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"The national reckoning on racial injustice and police violence is long overdue," writes the author. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Trump Doesn't Want Law or Order. He Wants Chaos and Division
Trump's federal troops sow disorder wherever they're deployed. That's the point.
Aug 13, 2020
Federal troops may be standing down in Portland for now. But Donald Trump has also dispatched federal agents to Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City, and Albuquerque.
Trump claimed his orders are intended to "restore law and order." But this isn't about restoring peace to our communities.
For generations, Black families, communities, and businesses have been terrorized by violent police officers and white vigilantes without consequence. Trump's call for "law and order" is a political dog whistle to enable and excuse this systemic abuse.
Trump doesn't want law or order. He's calling for federal agents to sow chaos and disorder to intimidate our communities by any means necessary.
The militarized agents Trump deployed in Portland, where protests against police brutality have endured for two straight months, were clearly meant to achieve just that. Those heavily armed, body armored, and camouflaged troops patrolled the city in unmarked cars, launched dangerous munitions at unarmed protesters, and detained many others.
Trump has meanwhile claimed that Democratic lawmakers and activists are engaging in an "anti-cop crusade" to abolish all police departments.
In reality, most of these campaigns are simply calling to remove some money from police budgets and put it toward underfunded schools and community support services long denied to Black and brown communities--like job training, mental health care, and low-income housing.
Centuries of discrimination, oppression, and violence against Black people have caused too many of us to live in poverty. And for too long, corrupt, violent, and racist police officers have capitalized on minor crimes of poverty to harass, arrest, and kill us.
George Floyd allegedly used counterfeit money. Eric Garner sold loose cigarettes. Alton Sterling sold DVDs out of a gas station. Police officers targeted these men and killed them for these minor offenses.
And now that people around the country are standing up against police violence and racial injustice, Trump is trying to stifle our power to serve his political ends.
We must reject Trump's concept of "law and order" and reimagine public safety by investing in our well-being instead of hefty police budgets. What could it mean for all people to have equal protection under the law and the resources to support healthy, thriving communities?
We can start by restoring law and order in our police departments themselves.
We would all benefit from strict standards on the use of force, and from police officers who value protecting our communities over violence and access to power. We would all benefit from robust police training in conflict management and de-escalation, and from community oversight mechanisms ensuring that police officers are held accountable for wrongdoing.
The national reckoning on racial injustice and police violence is long overdue. Black people in this country have been in crisis since we were first brought here as slaves in the 1600s. We don't need militarized police departments, ready to shoot us at the slightest change of the wind. We need to be treated as human beings, with dignity and respect.
We need police to stop targeting, arresting, and killing us for minor offenses like selling cigarettes or driving with a broken taillight or bad muffler. We need to know that our bodies are not seen as simply fodder for the prison industrial complex.
Trump's notion of "law and order" is detrimental and divisive for all of us. Let's create a new version of law and order defined by public safety, accountability, and thriving communities.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Rev. Susan K. Williams Smith
Rev. Susan K. Williams Smith is an ordained minister and the director of Crazy Faith Ministries in Columbus, Ohio. She serves on People For the American Way Foundation's African American Ministers In Action.
Federal troops may be standing down in Portland for now. But Donald Trump has also dispatched federal agents to Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City, and Albuquerque.
Trump claimed his orders are intended to "restore law and order." But this isn't about restoring peace to our communities.
For generations, Black families, communities, and businesses have been terrorized by violent police officers and white vigilantes without consequence. Trump's call for "law and order" is a political dog whistle to enable and excuse this systemic abuse.
Trump doesn't want law or order. He's calling for federal agents to sow chaos and disorder to intimidate our communities by any means necessary.
The militarized agents Trump deployed in Portland, where protests against police brutality have endured for two straight months, were clearly meant to achieve just that. Those heavily armed, body armored, and camouflaged troops patrolled the city in unmarked cars, launched dangerous munitions at unarmed protesters, and detained many others.
Trump has meanwhile claimed that Democratic lawmakers and activists are engaging in an "anti-cop crusade" to abolish all police departments.
In reality, most of these campaigns are simply calling to remove some money from police budgets and put it toward underfunded schools and community support services long denied to Black and brown communities--like job training, mental health care, and low-income housing.
Centuries of discrimination, oppression, and violence against Black people have caused too many of us to live in poverty. And for too long, corrupt, violent, and racist police officers have capitalized on minor crimes of poverty to harass, arrest, and kill us.
