How Much More Can We Take?
The following commentary appeared in The Roanoke Times on June 15, 2020 – By Colleen Redman, a poet and writer from Floyd County.
Who are the smiling people who posed at lynchings from the end of slavery to the 1960s? They are still here. Where are the churches that went as congregations to watch the dead bodies of African Americans hanging from trees? They are still here. Who are those who dehumanize people in order to justify hating them? That used to be primarily directed at foreigners we were at war with, which was bad enough, but now it’s directed by Trump and his followers towards Democrats and any American citizen on the left. Who revels in Trump’s assaults on the press, his calling people names, his self-absorption with his own image, his inability to be empathetic or to unify? Who are the people who like fascist-leaning ultranationalist, authoritarian governments that control the press and forcibly suppresses opposition? They are here supporting Trump, just like some in Russia support Putin. This is the only explanation I can come up with for those who continue to emphatically support Trump, who acts more like one of the autocratic and fascist leaders he admires and praises — Putin, Kim Jong Un, Erdogan — than any other U.S. president, and they like it.
How much more can we take? On top of dealing with ongoing climate change issues, we now have pandemic shut-downs, 100,000+ virus deaths, a cop snuffing out the life of a handcuffed black man in broad daylight, street riots and looting, teargassing peaceful protesters and threatening to turn the military against them. In the midst of all that, we have Trump’s lack of governing leadership to navigate, his inflammatory rhetoric, his spreading false conspiratorial narratives, his putting our national security at risk by siding with autocrats over U.S. agencies, his alienating our allies and dropping out of global agreements.
I can understand nature, climate change and viruses as a result of our unsustainable way of life. I understand the protests across the country as the result of long-standing systemic racism. I understand Antifas’ focus on calling out the fascism that our fathers fought to take down. I’m aware that some of the violent rioting has been driven by white nationalist groups and far-right-extreme gun advocates who want to take down the government, some of whom have already been arrested. Even though our FBI director has announced that white supremacist home-grown violence is an FBI top priority on par with foreign terrorists like ISIS, Trump doesn’t address that and, in fact, gives them cover, as when he characterized the men with torches marching at a neo-nazi rally in Charlottsville some “very fine people.’
What I don’t understand, for the life of me, is how Trump is still in the White House. I don’t understand the people who enable him and the ones who think he is great. Whether he’s aware of it or not, Trump is the white nationalist figurehead dismantling the state, degrading our other branches of government, pushing out scientists, career professionals, justices, inspector generals and politicians with integrity and replacing them with his know-nothing lackeys, while moving us closer to an authoritarian, fascist-leaning government every day. – Colleen Redman
June 17th, 2020 9:35 am
Way to speak truth, Colleen. I echo every word and cant BELIEVE he is still there and that they let him rip the country apart. I dont understand where their minds, consciences and love of country is gone. We surely cant take much more.
June 17th, 2020 10:45 am
Excellent, in depth, appraisal of where we are. Wish it weren’t true. Chels
June 21st, 2020 2:07 pm
Colleen, well said. I applaud every word. I cant understand it either. I never could understand how he gets away with blatant outrages, how people could support him given the stuff that comes out of his mouth. But this morning, watching the news, seeing the smiling faces of his supporters, it finally came to me: they love him BECAUSE of what he says. How discouraging that is. I hope every marcher and every thinking person votes so we can get back to something approaching normalcy. It will take a long time to heal what has been done. I am reading Valarie Kaur’s See No Stranger. It is helping me. She is a beautiful being. Have you seen her Ted talk on Revolutionary Love. I highly recommend both.
June 21st, 2020 3:15 pm
I know. It was a rude awakening to get that so many like what Trump says and stands for and even want an authoritarian government. I worry about the dismantling of voting rights, like what happened in
Georgia and now looks to be repeating in Kentucky. I will look up that Ted Talk. Thanks, Sherry!
June 22nd, 2020 11:22 pm
I am thankful you have the words to express how I feel and that I came here and read them. …. I read an article about survey showing that Americans are sadder right now than we’ve ever been. I have been sad since November of almost 4 years ago. I didn’t think about the virus then of course, but I knew he would start a race war. I only hope that everyone who marched in the protests will be able to vote.