sentence. Likewise, the words character, honesty, courage, jugement and compassion. All concepts foreign to him. He wasn't happy going to the G7 meeting in La Malbaie because nobody there would be fawning over him. He did show his displeasure by arriving late twice and leaving early.
But he waited until he was safely aboard Air Force One before he unloaded on Justin Trudeau and the rest of European leaders. That's cowardice, witch is a close cousin to the hypocrisy he is displaying when dealing with race in general and such heroes as Ali, Dr Kingand Collin Kaepernick.
Disgusting little man with a giant mean streak.
Destroying part of a city, ruining the already struggling business there, accomplishes nothing positive. President Trump often referred to "law and order" in reference to those horrible events. And most of the time, outside agitators are the ones responsible for the destruction anyway. Pretending that those times of horrible destruction are somehow part of a larger picture of gaining civil equality is a lie. That is unless your goal isn't equality but punishment, a collective punishment. Oh, but usually the destruction is where most of the businesses are black-owned. That makes more sense than your essay, Mr. Blow.
Buckle up! The worst is yet to come.
1
Well said Mr. Blow. The first thing that came to my mind as I started your column was the romanticizing of Native Americans as icons but the revilement of them as actual humans. Oh, and how about putting women on a pedestal while simultaneously holding a foot to their necks. The analogy could go on, the common denominator is power and the need to feel superior.
take heart
"in November nearer comes the sun down the abandoned heaven"
D.H. Lawrence
1
What saved us in 1963 was that while we had Bull Connor in Alabama, we had President Johnson in the White House. Now, we have to depend on Alabama to save us.
1
Mr. Blow's comparison breaks down under the slightest examination. When did President Trump use police powers against Kaepernick and his fellow demonstrators? I must have missed the fire hoses and the attack dogs somewhere in the confusion. Mr. Blow has exaggerated to the point of fantasy, or does Mr. Blow somehow have knowledge that President Trump actually wants to use the fire hoses and attack dogs ? A sixth sense?
3
Why doesn't Trump pardon Frederick Douglas? I hear he's been doing good things lately. What's that? He was never convicted of a crime? He's black isn't he? He must be guilty of something.
1
Trump's pardoning a handful of dead civil rights activists is nothing more than building up a bit of counterprogramming that Fox, the conservative media, and complicit politicians, can trot out whenever Trump has yet another racist erruption.
Trump isn't trying to hide his racism--it was a foundational element of his campaign. But irritating the left by trotting out ridiculous and inane "arguments" keeps his base happy and distracted while Trump robs them blind.
1
Bull Connor never met with the head of State of North Korea
to negotiate world peace.
Trump is a bit more complicated than Bull Connor.
2
Trump is toying with this Presidential power. He's distorting it to try to aggrandize himself, while belittling and obfuscating the on-going human rights abuses of African Americans. If anyone doubted his sadism before now, this is the proof of it. I'm reminded of a scene from "Schindler's List" where Ralph Fiennes, playing a concentration camp Commandant, looks at a row of prisoners and, emperor-like, places two fingers on the head of one and pronounces: "I pardon you."
1
Once again, your points are well taken, and correct. We all know what kind of person we are dealing with, but my question is what are we going to do about it? McConnell and Co. are out to render us into a Conservatopia and don't care what he does, evidently. The daily atrocities, both publicly and legislatively are exactly that, while everyone in the Democratic Party stands around picking their noses and try to figure out how to get reelected..........we need answers, and quick from our party's leadership. NOW.
Today's tea party conservatives and Trump supporters would have cheered on lynchings and helped unwind the fire hoses. They would have been the ones calling MLK a communist. They would have poured condiments on the men and women protesting at lunch counters. Now they praise and revere the very people whom they once derided and abused. The truth stated in this article is plain for all to see: the president and his supporters are ignorant hypocrites.
1
How could anyone be against the pardon of Jack Johnson? I will never forgive Obama.
Tragically Charles is 100% correct about Trump's racist attitude, which can be traced back decades to he and his father not renting apartments to African Americans. But the tragedy belongs to decent White people who abhor violence against minorities. For now it seems we're stuck with a President with the ugliest soul in US history who hates like all racists hate, without reason other than color.
After decades of players beating their wives and girlfriends, drug abuse, convictions for violent crimes, and dog fighting, the NFL players find a social justice cause they can get behind.
1
A natural result of the civil rights movement was the desegregation of public schools, the elimination of Jim Crow law in the South, voting rights and registration and the election of America’s first black president. The proclamation the president signed lauding Dr. King’s courage for standing up to bigotry is absolutely worthless. The president wants to roll back the gains made by black Americans over the last 60 years and his hatred for Barack Obama is a matter of record. For someone who thought that Frederick Douglass was still alive, maybe the president will invite Booker T. Washington to the White House for supper.
In Birmingham, Bull Connor saw to it that fire hoses were turned on full blast at civil rights workers and encouraged the police to use their attack dogs to menace peaceful marchers in the streets. As president, this White House occupant gave his blessings to the mob of white nationalists in Charlottesville that caused a race riot of the kind not seen since the 1960s. His personal vendetta against black NFL players is also a nod to his base that he means to keep black folks in their places. As for pardoning deceased black boxers, the president probably doesn’t even know Jack Johnson from Muhammad Ali.
3
Trump displayed the same hypocrisy with his pardon of Jack Johnson, a Black athlete Trump would have hated when he was alive because of his willingness to flout the conventions of white society. Honestly, I doubt Trump even knew who Johnson was, or anything about him, except that Sylvester Stallone came to him and asked him to do it. That pardon had nothing to do with righting a historical wrong and everything to do with Trump's adulation of celebrity and his pathetic need to be flattered
President Despicable. Those that work for him are also despicable. This man insults everyone he comes in contact with. His actions are all to make him feel good. Gratification. The word evil applies to few people. It applies to President Trump. Those that work for him support evil. The pardon business is easy and gives him immediate gratification. He scores temporary points with the weak. Bull Connor was an amateur compared to this guy.
Also, he, Trump, wants to cement the idea that black people can only be simpletons and fools (Carson), violent criminals (Don King, Mike Tyson) or useless entertainers. Black men like Barack Obama-- decent, dignified, hardworking, smart, and competent--must be erased from the general imagination as possibilities within black life. I've never seen a more vile creature in my life than the person who now calls himself my president. I'm thoroughly disgusted. When I look at him it reminds me of just how much the white voters who made him possible hate me and all who share my skin.
1
There is no question Trump is a bigot, and he's emboldened likeminded bigots to emerge from their closets.
Muhammed Ali pardoned? Trump should pull out that ultimate pardon (of pardoning himself) for proposing such a thing.
Trayvon Martin was a violent, career criminal who launched a violent, brutal, unprovoked, physical assault on George Zimmerman. Justice was served when George Zimmerman defended himself against the career criminal Trayvon Martin.
2
Trump is recklessly using pardons to intimidate, and to feed his knuckle headed supporters. The amount of damage Donald Trump is causing is reaching a tipping point. If voters are apathetic in November, and do not vote en masse to change the balance of the House and Senate and put a check on Trump, then we can kiss our democracy, and country goodbye, and start getting used to blatant Russian interference. Look up fascism, because it's right around the corner. This is no longer comical, it's serious. People get off your backsides, turn off the liars on Fox News, and look at the reality of what's happening.
This is all a marketing ploy. "If I let a few, of your folk off the hook, you'll kiss the royal ring". This is the way rich white guys think. Make it look like you are actually doing something to shut them up and we can then get back to white majority rule. The way it was supposed to be. My imagination brings me to Dr. King being alive today. He attends a meeting with Trump who spends the time patronizing him. Dr.King leaves, returns to Washington with, say, a million followers and gives, his, now famous, "I Had A Nightmare" speech. Trump follows up with a tweet "I invited the guy to the White House. I gave him a nice lunch of fried chicken and watermelon. And this is the thanks I get". "What a Loser". And the base sits in front of their TV's yelling : " You tell 'em, Don". Do I have this right?
President of the United States Donald John Trump, Sr is no Birmingham Commissiner of Public Safety Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor. Trump was born and bred in New York City, while Connor was born and bred in Selma and Birmingham Alabama.
Connor took personal charge of the fire and police attacks on civil rights protesters in Birmingham. Trump has the sons of Alabama Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr. and Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III doing his black lIves don't matter governing political dirty work. With black cover from HUD Secretary Ben Carson, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and entertainer Kanye West.
Trump is a combination modern day white supremacist bigot like Jefferson Davis, Andrew Johnson and Woodrow Wilson. While Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King, Jr. opposed the Vietnam War on moral grounds, Trump was cowardly dishonorably and unpatriotically dodging the military draft by faking bone spurs.
2
For Trump, celebrity outranks race. How can he be a racist if he loves black celebrities?
We know he's a racist. Great column, but we've known he was a racist for decades now. His father was arrested at a KKK rally. A building he was in charge of was sued by the Justice Dept. for racist renting policies. Central Park 5. Birtherism. Blah, blah, blah.
What we need, Mr. Blow, is a viable plan to break the GOP's spindly little back and get Trump and his enablers OUT and locked into small cells for treason.
After losing an election for mayor of Birmingham in 1963, Bull Connor was elected to run the Alabama Public Service Commission barely a year later, remaining in that post until 1972, remaining on the job after a debilitating stroke. His legacy infused Wallace's 1972 campaign and still haunts Alabama today via the likes of Roy Moore, Mo Brooks, Martha Roby, and Jeff Sessions.
The past of Bull Connor is not prologue. It is not even the past.
Again, Charles, attaching Bull Connor to Trump and his administration does not do invoking Bull Connor's name justice. What you must do is scour the denizens of inequity, scourge the far-flung corners of the globe, attempting to find the most despicable lowlifes crawling the face of the Earth.
Then, upon finding them, you must drill down even deeper, digging even lower to find someone horrible among the human species to be worthy of appointment by Trump.
Keep working on it, Charles. You haven't yet begun to reach the Mariana Trench levels needed to find a parasitic barnacle qualified for a Cabinet Secretary in the Trump administration.
DD
Manhattan
3
Trump is a racist - pure and simple. He appeals to other racists and ti the racist tendencies in so many who think they're fair-minded. It's lonely to stand truly against bigotry, and DJT can't abide loneliness. It is sad that so many follow Trump's racist ways, and so many others look the other way.
See: RevolutionOfReason.com
TheRogueRevolutionist.com
1
I cannot shake the feeling that so much of what Trump blathers on about has to do with revenge. His alternate football league failed, the NFL wouldn't grant him ownership opportunities he dearly wanted, and then of course there's his racism.
He wants to torment any person or entity that ever told him "NO!" and he cannot help but use the"D" word for any and all skin shades darker than his. Deport Mexicans. Deport pizza delivery guys. Deport Central Americans despite two decades of legal protected status. Deport black players who dare to kneel for a song that POTUS does not always remember the words to. (Oh, wait, can we deport a citizen?)
Bull Connor's cruelty and racism were blatant. Dogs. Hoses. Nightsticks. Trump's cruelty and racism are subtler and self-serving. He loves standing at rallies calling people 'animals', whipping up his frenzied Trumpsters with racist rhetoric and lies. He eggs his followers on, pushing the NFL issue forward long after it had died down. He wants that controversy to fester on and on to weaken the league and hurt ratings.
I have no doubt history will be kinder to Kaepernick than to Trump. One of them is desperately trying to call attention to a problem via a non-violent respectful gesture. Kneeling is position of a supplicant. The other is trying to create discord from the Atlantic to the Pacific because a jittery, angry, squabbling citizenry is easy to hoodwink. When no one is paying attention he chips away at democracy.
1
Mr, Blow, the fact that you can say all this in print in a major newspaper makes this a different world from the one Trump lives in.
1
His racism is not a bug, but a feature. And it's been that way for 71 years. We can be outraged, but should never be surprised.
2
Excellent column, Mr. Blow. I would only add that the ruminations about pardoning Muhammad Ali are part of a pattern in which Trump is signalling loudly that he will pardon anyone he pleases, thank you, and don't you forget it. That includes Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, and other worthies. Meanwhile, like the three monkeys who see, hear and do no evil, the Republican leaders are busily looking the other way.
2
Trump pardons people because it makes him feel good, feel powerful. A benevolent daddy bestowing gifts. Sometimes the pardons makes sense, sometimes it does not.
1
Why don't the fans start kneeling?
And how can we non football people find ways to kneel, alongside these players and show our support of their rights and and the content of their grievance?
Do we Occupy Pennsylvania Avenue, and kneel there?
These players are getting attacked because, by the very design of this poetry, it's only them, out on the field, vulnerable and visible. Their supporters now need to be more visible.
Between the many horrors of a DT regime, now is feeling like it's a good time to hit the streets, be loud, and stay there till he's gone. If we make the derision/shame ratio high enough, he might quit!
1
Trump acts like he can earn absolution for his overall shoddy treatment of African-Americans with a few decent acts, such as pardoning Jack Johnson or commuting the disproportionately severe sentencing for Alice Johnson. But these isolated gestures do not atone for his overall racism; neither does the friendship with Kanye West which inspired the commutation.
This is no penance for encouraging David Duke and other white supremacists; for saying there were very fine people on both sides in Charlottesville; for placing white nationalists in his Cabinet; for treating President Obama as illegitimate; for rejecting immigrants from what he described as shole countries; and so on.
We can appreciate individual acts of justice, but Trump is still responsible for the big picture, which is full of hideous bigotry.
1
"In doing so, he hopes to win personal praise while leaving fully intact, or even strengthening, policies that negatively impact black communities"
Charles, that's what Democrats have been doing for decades.
He likes to do stuff that famous people ask him to do. His drug is fame - is it any wonder? (Apologies to Bowie)
1
Are you telling me he's not about to call the Philly Eagles -- along with players who DID take a knee -- and say, "I'm sorry. As I was pardoning the champ I go thinking about the role athletes can play in protesting state-sponsored violence, whether by the military then or the militarized police now." Are you telling me this isn't about to happen?
