![]() ![]() But President Donald Trump selectively trains his most brutal attacks on Democrats, with an eye toward his own reelection, choosing to fight partisan battles in what he has labeled a war. ![]() Dan Bishop, R-N.C., attended and defended one such gathering.īoth Democratic and Republican governors nationwide have extended stay-at-home restrictions or started to reopen with varying levels of caution. Not much on those unfortunate enough to have crossed her path, though Rep. She would not, however, comment on whether or not she attended weekly rallies in Raleigh and insisted that the quarantine violated her civil rights. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home measures confirmed she tested positive for the virus. In North Carolina, a leader of a group opposing Democratic Gov. And for many of the marchers, ideology can trump logic. While Michigan has gotten much of the attention, protests are spreading across the country, some backed by conservative groups that seemed to be waiting for the opportunity COVID-19 provided. At best, those so-called protestors are a bunch of jackasses.” They do not represent the Senate Republicans. Mike Shirkey, the state Senate majority leader, criticized “so-called protestors who used intimidation and the threat of physical harm to stir up fear and feed rancor. Protest is as American as apple pie, though restraint is not usually the go-to reaction from law enforcement when Black Lives Matter activists and allies march with nothing more than signs and cell phones.Įven some of the Republican state legislators who are fighting Whitmer’s pandemic executive orders had choice words for the Lansing protests. Now might be the time to mention what so many reports have left out: that the majority of the gun-toting crew, those lined up in front of the governor’s office in a threatening tableau of intimidation, were white and male, exercising their rights without fear of retaliation. At some rallies, however, you could catch an occasional glimpse of a Confederate flag in that great Rebel state of - let me check where it was again - Michigan. There was little sympathy for health care workers or those standing at fast-moving lines at the meat processing plants that have become virus hot spots. If they were not up to volunteering where their energy could make someone else’s life better, perhaps they might have considered protesting for pay equity, more federal stimulus money for small businesses, child care relief, more protective equipment for those in “essential” jobs or an extension of unemployment benefits - or for more coordinated leadership from the federal government. Many of them wore no masks and made no attempt to stand six feet from anyone, as they shouted about their “freedom.” America’s structural inequity, which has caused the coronavirus to wreak havoc on black and brown Americans, who already suffered the most from adverse health outcomes before the global pandemic, did not seem to be on the minds or in the hearts of the loud protesters. Meanwhile, Michigan’s number of COVID cases has passed 44,000, with the death toll at more than 4,000 and climbing. Their passion was focused on reopening the state for business, even as testing lags and workers such as Skylar’s first-responder parents barely had time to grieve. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders to tyranny, chanting “Lock her up” and “Heil Whitmer,” and claiming Second Amendment infringement while toting weapons. Hundreds marched on and into the Michigan state Capitol building in Lansing, holding signs that compared Democratic Gov. That same day, images of angry faces and armed protesters made for their own camera-ready moment. To see the photos, hear the memories and share the anguish over the death of this one young, black girl is quite simply a punch to the gut. It is, of course, disturbing to read the data on how African Americans have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Thinking that she would never again get to dress up in the Disney princess dresses and her mom’s high heels that family members said she favored, or grow up to fulfill her dream of becoming a pediatric dentist - well, how could your heart not ache?Īll that joy, all that potential stopped by a virus. Yet it was impossible to forget young Skylar’s beautiful face, soulful eyes and enchanting smile. The Detroit funeral last week of 5-year-old Skylar Madison Herbert, the young victim of COVID-19, received some notice, though in days that followed, other victims rapidly filled the screen and news pages. On the same day, it was two very different scenes from Michigan.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |