ONE LAW FOR THEM, AND ANOTHER LAW FOR US
Deploying a remarkably unconventional headline to introduce a piece of fairly conventional wisdom, The NEW YORK TIMES recently published a column by Ross Douthat entitled “The Case Against Riots.” I wouldn’t have thought the Times would find it necessary to make that case, but we live in interesting times. The piece itself is what you’d expect. TL;DR: riots are counterproductive. Even Martin Luther King, a well-known Black person, said so: “Every time a riot develops, it helps George Wallace.”
Douthat doesn’t have the moral authority to lecture Black folks about responsible citizenship, but this particular argument isn’t crazy. Donald Trump is a nihilist. A long, hot summer of civil unrest would suit him just fine. It would keep his base riled up, and it would divert attention from the fact that he’s a terrible president. It may be the only campaign tactic he has left. Why give Trump what he wants?
A response was not long in coming. Elsewhere in Gotham City, NEW YORK MAGAZINE columnist Zak Cheney-Rice wrote an article called, “The Rioters Aren’t Here To Convince You.” He notes that “A riot is not a tactic to gain widespread sympathy. It’s an expression of how inadequate other efforts have been.”
That’s the thing, isn’t it? I am, by nature, sympathetic to appeals to reason. But I’m an old white guy. I may have 99 problems, but dying with a cop’s knee on my neck ain’t one. “Keep calm and carry on” is in my DNA.
But if I did have to worry about a cop killing me, I have a feeling that I wouldn’t appreciate someone telling me to keep calm and carry on. I’d probably hear it as, “Wake up and smell the coffee, dude. Nothing’s ever going to change, so just accept your lot in life. And when, inevitably, you run afoul of local law enforcement, please die off-camera, so we don’t have to watch anything unpleasant while we’re telling your community to keep calm and carry on.”
I understand why images of burning and looting upset people. I have a harder time understanding why many of those same people don’t get equally upset when they see the images of police brutality that sparked the burning and looting. Do those people really believe they’d keep calm under similar circumstances? Good grief, they freak out when someone asks them to wear a surgical mask.
White people tend to see police brutality, if they see it at all, as an aberration. That narrative is abetted by a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (the one that’s hiding in plain sight on Fox, on radio talk shows, and on the internet) which has developed a playbook for such incidents. Ignore the incident for as long as possible. Smear the victim, and witnesses too. Valorize the bad cop, or, if his conduct is sufficiently egregious, paint any criticism of an individual policeman as an attack on first responders in general. Gaslight your audience, casting as much doubt as you dare on the available audio or video evidence. Blame the Deep State, Obama, the Clintons, and Joe Biden – anybody but Donald Trump. If any of those feints gain traction, double down. If not, change the subject. Repeat as necessary.
The essence of Trumpism is that the legal system is supposed to protect, but not restrain, Trump and his friends – and to restrain, but not protect, everyone else. Bill Barr gets that. The New York Times does not.
Instead of demanding Trump’s removal, and continuing to demand it until the polls close on November 3, they’re reduced to publishing earnest editorials about why riots are bad. Their pundits write things like “just when we think he can’t sink any lower,” and “we’ve become numb to his outrages.”
No. That’s wrong. It substitutes clichés for analysis. I’d bet money that Donald Trump will sink lower, right up until his physical and mental deterioration renders him unable to function. He’s operating on pure id at this point; and he’s surrounded by enablers who don’t care, as long as there’s money to be made and victims to bully. They’ll keep going until someone stops them.
Who’s going to stop them? Not the Senate. Not the Supreme Court. Not vandals or looters.
I hate to say it, but I’m afraid it’s going to be up to me. All I need to do between now and November 3 is find 70 million people who agree with me, and make sure they get to the polls. The next five months are going to be crazy. The temptations of numbness and mindless rage will be ever-present. Keeping calm is optional, but please do carry on. If I can count on you, then I only need to find another 69,999,999 folks to join us.