1
No one is interviewing Kaepernick to see what he thinks of the Trump offer. Could it be that Kaepernick would be a little too articulate in his analysis of celebrity culture and its place in corporate media? Granting a pardon is a kingly occupation, but does not bring back Trayvon Martin. It does not even begin to address the innocent lives taken by police. And meanwhile Trump and his justice department encourage abuse of suspects. Charles Blow's column last week on the Central Park rape case illustrates the racism at the center of the govt. A high profile pardon does nothing - a single pebble in the ocean of racism and racist practice. Another con, another sleight of hand, all the while knowing that the media chase after celebrity news, making it seem like a big deal ... yes, it is about corporate media too. When will we see that column?
In the late 80's and 90's I worked with a number of blue collar tradesmen employed in contract administration. This was just after Trump ran the full page Central Park ad. Occasionally I would have to visit their work site office or trailer. Many of them had the ad on their wall, pasted prominently within sight of most who entered the office. The girly centerfolds were usually off to the side behind desks.
You could tell back then he was their man, standing up to the so called rabble. A billionaire George Wallace who sat on his gold toilet in his gold lame penthouse out of a bad Roma furniture ad who was somehow their champion even though he had a history of shafting folks like them. They way he mistreated the undocumented Polish laborers who cleared the space from the dearly departed Bonwit Teller for Trump tower was always a guidepost of his awfulness that he now inflicts upon the world.
As a justifiable comparison a few years before the Central Park incident in 1985 there was the so called Preppy killer case. A lad from the Upper East Side named Robert Chambers strangled a woman named Jennifer Levin in Central park after drinking in nearby pub. This was a big tabloid story that also fed into narrative that the city was out of control yet there was no peep out of Trump.
2
unAmerican! Interesting how some use that word in condemnation when others are protesting apparent inequality, racial, economic, cultural or political. A simple act of kneeling at a football game to bring attention to the racism suffered by so many for so long in this nation. It may take a good deal of courage to crash head on to another body at full speed, but it appears that more courage is needed to kneel in protest for the benefit of others especially when the protest can lead to financial loss.
Maybe it's time for the fans to show support of protesting players by either sitting in their seats or just walking onto the mezzanine sections during the national anthem.
1
Thank you for mentioning the death of Tamir Rice. I think John Donne’s Words who also lived in strange and violent times from his sermon at St Paul’s Cathedral still can be used -“ when a clod......... therefore do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.”
ALL of US need to go beyond our bubbles, break the barriers and use our eyes and ears to LEARN about each other.
Until we can acknowledge all of us, our country and world will not survive.
Brilliant as usual.
Brings to mind Rand Paul's claim, even as he said local businesses should be able to refuse to serve gays, that he would have marched with MLK. Only with a time machine, young man.
1
I don't need to be convinced of who and what Trump is and what he is doing.
I have listened to him and hear him loudly.
The first law of a con is to know your mark.
By 'pardoning' a dead person or commuting a sentence of a person who has served 20 years in jail ain't doing it for me.
I'm very happy for Ms Johnson and hope that things work out for her.
But, Trump is a con artist.
Remember that part in his book, he goes by 'feelings'.
Yeah, he does.
Trump ain't our friend.
A friend to no one other than himself and his family really and I wouldn't be surprised if even they had to sign a confidentiality agreement also.
That's how a con gets over.
One of these days...
2
Cassius Clay or Muhummad Ali was so well-known in 1965 that 5th grade girls gave me the nick-name Cassius (my last name) when I defended myself against a female classmate bully. I was proud to be called Cassius and those classmates didn't bother me again.
The hypocrisy is comparing athletes who risk nothing by disrespecting the flag - and whatever protestations they may make, that is what they are doing - to someone who was willing to accept conviction and punishment for violating a law that he argued was unjust, on his own time, and hurting no one else. The rest is just hyperbolic nonsense.
1
It must be terribly hard when Mr. Trump does not know whether a black American is dead or alive. Trump's perspective is clear. Dead black Americans must be lauded; the living ones, demonized. The case of President Obama is clear. He is neither American nor dead. What, however, should be done vis-a-vis the mysterious Frederick Douglass, who has been "doing so many big beautiful things lately?"
2
Mr. Blow, what you don't understand is that Trump is a true visionary. How else can NFL protesters become true heroes unless they are opposing the regressive policies of the President? Trump, by opposing their actions, is helping them become heroes in the future. Now if he really wants to solidify their fame, he might consider the use of firehoses and attack dogs.
Thank you for making this situation so clear. It truly is the age of irony but more so, blatant hypocrisy. Your writing always opens a space for understanding for those of us who wan to try to respond to the complexities we face. I appreciate that!
1
Remember when Trump had no idea that the famous black abolitionist Frederick Douglass was, in fact, dead?
"Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who's done an amazing job and wo is getting recognized more and more, I notice," the president said.
Will he pardon Douglass next posthumously after did an "amazing job" 200 years ago? Trump's ignorance of the black experience and its history in America is appalling and shamefully used as a political prop.
3
Muhammad Ali and the NFL players of today share the same problem. They may have legitimate grievances but chose poor targets for their protests and go over the line with their rhetoric.
Let's not forget Alabama's own Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions who continues the centuries old Southern practice of separating people of color from their families and shipping them down the river, or if not down the river then incarcerating them thousands of miles away from each other. Trump views America as his plantation birthright to rule as a sovereign citizen and Sessions is his overseer.
1
Dear mr. Charles M Blow, we are not in the national political mix because we are almost always joked about because Bay Area fringe candidates and of course berkeley PC overreach. So? We have serious support out there in so-called trumpland but our California street creds will soon change things all around. Don't retreat, Resist!
Anyone still calculating that Trump, though they detest him for his racism, his bullying, his oh so convenient right wing certainties, or even his misogyny, may in fact be useful to them for counterintuitive reasons, needs to think again. To support this bent individual for any reason is to betray the promise of America - less than two years ago still universally thought of as the last best hope for mankind. How quickly this one execrable human being has laid to waste what took a hundred years, to build!
As Charles pointed out in a previous column, Trump and his supporters love to hate. "I want to hate," Trump wrote in a statement he paid to publish. Hate is addictive. It crowds out all other emotions and eliminates uncertainty. It is the Throne of Contempt.
One of MLK's most iconic statements was, "I have a dream that one day my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will be judged not by the color of their skin but of the content of their character." The core emphasis and philosophy of BLM and all the most prominent black activists could hardly differ
more in their goals and emphasis. Everything is about color now, and when was the last time any Times reader
heard anything about character development or significance from activists of any racial background? Including this columnist.
So Trump is a law-and-order president. Well, charity begins at home.
If the economy is good and there are no wars in 2020, Trump will get the highest percentage of the black vote by any Republican since Richard Nixon in 1960.
Why? Because more an more blacks are tired of being patronized and taken advantage of by the national Democratic Party, which refers to black voters as a "firewall." How insulting is that?
The problem for the Democrats is that if Trump just gets 15% of the black vote in swing states, the election is over. So Mr. Blow and others have to remind black voters that Trump is a "racist." Except he's not.
Don't save your thinking for African-Americans; what does anyone think about the pardon of Shalom Rubashkin?
I have spoken to one Hasidic Jew who defended that pardon on purely legalistic and merciful grounds, while refusing to consider any attempt at thinking of political grounds.
Everything Trump does is calculated to influence the vote of some political bloc. None are objectively justified, when compared to others who are in the same class of defendants, but of different race, religion, or what have you.
Trump's use of the pardon power is cynicism at its worst.
After 500 days and counting for the Trump regime, it would be easy to read Mr. Blow’s column as another brick in the wall of Trump derangement syndrome. It would be easy to avert ones eyes and wait for the trumpstorm to pass as it surely will.
But the problem Mr Blow describes in this column is only a small piece of the destruction and damage being done by the current regime. The president is picnicking on the precipice of disaster, and events are being put in motion that will be hard to stop: destruction of the western alliance; support for Putin; caving in to China; playing nuclear poker with Korea; Iran; the environment; women’s and minority rights; tax giveaways that are ballooning the deficit and increasing inequality; and more, much more.
Because of this I would say that Mr Blow should be reminding us, as should all the Times columnists, that the time to panic is now; and that it is fitting and proper for columns such as this to denormalize the president’s actions and thereby create a tsunami of outrage that will sweep the Republican enablers from power. That is your only hope.
It's no coincidence that he wants to pardon Blagoyevich. Trump sees pardons the way he saw selling a senate seat. It's just about what it can get him. Instead of dealing with real issues affecting black people, which affect ALL people, he wants to "pardon" because it shows contempt for black people, whom he thinks like shiny objects. He's back to asking April Ryan if she knows people in the CBC.
Asking the African-American athletes to recommend people for pardons is a snide example of Trump's contempt for their protest. It conveys the message that they personally know people who have been in trouble as if as if they the athletes do not have the intellect to recognize injustice from a moral and philosophical viewpoint. He is as always playing to his base which he has empowered to be racist, unjust, unpatriotic & un-American in the truest sense.
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President Trump is the most dangerous threat to America’s stability. He continues to destroy every platform of decorum that provides an honest trusting atmosphere for peace and progress. His inhuman policies towards immigrants, his fanning the flames of racial fear and mistrust are destroying the country by eradicating hope.
My most terrifying thoughts of this time are America doesn’t have any recourse built into our system that can identity and peacefully remove such an obvious threat when the rest of our government does not act. Finally Trump through his reign of terror against immigrants has implied violence will be use to crush any public outcry against his vicious leadership. He has been methodical at elevating his power and I don’t see a reasonable end in sight.
Trump asks NFL players to give him names of people the players think should be pardoned?????!!! Maybe Trump should have kept quiet when some of the players knelt during the playing of the national anthem.
Unfortunately, President Trump is correct in understanding that the purely symbolic gesture of wealthy athletes taking a knee for the National Anthem has very little in common with the actions of Mohammed Ali and demonstrations led by Dr. Martin Luther King, for two reasons.
The first is that there is no cost to the athletes themselves. They are not risking life, limb, jail time or even loss of income. This is a fact not lost on President Trump, who is a master of cost-free symbolic gestures.
The second reason is that there is no one in power who is interested in leveraging these gestures to advance legislation. Martin Luther King had powerful allies in the White House. Even horrible injustices such as the murder of activists Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman by the KKK might have been perpetrated without much notice and fanfare, were it not for the subsequent FBI investigation.
What action has taking a knee inspired? Activism that doesn't include political engagement works to Trump's advantage. If refusing to sing the anthem actually results in political disengagement, then it is worse than ineffective.
What these athletes need to do is get involved in politics. Get out the vote. Trump only understands repercussions to his wallet and at the ballot box. His enablers need to be voted out of office.
As a local supervisor in a township of 27,000 people in south eastern Pennsylvania, I always said voters got what they voted for. You wanted Trump... you got him... now you have to live with it.
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Notice in the photo that Donald Trump's signature is many times larger than the print in the document. We can't even see the print. No surprise!
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Trump and many of his supporters would deny that they are racist, but just because you grant 'honorary whiteness' to some people of color doesn't mean you aren't a racist. Until you automatically treat all people as human beings whether you've met them or not, only then can you be considered to not be a racist.
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It’s about the November elections - playing to voters. It’s an act. The !role of the “benevolent dictator”. It’s an act - nothing more. He’s a man it’s a deep seated hatred of everything - it surfaced this past weekend - white, black, rich, poor - his vindictiveness has no limits. I cannot look at him and mute the sound when he appears on TV.
Trump has to find another black person to pardon, or else people will correctly assume that his pardon of Johnson was a political reward to Kanye for proclaiming that slavery was a choice. Unfortunately Trump can't stomach the idea of pardoning a living black person if it doesn't further his white supremacist agenda, so he'll have to pardon a dead one.
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At what point does mind-numbing hypocrisy become evil?
Muhammad Ali and Jack Johnson don't need but always deserved a Trump pardon. Morally, ethically they are above pardons by the America which abused US law to punish them. Arpaio needed but does not deserve a pardon. He was duly punished for hateful crimes abusing US laws.
A drug offender facing a life sentence but supported by a Kardashian needs and deserves a pardon. So do millions of others convicted or facing severe non-violent drug offenses. Ironically Trump's Attorney General has revised sentencing outlines making penalties for such offenses more severe. This guarantees that blacks will suffer disproportionately and prison populations will swell preserving the US's shameful #1 ranking in incarceration.
Bull Connor at least believed in what he was doing. He was horribly wrong, ethically and morally corrupt--a bigot--but so was much of the South in those days. Trump has no strongly held belief in anything remotely related to his pardons--except maybe for Arpaio. This is a show for his hard core constituency. A purposeful distraction from his own looming legal problems.
Truth requires calling out, forcing from office, impeaching and imprisoning Trump and his facilitators for breaking the law and endangering all of us. Hopefully a grand reckoning is coming. Let Trump pardons stand as a red flag helping us to distinguish between mind numbing hypocrisy and evil.
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White racist Evangelicals have been invoking Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for decades in an effort to draw African Americans to their side in political fights. Other Republican politicians have similarly claimed Dr. King as their own even when it is obvious to anyone with even a casual understanding of Dr. King's philosophy he would have opposed that politician. They similarly co-opt the Kennedys, F.D.R., and so on. But true to form, no one has praised heroes who would have despised him as blatantly and contemptuously as Trump. We desperately need more of those heroes today.
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Mohammed Ali was "not very popular then?" Having lived through it all, I can say he was an icon for our generation from day one. He was, as he said, "beautiful." He "floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee." He was, quite simply, our love. We hated to see him get hit, which he rarely was. For Trump to mention his name, dishonestly assess his popularity, or god forbid, pardon him, would soil this beautiful athlete and social commentator. Ali was an authentic American. Trump is an authentic fool.
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All of Trump's intentions on these pardons etc., that Blow sees are no doubt at least partly if not completely true. But the ever insightful Rochelle Riley of the Detroit Free Press, using the Occam's razor test, sees a guy who really doesn't give a "hoot" about any of that, but only about what glorifies him and leads to a win. She sees a campaign to siphon off black animosity and attract black votes or at least non-engagement. She's probably right, not that Blow is wrong. It's all about Donald.
