Don Lemon: Anchor, Bridge

June 22, 2020

Don Lemon: CNN Anchor, Bridge

Don Lemon is paving the way every night to expand the conversation about racism in America. He is thoughtful, presents his authentic self every night, and differentiates his opinions from the news clearly.

He’s deceptively good at tackling the heretofore third-rail subject of racism, touchy to explore even with a CNN audience. Low key before the George Floyd murder, he registers the event with sense of the now, recognizing that this is the time to open up the talk and that he is going to use his platform to do it.

I can think of no other highly visible black man in the media constellation who has the credibility, sensibility, and a smoldering repugnance at a nearly profane sense of systemic racial injustice regarding black men in particular.

George Floyd's murder in plain daylight, captured on video, lit a fuse in the national psyche. Lemon lets it burn. But in a way that he intends, figuratively speaking, to cause as much imploding as exploding. When white folks begin to notice then come to grips with entitlement and privilege that comes with their skin color and begin to notice it without feeling called out that’s quite a feat.

Lemon is doing that. When he launched a podcast titled "Silence Is Not An Option," he put his words into action.

Excerpt from "Silence Is Not An Option"

I know that this issue, like this country, isn't just black and white — we're all impacted by this, and we all have work to do. Listening to this podcast won't wash away your sins, and you won't get a certificate at the end. You may still say the wrong thing — hell, I am sure at some point I'm gonna say the wrong thing — but silence is not an option. We've got to talk about this and find some concrete steps forward, together.

The stone he’s cast into the pool of race consciousness is making a ripple on shores heretofore unlapped . A news anchor, yes. And a bridge to a national consciousness about race.

 

Comments

[Nikki Keach]

Well said, well written, well thought-out. Excellent piece, Paul.

Nikki

[Susan M Bennett]

Haven’t watched him but now I will. Thanks PT.

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

Susan
Here's his schedule: Mon - Fri 10 PM-12AM ET
His opening monologue sets the tone for the show. He has a distinct style, laid back in a way that gives you plenty of time to absorb what he’s telling and showing you. Let me know what you think
https://www.cnn.com/shows/cnn-tonight

[Myke Farricker]

Great job again as usual

[Diana]

I just invited Chris to listen with me as we walk in the a.m. It's half an hour, we walk an hour.

[Jeff]

To a friend and college classmate, both recipients of a Socratic education of critical thinking through logic and reasoning, I find your praise of Don Lemon troubling. First, he is not a news anchor or even a journalist. He’s an opinionator with Progressive views. He lost all credibility when he supposed a missing airliner might have flown into a black hole. Don Lemon is a race baiter, using his elite privilege Black status to foist on America an original sin of slavery. From your Christion upbringing, an original sin is permanent, a stain, a mark on every human soul which can only be absolved, not erased, by following prescribed ordained teachings and beliefs. In the case of slavery, reparations would suffice for absolution. He like all other race baiters, negate the deaths of 700,000 Americans, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the passage of the “slave” amendments to the US Constitution; all of which achieved in law, Black freedom. Our imperfect Union went through 4 years of war to become a bit more perfect. Yet Don Lemon and his ilk, purposely stoke the slavery issue to further the Progressive agenda of dividing Americans, negating the belief in the “melting pot” of America, into the “stew” of America. The former recognizing differences but united by one culture. The later, maintaining separate cultures under the banner of diversity, therefore no common unity of culture.

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr aka pt at large]

Jeff I don’t close my blog off to people whose ideas are different from mine. I’ve known you a long time, know that we are on the north and south poles as far as politics is concerned but in my mind our friendship supersedes our political differences.

[Jeff Piccoli]

I know you welcome differences but I seem to be the only one among your followers differing, at least on the political issues. I also know about our political difference and my effort is to introduce a different perspective. At this moment in our history, seeing that different perspective and acknowledging it for the destructive force it is, is paramount to saving our country. Our friendship is solid as it has always been.

