"WHERE THE WHITE MAN DOES AS HE PLEASES"

 “WHERE THE WHITE MAN DOES AS HE PLEASES”

During this past week, I was cleaning up in my upstairs office (a never-ending task), and to help pass the time, I was listening to Nanci Griffith’s wonderful CD “One Fair Summer Evening.”  Griffith died three years ago – a big loss to us all.  One of the songs on this CD was “Deadwood, South Dakota,” written by her former husband Eric Taylor.  It is about the westward expansion of those classified as “white,” and the chorus of the song is powerful and could be describing our time right now:

“And the gold she lay cold in their pockets

And the sun she sets down on the trees

And they thank the Lord

For the land that they live in

Where the white man does as he pleases”

Many of Donald Trump’s followers are fueled by this chorus – hoping to regain a world where “the white man does as he pleases.”  All the attacks on DEI, critical race theory, Black history, and teaching about the history of racism are lodged in this complaint by white men:  we want to make America again, to make America white again, to have the white man do as he pleases.  This is why white people elected Trump:  we want to live in a land where the white man can do as he pleases.

The interesting part, of course, is that Trump is not driven by ideology but rather by a deep anxiety and anger about being held accountable.  His insistence on DEI being the cause of the DC plane crash is a bone to his base, but it is also something much deeper.  Three of the five prosecutions of Trump were led by Black people:  Alvin Bragg, Letitia James, and Fani Willis.  Trump is toxic because he wants to blow up the government that has sought to hold him accountable, that has bound him, prosecuted him, convicted him.   And, the real reason for the DC crash is that Republicans have savaged the FAA flight controller budgets for decades, beginning with Reagan’s smashing of the flight controller’s union over 40 years ago.  And, it is a terrible thing to say about the tragic loss of lives in DC and now Philadelphia, but it is the chickens coming home to roost.  We are fortunate that we have dedicated and competent flight controllers, who have prevented many more crashes, but the volume is starting to overwhelm them.

I’m also thinking about the despicable “immigration” raids now being carried out by ICE under Trump’s orders.  There are undoubtedly some immigrants who need to be deported, but now the “shock and awe” approach is stunning.  Many of those being arrested and detained and deported are law-abiding folks, and some of them are here legally.  The desire for white men to do as we please is overwhelming, however, and it is a travesty and a tragedy.  It is reminiscent of the 1850's when "slavecatchers" went North to round up people who had escaped from slavery - not only were people formerly held as slaves terrified and tortured, but many free Black people were also treated in the same despicable manner.  We are that country, whether it is Dixie, or the USA.

So, it is now time to speak up and act out.  Join with other human rights groups, or form your own.  Let your legislators know your opinions.  Donate to groups who are opposing the Trumpster agenda. Go to demonstrations, but also get ready to participate in acts of resistance.  If we fail on this, we will return to the land where the white man does as he pleases, where women are pushed back and where people of color are once again seen legally as second-class persons.