Outside Agitation vs Dismantling Institutional Racism

I preface this article by letting people know that I detest violence. I've fought against it most of my life. Having said that, I have also seen the establishment, almost always, blame the consequences of public demonstrations on outside agitators and anarchists. Fairly seldom has any blame been placed on segregationists, homophobes, or sexists or white nationalists. Usually, the accusers also have very little knowledge about the political philosophy of anarchism or personalism but what they know is that throwing out the term anarchism can produce visceral reactions. That is a topic though for another article.

The recent events in Minneapolis have caused lots of feelings, actions and reactions. Government officials responding to property destruction are moving in a direction of militarism, strong physical containment, and purportedly some questionable citizen electronic surveillance. There has always been a tendency to blame others when a crisis shows up. Blaming victims of injustice is an easy but incorrect response.

The fact is that it's much easier to ratchet up and blame outside agitators than it is to analyze, discuss and bring about the systemic changes that end racism in society, government culture & operations, policing, or criminal justice. Throughout history there have always been righteous outsiders & agitators. The list could go on and on. They showed up in Seneca Falls, Selma, and Stonewall. Some of that list includes names like Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Cesar Chavez.

The first step right now is to understand the pent up anger and frustration with systems that never change. People have been here before. Communities of color and poor people understand the past better than most of us. The list of deaths, arrests, beatings and unfair treatment are long and old. Demonstrations and marches have taken place before and nothing changes. America is a tinder box. We have a President who tweets hatred and lies to the masses. We have white men and women showing up at state capitols with military grade weapons and no consequences. We have a criminal justice system hidden from society unless you have to contend with it yourself. We have prison populations made up of the poor and people of color. There are police and police agencies who treat the black community differently and many times brutally. Government officials and community leaders would be better off discussing and solving these issues, short term and long term.

There always have been provocateurs and probably always will be. They include the left, the right, undercover police, undercover intelligence agencies, militia members, etc. This fight though is about justice. It includes policing, housing, jobs, economic fairness. None of this is about one city at a time. This is about our entire country and we need to recognize it quickly. 

So let's not have issues of who's marching, who's protesting and which group needs to be surveilled take over the conversation, the activities, or the hard work of systemic change. We need to keep our eyes on the prize and fight for true justice for all, in the street, in the council room and in the board room.

Racism in America Is Very White

Racism in America is real and blatant and until white America recognizes it and does something about it, it will continue, mostly unchecked. George Floyd's arrest and murder is just the latest high profile example of this unbridled racism and of racist actions by public police authorities.

We have to accept that racism in America is baked into the daily routines and actions by those in authority and that this is being done in our names as white Americans. We've seen it enough. The examples are all over the place and they continue every day. But it all comes from someplace. Belief in superiority, inferiority, threats to or against women as property, manhood.

Think about what we've seen in the past few weeks. A young, black jogger,  tracked, followed, challenged, harassed and shot in a white neighborhood. Then a white woman in Central Park being asked to leash her dog in an area where leashing is required. The person making the request was a black man, following every social norm imaginable. The woman's response was to threaten him, using her whiteness and his blackness in a call to 911, and she does just that, believing it would bring the weight of authoritarianism down on this man. A black man threatening a white woman, the basis for so much historical racism. All of this followed by George Floyd being stopped, arrested and killed by a police knee on his neck while he pleaded for a breath.

Mr. Floyd's death is criminal and the racism that led to it is criminal. My eyes and brain are in fact the judge and jury because our justice system continues to fail black Americans. Please be honest with yourselves. If you had passed a $20 counterfeit bill in your hometown or even if you were traveling out of town, would multiple police cars show up? Would you be dragged and put against a wall while you protested? Would you end up on the ground with a knee on your neck and a police officer taunting you, threatening you to get up or resist more? You know the answer as well as I do. No, this is racism in America today and it doesn't happen to you or me.

The fact that these officers, who caused Mr. Floyd's death, have not been arrested is another example of the racism and police authority that continues to threaten our country and our people. The lack of police accountability is blamed on union contracts, poorly written policies and procedures or the need for never ending investigations. What is wrong with municipal leaders, police chiefs and district attorneys along with rank and file police officers? Are they blind or are they just fulfilling a long accepted practice of making excuses for authoritarian racism? And yes, people had to force justice's hand in every other case through videos and/or eyewitness accounts.

Until white Americans speak out and do something about these practices and incidences of racism that take place every day in our names, all of this will continue. We have a responsibility to force the change that needs to happen. You know it's there. You know it's happening. Speak up whenever and wherever you can.

Reimagine and Rebuild

Re-opening the economy is the topic on everyone's mind it seems. Some want to force the issue through protests that include bringing guns to state capitols. Nazi and Confederate flags show up interspersed with American flags and MAGA hats making one wonder if any of these scholarly folks have any real concept of the meaning or history of these symbols? That's where we are in this country, as thousands of people die each day from this virus.

