History Made in Georgia

by with No Comment CultureFeaturedPolitics

Last year, the United States descended into pure chaos. Systemic racism was thriving and it resulted in several untimely deaths. All the while, we were ill-equipped to handle the pandemic that seized the world due to inadequate leadership. So many civil uprisings, rallies, and rioting for change that was long overdue. Now, after the election in November 2021 is looking to be the start of that change.

When Biden and Harris won the election, I sighed with relief. While they might not be my number one pick for president and vice president, I think that they can get the ball rolling for the United States to improve for all of its people.

For some states it was time to elect new Senators, Georgia being one. What is so significant about Georgia is that it is a traditionally red state. It has been for a long time. And yet, for this election, Georgia flipped to blue, directly resulting in the White House, the Senate, and the House being blue.

The two new Senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, are not originally politicians. Ossoff was an investigative journalist and documentary film producer and Warnock a senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. I believe that the more non-political people we elect into positions of power, the more likely legislature will be passed for all people due to the diversification of personal, academic, and professional experiences of the people in power.

Warnock is the first Black Senator of Georgia, and this can only mean great things moving forward for communities of color. He might be the catalyst for even more people of color obtaining positions in state and federal governments. While I’m not from Georgia nor do I live in Georgia, I am excited to see what Warnock will help make happen to address the racism that has been running rampant.

However, I think the short term implications are worth considering. With the diversification of the government, it has exacerbated the tyranny of President Trump and the radical actions of ‘the proud boys’.

On January 6th, an armed mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in retaliation to the federal government turning blue. This was an act of domestic terrorism and yet President Trump did nothing to get the mob to leave. He did nothing to ensure the sanctity of the White House. All he did was condone their actions and allow them the privilege of destroying government property. The only thing on my mind as I watched this on the news is how if this mob was predominantly people of color, they would be shot before they even made it to the lawn.

I saw on the news a few days later that the mob planned to attack not only the U.S. Capitol again, but also all fifty capitols in the United States. CNN also said that if President Trump was impeached before the inauguration on January 20th, they will attack. Of course, there were death threats towards Biden, Harris, and House representative Pelosi.

I don’t know if these threats are still a concern, especially now that the House has impeached President Trump for the second time. Yes, beautiful progress is being made, but I worry about whether there will be a safe transition of power, and about whether President Trump and his ‘proud boys’ will be held accountable for their transgressions.

Similar Read: You Didn’t Vote for Biden, You Voted Against Trump

America Doesn’t Need a Patriot Act 2.0

by with No Comment FeaturedPolitics

While sitting at home attempting to enjoy a relaxing, quarantined birthday, my peaceful mood was shifted to disbelief by reports of White Supremacists storming the Capitol in an effort to overturn the election results. The danger of White Supremacist violence obviously shouldn’t be taken lightly, so I was nervous about how things would unfold and especially worried if Black people in D.C. would be safe. The Capitol being stormed was wild to me, but certain things that took place that day were predictable (yet still disappointing). Police handling the rioters with kid gloves wasn’t surprising since I’ve spent years being painfully aware of the double standard that exists when it comes to the way that law enforcement treats Black people vs. White people. It’s not lost on me that if the rioters were Black, we would’ve witnessed a massacre. It’s also predictable that politicians are calling for unity and healing without any accountability, which is a type of forgiveness and understanding that would’ve never been extended if that mob was full of Black people. A lack of accountability in this situation is a green light for increased White Supremacist violence, and more coup attempts, which worries me. 

There’s another thing that I’m concerned about. A Wall Street Journal article I read on the 7th explained Joe Biden’s plans to pass a domestic terrorism law, which is concerning to me & other leftists, who know that this won’t stop White Supremacists like those who planned and executed the insurrection, but will be used against Black activists, socialists, etc. Plus, there are already existing laws that are meant to prevent these kinds of things from happening. Marginalized people will be disproportionately harmed by the creation of more laws, which is why more laws are not the answer.  

Increased government surveillance is not the answer either. My concern is that our government may implement a Patriot Act 2.0. This idea is disturbing since The Patriot Act already had devastating effects, giving the government more unchecked power and expanding its’ ability to spy on its citizens, which is why we don’t need a repeat, especially when you consider that rioters planned the insurrection openly on social media forums and law enforcement did nothing.

In fact, the role that law enforcement played in the events is probably one of the best examples of why increased police funding will never be the answer. Not only did police basically open the doors for those storming the Capitol, waving them through barricades, taking selfies with them and escorting one of them down the steps, but many of those who participated were off duty police officers from across the country. The connection between White Supremacy and the institution of policing can no longer be ignored, and we can’t depend on police to protect us from the hate groups they’ve aligned with. Any increase in government surveillance or police funding is going to impact Black activists negatively. We’re already surveilled and over-policed by the state as it is. White Supremacy and fascism are the problems, not those fighting against it, and it has gone unchecked in the U.S. for far too long. The events at the Capitol were unfortunate, but there is an opportunity here for accountability. Unfortunately, there have already been attempts to conflate BLM protesters with those attacking the Capitol, and we need to ensure that the wrong people don’t end up facing the consequences.