George Floyd allegedly used counterfeit money. Eric Garner sold loose cigarettes. Alton Sterling sold DVDs out of a gas station. Police officers targeted these men and killed them for these minor offenses.
And now that people around the country are standing up against police violence and racial injustice, Trump is trying to stifle our power to serve his political ends.
We must reject Trump's concept of "law and order" and reimagine public safety by investing in our well-being instead of hefty police budgets. What could it mean for all people to have equal protection under the law and the resources to support healthy, thriving communities?
We can start by restoring law and order in our police departments themselves.
We would all benefit from strict standards on the use of force, and from police officers who value protecting our communities over violence and access to power. We would all benefit from robust police training in conflict management and de-escalation, and from community oversight mechanisms ensuring that police officers are held accountable for wrongdoing.
The national reckoning on racial injustice and police violence is long overdue. Black people in this country have been in crisis since we were first brought here as slaves in the 1600s. We don't need militarized police departments, ready to shoot us at the slightest change of the wind. We need to be treated as human beings, with dignity and respect.
We need police to stop targeting, arresting, and killing us for minor offenses like selling cigarettes or driving with a broken taillight or bad muffler. We need to know that our bodies are not seen as simply fodder for the prison industrial complex.
Trump's notion of "law and order" is detrimental and divisive for all of us. Let's create a new version of law and order defined by public safety, accountability, and thriving communities.
Rev. Susan K. Williams Smith
Rev. Susan K. Williams Smith is an ordained minister and the director of Crazy Faith Ministries in Columbus, Ohio. She serves on People For the American Way Foundation's African American Ministers In Action.
Federal troops may be standing down in Portland for now. But Donald Trump has also dispatched federal agents to Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City, and Albuquerque.
Trump claimed his orders are intended to "restore law and order." But this isn't about restoring peace to our communities.
For generations, Black families, communities, and businesses have been terrorized by violent police officers and white vigilantes without consequence. Trump's call for "law and order" is a political dog whistle to enable and excuse this systemic abuse.
Trump doesn't want law or order. He's calling for federal agents to sow chaos and disorder to intimidate our communities by any means necessary.
The militarized agents Trump deployed in Portland, where protests against police brutality have endured for two straight months, were clearly meant to achieve just that. Those heavily armed, body armored, and camouflaged troops patrolled the city in unmarked cars, launched dangerous munitions at unarmed protesters, and detained many others.
Trump has meanwhile claimed that Democratic lawmakers and activists are engaging in an "anti-cop crusade" to abolish all police departments.
In reality, most of these campaigns are simply calling to remove some money from police budgets and put it toward underfunded schools and community support services long denied to Black and brown communities--like job training, mental health care, and low-income housing.
Centuries of discrimination, oppression, and violence against Black people have caused too many of us to live in poverty. And for too long, corrupt, violent, and racist police officers have capitalized on minor crimes of poverty to harass, arrest, and kill us.
George Floyd allegedly used counterfeit money. Eric Garner sold loose cigarettes. Alton Sterling sold DVDs out of a gas station. Police officers targeted these men and killed them for these minor offenses.
And now that people around the country are standing up against police violence and racial injustice, Trump is trying to stifle our power to serve his political ends.
We must reject Trump's concept of "law and order" and reimagine public safety by investing in our well-being instead of hefty police budgets. What could it mean for all people to have equal protection under the law and the resources to support healthy, thriving communities?
We can start by restoring law and order in our police departments themselves.
We would all benefit from strict standards on the use of force, and from police officers who value protecting our communities over violence and access to power. We would all benefit from robust police training in conflict management and de-escalation, and from community oversight mechanisms ensuring that police officers are held accountable for wrongdoing.
The national reckoning on racial injustice and police violence is long overdue. Black people in this country have been in crisis since we were first brought here as slaves in the 1600s. We don't need militarized police departments, ready to shoot us at the slightest change of the wind. We need to be treated as human beings, with dignity and respect.
We need police to stop targeting, arresting, and killing us for minor offenses like selling cigarettes or driving with a broken taillight or bad muffler. We need to know that our bodies are not seen as simply fodder for the prison industrial complex.
Trump's notion of "law and order" is detrimental and divisive for all of us. Let's create a new version of law and order defined by public safety, accountability, and thriving communities.
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