[Paul A Tamburello, Jr aka pt at large]

In the spirit of being open to other points of view, I did watch the Candace Owens video you sent me about George Floyd's alleged criminal history and did what she suggested and dug in to check his history. https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/06/12/george-floyd-criminal-record/
Not easy to find unbiased facts so I can get a better grip on deep complexity of how race pervades reporting from liberal and conservative, black and white, points of view. Listening to her views added another dimension to the man.It is counter to every other narrative about him and his life.
James Baldwin comes to mind. "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
That's where we are now. That's where I am now.

[Jeff Piccoli]

for your edification...Candace Owens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtPfoEvNJ74

[Jeff Piccoli]

The attached video is for your edification and knowing your Progressive views, I am sure entertainment is all you will glean from it.

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6127789474001#sp=show-clips

Jeff

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

Jeff, at about the 1:15 mark, Tucker Carlson says, "...they are projecting and externalizing their internal problems and neuroses...".

I watch both stations. Highlighting their differences is the way Fox and CNN present their followers with the news. Same with major newspapers. Hard to find a middle, non partisan ground these days.

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

By the way, do you have any idea why Carlson deliberately mispronounces Don Lemon's last name?

[Sal]

Paul,

In weighing in on the controversy, I am seeing that we may be getting actual dialogue going on a topic that has been a long time coming. I think there is a lot of room for discussion on an issue that has haunted us all for way too long. I see the BLM topic as complicated partly because folks tend to understand part of a story and without learning enough to broadcast their opinions, they take a firm stand, for or against. The failings of our social media and news media and political narratives all create stronger divisiveness while acting like they are the authority on topics they clearly do not have command of themselves, but they take a side instead of exploring the topic. In the words of one of the greatest Americans, there is only one race, the human race. For those of you who do not know Jane Elliott, who started an experiment in her classroom the day after MLK was assassinated, you should see this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebPoSMULI5U

The crux of the BLM issue here is that we do have people that are “all in” from the narrative on the left and then we have the narrative on the right with very few people who are willing to call out the truth that exists – like David Chapelle did on his terrific special called 8:46 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tR6mKcBbT4. Everybody should see it, whether a fan of his or not.

One of your commenters, Jeff, speaks of Candace Owens. She is quite interesting. She may be a prop from the right, but does appear to be credible. It is worth seeing the very popular clip on CSPAN, as well as the follow-up to it on FoxNews, both included here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J77YacAk_bE

What I do know is the facts Candace states are real. Whether we like it or not, George Floyd had his run-ins with the law that go beyond the driving-while-Black narratives and as much as Snopes did show both sides, they tip-toed around the idea he was high on drugs at the time and that he appeared to drop a couple bags of drugs while handcuffed. He had meth and fentanyl in his system – enough that would make many of us high and perhaps a factor in why he died rather than become unconscious, which is the typical result of pressure to the side of the neck and the reason such chokehold is still legal in some places. As much as I saw it as clear cold-blooded murder with morons standing around watching, death may not have actually been the expected outcome. No matter, as Chauvin is clearly responsible for his death, as the poor guy was already handcuffed, so there was no need for one single second of it, let alone 525 more seconds ticking away, regardless of the outcome he hoped for. The very fact he had a smug look on his face and hands in his pockets all the while should mean automatic manslaughter at a minimum, despite the madness of police union immunity provisions. If EVERYBODY cannot see that, then we are beyond repair.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with the fact we need to fix the police unions and do so immediately. If whites are not taught to run when they see police, Blacks should not have to be taught to run. It is 2020! The unions in their quest to make sure cops are immune from wrongdoing have undermined the very purpose of having a police force in a free country. Whites are taught to be respectful of the police and never to run, as that is a sign of guilt. Blacks seem to be taught to run, as their only hope of avoiding a beating and/or prison sentence. Why do we have a nation where EVERYBODY doesn’t see this as an injustice that cannot continue?

