Stop Me If You've Heard This One

There is domestic civil unrest on Main Street, USA.  The police are called in and things get out of hand. There are peaceful demonstrators exercising their guaranteed right of free speech and they are brutalized by an overly aggressive police force.  Then there was an otherwise peaceful protest that turned violent by “a few bad apples.”  Businesses are burned and looted, and innocent civilians are killed, injured, and maimed.  During a riot, police are also assaulted, injured, or killed.

The irony of police barricading The Torch of Friendship in riot gear 

“There were good people on both sides.”  This same scenario plays out repeatedly on the streets across America.  A few bad apples on the police force or among the demonstrators cause an escalation of the violence. There were the Watts riots of 1965 in Los Angeles, California that started with a simple traffic stop for reckless (drunk) driving. Six days later, 34 people were dead, there was $40 million in property damage, and it took 14,000 members of the California Army National Guard to bring order to LA.

Next, we have the so-called Rodney King riots of 1992, also in LA.  The California Highway Patrol tried to stop Mr. King and two passengers.  He fled and a high-speed chase ensued. When he was finally stopped, his two passengers were arrested and placed in the patrol car. Mr. King then exited the car and police tasered him, beat him with batons, and kicked him until he was motionless. It would have normally all ended there, except for the fact that the whole thing was caught on video. The police were brought up on charges of excessive force and acquitted. After six days of rioting, 63 people had been killed, 2,383 were injured, 12,000 were arrested, and property damage was over $1 billion. Rodney King was a criminal who was driving drunk and on parole. He was wrong. The police who beat him senseless were wrong.

Both of the previous incidents had the common denominator of many previous years of racial suppression and resentment that boiled over after “a few bad apples” wearing police uniforms made a tense situation extraordinarily worse. The initial police stops were justified, but how they were handled later placed the police in the wrong.

This brings us to my home town of Miami. In May of 1980, Arthur McDuffie was driving his motorcycle with a suspended license and outstanding traffic citations.  He resisted the officer who tried to pull him over. A high-speed chase ensued before Mr. McDuffie was eventually stopped and then beaten to death by the police. Eight police officers were charged with a variety of offenses by Janet Reno.  An all-white jury let them off. Riots broke out in Miami. In the end, 18 people were killed, 350 were injured, 600 were arrested, and property damage exceeded $100 million.

Miami had its second time at bat with the FTAA riots of 2003. This instance had nothing to do with racial tensions, but it had everything to do with the excessive use of force by the police. This was a peaceful protest, at least initially, by a hodgepodge of varied interests. There were recycled hippies, animal rights activists, environmentalists, and middle-aged union members. The Free Trade Area of the Americas was to have been a free-trade zone for all of the Americas and the Caribbean, except Cuba. By 2005, all such efforts were abandoned so I guess the protests accomplished something.

Second generation hippies

View from the elevator lobby of my office building

This disturbance in 2003 was one for which I had a ringside seat. The staging area was just outside my office known as the Stephen P. Clark building. On the police side of things was City of Miami police chief, John Timoney who was most to blame.  As you will see from the pictures, these protestors were almost all peaceful. They included young adults in cow costumes and dolphin suits who were supporting animal rights. You also had middle-aged AFL-CIO and United Steelworkers union members marching against this agreement.  This was a peaceful protest that a militant police chief exacerbated to the detriment of all involved.

City of Miami police chief talks to a reporter

This police action later became known as the “Miami Model” as it represented an extremely violent police response to nonviolent demonstrators exercising their right to free speech. The AFL-CIO even had a parade permit. Timoney used excessive force and “non-lethal” weapons to harass and arrest the demonstrators. It fully represented his approach to criminalize and repress legal expressions of dissent.  Timoney used armored vehicles on the ground and helicopters in the sky. Police marched in lines wearing full riot gear and wielded batons, tear gas, pepper spray, and beanbag rifles to control the crowds.  The crowds were peaceful, the police got out of control.  Lawsuits by the ACLU were brought and won in challenges to these tactics.  The Miami Model used pre-emptive arrests and heavily armed sometimes-unidentifiable law enforcement.  There were large federal grants to purchase materials for security.  Some of these new materials were given to police unfamiliar with the proper use of that equipment.  Many police were not “locals” and did not know the area.  Does any of this description sound familiar and relevant in 2020 America?

A menacing save the dolphins protestor

Out of control Union Workers

Unmarked police with "less-than-lethal" weapon

Armored Personnel Carrier FHP

As a result of this pandemic, we have been getting our groceries delivered from Whole Foods. They specialize in organic versions of fruits and vegetables. I recently sliced into a beautiful organic apple and I was met with a ping-pong ball sized brown void where the center of the apple should have been. So speaking of those “few bad apples,” everything is fine until you are on the receiving end of that rotten one.  If 98% of the police force is made up of “good apples,” then 2% may be assumed to the ones causing all of the trouble.  That’s 1.9% too many.  You will never get them all but getting rid of that 1.9% is a worthwhile goal.