We've also heard from Andrew Cuomo, Governor of NYS, talking in some different terms. He's asking people to think about something a bit more complex than just re-opening and thinking they can go back to things as they were. He's pointing out that we need to view things more critically relative to our current plight and give thought to reimagining and rebuilding before we reopen. He's getting a lot of heat and a lot of pushback for what he's saying. Some of it is fair and some isn't. The reality is though that change is always hard.

I've had my own issues with Gov. Cuomo over the years. He has authoritarian tendencies. He can be aloof and speak down to people. He can also be extremely rigid in his approach to issues and his response to critics. He tends to be a 'my way or the highway' type of guy. His jokes can be pretty lame too. So I understand the negative reaction he sometimes gets. On this point however, I think he's right. If this pandemic has shown us anything, it's that we weren't ready for a crisis of this magnitude. It has also shown us that same old, same old won't work.

The strongest pushback he's gotten is on the concept of reimagining education in NYS and probably the entire country. Is traditional classroom style learning the best or only way to learn? Can we continue to afford the infrastructure of buildings, equipment and more? Similar questions are also being asked throughout various business sectors i.e. tourism, entertainment, food service, manufacturing, retail and health care. This is because we have the potential of something like this happening again.

But reimagining education and thinking about all the change that would be necessary is scary for many and as we know, change is generally very difficult. This is especially the case when we're looking at a model that has existed for centuries. The reality is though that pre-K, K-12 and College learning really should be looked at in terms of why things should continue as they are currently structured.

Obviously there are some huge challenges with bringing this type of change about. This, however, is the time to start the process. One of the biggest challenges is the lack of internet access to every home in NYS. Governor Cuomo and other politicians would have us believe that feat has been accomplished but it hasn't really happened the way it needs to. There are still many homes without high speed, uninterrupted internet access. That would have to change almost immediately which would be a good thing. It's unacceptable that so many homes and businesses are without this necessary service today. Parents and children still sit in parking lots or go to Public Libraries just to get access for homework assignments. It's no way to treat citizens and it needs to be corrected asap.

There's lots of discussion about how different and how difficult online teaching and learning is for everyone involved. The thing we should remember is that we were forced into our current situation. There was little time to train or even figure out how learning and teaching would take place. But teachers, parents and students have forged ahead and innovation is out there taking place every day. We need to learn from that and encourage new thinking and practices.

Post secondary education is a real challenge. Much of our approach to College is cultural. Choices need to be made about the importance of the campus life experience vs education. There are many people - students, parents and educators who will argue endlessly about the critical importance of the 'experience'. Yes it's nice, it's fun, it's a part of growing up, etc. but is it all that necessary for a good education. These are radical ideas for some people, but it seems they need to be discussed now at a time when we see the chaos that pandemics can bring.

So reimagining things can be helpful. We just need the courage to do it and encourage it, to throw resources at it and to create discussions that help people see things as they could be. We need to rebuild, so let's reimagine and do it better and smarter.

Urge to Re-open vs Safety

Here in my little corner of Upstate New York, people are certainly trying to figure out how to go back to some kind of normal in their lives. As I've mentioned before, I am a highly compromised and vulnerable person at 76 years of age and diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis and Emphysema. I've been self isolated from the beginning of this Covid-19 crisis except for two instances of going out to get necessary blood tests.

Yesterday I ventured out for the first time for a car ride with my wife and was really surprised to see all of the activity around town and at Mennonite greenhouses that dot the area. People are clearly feeling antsy and are trying to move Spring along just a little faster and my sense is that most are trying to do it safely. We didn't stop anywhere on this ride but just wanted to get out and take in some sites around the area.

Governor Cuomo has indicated that our regional area of the Finger Lakes is able to reopen cautiously as of May 15. People seem to be moving forward even faster than that. It seems that once you release the brake or as he says open the valve, all hell is ready to break loose and honestly it will be very hard to close things down again unless the consequences are truly dire. So it seems that concentrating on safety is the best all of us can do and yes, that safety includes factoring in the people who are out there not following safety procedures.

Of course all of this would be easier if the Center for Disease Control would issue clear guidance on best practices for various types of businesses and entities. Everyone would be served by this - businesses, government, educational and health facilities, churches and the public at large. That really shouldn't be too much to ask of the federal government or of our state or counties.

In the absence of CDC guidelines on re-opening, it seems to me, that most of the precautions we all need to take are common sense:

• We should continue to wash our hands and use hand sanitizer often and between stops at stores or other places we visit.
• We should really measure some of our stops based on density - you know, how many people are at a particular location.
• We should understand that part of the density issue an be measured by noise factors. If there's loud shouting, cheering, people talking over one another, we're probably in too dense an area. 
• We should continue the social distancing guidelines and wear masks or face covers.
• We should listen to public health officials. They know the issues and follow science and data. Basically, we can trust them to have our best interest at heart.

That's it. We are in this together and we have to depend on each other. I'm not interested in admonishing or giving the non believers a hard time. I just want to see us get through this. So as you go about your business, be safe and stay safe and treat each other with respect.