We can all then acknowledge this does complicate the very real issue for the good police who are charged with law and order – To Protect and Serve – ALL AMERICANS. The very real fact is that even a perfectly fair system with anti-racism policies and procedures fully in place would show that Black men are disproportionately killing more Black men than cops are. Like 10 times more. https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-29/race-and-homicide-in-america-by-the-numbers While we understand that redlining and other systemic problems contributed greatly to how many Blacks are poor and being poor increases your propensity for brandishing weapons, it is hard to also argue that cops should not be able to observe that there seem to be a lot of Black troublemakers on their beats.

In the greater Boston area, we have ghettos of Black people that seem to be riddled with drive-by shootings, while ghettos of Asians have virtually no issues at all. The big hidden fact to the extremists on the left is that Blacks are poor for other reasons than discrimination. The amount of teenage childbirth to unwed mothers is off the charts for Blacks. The percentage of two-parent households with children is four times higher for Asians than Blacks. https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/107-children-in-single-parent-families-by-race#detailed/1/any/false/37,871,870,573,869,36,868,867,133,38/10,11,9,12,1,185,13/432,431This explains both the perception that Asians are smarter and why Asians get in far less trouble. It is hard to talk about the facts on the “news” but Blacks do need to look at their own contributions to the dilemma. I learned this inconvenient truth in trying to see if the reason Blacks were not being raised in two-parent households was because the cops killed or jailed so many of them. The facts that Blacks killed most of them but teenage pregnancy was a bigger factor than loss of life is even more troubling. We need to get to the hearts and minds of the young Black people of this country. Obama’s message of Hope, for whatever reasons, didn’t in fact make a dent in these issues that are pervasive in Black communities. Blacks and whites need to do a much better job of helping our young Black children to have hope, self-esteem and self-respect enough to give themselves a chance of creating opportunities for breaking into the middle class before starting one-teenage-parent families. This is not to say that having a child as a single mother is a terrible thing. One of the Black women in my circle was a single-teenage mom and she has done a wonderful job in many ways – and is more financially self-sufficient than the average white family. My point is, it is hard to argue with the numbers, if you take the time to truly understand them and not listen to the fake news media on both sides who twist the meaning of most all data they touch.

I say all of this as a firm supporter of (1) police, of (2) police reform and (3) being intentional in helping Blacks get to their rightful equal spot at the table of the human race. In fact, if we had a President or any strong leadership unbeholden to special interests, we could easily make “reparations” for redlining and other injustices. The federal government could fund a program that provides a 100% matching grant to first-time Black homebuyers up to $20,000. To me, this would be both significant and meaningful while being fair and reasonable and should get significant bipartisan support, if put forth in a thoughtful way without the complexities of the extremists who want to tear down each other. The reality is, Blacks should get out of the ghetto. Being in places that promote wearing your pants halfway down your butt or promoting Ebonics isn’t helping to lift anybody up. I agreed with Bill Cosby when he said it (well before we knew he was a serial rapist). If we had a meaningful program, combined with a commitment to a fair policing and other systemic measures of justice, we would start to see a generation where more Blacks like Candace Owens would say they were able to rise up without being a sports phenom or media personality. By having a change in attitude – that like anybody else, Blacks can do well if they want to get away from having a pity party for themselves. Our problem after 244 years as a nation and 155 years after ending slavery, we still haven’t started the real conversations that are needed to bridge the extremists that control the airways. We can do better. We must. If Boston can finally get the flywheel spinning, our reforms will catch fire across the nation.

Paul, I have been talking to more Blacks lately and there is a lot more room in the middle than we ever hear about on the “news.” While it might be very challenging to have the conversation between you and Jeff work to a reconciliation of the differences, I do think stuff like this is what is needed and will ultimately help make a difference. I do think the biggest impediment to having civil conversation today are the extremists that insist they are right and it’s the people on the other side that are wrong. They are both too short-sighted and ignorant of the positions of the other, which would be fine, if they could have a civil conversation to melt away the differences.