It is a delicate balancing act to be sure. We can all agree that police protection is necessary but most would also agree that the type and manner in which police tactics used need to be limited.  In the military, it is called rules of engagement. This balancing act also needs to be supported with training, screening, and psychological profiling of the types of individuals we allow to police us. I can certainly understand someone getting “amped up” in response to a high-speed chase but that adrenaline peak needs to be tempered with training and specialized de-escalation techniques. We also need to identify those within the police ranks and potential new recruits whose psychological makeup brings with it an explosive mindset with a short fuse.

The solutions are not as simple as another entrance test or continued sensitivity training. Like most serious issues, the solutions are not simplistic. Civilian oversight, regular reviews of police policies and tactics, de-escalation training, and the reassignment of 911 calls to specialized units to deal with things like domestic violence, are all viable points for consideration.  Defunding our police is not a proper response.  Reallocating resources as needed is a possibility.  While we can’t control the twisted criminal mind, the addled brain of a drug addict, the fury of the individual with a deviant personality disorder, or the out of control politics of the few, we can control how we deal with these miscreants in a manner fitting the situation where everyone’s safety is paramount. All police responses should be in direct proportion to the threat level of the incident.

This brings us to the final chapter discussing the use of police to enforce our laws. That chapter would be titled Responsibility. Who should be responsible for enforcing the laws within our cities, counties, parishes, and states? When is it appropriate for the federal government to step in to enforce local laws? My answer to this question, almost never. Federal forces should be used only at the behest of the governor of the state. Federal law enforcement should be used to enforce federal law violations.

President Kennedy sent a federalized National Guard to enforce federal laws for school integration in Birmingham, Alabama. This was a justified use of federal forces. President Trump’s use of anonymous federal forces and military tactics in Washington, DC, and in Portland, Oregon, was a glaring misuse of presidential powers as are his continued threats to repeat these abuses in other cities at his discretion.

All law enforcement officials should be easily identifiable by uniform or by the presentation of proper credentials when requested. The only deviation from this would be for justifiable undercover operations where secrecy is paramount. We should never see unmarked secret police or military units patrolling our streets.

Follow this link to see all of the FTAA riot pictures in Miami from 2003.

America, the Next Venezuela

Most of us are quite familiar with the mouth-breathing Neanderthals wearing their little red hats and screaming at the hate-fest rallies; but what about the more intelligent Trump fans. I recently read a post from a Trump supporter that I know to be an intelligent person and one whom I don’t believe supports the racist slant of this administration. In that post, this person indicated that they were willing to put up with Trump’s many faults because they didn’t want the U.S. to become another Venezuela. I can only assume that this otherwise bright individual thinks that electing a Democrat would put America on a path toward socialism and this would mean that America would suffer the same ruinous fate as Venezuela.

Venezuela and America

I feel that this misguided sentiment is shared by many and especially among those with Hispanic roots.  While most Hispanics lean politically to the left, those with experiences from Cuba or Venezuela are often extreme right-wingers. They see socialism as the personification of evil. What most fail to see however is that these countries were led by dictators who used their authoritarian powers to feign a policy of socialist equality while actually maintaining a wholly undemocratic regime that benefited the rich.

Venezuela was a one-trick pony whose financial well-being was directly tied to the price of oil. Venezuelan dictators could spread some cash around with social programs that made it look like everything was rosy until the price of oil dropped off a cliff and took their economy into the abyss. Cuba, on the other hand, aligned itself with Russian communism and then used the powers of their authoritarian regime to benefit the rich and force a large part of their society into abject poverty.

What this group of Trump supporters fails to see are the similarities between these two disastrous regimes and the direction of this president. Trump is also ignoring the well-being of our citizens in favor of his rich friends. His corrupt knee-jerk policymaking decisions and other erratic behavior have ignored the rule of law and have placed our great democracy in peril. Trump is a wannabe dictator who is using the power of his office for personal gain.

Under the guise of guiding our economy to greater heights, he has placed that economy in great jeopardy. To trust a man could take three casinos into bankruptcy defies all logic. The house always wins, unless of course that house is run by Trump. Yes, in Atlantic City, the Trump Plaza Casino and Hotel is now closed. The salt spray from the Atlantic has clouded its windows.  There is only a faint outline of the gold letters that spelled out T-R-U-M-P on the exterior of what was once this city’s premier casino. Not far away, the long-failing Trump Marina Hotel Casino was sold at a major loss nine years ago and is now known as the Golden Nugget. Then there is the Trump Taj Mahal under new management and trying to make ends meet with people playing the penny slots. Under the Trump watch, these casinos ran up huge debts and not enough revenue to “cover the vig,” to use a mob term.