@ stuart
If, after all that Trump has done to flaunt the contempt he has for blacks (from housing discrimination to his "sons of bitches" remark), I would be most disheartened to see my fellow black Americans become inured to this administration's vile remarks and harmful policies or far worse, allow chaos fatigue to keep them away from the voting booth come November.
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The NFL protest fiasco is a comedy of errors. I believe that protests against racial injustice would be viewed as perfectly acceptable if done right. There is always a military-type presentation of the flag at games. And sometimes the deceased are honored. Honoring black parents who lost children because of racist violence should offend no one. And it sends the message that Colin Kaepernick wanted sent. I don't see any fundamental disagreement here, just a lack of communication.
As for police racism, I do have a problem with that. Proportional to their numbers in the general population, those who are shot unarmed most frequently are the mentally ill. As for blacks and whites, shootings of blacks are proportionally much higher than they should be, but factor in the fact that many more blacks have violent criminal records, and the great likelihood is that the police encounter many more blacks than whites who appear dangerous from their criminal records and so are more likely to be shot with less provocation.
Finally, Trump has had an affinity with iconoclastic black athletes. In particular, he is a Dennis Rodman fan. The pardon of Jack Johnson fits into that mold.
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@ michjas: "...factor in the fact that many more blacks have violent criminal records,..."
I would grant you the "fact" of many more blacks being incarcerated disproportionate to their numbers in the population, but do enlighten us with your source for the "more blacks have violent criminal records" argument. My read of history leads me to conclude that blacks show no more propensity to violence than whites, but I'd welcome a citation for the source on which you base your (outrageous) claim.
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Trump is literally a full fledged racist who wants his cake and to eat it to. He is one of those people who believes that one right can erase a lifetime of wrong. He has no perception of a couple centuries of negative factors which to this day continue to keep anyone who is not white in their proper place. That would be a position of subservience that guarantees only a very limited number of the intentionally oppressed will be allowed acceptance into the superior white community. He without a doubt represents the absolute worst we have to offer in terms of understanding why hateful racism is not a positive.
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My Father,a decent enough hard working man who lived quite a long time into old age,didn't realize he was a racist. A blue-collar factory worker,an immigrant with a sixth grade education,would proclaim to me that he wouldn't mind living next door to a black person,you know,'a doctor or a lawyer.' He never could see the incongruity inherent in this statement,with it's implicit equating of his uneducated self with an educated black man. He's dead (my Father) but I'm afraid his spirit lives on in our culture.
I think Charles only partly gets it - Trump loves the celebrity as well as the ability to right a wrong that for some unknown reason Presidents before him, including Obama, failed to take action on. It is part of his appeal to evangelicals and conservatives - like moving the embassy to Jerusalem, he acts. Does it appeal to African-Americans? My guess is perhaps an additional 5% of male black voters are drawn to a man of action and blunt words - that may not seem like much, but it is am inroad. Oh, and comparing him to Bull Connor is ridiculous.
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@Chris: You must be kidding. Obama did not fail to take action. Trump hands out individual pardons at the behest of a Kardashian, sure. But please remember that this is the same administration that shut down Obama's clemency program designed to review and recommend THOUSANDS of cases of unjust sentencing of non-violent drug offenders for presidential pardons or other action.
Armies of attorneys worked away from cameras and reality TV to review case after case; sorting through transcripts and criminal histories to find these candidates. People in the private sector took time away from million-dollar transactions to volunteer to decipher the absurd "tough on crime" rubrics that resulted similarly absurd sentences. Meanwhile, whole non-profit organizations were formed to coordinate the nation-wide effort. Trump shuts it all down. Him and his DOJ just don't want to hear about it. Instead, he wants to hold court with celebs to hear their individual suggestions in return for photo-ops?
Trump may be a "man of action and blunt words," but few black voters are foolish enough to be "drawn" to him. Carson and Kanye can bend the knee if they wish, but they are not at all representative (Carson, in particular, may not be aware of his surroundings). Waving black unemployment or one-off pardons in my face is not going to mitigate his bigoted policies and rhetoric, not just against me and mine, but against Mexicans, the LGBTQ, women, Muslims and countless others.
As a peace offering I think the Eagles should honor Trump and allow him to be quarterback for series of downs.
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A quick Google search will show that Ali and Trump had a 'friendly' relationship. I would guess that this demonstrates Ali's magnanimity and Trump's appreciation of Ali recognizing him a couple of times for his 'charity' work. I imagine that in Trump's eyes this is proof that he is neither a racist nor unit-Muslim: 'See! I have a black friend AND he is a Muslim'.
But this unnecessary and empty pardon stunt just shows that Trump is expert at diversion and dissembling. He wants people to think that he his beneficent by offering pardons to people who have been treated unfairly, while in reality he is creating and exacerbating the conditions in which unfair treatment of those not like him or part of his base flourish.
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Interesting idea on the part of President Bone Spurs to pardon Muhammad Ali for draft evasion during the Vietnam War. Ali took a principled stand and refused to participate in an unjust and immoral war and to make war on people of color who were not his enemy. He dramatically proclaimed that the enemies of black people were right here in the United States.
Mr. Trump chose to avoid military service too but he chose to lie and get some doctor to say he had bone spurs. 5 deferments. Ali's choice took courage, Trump's choice took cowardice.
Trump is both dishonest and weak, words he uses to describe people who are his moral superior.
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Mr. Blow. Another excellent article; accurate and insightful. But, whatever Trump is doing, where politics is concerned, he is doing a lot "right". Because, he has silenced the entire Republican party and stomped out enough election results to render the Democrat party useless. Now, every person in the country is running either "for" or "against" Trump. Trump's popularity within the Republican Party is at historical highs. So, as you wail about Trump every week, remember, the country that has picked him, supported him, and wants him back? The United States of America. Yes, that's your country too. Trump is not a problem Mr. Blow. Right? He never whipped a slave to death legally. Right? But, the USA? Well. hmmmm......good question.
Mr. Trump is the facile magician who distracts us with his palaver, his attractive assistants, his legerdemain all while he picks our pockets.
Never listen to a magician's siren song. Watch what he does.
By November, after his tariffs have raised the costs of goods you buy above and beyond the pittance received in a temporary tax cut, after our previous allies have left the field, after unchecked pollution continues to rain down upon us, after your insurer decides you DO have a disqualifying and preexisting condition cancelling your coverage, after more blacks are killed and imprisoned at the behest of his AG, remember what he did. Remember what his party of chaos continues to do.
Remember, then vote.
I would call that an insult whose corruption know no bounds , never learned to show respect of someone far superior than his tiny self.
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Ali said, "War is against the teachings of the Qur'an. I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don't take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers."
The Justice Department argued that. “It seems clear that the teachings of the Nation of Islam preclude fighting for the United States not because of objections to participation in war in any form but rather because of political and racial objections to policies of the United States as interpreted by [Nation of Islam leader] Elijah Muhammad. . . . It is therefore our conclusion that registrant's claimed objections to participation in war insofar as they are based upon the teachings of the Nation of Islam, rest on grounds which primarily are political and racial."
The Supreme Court initially deadlocked 4-4, a tie which would have upheld lower court decisions and would have sent Ali to prison. However, Justice Potter Stewart proposed a compromise that allowed the court to overturn Ali’s conviction based on a technical error made by the Justice Department.
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Thanks for an insightful column, Charles.
I can't help but wonder how many staff people knew Ali's conviction had already been reversed when trump's brain bubbled out this idea.
Quite a few staff must have been involved in creating the document and getting it to the desk.
How many of the clapping people around that desk knew Ali was cleared by the Supreme Court decades ago?
Was silence kept in favor of one more opportunity for trump to look like an idiot?
Oh, I do hope so!
We value all of your columns, everyone else I know agrees with you and me. Giving us the numbers adds veracity to what we say.
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DJT pardoning the GOAT?
Ali bravely sacrificed everything for what he believed in and put his freedom and career on the line for his beliefs. DJT believes in nothing, knows nothing, cares for nothing. Trump evaded the draft. Not out of principle but out of cowardice. Bone spurs, my foot.
Trump isn't fit to utter Ali's name, must less pardon him.
Claude Duncan, who was Bull Connor's secretary in the dark days of the early 1960s, was a friend who explained to me the following: he knew how wrong the violent reaction to incipient civil rights movements in Alabama was. So did Wallace. Duncan later became Alabama's secretary of state and lived through Wallace's transformation from racist ogre to born-again who had no tolerance for the previous Klan ideology his state embraced mistakenly. Certainly Bull Connor did not go through such a tergiversation, but one must posthumously give credit where it's due.
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As usual Trump insults.
Ali didn't need a pardon because he did nothing wrong, morally or legally.
Trump's infantile need to insult knows no limits.
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You write about race, Mr Blow, and I always read your columns for their insight, and it is perfectly understandable that you view Donnie through the lens of race. Racism is not really what he is about at his putrid core, however. It is just a stance to be taken for his racist base. As is his jingoistic nationalism. As are his ignorant pronouncements on economics. He does not actually believe in anything except Donnie. The world and everything in it only exists for his personal use. We are not really here. The reason for the constant racist comments is that they work. Always have and, to my disgust, apparently always will. Just the most useful tool from his dispicable tool box. To describe him as cynical would be giving him far more credit than he deserves. He is a sociopath, and expecting him to change or grow is a fools errand. He really is incapable of it. I wish you luck in changing the minds of his supporters and enablers who are the real villains in this American tragedy, but, as much as I admire your courage in continuing, I doubt your chances. Resist and carry on, sir. We need you.
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Theophilus Eugene Connor, also known as Bull Connor, was the elected public safety commissioner of Birmingham, AL. He was a member of the Democratic Party; also having served in the Alabama House of Representatives as a member.
And, this arm of the Democratic Party was co-opted by Lee Atwater’s “Southern Strategy” whose members became today’s GOP. The least you could do, John, is to finish telling the tale.
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Nice attempt in trying to pin this one on Democrats -- but maybe you should first look up the definition of 'Dixiecrat'... or better yet, Google it.
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Being absurd serves the President well. Intellectuals don’t suffer him well, do they?
Empty actions by an empty suit. Amoebas have more value.
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The idea of Trump standing up for human rights is a slap in the face to our tradition of fighting injustice. He attacks the DOJ not for doing more to protect our civil rights, but because they won't be his puppet. He goes to a G7 conference on human rights, yawns and shows his noninterest then attacks those in the group for not kissing his feet. He tries to interfere with the rights of players to protest bigotry and mocks every person who stands up to his bullying and protest. This country was founded on the freedom to protest the ignorance and attempt to muzzle our free speech and this little tyrant wants respect? It needs to be earned. So many say this better than I including Justin Trudeau. We must stand together or this country is lost. Perhaps it is already.
Trump has established his bona fides with his fellow racists by peddling the vicious lie that President Obama was not born in the US. They knew from day one it was not true but they took it up because it was an easy way to declare their membership in the club. In the same way, they know that "pardoning" Muhammad Ali carries 0 cost, and Trump is still 100% reliable in his racism.
Loathsome and rotten to the core, and undeserving of being regarded as a human being.
Let's not forget that Donald Trump and his father had to pay a Justice Dept. imposed fine for refusing to rent to African-Americans in the 1970s. Trump has a long history as a bigot.
Trashing Kaepernick is the least of it.
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Charles, Why not do your readers a service and write about something that can be helpful?
Extreme bias is not healthy for humans.
Never was.
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Hunch that what is most galling to author and, moreover to head of the NAACP who appeared, no se ofenda,to be hyperventilating on CNN--irate would be an understatement--is to see the c-in-c "one up"liberals on the subject of the kneelers.What 's wrong with telling the [protesters to come to him with specific information on those whom they regard as victims of injustice and he will do his utmost to see they are treated fairly and pardoned if crimes were committed w/o violence, w/o hate? This would be a prelude to a change in policy. Author also ignores growing support in Hispanic and African American community for Trump, based on his jobs record and opposition to illegal immigration. Folks want work, not sermons from those who live in gated communities and send their offspring to private schools and universities where tuition is well beyond the means of average working folk.
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That we could have as particularly notable in hospitals and the medical profession allegiance to maintaining absence of bias, conscious or unconscious, and eliminating condescension and prejudice.That Starbucks, in a training program, took this step in meeting and greeting customers is to be strongly congratulated. Now, how about other businesses doing and promoting the same to greatly improve our culture ?
Start with the White House and see how far you get.
He's trying to get votes is what he's doing, and it will work. It is about giving people conversational alternatives. Trump is terrible; no he isn't, I saw him in a picture with a black pastor smiling. It's as simply cynical as that.
The Right envy the black vote because there is more black people than there are evangelicals. This is their attempt to break the Democratic back. But they use the same level of intellect as with anything else.
Democrats need to characterize Mexican immigrants as Christians. They are Christians.
The evangelicals will immediately lash out with their powerful nascent American anti-Catholicism, and the GOP will never be elected to a position of power in this country again.
As it stands, the evangelicals are thirsty for power and drinking deep under Trump. Remember de Tocqueville.
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Evangelical Christians are a tiny minority in the US, and even if all of them had voted for Trump, it wouldn't have given him enough districts to win the election. So your premise is full of outdated stereotypes and flawed.
And our national nightmare,
it keeps on rolling along....
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"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong. " Mahatma Gandhi
Trump may be the President of the United States and have the might of our military behind him but, as he has demonstrated amply during his short time in office, he never forgives. He prefers to rip into people, to eviscerate any one who challenges him, to destroy whatever is in his way.
Maybe the real Bull Connor is every American who voted for him after he showed them his true colors on the campaign trail. He is doing what he said he'd do: America is first with him and he is going to make America great again. What those who voted for him didn't hear or understand is that this selfish man, a failed businessman, is going to do all this for the rich, not the average American who doesn't have a pile of cash stashed away somewhere. Our selfishness will be the undoing of our country. But we voted for this. Even though Clinton won more votes, Trump won the Electoral College votes. America lost.
4
Celebrity / media event pardons are not going to resolve the problems of injustice, the problems of mandated sentences, using jails as mental health wards, and on and on. When is Trump going to address and sign his big. bold name to executive orders and legislation to resolve these issues?