It’s all so very sad because what we need to fix this mess isn’t ever part of the discussion. The news media does a great job of amplifying their ridiculous narratives in sensationalizing what mindless leaders accept, in a sellout to their industry. To fix this mess, we need to fix a few things, such as –

· Our political system – other countries don’t end up with the most hated candidates, as other systems force them out of the primaries – Everybody who thinks things could be better should listen to this podcast https://freakonomics.com/podcast/idea-must-die-election-edition/ called Ten Ideas to Make Politics Less Rotten (Ep. 255)

Throwing out the bad apples – nearly every industry does it except teaching and policing – and it is because their unions outlived their usefulness. Protecting your worst players cannot be good for a world-class team. We have good cops and good teachers, but our policing and formal education systems, despite the resources we pour into them, are not where they should be. Unions need to be fixed.

Public/private partnerships – the government isn’t ever going to be great at anything and needs to partner with leaders in industry. Team up with Google and The Bill and Linda Gates Foundation, as examples – let’s get the real work done with less talking and more listening.

We need a President who will put Congress to work, informing the citizens of this nation that from now on, any bills that come to his or her desk need to have substantial bipartisan support. We need to give the country to the majority of people who want fairness and take it back from the wingnuts on each end who are as guilty as their polar opposites for not seeing the other very real sides to many issues.

Obviously, all this cannot happen in November as our voting system prevents the best candidates from being nominated. Last time, we got to pick from the two with the highest negative ratings (two people who would be ineligible for nomination, under a reformed system, as exists on other countries). This time, from two white guys with mental problems who will be over 80 should they be able to complete their term. I hope not to sound age-discriminatory, but really, shouldn’t we be able to find candidates for a high pressure job who are not 15 years beyond normal retirement age?

We will not be able to fix everything within the next few years, but we can start making progress. Looks like we have a chance to bring our Black brothers and sisters to the table as equals, so hopefully we will start there.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a good article on the BLM topic -
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-05-30/dont-understand-the-protests-what-youre-seeing-is-people-pushed-to-the-edge

Thanks and be healthy,

Sal

[Jeff]

Paul, Don Lem-ON pronounced the fruit base desert Sor-BET so Tucker is needling him. BTW, Chris Cuomo has referred to Don as dLemon when they discussed French/American relationship. Having taken French in High School, if your going to assign a French twist to Don's name, it would be de Lem-ON. Hope that clears at least this weighty issue up?

[Jeff]

“We are committed to disrupting the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, and especially ‘our’ children to the degree that mothers, parents and children are comfortable.” Part of BLM mission statement. That statement is unamerican and non-Judeo-Christian. BLM is a self-proclaimed Marxist organization. For me there is no long haunt or complication to understand BLM. It has no place in America and should be shamed into disbandment. End of discussion.
As for the MSM, Sal you seem to be naïve or oblivious. They are elitist pushing a Progressive agenda. There is no impartiality in their reporting and since Trump, much of their reporting is hate filled.
Police unions can and should be fixed locally. In Democrat controlled cities they seem to have sway over leaders who rather than stand firm in defense of the citizens that elected them, they capitulate to strikes and threats resulting in promises that have no sound fiscal basis. Limited immunity is meant to protect the police officer who’s salary certainly could never support a litigious society’s lawsuits. In the event of fault, the jurisdiction and the Unions assume liability and protection. Crime is predominately in Black neighborhoods. Where there is crime, you will find police, usually called to the scene by victims. They do not go rooming the streets looking for Blacks to harass. While we are at it, our society is not systemically racist. Proof, Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Will Smith, Babba Wallace, Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, need I go on? The police departments in major cities are predominately Black officers. Mayors of major cities, north and south, are Black and some, even Black women.
You seem to critique and also provide proof of your reasoning. In reading your long winded comment on the matter, I found it difficult to respond. Either I agree or I disagree, or I do both. The American exceptional experience of self-government requires participation. Our experience guarantees opportunity, not wealth. The Great Society and every Liberal program of that mindset has replaced government for the family nucleus in the Black community. You draw comparison between Black and Asian. Asian culture has a strong belief in the family unit to the point that generations live together, and the older generation assumes the role of guidance and teaching for the younger generation. That use to be in the Black slave family reinforced by the church. This ideal was even carried forward through the Reformation and then their migration north for work. Up until the 1950’ there was a Black middle class and a non-grievance mentality in the Black community. I would rather Black youth today be taught not to commit crime rather than taught to run as you claim. We have many videos of situations escalating when Blacks refuse to cooperate with police. The police mission is set in stone. If he confronts you for a reasonable cause only two outcomes can result, either he dismisses you or charges you. Like I mentioned with Unions above, if you want to initiate police reform, that needs to be done at the local level. Situations are specific and one program does not fit all. After all, we are a federal construct of government.
Reparations. Simply put, you take my wealth by force or edict and give to another. You compound that evil by reasoning guilt by me on another. You can not get any further away from the Constitution then proposing this idea. I am promised in writing and by an official’s oath of office that the government will protect my life, my liberty, and my property. Reparations are anathema to American culture.
You end on bipartisanship. I abhor that term in todays political environment. How do two political parties come to any agreement on any issue when one party has refused to accept the legitimacy of the 2016 election, and has vilified the choice of 63 million Americans, even vilifying them for that choice. The Democrats have opposed him in every endeavor and policy, even ones they championed previously, solely because his name is Trump. Now, that Party has allowed its hate to act as a suicide weapon in which the mob of ANTIFA and BLM has taken it over and cooped its policies toward socialism and even Marxism. Bernie Sanders did not just fade into the Vermont wilderness. If the Democrat Party can rid itself of that extreme element and move back to being an effective opposition party as our system is constructed, then you would see bipartisan cooperation in fixing the ills of our society and make better our society for the betterment of all.