The house always wins, unless that house is run by Trump.

As American mobsters go, Trump and family have been successful. He has managed to live the high life without yet going to jail. Any mobster would count that as a success. His casino companies used the protection of the bankruptcy court on four occasions while Trump piled up even more debt at high-interest rates. During this same time, other casinos were making money. Trump was forced to go public and managed an initial public offering that topped out at $14 a share only to see that investment end up around $0.88. Your $10,000 investment would now be worth $636.

Trump’s supporters only hear his rhetoric claiming to be a financial wizard who graduated top of his class at Wharton. Just don’t go asking for a copy of his academic achievements at Wharton or any other school he attended or his gang of lawyers will attack. You’ll just have to take his word on that one.

Burning Brimstone

I for one, refuse to take his word on anything. I’ve seen him lie in the morning and deny he ever said that lie in the afternoon; even when the lie was featured on a video recording. It’s all fake news. As for socialism, we’ve had it for decades and it isn’t going away. This is not the socialism of Cuba or Venezuela but the socialism that got us out of the Great Depression and provided financial security for our senior citizens. Ours is the socialism of conscience where we place humanity above the obscene wealth of a few. For those Hispanics who have been blinded by the rhetoric of socialism being the root of all evil, it is time to wake up and smell the brimstone being burned to fire the furnaces of greed and corruption of this administration.

Make America Beautiful Again

This title slogan is a riff on Trump’s MAGA campaign and both mottos assume America was either beautiful or great at some time in the past. On both points, it may be argued that we have been better off.  Make America Whole Again would have worked as well.  This young nation was never completely united in a common mindset with the possible exceptions of World War II and after 911. In both those instances, we were under attack and, as a na+tion, we responded with a common purpose. In most other periods, our country has been more or less divided.  We fought our Civil War amongst ourselves and we were deeply divided during our involvement in Southeast Asia (Vietnam).  Just like any large family, we have had our differences, but we all still love our country-family.

A collection of photos from my travels across America the Beautiful

There was a 1958 political novel titled, The Ugly American.  While it criticized American diplomacy for its lack of understanding of other cultures, it also highlighted American arrogance.  “Our way or the highway” was a common attitude of American foreign policy and now we see it metastasizing within our own domestic political scene.  Politically, we have many disagreements, much like members of any large family.  Most families, however, place the family above all disagreements and will still work things out through compromise. Working through our political disagreements was historically our strength, but the current death-match, the winner-take-all attitude has worked to our detriment. The solution to our problem lies in understanding the needs and motivations of others.

Classic 1958 political novel

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In response to a recent Facebook posting, which asked how many states each person had visited, I proudly boasted that I had made it to all 50. I finished my every-state quest in 2016 with a trip to Hawaii. The FB post mentioned that the average for most Americans is around eight states. I didn’t verify this but it sounded about right. I mention this as it relates to the topic of making our nation whole. I remember in one transcontinental sojourn stopping in a small southern town for lunch.  We ate at the local restaurant.  You know the one.  It’s on Main Street just past the stoplight, the only stoplight.  With true southern hospitality, we had a discussion with our waitress.  She was a young girl, perhaps in her early twenties. She asked where we were from. I’m sure she knew everyone in town and spotting strangers was easy. We mentioned Miami and that drew instant recognition. I guess it helps when your town is larger than 15 states.

Typical small-town diner

During our casual conversation, we found out that this young woman had basically never been more than 100 miles from where we were eating. She had spent her entire life in an all-white southern town with all that that entails. She was educated in local schools. She had only traveled to a few nearby towns to shop and to visit relatives and friends.  Her experience was culturally limited and she knew none but people who were just like herself.  I mention this in the context of this discussion to provide a reference for some of what ails this country. We instinctively fear the unfamiliar and some may be easily coerced to strike out against those who may be different.  Unscrupulous politicians will use this fear to their political advantage.

I don’t necessarily blame the people who may not possess a set of life experiences that would afford them a more meaningful perspective. I do however blame the politicians who would exploit the pliable. The rhetoric that instills fear of the [insert any ethnic identity here] and which accuses them of (1) coming for your jobs, (2) coming to rape your women, (3) coming to spread disease, (4) coming to sell drugs, are all the tools of the deceitful, looking to divide our nation for their own personal gain.