Thank you once again, Mr. Blow. You have once again refined our view of current events by applying the perspective of history and the clarity of logic and reason. I regret that many, perhaps most, who enable and praise Trump are resistant to knowledge of the lessons of the past and an objective view of the present. We must all continue to speak out when we see this injustice.
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Bravo!
There is a vast difference between a salesman and a statesman. The first works for himself and the second works for others.
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'What do you mean I'm a bigot? Didn't I pardon Jack Johnson and Ali?'
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What do you mean Obama loves black people? Didn't he pardon Jack Johnson, Muhammed Ali, Marcus Garvey, and Alice Marie Johnson?
Trump divides and weakens America. His currency is rage and hate. He started his presidential campaign by denouncing Mexicans as "rapists and criminals". If he were following a script prepared in Moscow to create fear and resentment, he couldn't do it better. The script may indeed be from Moscow. Just like Trump's other script in which he imposes punitive sanctions on America's allies, accusing them of not stopping what they are not doing ("ripping off America"), insults the prime minister of America's friendly northern neighbor, Canada as weak and dishonest and gets his trade adviser to say the PM has a special place in hell waiting for him. Trump should know, that seems like his kind of place.
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Plus on top of that, Trump showed his hand in that he suggested, no, said that Putin should be a part of the group.
And why did we get into this Russian thing in the first place?
Obama divided America like no other. Trump called some illegal immigrants rapists and criminal, which is true.
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African American unemployment at a record low. Black on black crime in the inner cities soaring. Why? And we should give a damn about football? It’s a racist sport anyway because it brutalized young African Americans and leaves them crippled and without any other means to support themselves.
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This might clarify things: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/the-white-and-black-murder-...
What?!!!
Who do you think played the game of football before it was integrated?
Was it call brutal then?
Speaking of black on black crime, have you seen who is doing the shooting in these schools lately.
And this is just the beginning.
America's chickens are coming home to roost.
We hold that all people are created equal with the unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. This is the idea that informs the American experiment that people from across the globe with different cultures, different creeds, different languages, and different skin color can live together in mutual respect and cooperation. The fight for this ideal is as old as humanity and if it fails in the US, humanity fails.
9
He’s pandering to African Americans so that they will vote for Republicans in the midterms. But most of us can see right through his actions. We have not forgotten the language he has used, calling the protesting NFL players SOBs. Now that the league requires the players to stand during the National Anthem if they are on the field, I hope they stand proudly with their fists in the air just as Tommie Smith and John Carlos did at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
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I admit I have always had a conservative predisposition to respect and value institutions, traditions, and orderly society. So I wonder how welcoming I would have been of MLK’s disruptive protests, even though I profoundly agree with much of his cause. I was an infant when the 1963 survey was conducted, so it’s impossible to say. I will say that I grew up in the North in a home that was generally sympathetic to the cause of African Americans facing Jim Crow and other forms of discrimination. I remember as a small child in the late 1960s asking my mother about the race riots I saw on television, and the best way she could explain to me the difficulties that Blacks were facing was to tell me that Blacks were often even poorer than we were (we were quite poor) and that they were treated badly by many whites who were better off.
In the end, the greatness of King was that the moral authority of his nonviolence and his eloquence overcame conservative resistance to his protests. King won the battle for the hearts and minds of America, and he did so in a country that was much whiter and more conservative than it is now. Perhaps, my lack of respect of today’s “civil rights leaders” is because I am too conservative, but maybe it has more to do with today’s “leaders” and today’s cause. Your citing Trayvon Martin is a case in point. You fail to mention that he was shot by another young man of color, because he was slamming that young man’s head against a concrete surface.
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Wait for it ... wait for it ... and there it is.
I am not sure you know the facts of the case. While some aspects of that incident are unclear the truth of the matter is that Zimmerman in direct contradiction of the instructions of the 911 operator engaged Mr. Martin. Mr. Martin is dead and Mr Zimmerman shot and killed him. Those facts are incontrovertible. Mr Zimmerman claims Mr Martin attacked him and Mr Zimmerman shot in self defense. That is Mr Zimmerman's claim not fact.
I never realized until I read your column today the strange coincidence of King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail bearing the initials LBJ. It was, of course, LBJ who worked with Dr. King on the passage of the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965.
Trump is trying to undo both of these with his hostility to discrimination enforcement and his fantasies about fraudulent black and brown voters. LBJ was president during Trump's college years. Maybe all these things are not so coincidental.
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Trump's pardons are exercises in the influence of celebrity: the grandmother's pardon -- championed by celebrity Kim Kardashian (whose husband Kanye West has recently sported his red MAGA cap) or Jack Johnson -- Sylvester Stallone promoting his cause -- does anyone really think that Trump cared about the merits of these cases as much as the opportunity to have the photo op?
23
Imagine if the news media of the 60s had not shown the demonstrations, the sit-ins, marches, but had instead spent those days sitting in the local, state offices of governors, mayors, police chiefs, waiting respectfully for their latest take on the events. Had repeated them in headlines, comments, nightly news shows. Imagine if Bull’s every comment, was critiqued, debated while the demonstrators were briefly shown, mentioned.
Imagine a week now- without any mention of tweets, of briefing statements, but instead daily views of the shorelines now open for oil drilling, Bears Ears areas now unprotected. Hours of discussions of those toxic chemicals that will now only be evaluated for harm to the skin rather than to our waters, lands, air. Maybe an entire day looking at the differences in outcomes between public and privatized schools. Constant interviews with those students of failed universities. Let’s hear from all the attorneys for all those lawsuits challenging department rule changes, highlighting over and over the industry reps now in charge of regulating those industries.
Thanks NYTimes for all the articles on these and other issues. But one article, without a comment section, at the bottom of the daily listings- not enough. When the media takes a knee, boycotts the bully, looks at the real victims, the real protesters....get back to me on honoring free speech in real time.
19
excellent comment
nothing matters to trump but the reality show ratings..... and it seems he is getting more popular with republicans lately.
8
I agree with Mr. Blow's assessment: It's good PR to pardon drug traffickers and money-launderers who are black, especially when your supporters blame America's ills on black people and you do not chastise them for doing so.
But then, the other thing to remember is this: that no doubt Mr. Trump's associates are money-launderers. You'll notice that the people our president pardons are guilty of the offenses of which his best friends are guilty.
Down the line, Trump will be able to say, "Well, it was okay when I was pardoning a black drug queen, but you won't let me pardon [fill in the blank]." And, "I pardoned my far-right, racist friend for illegal campaign contributions, and I can pardon my [fill in the blank] for same."
We are in trouble.
5
Trump's hypocrisy on this plays to and is a reflection of the audience that he is playing to. So called "Evangelical Christians" who state that they want to walk in the footsteps of Jesus while at the same time completely ignoring the message which he delivered with respect to caring for others and helping those who struggle to help themselves. It is but a token gesture, meant to create a feel good moment while obfuscating the underlying racism.
12
Thank you for this column. I applaud all who comment. It encourages me and certainly others. Keeping us apart is the prime Trump strategy. The man has no excuse for being so mean, reckless and dangerous. Does he not think he could be hurt in a nuclear war? I grew up across the river from Ontario and always loved Canada. I feel sick at Trump's behavior at G7. Putin must be happy. The Irony is that the most injured group in our country is leading the rest of us in protesting. If only voters recognize if one group here is victimized, we all are.
10
When I read that Trump might pardon Muhammad Ali, my first thought was, "wait 'til he hears Ali was a Muslim!"
If Trump follows through asking NFL players to name other people who deserve a wave of the Trumpian pardoning wand, I hope I hope they ignore him. No co-operation, no statement on why.
It's clear he's trying to use his self-appointed adversaries to burnish his image, and it would be best if the players deny him the chance to do that -- while also denying him the chance to manufacture a conflict over their non-participation. A non-response would deny Trump his cheap a victory, as well as the attention without which he ceases to be his vile self.
6
So many of us do not understand Trump. Take every feeling that you have related to fairness and justice and get rid of it. Then, you will understand him. He has no moral barometer. He views communication only as a means to get what he wants, in many ways like a six year-old. Six year-olds are dominated by an ego centrism that makes the outside world irrelevant.
Watch the under-appreciated film The Invention of Lying. It is a very funny look at deception and how we have evolved to find lying the norm.
We will never confront this, because it is the driving force in our economy with advertising.
15
It should be noted that former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney got out of being drafted, and likely going to Vietnam to face the prospect of death, by his church claiming he was a minister, the same claim made by Ali. During the presidential campaign of 2008, no one questioned Romney on whether this was a proper way for him to avoid military service. As the war dragged on, the Mormon church stopped making the claim that all of its male adherents were either ministers or students to become ministers.
In sharp contrast to Romney, Ali was charged with a crime and later acquitted, making Trump's consideration of a "pardon" an ignorant public statement; there is nothing for which Ali could be pardoned, other than being loud and proud.
In an earlier statement months ago, Trump claimed that CNN should be considered to "have its license pulled". CNN has no license, nor does it need one since it is not the owner of a broadcast station.
Why are Trump supporters not embarrassed by his lack of basic knowledge?
28
Their brains have been so addled by Fox, Rush, etc., that they no longer possess actual knowledge about politics or world affairs. They think Trump is doing splendidly.
1
Perhaps many Trump supporters lack the knowledge, or the desire to learn, that many of his statements are not based on factual information.
Trump and his captured media behave the way dictators around the world, and historically, have acted: nothing is true except what I tell you is true. Trust no source of information except the approved ones. This stain will exist for long after Trump has gone back to his 5th Avenue Tower, which, by the way, like most "Trump buildings" he doesn't actually own, having sold either the whole building or individual condo type apartments.
Trump didn't invent American racism, he just revealed that despite the gains made during and after the civil rights movement thanks to people like MLK and Ali we still have a lot of work to do. Sunlight is the best medicine and peaceful protests like the one Kaepernick started are difficult to ignore and dismiss. They force us to acknowledge painful truths and require us to take meaningful action.
Slavery begat lynchings which begat Jim Crow which morphed into mass incarceration. At some point we're going to need to have a reckoning if we ever want to move forward. Thankfully every generation has delivered a voice who is brave enough to call us on our own hypocrisy. Human rights start here before we can lecture the rest of the world about their own issues.
10
Maybe it’s important to continue to report on his racism, but it’s starting to seem like overkill because what else can we expect. This is who he is and none of it is surprising.
What’s is surprising however is how many people seemed to be outraged at his tendency to tick off everyone, including our closest allies, with his latest actions.
He doesn’t speak for our country, or at least half of us, and I can’t imagine that most of our allies believe that all Americans and all of our politicians think like him.
We have an opportunity to tamp down on his racist rhetoric, bad statesmenship and extremism later this year, with the midterms, and it won’t be long until we can vote him out.
If we don’t organize to make sure we make some drastic changes in our government, shame on us and we deserve everything we get.
5
The American people, once so spooked by Communism, fail to understand that Trump is playing from precisely the same playbook used by Mao and Pol Pot - a total destruction of the status quo.
Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. demanded change, not chaos - because chaos would inevitably engulf those demanding change and prove counterproductive.
More power to American athletes who kneel in protest.
AG
Calgary, Canada
21
I understand Canada was smart enough to bar Fox News from receiving a broadcast license in your country, because you actually have laws that require news reporting on the air to be truthful.
There is literally NO PLACE in American where you don't see a TV in public places that's not airing Fox, and when you drive from one end of America to the other like I did a year ago, I discovered that Rush and cronies are blasting from AM and FM stations in every single nook and cranny of this nation, sometimes over two of them across the dial.
This is the source of America's current problem. That, and the brain mush in our citizens that TV has left in its wake.
I don't think that the president could even begin to understand your editorial, Mr. Blow. And I'm not talking about its meaning. I'm talking about its language. It would just be too difficult for him, and for most of his supporters. Good for us, though!
5
see muslit -- whatever that means -- it's that kind of arrogance that will ensure trump wins another 4 years.
Who knows what makes Trump tick? He could readily be more popular, more successful, more important in his own lifetime and in history, by advancing views he has espoused earlier in his life and since turned his back on.
Why does he want the rabble roused? Why does he want to destroy the planet? Why does he laud dictators? Why does he foment the Middle East? Who knows?
But one thing is clear - the GOP Congress will not intervene. Neither will the bonkers billionaires among the 1/4% out to install a narrow-minded “Christian” Theocracy.
The voters can try at the poles to fix matters, if enough of them can make it. We’ll soon will see whether they do.
5
To the many evenhanded people I talk to, he is doing just fine. You confuse substance wi style and performance vs presentation. We Liberal Democrats better get our act together & stop this "Impeach 45, Impeach..." way of thimking to match Trump's IMMENSE productivity if we wish to win in 2018 & 2020 since under Obama WE LOST 1,000 (1,000!) seats of election in the USA in 2010, 2012, & 2014! Preening around for our own self enjoyment such as this article and most of these responses is guaranteed failure."
1
Ali is now a hero to thinking people. There's a good chance that Colin Kaepernick will be a future hero, even to those who vilify him now.
5
People keep writing about Donald Trump and his reflexive rejection of “American values” without appreciating the full context of what those “values” really encompass. The truth is that Trump’s signature traits of insular anti intellectualism, racially loaded white Nativism, indifferent cruelty towards marginalized groups, and chronic lying to secure wealth and power, have been a not-so-hidden part of American history since its inception. Mark Twain did not have to reach very far when he created the characters of the “Duke” and the “King” who swindled people in “Huckleberry Finn.” Heck, even the ratification of the Constitution, did not implement the soaring rhetoric of “All Men Are Created Equal.” Among people excluded from full participation in the early republic were women, Indians, Blacks, poor people, and in some states, a wide variety of religious minorities. We have all heard Trump and his followers express a desire to return to a more exclusionary society, and the irony is that while Trump grew up as a cosseted child of privilege, totally ignorant of history, he has an instinctive feel for exploiting the darker threads that wind through America’s soul.
5
Very well written, but the seeming logical application to Trump, not so much.
Even when President Trump does the right thing the left complains that its no good because he does it for the wrong reason. Come on folks, give him a break, try supporting our president once in while.
