One of my most dependable thoughts when it comes to politics is, "no one remembers."
Indeed, this simple credo is how I approach everything dealing with politics. I assume people don't remember, so I remind them, THEN I explain. After all, most people hate politics, and 99.9% of you DON'T WANT to remember all of this stuff. So with that in mind, I offer you this bit of political commentary to show how, once again, segments of the American populace have been played like a fiddle.
Let us start with an uncomfortable and unyielding truth. It doesn't matter if your particular political party had to sacrifice your child to Molech. If it helped them to maintain political power, they'd do it, in a heartbeat, "for the good of the country." Somewhere Mr. Washington is rolling over in his grave saying, "I warned you!"
This leads us to our current situation. The Democrats are out of power, and they don't care what, or whom, they have to sacrifice to win it back. George Floyd? Breanna Taylor? Jacob Blake? America sees these events as tragedies, but make no mistake, the Democrat establishment sees them as opportunities at best, and gifts at worst. Here is an opportunity to lash out at Trump and to further create a narrative of disharmony and hatred in the country. They've taken to the task with relish.
Now, some will ask, "How do you know that they aren't serious?! How Do YOU know that they don't care?"
The answer? "No one remembers."
What happened to "kids in cages?" What happened to "migrant caravans?" What happened to the "immigrant spring?" Heard anything lately about the protests STILL going on outside the detention facilities? Nope, you haven't. And why not? Because they stopped polling against the President. The narrative grew cold, and useless, and so it's been discarded. Nothing changed, nothing got better, but hey, we can feel good about ourselves because we showed what a bad guy Trump is, right?
Which brings me to BLM. No, for my conservative brethren reading this, I don't mean the organization BLM, I mean people, specifically and especially black people, who believe that Black Lives Matter. Where is the focus? Why is it going away? Why isn't the media talking about it? Simple, the riots turned the public opinion on the subject from against the President to for him, and so it must be dropped, or re-worked, at least. Consistency? Solidarity? Real Change? Only if you vote for them, and as long as it's a winning issue. Since it's not a winning issue for now, they'll be quiet about it.
Oh, some rank and file members, particularly those of the Black Democratic Caucus are still going to keep talking about it. They'll use the names George Floyd and Jacob Blake despite the polling. I can respect that. At least they have a real and principled position that doesn't change with the wind. They really DO want justice for Breanna Taylor, and not just a photo op in Kente cloth for the evening news. And I WANT TO STRESS that I both respect their consistency and their principle, even if I disagree with most of their politics.
But what about the others? What about the leadership? When is the last time you heard Charles Schumer or Nancy Pelosi #saytheirname? No, they're now back to the Corona-Virus, specifically vote by mail, and the saving of the Post Office, even though they refused to return from recess to deal with it unless they didn't also have to vote on a stimulus package. Take that all you peasants suffering without jobs and unable to pay your bills!
Even the liberal news outlets have forgotten their stories. It comes up on political talk shows, particularly when someone thinks it'll hurt the President, but mostly we're on to international news and are returning to daily life as normal. The tragedies forgotten. No real changes made. All that was won was a few hashtags on basketball courts, football helmets, and pitchers mounds. Actual trials and verdicts against Derrick Chauvin, the officers executing a no knock warrant who ended up killing Breanna Taylor, and the two men who essentially lynched Amaud Aubrey? We aren't hearing about them, and likely won't until the media thinks it can use their trials against the President. Out of sight, out of mind.
Think I'm wrong? Name the triggering event of the 1992 LA Riots. Name the triggering event of the burning of Black Wall Street. Heck, try just to name the triggering event of the Missouri riots. You see, it all fades away, and they're all to happy to let it, because right now it isn't helping them. They don't care about Black Lives any more than they do the families of immigrants being detained at the border or in detention facilities. That doesn't even mention the hot potato drop that they did with the immigrants on the Mexican side of the border once Trump starting winning that argument about needing to deal with the Mexican government on how they were treating them.
Think they care? Think Black Lives Matter to them? No, not beyond their Kente cloth photo op, and that, more than anything else, should enrage you. I don't have a problem with people who disagree with me taking a principled stand on what they believe, but I have a big problem with political wind pointing and riding whatever populist opportunity you believe will keep you in power. This is why I can respect, with great dignity, my friends who do truly care about Black Lives and the fact that they matter, while still strongly opposing the political party that APPEARS to support them. It's because I know it's a lie, and I have no desire to wrap myself up in a lie and to allow myself to be used.
Say Their Names, George Floyd, Amaud Aubrey, and Breanna Taylor. Speak about what happened to them. Demand justice and redress of grievances. But remember that those politicians who tell you that they're on your side are only on your side because they think they can use it for political gain.
The sad thing is that it's the white readers who will likely have the hardest time understanding what I'm writing. But those reading this who are black, Hispanic, or Native American? They've lived it, they'll understand it. They may not like it, and might not agree completely, but they've seen it happen time and time and time and time again. Their tragedy is used, sucked dry of all political use, and then thrown away. Treated like a can of soda-pop to be consumed.
I can't abide that kind of usury, and unfortunately it's rampant right now.