The face of anger and hatred

When you look at the broadcasts from some recent political rallies, you will often see the hatred in the faces of the attendees. Certainly, more hatred and anger than I would deem healthy for a country looking to be whole or great.  Tapping into that fear, anger, and hatred is the line of least resistance for the unscrupulous political scoundrel.  They use these rallies to fan the flames of racial tension and xenophobia and to set up the scapegoats for that anger and hatred within the assembled masses.  The event is then televised and captured on cellphones to be spread far and wide.  Instead of examining the problems of the day and extolling reasonable solutions to those problems, they point to “the others” who are to blame for all our nation’s ills.  I give you a lazy politician. I give you a divisive politician.

Welcome to the Hate Zone

These same politicians also use religion and/or patriotism as a crutch.  I would venture to say that the overwhelming majority of Americans are a patriotic bunch who may or may not follow a specific religion but who minimally have a moral compass to guide them.  In my travels, I find that I can have a pleasant conversation with almost anyone as long as I stay away from politics and religion.  I learned early in my brief stint as a bartender to avoid those two topics like the plague, which is a topic for another discussion altogether.

Yes, Americans of all parties and political persuasions can be descent well-meaning folks.  My friends include Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and the non-committal confused. Everyone is entitled to an opinion.  Reasonable discussions to weigh the pros and cons of any point had previously been accepted and/or a tolerated form of expression guaranteed by our constitution.  Recently, however, reasonable discussions and thoughtful compromise have gone the way of the California condor. Tolerance of other opinions is as threatened as the eastern red wolf, of which there are fewer than 35 who have survived in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge of eastern North Carolina.

Eastern Red Wolf

I am not here to offer any solutions to the problem of national division but I will suggest a starting point.  That would be to never again elect to any political office someone who extols the “virtues” or uses the tactics described above.  Any politician who regularly assigns blame or uses ethnic generalities to dodge meaningful solutions should be assigned to the trash heap.  Anyone who uses unsubstantiated rumors and innuendo to attack political opponents should be castigated at the ballot box.  All who prey on racist tendencies or xenophobic fears to further their own chances in an election should have those hopes dashed.  Without using any names, I’m sure someone comes to mind that fits this bill; perhaps several.

Enter the plague.

Reopening America was a mistake; where we've gone in one month

Rolling 7-day average per 1 million population for new Corona cases (6/30/2020)

Bob Dylan's recent comments on the coronavirus pandemic, "It's an invasion for sure, but biblical?  Like some sort of warning sign for people to repent?"  "That would imply that the world is in line for some sort of divine punishment.  Extreme arrogance can have some disastrous penalties.  Maybe we are on the eve of destruction.

Eve of destruction.

America needs unity, not division.  The current global pandemic and the splintered US response, has highlighted our need for cohesive leadership.  The Covid-19 epidemic in America has crippled our economy, killed over 126 thousand of our neighbors, and has permanently damaged the health of many.  It has been totally mishandled since the outset.  We made mistakes but, unlike other countries, we have not learned from these mistakes.  We seem to be making political decisions during a health crisis when we should be following the science and listening to health professionals.  Many of the recent decisions have been self-serving to whichever politician or political group makes them. 

Our rudderless national ship is headed for a similar fate

We are now in desperate need of a national leader to actually lead. We need someone to take over this rudderless ship, make the necessary repairs, and steer a course that will keep our nation off the rocks.  The current captain is clueless and has provided this nation with an upward spiraling infection rate that will lengthen our crisis and further decimate our economy.  Our captain is not asleep at the helm, he’s snoring in his bunk below decks.  He refuses to listen to the experts and thinks only in terms of how decisions will affect his poll numbers. It’s not that the solution hasn’t been made clear by almost every other nation in the world. This is a time for unity and a cohesive strategy. This is not a time for finger-pointing and name-calling.

I would hate to think our great nation, barely 244 years old, will be brought down by a reality TV star on a power trip and an unseen virus.  Rome eventually fell, but after surviving 507 years.  Greece lasted 350 years.  I was hoping for something like the Ottoman Empire that held power for 600 years or the Egyptians who hung around for 30 centuries.  The reigning champions are the Chinese with 3,500 years and counting.  Certainly, we can do better than two and a half centuries.

To be sung "with dignity"

It was mentioned in the opening paragraph that this nation came together during World War II and after 911 as we were under attack.  Well, we are again under attack but this time the enemy is all but invisible.  An unseen virus has killed more Americans than were lost in many years of fighting in Vietnam.  Let us hope that we can come together right now (someone should write a song) and put our differences aside to heal our wounded nation.  It’s fine to be a proud American but wrong to be an arrogant one.  The arrogant American is an Ugly American. We need to again sing, America the Beautiful, proudly.  We can start making America beautiful again by getting rid of "Ugly American" leaders.  This does not refer to physical ugliness but the ugliness of spirit.  The ugliness of arrogance.  The ugliness of division.  The ugliness of hate.  The ugliness of racism.  It’s time to lead, follow, or get out of the way.  Make America beautiful once again.