2
Give me one good solid reason (with proof) and I will.
P.S.: give me one example where he supported his predecessor.
6
What is your example of the right thing? Donald Trump is a self absorbed and child of privilege. I have since this little boy prance on the media stage for 20 years with no consequences for his bad actions. He wouldn't know the right thing if it hit him in ht face
Donald Trump was in his 20's when Bull Connor was tuning those snarling dogs loose on unarmed protesters. Somehow it's a bit of a stretch to compare African American football players who are earning millions on the gridiron to protesters who were fighting for basic human rights. Besides the NFL came up with a compromise-- players who object to the playing of the National Anthem can remain in the locker room until it's over. It's not the greatest solution but it deserves a chance anyhow.
2
I didn't realize being successful meant you had to surrender your First Amendment rights, especially when you can peacefully, and briefly but poignantly, call attention to police brutality that is so disproportionately directed at blacks in the US. People with the celebrity platforms can, and should, use them to promote peaceful change. While the NFL may have proposed a "compromise," it is being undermined by Trump, who is criticizing that (lily-livered, IMHO) "compromise" by questioning, hyperbolically, even the "right" of these protesters to begin America. The freedom not to be shot by police is a basic human right, no?
1
Just in case anyone doesn't quite grasp the point Blow's column today is making, here it is in more direct terms:
"Pandering: A manipulative device used by politicians to agree and support the popular view of a particular group or groups of people in order secure their support."
8
Does that apply to Obama and W? I thimk so. HRS
He would hold up a Triborough Bridge and Tunnel receipt as long as his signature were the most prominent feature.
3
He's partial to paper towels....
1
Trump is just the figurehead, the top of the pyramid scheme which has been bought and supported by working class Americans since the very beginning of our nation.
Working class white people didn't bring those who were stolen and chained in Africa to these shores, but it didn't take long for them to slip their economic binds and refasten them as well as the stigma attached to, by virtue of skin color alone, other more easily identifiable human beings.
Established culture, knowledge of terrain and weaponry reserved another fate for the darker skinned humans native to these shores who are now penned in unproductive land that was 'reserved" for them.
All of this has been perpetrated, still covered up, excused and forgiven by our predominant religious value which along with its practioners help lay the foundation of this scheme.
It is easy and factual to call out Trump and his minions, but they are only in their positions of power because our citizenry put them there as replacement blocks allowed them to move further up the growing pyramid.
We average citizens accept this scheme because we are indoctrinated from childhood to accept the crumbs which spill from the tables of those above us as the natural order of responsible citizens in our most enlightened social order.
The position of our working class is no better than the mushrooms raised in nearby Kennet Square. We are kept in the dark and covered with the offal of others we gather from both here and around the world.
6
Knowledge is both the key to, and the defense from, power. That is why the rich spare no expense schooling their own.
Just like opinion polls today, the 1963 opinion polls had an inherent skew because the only respondents are people who answer the phone — even more of a factor in 1963 when people who could afford phones were more likely to be white.
That said, the US has a lot of work to do on racism. Trump’s policies are harming people in general and people of color in particular. In that regard he’s much, much worse than Bull Connor.
4
I know the people should respond more dynamically than we are know. When POTUS and his 40% and GOP is deaf, dumb, and blind to the atrocities to our democracy and democratic institutions and basic norms of governance, we depend upon honest and forthright journalism and prophetic writings like MLK's Chaos or Community. he ended his book with a challenge to the nation. "There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect. 'The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on …" We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation. This may well be humankind's last chance to choose between chaos or community."
3
It is an unfortunately common thread through history to revere the rebels and revolutionaries who helped us get where we are by pointing out our ancestors' past moral flaws, but revile those who show we need to go further by pointing out our own present ones. What President Kennedy pointed out is still true today, "the problems are not all solved and the battles not all won."
And in addition is the hypocrisy or blindness of extolling those who helped us earn the freedoms we deny to others.
1
A fitting analogy, because rescinding an invitation or standing up for the national anthem is really the same thing as turning loose attack dogs and fire hoses on demonstrators.
Totally.
4
Trump is a showman and Americans (not all, but a significant percentage) are his viewers. He'll say and do anything that titillates and captures their imagination and attention. If pardoning Ali will do so, he'll do it. If insulting Trudeau will do, he'll do it. If, as he famously said, "I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters," he'll do so.
In the Roman empire, panem et circenses (bread and circuses) kept that empire afloat. Here in America today, most of us have all the food we can eat, and Trump is providing the circus for entertainment. I can only hope that people will see through this circus and vote the carnival barker out of office at the end of this term.
4
Have u noted the dramatic improvements in employment, home ownership, specific group's employment, increase in 401K values that changed direction literally the day after he was elected & has continued since in an entirely different trajectory than the last administration and its favoritisms? HRS
A fascinating comment, HRS, but demonstrably false. A quick check of economic indicators (e.g. at https://ig.ft.com/sites/numbers/economies/us) shows that the recent favorable trends in employment, home sales, etc are simply a continuation of trends in place since 2010. Which I'm pretty sure covers the last 6 years of the Obama administration...
Should be republished in all sports magazines & all sports talk shows. Protest without violence has to be protected it is what we have fought, died & paid for throughout the history of the USA. As you point out Pres. Trump praises dead protestors but not living ones. Outrageous
7
Thanks for reminding us of the Trayvon Martin murder. The response from some people to that event truly shocked me - people that I thought were fair and reasonable immediately jumping to the defense of Zimmerman and swallowing whole the tripe put out by Sean Hannity on the case. Then came Eric Garner being choked to death by the police in broad daylight and again, people twisting themselves into pretzels to exonerate the guilty officer. Again, people I assumed had much better judgement ignoring visual evidence to satisfy their underlying prejudices. In retrospect, these were some of the first overt signs of what would become the Trump worship of 2016.
2
I'll give this to Trump: he is acting as President exactly the same way he promised his base during the campaign.
Unfortunately for those of us who object - and who thought the office would soften his racism and belligerent xenophobia - we were mistaken.
2
Thank you for pointing these things out.
1
Donald Trump is a humdinger.
Another way of putting it is that he is President Humdinger, outdoing Mayor Humdinger of Paw Patrol.
President Donald J. Trump Humdinger is a Contrary Ike.
President D. J. Humdinger cannot take "no" for an answer.
And, also, I just went to a children's park with my 3 1/2 year old grandson. There, when children ran into another child's space, the parents would ask the interloper(s) to apologize; and I thought: 'President Donald J. Trump Humdinger would say, "Go for it; good; push that other child out of the way; you own it."
Bottom line is that we need to defeat President Humdinger and the other Humdingers at the ballot boxes and in the courts of law.
The person who was my father was an humdinger. He told me it was OK to hit the other kids. My father did not breakup fights I was in, or other kids were in.
Say "No" to President Donald J. Mean-Spirited Trump.
3
Many years ago I had the privilege of meeting Muhammad Ali. I accompanied a friend who was a camera man on a shot at Mr. Ali's home in L.A. It was for an interview. I was quickly introduced standing a bit of a distant away from him.
What I will never, ever forget is watching Mr. Ali walked the distance to me smiling and shaking my hand. I felt the strength of his hand and viewed sincerity and kindness in his eyes. I did not attend the interview but, my friend shared that he was a man bigger than life, a gracious man , a proud man and, a man of principle.
I remember reading about his refusal to serve in Vietnam;
"If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years."(amen)
He lost his title, was banned from boxing for 3 year and was faced with the possibility of going to jail.
Trump is a bonafide racist who knows nothing nor cares a rip about this man of principle. This "act" breaks my heart and conjures up such rage. Just when you think he can't sink any lower;
" he is also using them as a marketing tactic rather than a statement of principle, to shift focus from predacious systems to personal symbols."
We are all the same underneath this skin we wear.
This immoral racist of a human being has got to be stopped and Yesterday may even be too late.
8
Too bad every Republican member of Congress may read this, but not one will vote to impeach or convict when the time comes.
5
This is a bit of topic, but anyway - look at the photo accompanying Mr; Blow's article. Trump's signature is clearly the largest and only important words on the document. There is nothing else on the page that matters.
Have you noticed how in photo op after photo op Trump's signature grows larger and larger, his ego needing more and more reassurance Donald Is Important. How long before Trump is signing over-sized lottery check size executive orders? Can we stage an intervention? Watching this man's pathetic madness can't be good for America's psyche.
Are there no doctors charged with the mental health of POTUS? None?
4
You confuse substance wi style and performance vs presentation. We Liberal Democrats better get our act together & stop this "Impeach 45, Impeach..." way of thimking to match Trump's IMMENSE productivity if we wish to win in 2018 & 2020 since under Obama WE LOST 1,000 (1,000!) seats of election in the USA in 2010, 2012, & 2014! Preening around for our own self enjoyment such as this article and most of these responses is guaranteed failure.
I recommend that Trump, before criticizing the patriotism of other Americans, put his own house in order first. A good start would be to sell only products made by Americans in his retail venues. Enough of this "Do as I say and not as I do" hypocrisy.
3
Walmart would go broke if only USA products were sold. Its shoppers would note a huge decline in their living standard because of the price rise buying only American--but that IS changing. Plus we like our Benz's, Volvo's, Samsungs, iPhones, Sony's, Louis Vuitton....
If the Americans, particularly minority Americans fall for trump’s shenanigans, they are to blame. This is a man who is clearly willing to destroy this country to satisfy his ego. He has a personality disorder and any trained medical professional would agree without having to examine him.
3
As a trained medical professional wi vast experience, I will not comment on the mental health or disorders of either Obama or Trump.
1
Let's give Trump his due. He is the only President in recent times who took time out of his busy schedule to inform the country that Frederick Douglass is alive and well and “getting recognized more and more.”
5
The Trump presidency shows just how low our country has fallen. This is the first fake presidency. Everything Trump does is for show, for public consumption, stage managed. Mainly for his base, but for different groups he knows don't like him. Everything to be liked or talked about in a positive manner. Who's next? Gays? Women. Orphans? Trump's presidency is a reality show. He doesn't care how his misguided policies affect the whole just as long as it gets him a positive headline. Mr. Blow is right. These pardons aren't because of conviction that an injustice has been done, but because he thinks it makes him look good to a group that knows who he really is, and rejected him overwhelmingly in the election. And sadly, the mainstream media goes along with this farce.... trading truth and honesty for ratings, downplaying Trump's danger to our long held democratic principles to focus on scandal and corruption in his administration. Mueller will do what Mueller will do, and the Republicans will probably do nothing. Meanwhile, the press fiddles while America burns.
3
Newagewriter, u strike me as an oldageintolerant. You confuse substance wi style and performance vs presentation. We Liberal Democrats better get our act together & stop this "Impeach 45, Impeach..." way of thimking to match Trump's IMMENSE productivity if we wish to win in 2018 & 2020 since under Obama WE LOST 1,000 (1,000!) seats of election in the USA in 2010, 2012, & 2014! Preening around for our own self enjoyment such as this article and most of these responses is guaranteed failure.
What the US needs post-Trump ASAP is a president who like LBJ can say "and we SHALL overcome" from the heart and then act on it. I hope it happens again in my lifetime.
5
To my amazement, under Trump, we are overcoming an economy in the doldrums, having improved 401K's, increased home ownership rate, under employment of ALL groups....
1
I feel that what "45" is doing is getting the people prepared for when he pardons his associates for the crimes they committed. Watch for pardons for Flynn, Manafort, Gates..... The list goes on. He wants to keep the lid on "trump and this Russia thing."
Does anyone really think he cares about anyone other than his family, his rich friends, fox "news" folks and the easily manipulated supporters (the lock her up crowd)?
People are distracted by his daily tweets, which shift voters attention away from how he is disgracing the office and representing himself and the ruling class, not the people he works for (we the people).
Vote for the more progressive candidate in all local, state & national elections.
4
I hope our progressive candidates have better programs that match or exceed the very effective directions that are now in place.
CB is correct when he says that Ali was turned into a complete villain over not just his protests against the Vietnam war but just the fact that he changed his name fromr that of his slave-owner to one of his own choice that reflected his view of the world and his place in it. As Clay he was revered as the winner of an Olympic gold metal, but as Ali he was reviled as a traitor to his country and few (whites) would even call him by his name.
Oh how glad I once was that those days were over forever (until Trump walked away from modernity).
2
Goldigger: u must live in Australia. While the USA "white" population was not happy initially wi the name change, like a peer who seems to have mis-behaved, we continued to LOVE M Ali back then.
This pardon wave is a cynical ploy by Trump. I think your statement, "he hopes to win personal praise while leaving fully intact, or even strengthening, policies that negatively impact black communities," is spot on. Trump is very thin skinned when it comes to his public reputation. That is all he really thinks about in every situation.
1
Trump is thin-skinned, & usually correctly so. Said by a liberal Democrat & Obama voter.
If nothing else, even though he can be obnoxious, Donald Trump has exposed how out of touch Hollywood and the national media is with most of our country.
Actually, what he has exposed is how a sizable minority of our citizens (his supporters) are out of touch with what it means to be an American.
4
What's Hollywood got to do with this? Everyone knows movies are for ENTERTAINMENT. They are fake reality, like TV.
The media and especially, news broadcasts used to be required by licensing to be factual and provide clear, useful local and national reporting. Reporters could be fired and even prosecuting for so much as receiving a free cup of coffee from an advertiser. All that went out the widow when we started deregulating media and adding cable channels, who believe they are above the law. Also, when the news became "happy talk" and especially, 24/7 chatter. They have to fill up minutes and hours with something, so they talk nonsense. The more sensational, the more viewers they draw.
2
Obnoxious? How about dishonest, egomaniacal, vindictive, corrupt, uninformed, authoritarian, disrespectful, puerile, cruel and racist? Is that what "most of our country" admires?
Donald Trump and his active supporters clearly have no concept of what makes America great.
3
In the long run Trump's greatest influence on race relations is likely to be the decimation of public education. Older white Trumpists hate spending money on the more-diverse Americans of the future, and Trump, Betsy DeVos, and their Republican allies are doing their darnedest to starve the education of our children. This starvation will do much more long-lasting damage to race relations than Bull Connor ever did. Although our country will suffer, Trumpists will cheer because they value their privileges more than they value our country.
3
Leopards don't change their spots, and racists don't change their beliefs, no matter what desk they rule from.
Wikipedia: In 1973, Trump and his company Trump Management were sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for housing discrimination against black renters—a lawsuit which, according to Trump, he settled without an admission of guilt.[5][6][7] In 2011, Trump became the leading proponent of the already discredited "Birtherism" conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama was not born in the US, and he repeated the claim for the following five years.[8][9] He was accused of racism for maintaining, as late as 2016, that a group of black and Latino teenagers were guilty of raping a white woman in the Central Park jogger case, although an imprisoned serial rapist had confessed in 2002 to raping the jogger alone, and DNA evidence confirmed his guilt.[10]
In a 1989 interview with Bryant Gumbel, Trump stated: "A well-educated black has a tremendous advantage over a well-educated white in terms of the job market." Fortune Magazine reported that Trump's statement was not confirmed by studies of factual evidence concerning the impact of an applicant's race on their job prospects.[2]
Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Racism definition is - a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.
Racism Wikipedia: Racism is the belief in the superiority of one race over another....
3
The racism of Trump is used for political means. He knows he can keep his base and the GOP happy with continues racism in the name of patriotism in the case of flag salutes. He makes pointless concessions to civil rights leaders because he knows it will be ok with the Fox crowd, who can use it to show that Trump isn't racist. Who knows what Trump truly believes, except that he wants to win. His electoral college victory has unleashed a monster and hopefully states that are making changes to their electoral colleges laws will not let this happen again.
1
I have a feeling D. J. Trump would pardon Beelzebub if it boosted his own self esteem. In the end it's all about getting some kind of praise or adulation or feeling of self importance and power for Trump. I wonder who gets to pick the bobble heads behind him in the pictures he has taken while he holds up his over sized signature on some rather meaningless document.
I bet Trump has videos made of all these events so he can play them back at night while he Tweets away to his followers.
Such an embarrassment!
Having Trump for a president shows me, and a lot of others, that we have a long way to go in America before we ever tackle race and bigotry.
2
Trump doesn't even know the meaning of the word hypocrisy! He believes every decision he makes is right and should never be questioned.
Can't wait until the day his voice is no longer listened to.
2
There's something else going on here. The president really likes celebrities. If John McCain had his own TV series or made action movies that grossed hundreds of millions of dollars, the president would respect that. How many real estate developers go on to be international TV stars and judge Russian beauty contests? If you want the president's attention, have a note delivered by a supermodel.
2
Interesting how Trump seems to think that NFL players all know somebody who is imprisoned. As for the whining of some commentators about the size of NFL players' contracts, keep in mind that these are young men whose typical professional life is 4-5 years. After that, they must live with their injuries and live for another 50 years or so with whatever money they were able to negotiate. Grasping this takes some thought, which is harder than just calling them names.
6
I don’t go to football games, but I think I’ll kneel for the national anthem wherever I am the next time I hear it, in support of the brave football players who are protesting against injustice. I wouldn’t expect Trump to understand why the players are kneeling; I wouldn’t expect him to understand the penalties African-Americans still face because of prejudice, even in this supposedly more enlightened day and age; and I wouldn’t expect him to understand much of anything else, either.
In the mean time, thank you, football players; even if you’re not allowed to kneel during the Star-Spangled Banner any more, you expressed what a lot of us are thinking, and you did it on nationwide TV, where people actually noticed.
22
Two of my son's friends came home under that flag while erving in the Marines, I wouldn't expect you to understand.
Having been born in Alabama in 1957, what you've written about is woven into the fabric of my life. I'm white and seemingly unaffected by these injustices, yet having grown up with them in my face and on the news daily, I could never understand why black people were treated unjustly. Questions were met with "That's the way it's always been and it's not going to change." My parents were Republicans and tacitly supported this. Growing up and moving away, I felt compelled to live my life embracing the polar opposite of my parents' values.
Until America treats all people equally, we cannot achieve true greatness. Anglos cannot condone with silence and look the other way.
We must use our voices with our votes, phone calls, emails and letters. Let your voice be heard!
36
I too was born and raised in Alabama (1954). The events and history of the Civil Rights movement are woven deeply into my life. However, my parents were not Republican, and taught us that George Wallace, Bull Connor, and even parents of our friends were on the wrong side of history. They knew our great privilege was our very whiteness, and great change was inevitable.
In 2008 I stood in the hot Tampa sun next to an elderly African American woman, most likely the age my father would have been at that time. We were going hear a young Senator-Barack Obama- speak. Her face said everything. That in her lifetime, she might actually see our country led by someone who looked like her. It was profound, and when I see where we are at this moment, I often feel so defeated. But as jbonn states, we cannot go back. Every day, speak up, speak out, canvas, phone bank, whatever it takes. We simply cannot move backwards.
2
I'm a woman who was deeply moved the night Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic nomination for President. She was the first female nominee of a major party, and I thought I would finally see a woman President in my lifetime. My face mirrored the face of the woman you refer to your comment.
Now I believe I will not live to see a woman repeating the oath of office, it saddens me more than I can say.
I was born in St. Louis in the late 1940's. Not quite the deep south, but the segregation and racial hatreds were and still are as deep as any in Alabama and Mississippi.
My relatives there still wonder why I fled to California. It wasn't about the weather.
All forms of peaceful protest are welcomed, so much so, that the founding fathers ingrained it into the Constitution as Amendment NUMBER ONE guaranteeing free speech.
This was not lost on those sage and wise fellows that were centuries ahead of their time. They had just broken free of the yoke of Kings and Queens, and knew that the freedom they were willing to fight for must be codified into unbreakable law. (for all)
Fast forward to today and we now have a wannabe monarch that wishes to dictate to whom may speak and about what.
'' He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. ''
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Free speech is just that, free.
28
Excellent article. Thank you, Charles, please keep them coming.
14
Mr. Blow is really stretching in his latest attempt to demonize Trump and his supporters. He really does those of us who would like to replace Trump a disservice by comparing privileged and multi-millionaire NFL players to those courageous people who risked imprisonment and death for sitting in at southern lunch counters and schools. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to oppose Trump. Mr. Blow no doubt appeals to those who still haven't gotten over the fact that Trump could be elected in the first place, but if he actually wants to do something that will rid us of Trump's racism, he would do more good by addressing why African-Americans and other minorities didn't turn out to vote in 2016 in the numbers they did in 2012, despite record overall turnout, and how to improve on that. Outrage by itself does not produce change.
13
The fact that the NFL players are well paid is irrelevant to the their protest. Many of the players have family members who have been the victimized by racism, or have even bore its brunt themselves. One of my friends, a well-known academic, has been stopped more than once by the police merely because he drives an expensive BMW. The white backlash toward the NFL players is a perfect illustration of white privilege. White fans believe that since they a paying blacks to perform on Sunday afternoons, the athletes have no grounds on which to disturb white entertainment. White fans believe that blacks have no right to discomfort them and thus to betray the role whites have assigned them. "You're there to dribble or punt, and that's all. Take your complaints elsewhere. We own this plantation, not you."
3
I don't think Mr. Blow was comparing privileged protestors to those not privileged who protest. He was comparing protest to protest. It doesn't matter how privileged you are or aren't, all protest is American.
1
Charlie,
While your point is well taken you are missing Mr. Blows point in 1 more excellent summary by Mr. Blow.
Debra
1
Once again, Charles Blow nails it.
I hadn't thought about the fact that Trump was using pardons as a marketing tool to reach African-Americans. I thought it was about letting people under investigation know that he will help them when the time comes. (Although whether he's really going to come through with pardons for some of them is another matter. But I digress...)
Waste not/want not: he can use it as a marking tool to reach People of Color at the same time he's using it to reach those indicted by Mueller.
(How long do we have to put up with this? Be sure to vote this fall, folks.)
39
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for speaking truth to power! The truth will stop Donald Trump, no matter how hard he resists. The truth will set us free.
24
Oh, please.
With Mr. Trump and the GOP in power, and Trump supporters aplenty, there is no truth.
And now we're losing our allies.
The truth doesn't set anyone free unless people are willing to put muscle behind it.
3
Thanks Charles for providing the perspective of an insightful and thoughtful African-American that caucasians like me don't easily come to. I also am appalled and Trump's disrespectful treatment of protesting athletes.
30
It is a basic rule of Psychology and Sociology that one must (MUST!) shock people out of their comfort zones in order to affect social change.
Our nation was founded on protest. If one reads the entire Declaration of Independence and not just the first couple 'patriotic' paragraphs, one sees that it's basically a long list of bulleted complaints. The Constitution enshrines the right to protest. I find it mildly comical that anyone living in the U.S. would look at a protest and declare such a thing to be un-American.
28
Our nation wasn't just ""founded on protest," it was founded on armed revolution. The President should remember that.
2
Our nation was founded on LAWS. The warfare and armed revolution was to kick the British out, but that was not what fueled the entire enterprise. It was the laws as set down in our Constitution that still comprises our basic reason and strength for existence.
We lived in New Orleans during the sixties and my work took me throughout the south. I was driving from Little Rock to Indianola, Mississippi when I noted a completely white billboard in the distance with what seemed to be a black speck in the center of the billboard.
As I got closer the black spot became larger and I could make out writing around the black dot. When I got close enough I could read these words around the circumference of the black spot: "BOY! Drop out of school and that's what they will call you the rest of your life." The most memorable billboard I had ever seen, before and since. It gave me great encouragement that during that decade things would change and the racial issue would begin to come to conclusion. After all, the racial issue today has been with us for hundreds of years, long before the country was even formed by the founders. While we are a great nation we will never reach the pinnacle of the ultimate greatest nation ever, until we put to rest two long standing problems and challenges: The Racial issue and the absolute need for equality and the women's issue with the equality of their gender.
For the moment, I suggest observing and witnessing what Michael Jenkins of the Philadelphia Eagles is doing, what he is proposing, how he is going about it and further when he is successful, which he will be, that he should then run for Congress after retiring from the NFL and take his campaign to the Capitol in Washington.
22
nothing he does relates to doing what is right. Call it what you want - I say it’s all about ratings with the audience. If it keeps him in the headlines and in conversation, then the action will be taken. Right or wrong don’t even come into play.
Nobody seems to be willing to to punch the schoolyard bully in the nose, figuratively, at least. And that only reinforces the behavior.
Barring news from mr. mueller, I guess we’ll have to wait until November, when we can speak through our votes.
22
So well written, Charles. Sadly your columns end up being sermons to the choir. How do we get Trump and the Trumpanistas to listen to arguments like this? The whole nation is forced (by media, right and left) to attend to Trump's side of the argument but there is no way to get the Tea Party folks to hear Charles Blow's counter arguments.
In the end, though King preached non-violence, and most of his follower's practiced it, it took violence to awaken the nation to its sins.
15
No getting Trump to listen. We just need to turn off his mike, starting with the media that reports lies and hate speech as news.
1
That poll data from the past was truly eye-opening. We humans have an amazing capacity for rewriting memory and history to paint ourselves in the most flattering light.
25
When will Trump get around to pardoning Frederick Douglass for something. I hear he's been treated terribly for his views.
27
"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." - Frederick Douglass
62
That Frederick Douglass is a real up-and-comer!
11
Very well said.
As soon as I heard Trump muse about Ali, I thought for certain Ali's conviction had been vacated by the Supreme Court, and wondered why Trump would need to pardon Ali. But I did have that split second of, "What? Is that possible? Does that make sense? Was I wrong?"
That is Trump's modus operandi; everything is a lie and he knows that enough of his lies will slip by so that we believe some of what he says. If one were to believe some of Trump's lies, that would probably improve their perception of Trump.
Charles, thanks for reminding us that as tired as we are of Trump, we need to remain vigilant.
71
It is pathetic that Trump doesn't know anything and doesn't think about anything until someone tells him about it or someone. Doesn't do his homework or get a real understanding of what happened in the past. He is totally unfit to be president.
5
Trump's bleating about pardoning Ali was a civil sacrilege.
Not only because you cannot pardon someone whose conviction was overturned - which Trump did not know, meaning he does not even know the story.
Moreover, it's because only a liar and a thief steals someone's heroism - someone's LIFE to use to enhance his own image.
And in this case, as Mr Blow indicates, because Ali's life reflects the struggles against racism which are being carried on today , which Trump has denounced.
Trump, we KNOW what you think of people who stand up - or kneel to - indict discrimination; what you think of ethical and moral people who extend respect to immigrants; we also know you suckle white supremacists.
You didn't care about Mrs Johnson, you cared about that photo op with Kim Kardashian what would be seen by all of her followers.
You cannot co-opt Ali's life.
109
I know I can't be the first to bring up this point but regarding falsehoods perpetrated by the president. What seems apparent to me is that he has a gang of "feeders" that feed him topics, suggestions and drafts for him to tweet. He himself is a total blank and chooses those tweet gang inputs he thinks have merit, merit to him meaning it will cause a reaction, and sends them out. He might have an inkling regarding the topics but not the details or accuracy of the tweet.
It's really the tweet gang that exhibit the lack of accuracy, since their purpose is merely to propose something, anything that will meet his approval and be tweeted. They may get points that will raise them in his estimation if the results merit. The ultimate tweeter is just a mechanism for getting the required results.
1
Dear Mr. Blow, I agree with your article. I feel like these celebrities who are rushing to presidents office to pledge for these pardons are partially to be blamed. I would love these same high profile people to fight for what’s right in America’s social disparities rather save one out of many!
43
The NFL players who choose to kneel are doing so at work, in uniform, while being paid for their time. They certainly have the right to protest and raise social issues, but they don't have the right to do that on a forum that their employer is paying for. I am not aware of any job that allows their employees to express opinions at work that harm the company.
9
How does respectfully kneeling during the National Anthem harm their company? They are not protesting against their employer but calling attention to an outrageous problem our fellow Americans face.