[Jeff]

“We are committed to disrupting the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, and especially ‘our’ children to the degree that mothers, parents and children are comfortable.” Part of BLM mission statement. That statement is unamerican and non-Judeo-Christian. BLM is a self-proclaimed Marxist organization. For me there is no long haunt or complication to understand BLM. It has no place in America and should be shamed into disbandment. End of discussion.

As for the MSM, Sal you seem to be naïve or oblivious. They are elitist pushing a Progressive agenda. There is no impartiality in their reporting and since Trump, much of their reporting is hate filled.

Police unions can and should be fixed locally. In Democrat controlled cities they seem to have sway over leaders who rather than stand firm in defense of the citizens that elected them, they capitulate to strikes and threats resulting in promises that have no sound fiscal basis. Limited immunity is meant to protect the police officer who’s salary certainly could never support a litigious society’s lawsuits. In the event of fault, the jurisdiction and the Unions assume liability and protection. Crime is predominately in Black neighborhoods. Where there is crime, you will find police, usually called to the scene by victims. They do not go rooming the streets looking for Blacks to harass. While we are at it, our society is not systemically racist. Proof, Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Will Smith, Babba Wallace, Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, need I go on? The police departments in major cities are predominately Black officers. Mayors of major cities, north and south, are Black and some, even Black women.

You seem to critique and also provide proof of your reasoning. In reading your long winded comment on the matter, I found it difficult to respond. Either I agree or I disagree, or I do both. The American exceptional experience of self-government requires participation. Our experience guarantees opportunity, not wealth. The Great Society and every Liberal program of that mindset has replaced government for the family nucleus in the Black community. You draw comparison between Black and Asian. Asian culture has a strong belief in the family unit to the point that generations live together, and the older generation assumes the role of guidance and teaching for the younger generation. That use to be in the Black slave family reinforced by the church. This ideal was even carried forward through the Reformation and then their migration north for work. Up until the 1950’ there was a Black middle class and a non-grievance mentality in the Black community. I would rather Black youth today be taught not to commit crime rather than taught to run as you claim. We have many videos of situations escalating when Blacks refuse to cooperate with police. The police mission is set in stone. If he confronts you for a reasonable cause only two outcomes can result, either he dismisses you or charges you. Like I mentioned with Unions above, if you want to initiate police reform, that needs to be done at the local level. Situations are specific and one program does not fit all. After all, we are a federal construct of government.

