#BlackOpinionsMatter: Jemele Hill

Donald Trump might not be a white supremacist, but he did hire a lot of them to work in his administration. Donald Trump might not be a white supremacist, but he has demonstrated white supremacist sensitivities over and over again.

No one made him try to destroy the lives of 5 innocent black kids. No one made him knowingly lie about President Obama's birth certificate. No one made him call Mexicans rapists and murders. No one made him open his mouth and spew his anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hatred. No one made him find the good in the self professed white supremacists who terrorized Charlottesville. No one made him pardon the virulent racist Joe Arpaio. Donald Trump alone chose to do all of these things.

I stand 100% behind Jemele Hill. For 8 years "real Americans" and "Evangelicals" believed (and spread) every ignorant conspiracy theory about Barack Obama. None of them were led to FEMA camps. None of them had their guns taken. None of them were forced to convert to Islam. These lies were spread by racists at Fox news and other conservative media outlets and accepted as facts.

Jemele Hill judged Donald Trump by his actions. He has no one to blame but himself. This time last year "real Americans" loved brash outspoken speech, hated the P.C. culture and weren't snowflakes. What happened?

Jemele Hill was reprimanded for calling a spade a spade. She was hired to give her opinion, and now that her personal opinions​ don't sync up with the powers that be at ESPN  she is in jeopardy. This is a prime example of why people of color need their own platforms. "Real Americans" elected a confessed pu$$y grabbing reprobate to the most powerful office in the world, but are ready to kick an opinion journalist out of her job for tweets she made on her own time.

"Real Americans" wonder why athletes are refusing to stand for this hypocrisy. #BlackOpinionsMatter

Netanyahu: America's Favorite Thug

There’s been so much written about any potential influence Vladimir Putin could exert over Donald Trump that the influence Benjamin Netanyahu already has over him was largely ignored. The United Nations Security Council’s decision to call the Israeli settlements illegal, coupled with the incoming Trump administration's reaction to it, has pushed those of us still engaged in the political process back to our partisan cubbyholes on all things Israel. On Fox news, this story is being sold as President Obama’s final act of hostility against Israel: there might be some screw you aimed at Israel on the president’s part, but that doesn’t negate the principles that undergird the U.S. decision to abstain from vetoing Resolution 2334. The 4^th Geneva Convention is the basis for the settlements being illegal. Our past UN vetoes have only emboldened Israel to keep building on contested lands. At the end of 2014 Israel begrudgingly slowed down the construction of settlements, but overall Israel has built more settlements during the Obama administration than during the Bush years. I’ve read articles and tweets from some very smart people who saw the UN’s decision as something to celebrate, but the reality is: the daily life of the average Palestinian and Jewish person affected by this decision is likely to get worse. 

Benjamin Netanyahu’s reaction to this resolution confirms what I’ve always thought about him: he’s a thug. I respect his gangster mentality even though I don’t respect his governance. I know thuggish behavior when I see it; Just like Kevin Hart’s "Uncle Richard Junior", Netanyahu is a thug. He could survive in any hood or prison on the planet. This is why he and Vladimir Putin have had a distinct advantage over President Obama, and why they will likely have more influence over President-Elect Trump. Real recognizes real. Violence, and even a propensity to engage in violence isn’t enough to make someone a thug. There are men who engage in domestic violence as a way of experiencing power over another person; that is faux strength. Bibi isn’t boxing the Palestinian people in because they are weak and he has more military might: he’s doing it because they are in his way. His real fight is with the international community. He sees the UN and any state actor who doesn’t acquiesce to his geopolitical plans for Israel as the real enemy. Netanyahu used President Obama’s diplomatic sensitivities and desire to be respected against him. President Obama would beat around the bush to criticize Israeli policies while Bibi would deflect the criticism and get in front of a microphone and clearly issue disrespectful statements against him. Netanyahu will be able to push Donald Trump in any direction he needs him to go. Most Americans, have an uncritical support of Israel. We will blindly support them no matter the circumstances and a Trump administration will only embolden him. Donald needs to be seen as strong and supporting Israel is one way to accomplish this.