102
Tom, the NFL has lost revenue because of the protest. Take heart, one owner, Christopher Johnson of the NYJ, has come forward and promised to pay the fines of those players who protest. Perhaps he should also promise to pay their bail as 8 of his players have been arrested in the last 18 months.
7
Players are paid by the game which as I understand it is from the kickoff until the final seconds tick off the clock... so anything they do before kickoff negates your argument
11
Reality Distortion Fields, where the person creates a bubble to reflect their world view are well known. The idea that facts, truths held to be self evident can pop their bubble remains to be seen.
In Trumps case, that bubble grows larger and larger to house the lies, misinformation, warped reality along with visions of sugarplums.
The best blowers of these bubbles may be indentfied by signs and symptoms. A useful primer may be found in Depersonalization or Derealization Disorder DSM-5 300.6(F48.1)
On the streets of Queens, they are known as Bunko Artists and Trump is the King.
68
All of this is true enough. However, give Trump credit for recognizing the continuing efforts of Frederick Douglas.
107
He didn't know who Frederick Douglass was. No credit for that, Alan.
7
Didn't Trump think that Douglas was still alive?
3
Sorry.....he should not get "credit" for anything!
2
"You see, people like Trump venerate black civil rights activists only in retrospect, after their agitation has ceased, often after they are dead, when they are no longer a threat"
That is a norm for all people held up before others. It is true of artists, and politicians too of all races. The dream of an American Camelot was born after Kennedy died.
The reason is that they become known quantities. They can't use the praise in unexpected ways, against the desires of those who now praise them.
It does invite us to dig into the people so elevated, and show all that they were, and to push the best of what they had to offer with help from that praise.
We lost a lot when the Kennedy brothers and MLK, Jr were assassinated, but we also gained something in partial compensation. We must embrace that which we have from them. Carry it forward.
15
"The reason is that they become known quantities. They can't use the praise in unexpected ways, against the desires of those who now praise them."
Withholding praise is not the same at issuing vile ad hominem attacks on the people we disagree with.
1
This man embodies what the researchers of "in-group/out-group" behaviors maintain. The members of the in-group derive pleasure when members of the out-group are the victims of pain and abuse. Except for those who have empathy and compassion, regardless of their group identity. This man "can do no wrong," while he is the performer-in-charge, while more devious minds are implementing the most openly devastating practices we have encountered in the last few decades. Children are being caged and caused to disappear. And some get pleasure from those acts. The Biblical covenant has been abrogated.
122
Donald Trump rejected the Vietnam draft while pretending his heels hurt.
Muhammad Ali, a much finer human being, had a real explanation for rejecting the Vietnam draft:
“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?"
"No, I am not going ten thousand miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would put my prestige in jeopardy and could cause me to lose millions of dollars which should accrue to me as the champion."
"But I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is right here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality"
"If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. But I either have to obey the laws of the land or the laws of Allah. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail. We’ve been in jail for four hundred years.”
Once again, little Donald tries to surf the fumes of a much more intelligent and more dignified black man.
Sad
893
Socrates--maybe it's time to blame the draft board doctor who issued Donald Trump his "get out of Viet Nam" card. Only the doctor could determine if those bone spurs that everyone loves ridiculing were serious enough to exempt Trump from military service.
3
Trump's family was wealthy. One way or another the sons of the rich got out of service while the poor fought and died.
Socrates, thank you for this quotation.
Ali's words should be emblazoned, with Dr. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail, on the entrance to every courtroom in this country.
34
Ali took a bold, principled and unpopular stand. It marked him for life. Today, Trump takes a callous, thoughtless, meaningless stand. It defines his life.
506
As if his bone spurs hadn't already kept him from rushing into Viet Nam.
It surpasses my understanding that any veteran could vote for such a coward.
us army 1969-1971/california jd
4
To Clyde from Pittsburgh ; you've said a mouthful in just a few words . Way to go Clyde !
The traits of D. Trump we've drained dry
And all the sins he has lived by,
Has no empathy
Loves brutality
Non-whites on his list aren't high.
Plays only for the TV rating
For non-bigots on their nerves grating,
Hollow and shallow
As a statesman can't grow
For midterm election we're waiting.
179
I've always loved your poems, Larry. Thank you.
5
Beautifully phrased!
That’s great Larry - a little rhyme, at this time, you’re one of nine...
Blows op-ed pieces are getting long winded and ONLY focus on Trump.
He needs a new gig. PLEASE
When I hear what Trump says about race, I think of people that claim, I'm not racist, my friend Joe is black. If I was racist, he wouldn't be my friend. But as soon as a black family moves into his neighborhood, Mr. Equality puts a For Sale sign up in his front yard.
As soon as his daughter brings home her black boyfriend, that welcoming smile vanishes. And this is the big one. As soon as black person is promoted to be his boss, man that's just not fair. It's reverse discrimination.
Trump wants black people to be subservient. If you want more bread, kindly ask for more and I may give it to you, just so long as there is plenty for me. But don't you dare demand more bread. Don't you dare stage protests about your lack of bread. Just sit back and be quiet and docile and we will get you some more bread, eventually.
Two hundred years later some folks are getting a little tired waiting for that loaf of bread. They are speaking out in public. Trump hates that. Doing so is open rebellion against those that have the bread. It's even disrespectful to the bread owners.
That's the general idea.
713
@ Bruce Rozenblit. Thank you for your insiteful comments.
Bravo, Sir.
Referring to Trump's pardons of selected black people, Mr. Blow maintains that the president "...is...using them [the pardons] as a marketing tactic rather than a statement of principle..." This claim succinctly sums up Trump's entire approach to the presidency. As a man devoid of principle, he has no other basis on which to make decisions.
The product he seeks to market, of course, is himself. For Trump, every challenge he faces and every decision he makes centers on himself. Thus, his use of the pardoning power ignores the careful procedures developed by prior administrations, to ensure that personal considerations do not distort the decision-making process. (Of course, Clinton also violated this approach at the end of his presidency.) Trump chooses cases which he believes will maximize favorable publicity for himself.
A man guided by impulse, self-interest and prejudice will make decisions that conform to no recognizable principle of justice.
205
Alas for Trump, he is not king of Canada. That's why he was angry: no yes men or women.
4
Remember how last year Trump disparaged Congressman John Lewis as ‘all talk, no action?’ Astonishingly, Trump sees risking life and limb to fight for civil rights, and ultimately winning, as a negligible feat.
Trump is unwilling to treat people of color with the same respect he could muster for white-skinned individuals. He might find it politically expedient to issue pardons or commute sentences for African-Americans, but Trump will not view them with dignity.
217
@NM -- since the president is on a pardons binge, he could look into the case of Curtis Flowers, a black man serving time in prison for 22 years in Mississippi. This man was tried and acquitted six times of murder and a witness for the prosecution admitted lying to get a wrongful conviction against Flowers. Prosecutor Doug Evans isn't having any of it. He wants Flowers to pay for murders he didn't commit.
If the president can pardon a drug running Alice Johnson he could at least look into Flowers' case. Justice is supposed to be color blind, isn't it?
3
I’m sure Trump didn’t know about Lewis’s civil rights work. He is as ignorant as they come about history.
3
Tiny addition: Trump respect only for white males with piles of money and power. He respects dictators because he fears them and wants them to like him. I suspect they remind him of daddy.
Please let's elect a woman next time. I am sick of men with daddy issues. Why not a woman with mommy issues instead? It would be less dangerous.
When describing the president, the word “bull” can be followed by many other words, some of which I hurl at my TV screen whenever the president appears. “Connor” is not one of those words, but it’s the perfect one to describe his treatment of racial minorities.
While the president tends to venerate black activists only in retrospect, there was one notable exception. That was when he stated that Frederick Douglass “…is being recognized more and more.” Mr. Douglass would have been happy to hear that, if he hadn’t been dead for more than a century. But better late than never, I suppose.
This president is something we’ve rarely seen in America: a leader of such limited capacity, feeble intellect and crass behavior that his popularity among millions of voters must cause us to reexamine why we ever thought we were “great” in the first place. He may sometimes champion underdogs, but it’s only done when there is some advantage in doing so for himself. Sucking up to celebrities is a poor reason for anyone to do anything, and especially so if you’re the president of the Not-So-United States.
Black people needn’t feel singled out. He has disparaged and offended people of every color, race, creed, ethnic origin, occupation and anyone with an I.Q. above 70.
Here's the measure of a man: Muhammad Ali was reviled back in the day, but the country finally caught up to the truth that he spoke. Conversely, the country would have to sink much lower to catch up to the president.
577
Colin Kaepernick is the current Muhammad Ali, a man taking a principled stand and paying a huge financial price for doing so.
11
"a leader of such limited capacity, feeble intellect and crass behavior that his popularity among millions of voters must cause us to reexamine why we ever thought we were “great” in the first place."
!
First of all, he is NOT a leader. There is not a bone in his racist body to resemble leadership quality. None.
I prefer calling him current WH occupant.
As to why we ever thought we are "great", it is another self-serving slogan so can justify to ourselves our dark brutal history from the slaughtered of native Indians to slavery to Vietnam horrors to Iraq shock and awe.
We, as a nation, will always carry the shame of what Christain White-America did. Not only to non-Whites @ home, but to the world @ large.
10
In his failed attempt to conflate Bull Connor and President Trump, Mr. Blow seems to be counting on the fact that many readers don't know or are simply too young to remember who Connor was and what he did (see Wikipedia, not enough space for me to summarize here).
Regarding the "protests" of Kaepernick and others, the NBA has rules similar to those of the NFL and the NBA players don't seem to object. NFL owners own the teams. Players are contract employees and have contractually- and court-recognized limits on what they can do and say while on the job, which they are when on the field or on the bench.
Most of these protesting players are poorly educated and many are functionally illiterate, yet earn millions of dollars for demonstrating their skills on TV. If they hate or disrespect the US so much, let them move to another country and see if they can earn such salaries, especially if they publicly disrespect the new country and its anthem.
NFL Commissioner Goodell has said "It was unfortunate that on-field protests created a false perception among many that thousands of N.F.L. players were unpatriotic.” Goodell is right that many NFL players are not unpatriotic; however, there are dozens of players whose unpatriotic actions on the field offend most Americans and threaten the pocketbooks of NFL team owners.
Let the NFL players (and anyone else) protest anything they want on their own time and not in their place of employment (the football field and my TV screen).
There are different ways one might bring about change, and one of them is to do something significant and worthy of attention. That Trump did nothing to recognize James Shaw Jr., the hero of the Waffle House shooting, or even the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, is consistent with these other denials that avoid dialogue and preserve the worst of the status quo.
240
If Mr. Trump is doing the right thing for the wrong reason when it comes to criminal justice it seems Mr. Blow enjoys describing the effort as “marketing tactic” and is blind to the underlying “statement of principle”. If injustice can be corrected by a pardon or a hundred pardons it is a step in the right direction. It also seems that Jared Corey Kushner, the President’s son-in-law is the point man on moving legislation in congress for criminal justice reform. This legislation could do much more than a few pardons and Mr. Kushner would not be leading the policy change efforts if Mr. Trump were hostel to reform. Mr. Blow may be right about the President’s efforts to “play to … celebrity petitioners” but it is obviously part of a larger effort to bring about much needed criminal justice reforms. Mr. Blow has got to stop acting lick a fish out of water whenever Mr. Trump is attempting the right thing. When anyone does the right thing, no one should judge the motives.
15
Wait a minute: I thought that Mr. Kushner was the point man on bringing peace to the Middle East! Anyway, I suspect that The Donald's interest in prison reform has something to do with the possibility that he'll be forced to spend an upcoming portion of his lifetime there.
177
Someone might want to tell the Attorney General about Mr. Kushner’s plan. He is moving full steam ahead on the War on Drugs. Seems to me that it would be a lot easier to use prosecutorial discretion than to rely on a gridlocked Congress if the President truly wanted reform.
3
Kushner's "expertise" in the portfolio assigned to him by Trump depends solely on his marriage to Trump's daughter. Apparently being born into an Orthodox Jewish family is enough for Trump to assign Kushner to "peace in the Middle East" no other expertise required. Not sure where Kushner's expertise in criminal justice reform comes from, but my first guess would be his family invests in private prisons.
Trump has earned the criticism he is getting for his actions, his motives and his poor vetting of the people he brings into his administration. Only those supporters who live in the Trump bubble fail to see the damage being done to democracy in the US by this man who has shown no understanding of or respect for the laws of the US. He can pardon all the dead people he wants to pardon; it is Trump and the Republican party's failure to provide budgets for health insurance for children, food for people who need temporary assistance and safe, affordable housing for those whose wages or Social Security benefits are too little to pay market rate.
10
As per a June 2016 PBS Newshour report, executives of color at Trump's own company may just about outnumber passenger pigeons in contemporary America. There appears to be no record of a black VP at the company at any time during the past 30 odd years and even a black man who won a high-paying temporary position at Trump Entertainment as a competitor on "The Apprentice" asserted that he couldn't recall encountering another such employee at any of Trump's other affiliates. Obviously, The Donald's own record as a fair-minded and enlightened businessman (who continues to produce his branded gewgaws in China and elsewhere even as he insists that other CEOs bring jobs back to America) is little different than the one he's been compiling as America's chief executive. But, then again, his supporters seem to be of a mind that prejudice and bigotry towards black Americans ended officially in 1865 and that we're now free to honor the memory of Confederate generals as we should all be able to distinguish between their military records and the principles they were actually fighting for. And, anyway, why continue to bother with our own minorities now that we have so darned many dark-skinned people from abroad who we can safely persecute in their stead?
197
As abhorrent as the institution of slavery was, did you ever stop to think about the price that historically blacks paid for the benefit of the current generations? No slavery and 90-95% of the all American blacks would still be in Africa. They was no other way that blacks would have come to the US other than be forced on the slave trade boats owned by some Europeans.
This is one of those comments for which there really is no reasonable response. It is just awful on several levels.
Well, for a guy a little fuzzy on whether Frederick Douglass is alive or dead, the lack of knowledge surrounding Ali’s current legal status can’t represent an epiphany. Give Trump this: he at least (probably) knows that Ali and King are dead.
