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Trump and the Power of Pardons

Trump is in the Oval Office at the White House. He’s sitting alone behind his desk… feeling sad and lonely.

He clasps his hands and pushes back in his chair. This is not a good spot he is in. Joe Biden is ahead in the polls. The number of Coronavirus infections has kept going up. The death toll is mounting.

True, the economy’s charge back is a bright spot… but will people forget the death count? Will they forget the pain?

China had not been fully transparent at the outset of the epidemic but still there had been time to take better precautions, and if he had acted promptly the numbers would not be so horrible.

He rubbed his face, looked down at the ground.

He had made a note to himself to call up Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, to thank him for the extraordinary foresight and energy he and his team had shown injecting massive funds into the economy to ensure liquidity, but he hadn’t got around to it. Would he?

It was hard for Trump to acknowledge Powell’s grand moment.

Hard for him to acknowledge that it had not been his press conferences or his refusal to wear a mask that had boosted the spirits of the nation. No. It had been the feisty governors, mostly democratic, and yes, through it all, Jerome Powel and the Federal Reserve. The bankers, with their commitment to their work, had seized the spotlight and taken it from him.

Congress had acted, too, and passed very important relief bills – but the spotlight was Powell’s.

Trump crossed his legs, brought his palms together beneath his chin and looked up at the ceiling. He felt his eyes grow misty… he felt so alone.

A lump of emotion formed in his throat and he took a deep breath.

If he had been a songwriter… he would have started to write the words for a song… ‘Don’t cry for me, USA, don’t cry for me…’

He shook his head disconsolately.

There were still three and a half months to election day but he already felt defeated.

Beaten down.

Then, abruptly, he clenched his fists. ‘What am I doing?’

He sat up and sprang to his feet, crossing to the window where he threw open the curtains.

Ah, yes… there was the city in its full splendor. Yes. And he felt a rush of relief. All was not lost. Not at all.

It wasn’t Biden that was defeating him, it was the Corona virus. All the mistakes he’d made, the talk of Russian interference, the bruising of long held alliances, the Ukrainian imbroglio, nothing of that had stopped the economy from rising steadily… until the virus hit.

Yes, Biden and the democrats had the virus to thank. If it weren’t for it, Biden and his lot of socialists would be well behind in the polls.

But the virus had happened.

Maybe it was divine intervention. No. Not that. God was on his side. It was more like a test.

Trump looked out and smiled. He loved the sight of the city from his window. And he loathed the idea that he might have to surrender it to a democrat.

He would’ve been glad to surrender it to Pence, instead, after serving a second term.

But no, he would not go down easily. If he had to sign bill after bill of relief funds, he would. And he would because his supporters were counting on him and he would not disappoint them.

He was an embattled president, wasn’t he? Yes, he was. He loved a good fight. And yes, he was going to do everything he could to beat back the socialists and fascists who wanted to tear up the very heart of America.

He would not let down the great nation, like he would not let down his friends.

Just the day before he had signed a pardon for his old time ally, Roger Stone, as he was about to start serving a three year sentence. No, he would not allow Roger to suffer that indignity.

Trump kept looking out the window and crossed his arms. He was feeling better now. A little better. He had friends, yes, people who counted on him. But he knew, too, that he was running out of time. So he needed to face the facts. He had dealt with many painful situations in his life, having had to declare bankruptcy many times, and if he hadn’t acted decisively then the Trump brand would not have existed and he would not be standing in the Oval office.

He smiled to himself.

So, no, he was not going down without a fight… and even if he went down, bloodied and bruised, there would still be life after the White House. ‘Let’s face it,’ he said aloud, ‘I’m a historical figure, a turning point in the history of America. From here on out there will be two eras, the B.T., Before Trump, and the A.T., After Trump. Now, that was power. Great power.’

And yes, he would have to live with the regret that there would be no Nobel Prize for him, like there had been for his predecessor, the African born president passing himself as Hawaiian.

He chuckled. It was not deserved anyway, he consoled himself. The Swedes and Norwegians gave the prize to Obama at the start of his presidency before he had done anything, which was just as well because he didn’t do anything. In effect, Obama had got a Nobel Prize for being Black.

‘But don’t cry for me, USA!’ Trump exclaimed defiantly, surprised that he had shouted the words.

He nodded thoughtfully, closed his eyes and rubbed his chin.

Yes, he was a businessman at the core… and he had to protect the downside. He must, because there was the possibility that this time the polls were right, and Biden would beat him.

Never mind the debates, where he was sure to trounce Biden (surely Biden had something to say about that). He would have no mercy for Joe, Trump continued, because he didn’t deserve any.

Trump checked his watch. It was 4:58 pm. He had asked Pence to meet him at the office at 5.