Trump looks up to strong leaders because of the respect they command; he goes around bragging about himself while guys like Benjamin Netanyahu  and Vladimir Putin just exude the strength and confidence he wishes he had. I don’t believe Trump could’ve handled some of the potential conflicts of interests the way his two favorite state actors did. The Russian involvement in the Syrian conflict should’ve been an area where Netanyahu and Putin butted heads, but they didn’t. They were able to sit down and talk about their intentions inside of Syria. President Obama was hammered by conservatives for not supporting Israel, but when the United States and NATO were condemning Russia’s support of the Assad regime Netanyahu was as quiet as a church mouse. Think about it, Assad is down with Iran and Hezbollah, but Bibi wasn’t concerned with Putin propping up a regime that supports state actors who openly oppose the Jewish state? That’s O.G. behavior. When Bloods are making money with Gangster Disciples they don’t let the relationship between the (G.D.’s) and Crips get in the way of that. Americans are so reluctant to call out power brokers when they engage in thug behavior. I don’t believe Trump could’ve navigated that situation as calmly as either leader. He needs to be validated at every turn, and I don’t think his ego could handle someone willfully engaging with a known enemy.

Since Resolution 2334 was passed, critiques of the Jewish state and a possible two-state solution have ranged from technocratic policy papers worthy of a PhD to Twitter garbage worth less than 140 characters. Both approaches will yield the same outcome: nothing! There’s no such thing as a two-state solution if the land you’re trying to divide looks like it was carved up by gerrymandering Republicans from the south. The settlements must stop! The starting point for most discussions over who has the right to this land usually devolves into a game of Trivia Pursuit covering the last five thousand years and prophecies stretched across three religious books. Too many people are trapped in the Sisyphean game of determining the chicken or egg of middle-east aggressions. I understand the need to historicize, but there are too many people who (in my opinion) place more importance on events of the 13^th and 14^th century than decisions made in 1947 and 1967. The dispute over access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque typifies this: my big brother was alive when Israel occupied it.

Israel can’t bear the full responsibility for trying usher in peace, but they have to be willing to extend an olive branch instead of burning them down. I won’t deny the existence of bad actors in the region. There are religious zealots who want to spread a global caliphate; likewise, there are those in the Israeli government and the west who would gladly reduce parts of the middle-east to ruble. Both groups are foolish. Every security gate leads to a pat down; which creates tension; which leads to knife and brick attacks; which leads to mortar fire. This cycle works in any order. War is sometimes necessary, but Israel and the west can't kill their way out of this problem. As Americans, we have to accept the reality that our governments financial support of the Israeli military comes with a price greater than the cost of bombs and rockets. America has to be open to the idea that everything Israel does isn't right.

America will always love Benjamin Netanyahu; he is the ultimate law and order politician. In his zeal to maintain what he understands as peace he ignores any role his government plays in adding to the hostilities. If he had his way no one would question him about the settlements or any of the daily indignities visited on Palestinian people by settlers. Bibi, like any gangster, wasn’t upset that the settlements were deemed illegal, he’s always known they were; he was upset that Obama and Kerry allowed him to be snitched on. His comments are very telling, “Friends Don't Take Friends to UN Security Council.” He doesn’t even consider the legitimacy of the Resolution. Peace for most reactionaries is at odds with justice. Most often peace is equated to people suffering in silence. In 1967 Dr. King used the term No Justice No Peace as a unifying cry between protests for Civil rights and against the Vietnam war. 49 years after the Israeli invasion that led to the capture of the Al-Aqsa Mosque it looks like it could be another 49 years before Justice has a chance to usher in peace. Again, chicken or egg logic won't solve this problem. I wouldn’t tell anyone in that region they shouldn't be afraid, but I would hope they cope with their fear better than the individuals who allow it to dominate their decision making. Benjamin Netanyahu is thug, but at least he’s not a coward. A coward might have taken the nuclear option by now.

“the Zionist argument to justify Israel’s present occupation of Arab Palestine has no intelligent or legal basis in history.”           Malcolm X

Grab Them By The _______ vs Stay in School: Dualism In America

Blue Ridge Mountains (n.) A place where many of the same parents who forbade their children from hearing a 2009 back to school address by President Obama now decorate their bodies, cars, and yards with campaign paraphernalia from the most vulgar candidate that’s run for office in modern history.