Bull Connor set attack dogs and fire hoses on black Americans on the streets of Birmingham. So, I guess Charles doesn’t think it just a mite over-the-top to compare Trump to Connor. But anything to support #TheResistance … right?
All is fair, perhaps not in love but decidedly in war. Right? What a deplorable falsehood.
Colin Kaepernick has every right to protest racism and the plight of black Americans as he sees fit within the law, and the greater community of which he is a part has every right to condemn him for his actions, even when not his sentiments.
It may be that “Effective protest often only works when it is disruptive and discomforting.” But it’s undeniably true that divisive protest also is usually deeply unpopular – and nobody promised that progressive transformation would be easy. Nobody promised that to Douglass, to Ali, to King … or to Kaepernick. This is why we honor the first three (ALL dead now, Mr. President) for having made a difference to America by their protests. Perhaps, someday, if Kaepernick enjoys similar success in his protests we’ll honor him, as well.
I’ll end with the same suggestion to Charles that I made to Roger Cohen: Just give it a rest.
23
Kaepernick has been honored many times. Not on an Ali, King or Douglas level...yet.
Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2018 from Amnesty International.
The ACLU award Colin the Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Award.
Kaepernick is this year's recipient of the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award.
Kaepernick has been named as the GQ Citizen of the Year for his ongoing fight against police brutality and racial injustice in the US.
Kaepernick is was one of five finalists for the NFL Players Association’s top honor, the Byron “Whizzer” White award for community service.
Colin was one of seven finalists for Times Man of the Year.
Maybe not yet worthy of a day or a coin, but not nothing burgers either.
The man has put his life and his career on the line for his beliefs and for others unable to speak.
That alone makes him worthy of respect.
169
“Divisive protest also is usually deeply unpopular.”
When a certain cohort of white NFL fans buy into Trump’s assertion that black players are “disrespecting the flag and the military,” who’s responsible for the divisiveness? The players themselves have made clear what they are protesting: police brutality against black men. And Trump calls them SOBs.
If it were possible, I’d with the same brief statement that Robert DeNiro made about him at last night’s Tony Awards.
105
No, he should not give it a rest. His perspective is valuable.
22
Right. Right. Right. And, finally:
"Trump is using these pardons of black people to play to their celebrity petitioners. But he is also using them as a marketing tactic rather than a statement of principle, to shift focus from predacious systems to personal symbols.
"In doing so, he hopes to win personal praise while leaving fully intact, or even strengthening, policies that negatively impact black communities."
Bingo. It's a version of the universal "Some of my best friends are--" rolled up with Trump's own "I'm the least racist person you've ever met" and his overarching concern with self-promotion, plus his wintry insensitivity to human suffering and injustice, on top of his bone-deep antipathy to people different from himself. It's impudence in hobnailed boots.
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I don't thimk either of u is so bright as to be able to be able to analyze Trump's behavior and remarkable productivity gains. HRS, MD
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People with MDs do not write like you do.
Methinks thou art a troll.
Yeah, I can see how you're the only smart person in this room of educated, informed readers, Pulitzer-Prize-wining journalists, and we ordinary, dumb yokels who read the news every day and apparently, according to you, don't understand a word of it.
Pardons for Trump mean two things - the ability to exercise unrestrained power and a connection to celebrity culture, as if being POTUS weren't enough status for almost anyone.
Notice how often he mentions the absoluteness of his pardon power. And he gets to play the great benefactor, bestowing his grand pardon on those HE deems worthy. He doesn't need any interfering DOJ lawyers to ensure fairness and that guidelines are followed.
And Alice Johnson was fortunate that Kim Kardashian took up her case. Otherwise I doubt he would have bothered. Trump got to bring Kim to the Oval Office! It's all show and "ratings" for him, which he keeps mentioning, as if he were somehow getting Neilsen ratings for his presidency.
The bottom line is that he makes all decisions from one point of view - what does HE personally gain by it - there is never a principal or philosophy or a thought out position behind them. The motives of the kneeling players are irrelevant to him. He sees them solely as a way to drive one more racial wedge into american society and bolster his base.
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My admiration for the courage of Muhammad Ali grows more and more as the years go on. Where are the heroes we need with enough backbone to stand up to this corrupt monster now staining the White House?
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Trump listens to Kim Kardashian, but ignores the advisors surrounding him. Sad!
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Yep,Kate...that pretty much sums up this completely dishonorable man whom we are temporarily saddled with. A fool indeed....
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These pathetic appeals for affection from the community are reminiscent of the distress of the character “Lonesome” Rhodes, in “A Face In the Crowd,” Elia Kazan’s powerful film from 1957. He realizes that his fake, homey persona has been discovered by the public, and he can no longer fool them.
Unfortunately for us, Mr. Trump is a singularly skillful grifter with an appeal beyond reason, an audacious professional Houdini of sham and quackery who will continue for some time to come.
Unless, of course, we come to our senses.
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I agree with you and hope as we come to our senses, but I'm afraid P.T. Barnum was correct. There's one born every minute.
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Or perhaps Hillary Clinton's pathetic appeals for affection by proclaiming she always carries hot sauce with her, or Biden's "he's gonna put y'all back in chains" provided Trump with inspiration for this pandering.
The day after the 16th Street Church Bombing that killed three little girls Birmingham attorney Chuck Morgan gave his, “Time to Speak” speech condemning everyone who had tolerated the hate and perpetual violence that had been aimed at African-Americans for years. The speech was aimed at those who had allowed Bull Connor and other hate mongers operate in open.
When will business and political leaders stand up to President Trump and his army of corruption, ineptness and tomfoolery? Who will be the Chuck Morgan that calls out Donald Trump?
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The church bombings, like all the lynchings, was a Dwmocrat deed. Blame Democrats all you need to - Bull Connor was a Democrat - but President Trump is a godsend to black America.
L'o, would you please elaborate on how he's been a godsend? If your answer is that their unemployment rate is lower, thank Obama because the only changes 45 has made are going to be hitting all of us soon and it won't make anyone in the 90% happy.
Otherwise, let's see, would it be his War on Drugs (and immigrants) Attorney General? His War on the Environment EPA and Interior secretaries? His War on Education secretary? Or perhaps his War on Housing secretary? Or just the general war on the ACA so anyone not wealthy can't have healthcare?
Color me puzzled.
You know not what you speak. trump is sent by the devil to bring down the usa, whites, blacks. trump is making russia and putin great at the expense of us. Wake Up!
Aren't his actions to help the cognitive dissonance of his fans? When Trump is rightly called a racist they can say he can't be because he pardoned Ali and Jack Johnson. It's similar to those who wanted to say racism no longer existed because Obama had been elected president.
And I will remind those who oppose Trump to vote because his numbers have only gone up recently!
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Yes and the man who constantly whines about fairness is playing a celebrity game in which the pardons go to those who have the neatest celeb's hawking their cause. Justice is nowhere in it - get a Kardasian to plea your case, and after a WH visit, maybe a pardon. What about the hundreds of folks in the queue who have no 'reality TV star' to speak for them?
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When Trump does it, it is for nefarious reasons. If he doesn't do it, he's a racist. If Obama had done it, it was because he is thoughtful. In true Obama fashion, he under accomplished.
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Try and find some joy in life. Ali and Johnson didn't get to see justice. Grandmother Johnson can now get on with her life. Yeah, that Trump, he's a real bad guy.
Comparing Trump to Bull Connor is clearly an exaggeration, intended I assume to be provocative. I think one of the reasons our nation, which is imperfect but improving (by objective measures) all the time, seems so divided is that our arguments, rhetoric, and thinking is tilting toward extremism. Trump should be faulted for not seeing that a leader's job is to bring people together; he's way too divisive. At the same time two wrongs don't make a right. Week after week, Charles Blow makes over-the-top criticisms. That means he's also part of the problem. The way to deal with Trump and all people we disagree with politically is with respect and rational argument, not exaggeration and name-calling. Mr. Blow has many excellent argument to make; I know that I could understand his point of view better if it were stated more reasonably.
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If trump and/or his supporters were open to rational argument, there would be less need for criticism, over-the-top or otherwise.
The US is now polarized. People on both sides of the political spectrum are so entrenched in their views that there is less and less room for dialogue and collaboration. This condition seems to be worse on the right—hence trump.
But until the republicans’ power in Congress is weakened, trump will be trump, most republicans will love him, and the depredations will continue. It’s great if you are able to sit back and nod your head thoughtfully at reasonable arguments, and there is no shortage of commentators who will provide that substance. Still, it’s nice to have more forceful reminders of what’s happening to America while reasonable people hang politely back.
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To have reasonable discussion, both sides have to be reasonable. There is a large segment of the US population which does not understand this. It pushes the part of the population which understands the necessity for dialogue in order to preserve our democracy to despair and thus away from reason. We cannot afford white supremacy and virulent racism. Insistence on both is the enemy of reason, hence of reasonable discussion.
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So you want to have a "reasonable" discussion on whether we should deport football players who take a knee?
I'm sorry but I would be unable to do that. The fact that you can actually entertain the idea long enough to have a "reasonable" discussion about it says you're open to the idea which is as un-American as you can get. I guess we should have deported those rabble rousers who protested the tea tax in Boston Harbor all those many years ago.
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Why yes -- and he alternately panders to law enforcement, and undermines law enforcement, arbitrarily depending upon whether law enforcement favors him or happens to be prosecuting him.
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Yes. Equal treatment under the law is for the 'little people', to paraphrase his fellow real estate mogul Leona Helmsley.
Being old enough today to remember when Mohammed Ali was Cassius Clay, I was fascinated by his successful boxing career and his ability to grab headlines outside the sports pages with his brilliant prose. I recall the twirling of pearls and wringing of hands when Mr. Ali became a Muslim and subsequently defied the draft.
Mr. Ali used his celebrity and status to bring attention to what many considered an unjust draft (Selective Service) system, an unjust war, and continuing unjust treatment of African-Americans.
As a child, a young teenager, and young adult, I witnessed this country struggle for a more perfect Union and the backlash to it. The overt backlash by law enforcement to social upheavals of the times and voices of Civil Rights leaders ultimately diminished in national attention, and any cognizant person knew this was not because problems of bigotry, racism, and injustices were solved.
President Trump is not offering solutions. All pardons he has issued have been for optics and scoring political points. In accepting a pardon, an individual admits to guilt and Mr. Ali, with his conviction overturned, is not guilty of anything. If Mr. Ali were alive, and had his conviction stood, I suspect he would reject a pardon - this would negate all he stood for.
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Trump is feinting pardons in many directions. In my view this is simply to muddy the waters in preparation for pardoning of those of his cohorts who stand firm against cooperating with Mr Mueller and any one in his inner circle, like Trump Jr. who may get indicted, including himself.
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Ali was not a conscientious objector in the traditional sense. He was not opposed to all wars, just wars not ordained by the Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam is not recognized by mainstream Muslims. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists it as a hate group.
Ali said, "War is against the teachings of the Qur'an. I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don't take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers." The Justice Department argued that. “It seems clear that the teachings of the Nation of Islam preclude fighting for the United States not because of objections to participation in war in any form but rather because of political and racial objections to policies of the United States as interpreted by [Nation of Islam leader] Elijah Muhammad. . . . It is therefore our conclusion that registrant's claimed objections to participation in war insofar as they are based upon the teachings of the Nation of Islam, rest on grounds which primarily are political and racial."
The Supreme Court initially deadlocked 4-4, a tie which would have upheld lower court decisions and would have sent Ali to prison. However, Justice Potter Stewart proposed a compromise that allowed the court to overturn Ali’s conviction based on a technical error made by the Justice Department.
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Ali never claimed to be a pacifist. He was, after all, a fighter by trade.
He objected to imperialist wars that blacks were forced to participate in to strengthen the white ruling class.
He decried the US government's hypocrisy in claimed to fight for "freedom" while blacks were being denied freedom in America.
The Justice Department showed extreme prejudice in disallowing the Nation of Islam as a religion whose members were entitled to conscientious objection.
I was born in Birmingham--"Bombingham" as it was later known--where Bull Connor was Commissioner of Public Safety for two decades, and grew up in Anniston, sixty miles away.
I was fourteen when the KKK torched a Freedom Riders bus on the outskirts of Anniston, trying to burn the civil rights activists inside alive. When the second Freedom Riders bus arrived in Birmingham, the KKK was waiting and beat the occupants senseless--while Bull Connor purposely delayed arrival of the police.
I was fifteen when a huge group of black children walked out of the 16th Street Baptist Church to march on Birmingham City Hall--after Connor had had their demonstrating parents and relatives attacked by dogs, clubbed and jailed. Connor had over 900 of the children thrown in jail as well, some as young as six. And the next day, when more student tried to renew the march, Connor ordered attack dogs on them and literally had them blown away with firehoses.
Connor did it all in the name of "law and order"--open code to any southerner in the 60s for keeping blacks in jail and in their place. That's why "law and order" was a major tenet of the GOP's southern strategy--and why it remains a central theme at Trump's rallies and in his administration’s policies.
Trump’s invitation to black athletes for pardon nominations—while hinting at deportation (!) of those who demonstrate and regularly praising police force--is just a public demonstration of a white presidential power over black lives.
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Thanks, Charles Blow, for your excellent words on America's plight under president Trump. Everything happening today in real life is completely lost on Donald Trump. We Americans -- who were the age in the 1960s of today's Gen Ys -- remember in our bones the days of MLK, Jr, of RFK and of his older brother, JFK. Our Democratic heroes were cut down before our very eyes in their young years - 30s and 40s. The ignorant haters elected Trump, and we ar now facing the death of democracy. American carnage by our president against people of colour, different faiths, and anyone who has the intelligence to loathe him, is the chaos today. Taking the knee is not lost on today's Americans when our president doesn't know the words of our patriotic anthems, doesn't know shinola about our history or world history (as shown at the G-7 Summit in Canada on Saturday), insults our allies and befriends our enemies. White supremacy and "M.A.G.A.!" are Trump's American apartheid dog whistles. We who have lived through the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s -- and who remember the days of our history -- know what's happening to our beloved country under Donald Trump.
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