Tag: White House

Is the US Under a De Facto State of Martial Law?

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The United States is in a state of social unrest not seen since protests against the Vietnam War and for civil rights peaked in the 1960s. But unlike during the 1960s, the country is facing an unprecedentedly unresponsive government.

Political silence

Even while politicians espouse the validity of the protesters’ grievances, not a single politician has offered them anything tangible in response. The only response that the self-professed beacon of democracy is offering is for frustrated citizens to “shut up” and go home.

There have been no five-point plans, no official strategies, no bills proposed, and no committees formed to investigate. The US is not even offering these usual empty gestures. The best protesters have received is an indication that Democrats are “considering reforms.”

With few allies in government and no power of redress, protests have spiraled out of control, often provoked by police officers geared-up as if facing a foreign enemy force. With thousands of people on the streets, simple probability tells us that criminal acts would occur.

Government oppression

Instead of framing acts of vandalism and looting as a logical result of years of pent up frustration and despair, or even a statistical likelihood, politicians and celebrities are calling on protesters to stop. Go home and “wait for justice to be served” is the near-universal response.

It is exactly the absence of justice and the clear disregard from their Democratic representatives that is spurring people on to keep up the pressure. Instead of diffusing the tension, the Trump administration is callously adding fuel to the fire in what appears to be a sad and desperate electoral ploy.

The result of pitting protesters against police in riot gear is nothing less than a de facto declaration of martial law. When the state arbitrarily silences, arrests, and attacks citizens, when law enforcement officials shoot, pepper spray, or arrest journalists showing their press credentials, when the government ignores the professed will of the people, only a declaration of martial law is left to formalize the state of the country.

Mock political process

It appears that the protesters in US streets are seeing their government in a new light. Through the lens of black suffering, Americans of all backgrounds are seeing the disingenuous political divide for what it is: A smokescreen to hide that US politicians have become nothing more than the administrators of a country bought and paid for by big business and the extremely rich.

For years the Republicans and Democrats have performed a play reminiscent of the fixed basketball games of the Harlem Globetrotters, with the Democrats taking the role of the Washington Generals, doomed to lose but eager to make a show of it. Rich donors purposely support weak, ineffective Democrats that have no shot or desire to actually change the system, which has resulted in over 1,000 electoral losses since Obama became president.

While many refer to the Trump era as an era of anti-Trump Democratic resistance, in reality 70% of all bills that are signed into law have received bipartisan support, with the common denominator being that both parties’ donors agreed on these bills.

No options

In a state where the government does not respond to the will of voters and social movements, many feel the only response left is civil disobedience and attempts to block the functioning of the economy. The Trump administration appears to recognize this fact in its response to the protests. Calls to “dominate” protesters and heavy-handed police action are the last remaining responses available to a government unwilling to give an inch towards greater social and economic equality.

The only political option left for those hoping for change is to vote for Joe Biden, a man who only promises to “not be Trump,” who said any additional wishes for progress or justice must mean that “you ain’t black.” Trump’s opponent in November has his own archive of problematic statements about the black community and he does not even appear to want to pretend he will bring any change.

Last resort

The only redress left to protesters is to desperately confront the police they meet on the streets. With no legitimately authoritative representative of the state offering them any solutions, the crowds can only channel their anger and frustration towards heavily armed police, most of whom themselves are part of the increasingly shrinking American middle class.

It appears now that the Trump administration is fearing that the men and women in law enforcement might reach a breaking point and turn on the government itself. In Washington, DC, unmarked military forces have started to make an appearance, with no identifying badges or tags. First reported on Twitter, these soldiers have stated they are part of the “justice department,” but the failure to properly identify themselves is a breach of the Geneva Convention.

With both protesters and the government becoming increasingly desperate, the US is in a precarious state that resembles a “state of emergency” in an authoritarian context. Much remains unclear as those on the streets of the United States write a new history.

US Burns With Anti-Racism Rage One Week After George Floyd’s Murder

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George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a white police officer jammed a knee into his throat for seven painful minutes during an arrest for a non-violent crime on May 25. The video documenting the incident, when Floyd repeatedly told officers “I can’t breathe,” triggered a wave of outrage that has transformed into protests across the United States and in major cities around the world. 

Protestors chanting “I can’t breathe” and “George Floyd, say his name” filled the streets of Minneapolis, New York, Boston, Washington, Los Angeles, and 135 other cities around the US. Protests in cities like Phoenix and Albuquerque remained peaceful, while others turned violent, resulting in vandalism, burnt-out buildings, looting, and a heavy-handed police response.

Amid the anger and violence, the message from protesters has been clear: Black lives matter, and systemic racism and injustice must end. The protestors’ messages have spilled onto social media, which has been filled with calls for white people not to be silent, to recognize their privilege, respect black culture and experiences, and move from being passively non-racist to vocally anti-racist. 

Mahira Louis, a 15-year-old protestor from Boston, summed up protestors’ sentiments.  

“They keep killing our people. I’m so sick and tired of it,” Louis told the Associated Press News (AP News).  

“I hate to see my city like this but at the end we need justice,” said Jahvon Craven, an 18-year-old protestor from Minneapolis. 

Trump retreats 

On Sunday evening, as a protest in Washington, D.C. encroached on the White House, Secret Service agents rushed President Donald Trump into a secure bunker. Trump spent nearly an hour in the bunker as protesters in adjacent Lafayette Park chanted “George Floyd” and peppered the presidential mansion with rocks as police and the National Guard held them back.  

The response from US law enforcement and government has been mixed, with some lawmakers praised for their efforts to calm tensions and others including President Donald Trump accused of inflaming them further. Trump’s advisers counseled him against giving an Oval Office address to try and quell the country’s anger, according to reports from White House insiders, but he has continued to tweet about the unfolding situation. 

Police response criticized

Dozens of cities have rolled out night-time curfews, including Minneapolis, where the National Guard and military police are enforcing restrictions. Utopian scenes played out on Sunday evening as military hummers rolled through the suburban streets of Minneapolis and military police viciously ordered citizens to get inside their houses ahead of the 8 p.m. curfew.  

A number of violent police responses to the protests sparked by the police brutality that killed George Floyd have also drawn criticism. In Atlanta, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms fired two officers and placed others on desk duty for using excessive force after video emerged of officers circling a car on Saturday and stun-gunning the occupants.  

The mayor and “mother to four black children” launched a passionate plea for calm in Atlanta on Friday and has since called on Trump to “just stop talking.”  

“He speaks and he makes it worse. There are times when you should just be quiet and I wish that he would just be quiet. Or if he can’t be silent, if there is somebody of good sense and good conscience in the White House, put him in front of a teleprompter and pray he reads it and at least says the right things, because he is making it worse,” she told CNN on Sunday night.   

Pepper spray from police hit black lawmakers Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, 70, and Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin at the end of a rally in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday. “Too much force is not the answer to this,” Beatty said in a Twitter video posted after the incident.  

The police response comes as no surprise to people like the Director of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, Christ White. “What’s happening, it’s the way American society has always been,” White said.

Police have arrested over 4,100 people to date in connection with the George Floyd protests. Police have repeatedly used pepper spray, batons, tear gas, rubber bullets, and driven their vehicles at demonstrators to disperse and control crowds.  

Read also: US Meets Protests Over Police Brutality With Increasing State Violence 

 

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