Reparations. Simply put, you take my wealth by force or edict and give to another. You compound that evil by reasoning guilt by me on another. You can not get any further away from the Constitution then proposing this idea. I am promised in writing and by an official’s oath of office that the government will protect my life, my liberty, and my property. Reparations are anathema to American culture.

You end on bipartisanship. I abhor that term in today's political environment. How do two political parties come to any agreement on any issue when one party has refused to accept the legitimacy of the 2016 election, and has vilified the choice of 63 million Americans, even vilifying them for that choice. The Democrats have opposed him in every endeavor and policy, even ones they championed previously, solely because his name is Trump. Now, that Party has allowed its hate to act as a suicide weapon in which the mob of ANTIFA and BLM has taken it over and cooped its policies toward socialism and even Marxism. Bernie Sanders did not just fade into the Vermont wilderness. If the Democrat Party can rid itself of that extreme element and move back to being an effective opposition party as our system is constructed, then you would see bipartisan cooperation in fixing the ills of our society and make better our society for the betterment of all.

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

Sal,
Agree, this can’t wait. To quote a song title, Somethings Happening Here. Here we are, two white guys having a conversation about racism in a system we grew up in. As I look back, I see where it has intersected with my own life.
The media, no matter what side your on, offers no solutions, generally amplifies liberal/conservative point of view.
Rather than listen to guests on TV news shows, the hosts contest the guest rather than look for some shred to use as common ground, find something gray rather than black and white.

I watched the video link to Jane Elliot.This was Oprah in 1992…28 years ago. It speaks for itself. If people don’t get the idea after watching it, we’re not going to find a middle ground.

Dave Chapelle’s 8:46. Real. His grandfather was a slave. Different take. He’s not everyone’s cup of tea but if we’re going to get into the middle of it, People need to listen to this.

I still don’t understand what purpose Chapelle has in mind when he talks about nxggers. I suppose the same reason we can talk about guineas or wops but non italians can’t without being called out for it.

Chapelle skewers Don Lemon for calling on black celebrity/athletes to speak up for justice, says that he’s been doing it for his whole career. No offense, Dave, but big difference between stand up and a national platform. Is there any other black news anchor calling out racism in a nightly broadcast seen around the world? And creating a podcast "Silence Is Not An Option".

I think Chapelle’s video (and Hamilton) should be required viewing. If you don’t get the feeling how racism works after watching the Elliot/Oprah video your beliefs are so deeply embedded that there’s no middle ground to meet on.

Candace Owens. What she says at the 7:28 mark of the video interview with Jesse Watters/Fox News is what this moment is about. Check it out.

My college buddy Jeff sent me the first video in which Owens refused to label George Floyd as a hero. (Comments above in the blog). She’s smart, worth listening to her make her case, so contrary to what’s been reported, a very different take of the man whose death sparked such public response.

It’s inconceivable that shootings of black men keep happening. I would think that the first thing a chief would tell his/her officers is to remind them of training about negotiations and restraint before every shift. Important that the first several minutes of the Rayshard Brooks incident were text book de-escalation. No idea why they began to handcuff him and how it went so bad so fast. Policing has to be the most challenging job imaginable but the string of police killing black men when they take them into custody begs the question…why?

Police policy IS changing. Pressure from day after day of demonstrating is causing police departments to change policies, abandon choke holds, and show more transparency. How police unions transform their protectionist stance will show if they can deal with it themselves. Most important step forward: Citizen participation in judging police incidents involving shootings or violence. It is happening
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/10/police-unions-violence-research-george-floyd/

The US News LINK, good that it debunks the tweets sent by Trump regarding crime, murders. And compare by race and show trends over years.
The vast majority of homicide victims are killed by people of their own race. People tend to kill who they know.

"You hurt people who are a lot like you. That's how it works," says David Kennedy, a professor and director of the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.
Among the roughly 6,000 cases in which the race of the victim and the offender were known, the number of blacks killed by blacks rose to 2,380 last year, an increase of about 8 percent from 2014.
However, the share of black-on-black homicides as a proportion of black people killed actually fell by just under 1 percentage point, to 89.3 percent. This undoubtedly fractional decrease – which marked the third straight year of incremental reductions – still meant that for the first time since the start of the 21st century, the percentage of black victims killed by another black person stood below 90 percent of the total of black people killed.