Similar Read: Until the Revolution of 1776 is Complete

Trump for MVP?

by with One Comment FeaturedNFLSports

We made it! We’re in our third week of 2021, and 2020 has not come back to life yet. 2020 was special and given I’m a sports fan, I could not wrap up 2020 without using a sports analogy. 2020 was a lot, and dozens upon dozens of events, people, and places made it special. And just like in professional sports, there are countless great players who turned in a great season, but there’s always one player who can stand out for a particular reason, that person being the most valuable person of the year. 

Before giving my MVP award for 2020, I wanted to give a backdrop to the thought process. 

We all know Peyton Manning, before Papa Johns and Nationwide Insurance commercials, was once a very good NFL Quarterback. Such a great Quarterback, that he was considered by some to be the 2011 MVP, which was not surprising for an eventual winner of five NFL Most Valuable Player awards. However, in 2011, Peyton Manning DID NOT play a single game. In the 2010 season, Peyton led his Indianapolis Colts to a 10-6 record clinching a then NFL record ninth consecutive postseason appearance. Coming into the 2011 NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts were usual favorites to compete for a Super Bowl, mainly because of the reliant greatness of Manning. In the Spring of 2011, Peyton underwent a series of possible career-ending neck surgeries, given he was 35… the Colts released him. The Colts went 2 -14 without him. A record that gave the Colts the number one pick in which they drafted Andrew Luck. Peyton, he made out okay going to Denver and winning another Super Bowl. 

So it wasn’t Peyton Manning’s actual gameplay in 2011 that made him so valuable, it was what he DIDN’T DO (keep that in mind for later) that made him so great. If Peyton doesn’t get cut by the Colts, the Andrew Luck pick is now for my beloved Washington Football team to pick, and instead of Robert Griffen III, we get Andrew Luck. Denver doesn’t get Peyton and has to seek other QB options, meaning they don’t face the Panthers a few years later in the Super Bowl. And so on and so on. 

Get it??? So now for the actual 2020 part of the 2020 wrap up. 

Like it or not, Donald Trump was a major part of your life in 2020. Yes, Trump literally trumped every person, place, or thing that took place in 2020. 

Like the fly that landed on Mike Pence’s head during the Vice Presidential debate, it took me a while to write a 2020 wrap-up. Just as never in history had a fly and a human-made contact and neither reacted to it, 2020 was simply that, a year in which events unfolded unlike never seen before. The lion share of those events centered around Covid-19 and only one person bears the most responsibility for the United States’ response to the virus… 

Trump. 

He’s the MVP of 2020, and here’s why.

Time magazine got it all wrong. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris should not have been selected as “person of the year.” This is not a slight against them, I voted for them. To be candid, it’s because the Biden/Harris ticket won primarily off the disastrous handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by Trump.

No way, Joe Biden… if “the safe government job you got out of college as opposed to taking that internship at MTV” were a person… even wins the Democrat nomination. The Democratic nomination seemed to be going the way of Progressives like Sanders and Warren; however, once COVID-19 and the dangers of both the virus and lack of leadership from Trump hit, most saw the only goal in 2020 was to vote out Trump. Whoever was most “fit” to make that happen, all who didn’t storm the US Capitol Building… really didn’t care who that was. 

As early as Feb 2020, Trump was made aware of the dangers of Covid-19 and decided, for political purposes, to ignore it. Granted, Trump has ignored any and all relevant issues since becoming POTUS, but 2020 was his Jay-Z’s Blueprint album. He went all out in a classic way… Trump ignored to address the problems of the nation in the areas of health, science, race relations, police brutality, the environment, immigration, energy… the list is too exhausting to continue. All of these elements led to a historic turnout amongst voters, Georgia going blue… twice! Sports arenas and courts dotted with “VOTE” and “BLM” messaging, just to name a few. Trump’s actions of 2020 have seemed to spawn a sense of activism and political awareness not seen since the 1960s. 

Post-election, Trump has acted like a true disgruntled employee. First, by making constant outlandish attempts to overturn the election. Trump and his Four Seasons Total Landscaping Rewards Member friend, lawyer, and hair color expert, Rudy Giuliani, made every attempt to overturn the election claiming fraud. Fraud in which no one on the Trump team could ever produce any sort of evidence proving there was fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election. 

Back to the Peyton and the 2011 Indianapolis Colts… Trump’s 2020 magnum opus year was a year like Peyton’s in 2011. Similar to Peyton never taking a snap in 2011 and it having ripple effects throughout the entire league for seasons to follow, Trump’s inability to lead has effected the entire country… particularly his inability to immediately respond to COVID-19 has led to more than 300,000 Americans dying and counting, not to mention a host of failed policies and procedures in which the ramifications will be felt for years to come. Who knows how different 2020 and the years to follow would have been if the dangers of COVID-19 were immediately addressed by Trump when he was first told.

And then there’s January 6, 2021. An event in which the 2020 MVP became the most dangerous hype man for. An event, at the most, was an outright Coup d’etat, and at minimum, a terrorist mob. An event that shows the 2020 MVP, may not play many games in 2021, but please believe he’s still got some sacks to deliver to the American people.

Similar Read: My Reaction to the Storming of Capitol Hill