My neighborhood is full of Trump Pence 2016 signs. A majority of the Blue Ridge Mountains is covered in “Make America Great Again” hats, tee shirts, and campaign literature. This doesn’t bother me; I knew who many of these people were before the Trump campaign successfully normalized the latent bigotry, racism, xenophobia, and sexism that’s become synonymous with his presidential bid. I’ve read dozens of articles by people attempting to explain the lukewarm positions they publicly hold as it relates to all things Trump. “I don’t like or agree with everything he says, but he’s better than Hillary.” “He’s not a racist; he just wants America to come first.” Or (my personal favorite) “You weren’t worried about _______ (insert anything stupid or insensitive Trump has said or done that another person in history has said or done) before, why the double standard now?”

The time for making excuses for his petulant behavior expired about a calendar year ago. Every day there’s a new situation for his campaign surrogates to “Trumpsplain”. Donald Trump has pulled off one of the greatest political magic tricks our country has ever seen: he convinced his coalition of evangelicals, suburban and rust belt conservatives, and white nationalist that not only can he win the presidency without any help from the rest of the country, but that they should suspend their principles and defend his every misstep. He was right when he said, “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters,”. That’s not a testament to the loyalty his supporters have for him, but an indictment of their inability to admit a mistake. Trump’s most loyal supporters have adopted his strategy of doubling down on mistakes. Pride is a powerful thing.

The same Trump supporters who have demanded perfection from President Obama over the last eight years have had to adjust their Judeo-Christian values to accept Trump's obvious character flaws. With a few months left in his final term many of them still don’t consider Mr. Obama a legitimate president. The Christian right would have never forgiven President Obama if he had five children by three different women? Who seriously believes Barack Obama could have bragged about the size of his penis in a debate and continued his campaign? Would Pat Robertson make excuses for his sexist, racist, and xenophobic comments? I knew his most loyal supporters wouldn't be fazed by an audio tape of him admitting to being a sexual predator. Many of these people excuse bigoted remarks every day.  

I sat down to write this knowing that some variation of this post has been written a thousand times, yet I can’t help but call out the blatant hypocrisy many inside the Trump tent work so hard to deny and explain away. In my community there were close to a dozen people who made a big enough fuss about President Obama’s back to school address in 2009 that all of the schools in our area had to send permission slips home so parents could decide if it's OK for their children to hear a Black man tell them education is important and to stay in school. Many of those same people spend their free time on social media circulating lies constructed by alt-right think tanks and memes generated for the sole purpose of normalizing bigotry. I don’t know if this circle of hypocrisy can be broken. The Trump Pence 2016 crowd is the McCain Palin 2008 crowd; If President Obama had said that John McCain wasn’t a war hero, there would have been calls for him to drop out of the race and he possibly would have faced censure from the U.S. Senate, yet we know these same people just chalked that up to Donald being Donald.

Before President Obama gave his 2009 national address to school students the prevailing sentiments of many in opposition to his speech was that it was a form of Socialist indoctrination or he hasn’t earned our trust yet. I went back and found quotes from old stories on right-wing websites that covered the outrage. This is a sampling of what the "Make America Great Again" crowd thought about protecting their children's delicate sensitivities.  

"It's a form of indoctrination, and I think, really, it's indicative of the culture that the Obama administration is trying to create," "It's very socialistic."

"I have to sign permission slips for my kids to watch R-rated movies in school," Moore said, explaining that she felt parents were being blindsided by the president's address. "It was simply presented, 'Hey, we're going to do this, this is when it's going to air and you're going to show it to your kids.'"

“I think this president has done nothing to earn our trust or respect. I’m obviously politically biased, I also hated Bill Clinton but wouldn’t have minded him speaking to our students. I truly do not trust this man. The office of the presidency is one to be respected, however the man himself must earn that respect. In this particular instance, I do believe his intentions to be pure, but i just can’t trust anything he does. I will not do anything to curb my teachers from showing the speech, but my daughter and I will have a lengthy discussion about government and principals this nation was founded on. Perhaps that’s the issue here, parenting!!!”

“The idea of having Obama speak directly to children without so much as a permission slip being sent home just "makes you feel a little funny," said Beth Milledge of Winterset, Iowa. She said she plans on going to school with her 8-year-old son to watch the address with him.”

Conservatives and Evangelicals have permanently suspended their right to ever challenge another politician's character. Almost a decade after announcing his bid for The White House President Obama still has to be perfect in a way many Americans refuse to admit is rooted in a deeply racist embrace of white supremacy. Donald Trump has done something President Obama didn't do: make us believe anyone could become president.