Do Dave Chapelle or LeBron James or someone with street credibility need to talk about black family culture, teenage pregnancy, diet that causes diabetes or obesity.

A sense of black pride in social and cultural achievements is growing. Sooner or later, the young voices in the Black Lives Matter movement are going to address the cultural issues you raise and partner them with Black Americans contributions to civil society. Someone like Candace Owens, smart and fearless in speaking her mind, might take this on.

Tip O’Neill famously said, “All politics is local.” Boston has politicians like Ayanna Pressley and Rachel Rollins who push for reform. Not everyone agrees with them but change is happening as we speak.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/06/23/ayanna-pressley-rachael-rollins-talk-structural-racism-pandemic-impacts-during-virtual-panel/

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

Sal,
I hope readers take the time to read/listen to the https://freakonomics.com/podcast/idea-must-die-election-edition/
The solutions posed would make our elections more fair, representative. Their solutions would need to undo gerrymandering, aspects of the electoral college, that skew elections and results.
How did we get here? To the point that the will of the people is subverted often by the electoral college and no room for centrist solutions that would open dialogue and yield results in every area of governance.

[Sal]

THIS COMMENT WAS SENT ON JULY 4
XXXX
Paul,

I just watched the video that came up after the Candace Owens video which was very interesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGVdD_QxuEc

I then looked up Leo Terrell and was surprised by what he had to say in this video, which seems to be so very different from what I would have expected based on what he was saying to Candace

https://www.foxnews.com/media/leo-terrell-dnc-mount-rushmore-white-supremacy

and this recent article is even more surprising – he sounds more like Candace Owens in this one

https://www.newsweek.com/why-black-lives-dont-matter-black-lives-matter-opinion-1515183

Paul,

What is very interesting is that this guy Leo Terrell is more aligned with Candace Owens than you could imagine from the clip with her and this guy is a civil rights attorney who is our age.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/civil-rights-attorney-attacks-blm - embedded in this article are several newsclips with him on Life Liberty & Levin which is a segment on FoxNews.

Honestly, I don’t know what to think anymore. For months, I have been saying that I think Biden should pick Kamala Harris and make it clear before the election that he will have a smooth transition to his VP shortly after he is sworn in. This guy, a lifelong Democrat is saying that if that happens, he will vote for Trump. This is very recent stuff.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/leo-terrell-democratic-kool-aid

I have been supporting BLM, but maybe we need to have what a friend of mine is trying to get going called BLMT – I do think saying Black Lives Matter Too would be more widely accepted and understood and you can see from the initial start of his website that he is looking to do the same thing we are – which is recognize that Blacks haven’t gotten a fair shake in life, but that we absolutely need to have a police force and in fact understand that the police force is more important in the Black neighborhoods and other poor neighborhoods than in lily white neighborhoods that don’t have violent crime. Please read: http://BlackLivesMatterToo.us
Crazy world we live in.
Thanks and Be Well,

Sal

[Jeff]

2 comments. To the person who didn't put name to post and references that Biden should pick Harris to insure a "smooth" transition to VP after he is sworn in, your deceit is frightening and your cynicism of the process is shocking. To willing vote for a mentally incapacitated person for president only to knowingly admit that the office would be transferred to a person that did not go through the nominating process blows my mind. More people thinking this way would truly put an end to this Republic. To Sal and the rest of the BLM supporters, assuming I am in this discussion with freedom loving Americans, BLM is a self proclaimed Marxist organization, lead by Marxist trained leaders and supported by a convicted national terrorist. That should end all discussion and support for BLM.

[Paul A. Tamburello Jr. aka pt at large]

MA House leaders unveil sweeping reform...https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/19/metro/massachusetts-house-leaders-unveil-sweeping-police-reform-bill/