He stayed looking out the window and two minutes later, exactly on time, there was a knock at the door.

‘Come on in!’ he cried.

And Pence stepped in. He went over to where Trump stood and they shook hands. Trump signaled for Pence to take a seat opposite him at his desk.

Quiet followed.

Then Trump began. ‘Mike… there is the possibility that, this time, the polls are right.’

‘What?’ Pence shook his head vigorously. ‘I don’t believe them. Not one of them. It’s all fake news.’

‘Thank you, Mike, you have been so loyal. To the point that you chose not to wear a mask when you visited Mayo Clinic. You went into the hospital wards where all the doctors were wearing them and you, alone, stood out for not having one on. That took guts.’

‘Thank you,’ said Pence, though it occurred to him that he had acted like an idiot, ‘I’d do it again, too,’ he added.

‘That’s precisely the kind of spirit we need when the chips are down. Now Mike… the reason I’ve asked you in… is that I need your help.’

‘Anything… you know that,’ said Pence.

They paused for an instant.

‘I had a dream last night,’ resumed Trump, ‘where I was standing on top of the staircase to Air Force One, ready to board, and I waved back. I had lost the election.’

‘No way,’ said Pence emphatically. ‘It won’t happen, the economy is bouncing back, before long it will be reaching record highs, and there will be major breakthroughs in getting the vaccine. People will be back to work and the unemployment rate will be close to where it was before Corona.’

Trump smiled wistfully. And he wanted to believe his loyal friend but he needed to cover his downside. He was, after all, a practical man.

‘Mike… if I lose…’

‘Don’t think that way,’ interrupted Pence, leaning forward, ‘You’re a winner, you’re what America needs.’

Trump nodded slowly, then, ‘Mike… if I lose… I need you to pardon me.’

Pence stared back at Trump, startled, then sat back in his chair and looked down at the desk in front of him.

‘Pardon you for what? You haven’t done anything wrong.’

‘I know, but you don’t know what these democrats will come up with, anything to drive me down into the muck… when all my work has been to elevate America.’

Pence nodded thoughtfully.

‘But how could I do that, I’d have to be president to pardon you?’

‘True… so I would make you president.’

‘What?’

‘If I lose… which I don’t think I will, but if I lose… I’d resign before the end of my term so you would become president… and then, after a week or so in office, you would turn around and pardon me.’

Pence raised his eyebrows. ‘You would be willing to do that?’

‘Yes.’

‘When would you resign?’

‘Right after New Year’s Day… which would leave you about 3 weeks in office. Enough time to handle one crisis or another, and then you would become former president Pence, and that would make you the leading candidate against Biden in 2024.’

Pence nodded approvingly, the possibilities dawning on him. ‘I would be the leader of the Republican party, with plenty of time to raise money to beat Biden or whoever became the democratic candidate.’

‘That’s the idea. Of course, if you want, I’d be glad to campaign for you,’ said Trump, ‘if you want.’

There was quiet again.

Then Pence smiled a big smile, his eyes sparkling, and extended his hand to Trump.

‘Deal,’ Pence said, gushing. And Trump’s sagging spirits were suddenly lifted.

‘You made my day, Mike,’ said Trump.

‘Now let’s get on with it and win this next election,’ said Pence, effusively.

And the two men rose, walked toward each other and embraced.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

The Race to unRace. Virtue in the Browning of America

Our nation created conditions that vigorously stimulated global growth since the end of World War II.

The many advantages implicit in our system of governance made possible the peaceful resolution of the Cold War. Our push for trade liberalization led to China’s rise and yes, while they rose we profited too. Now China is no longer the sleeping giant of yesterday. It is a giant with aspirations to surpass us.

So what do we do?

Is there a parallel between the Soviet bloc that challenged us but crumbled in the 1980’s and the China of today?

There is. And it is their autocracy.

With autocracy comes inefficiency and the stifling of possibilities.

Will the newly affluent Chinese put up for long with the current restrictions?

I say no. Slowly, their suffocated spirits will join forces to demand greater freedom. When will it happen is hard to predict.

As it now stands China is challenging us. In the face of it, do we examine ourselves or do we pound our chests and shout that we are great?

We have a clear advantage over China, if we care to reflect. It is the undeniable fact that our openness to the world has made us rich. People want to come to America. People from all over the world are pulled by an attraction to be part of this process.

That is the big American advantage.

How do we enlarge such advantage?

We unRace.

That’s right. Racial differences hold us back.

Confronting and resolving them will further the Browning of America, and with that, a new dawn will arrive. Efforts to suppress the development of other human beings results in the blocking of their possibilities. But when we do so we also block our own.

The challenge that China presents to us, is the challenge to reform our way of relating to one another. Race has been holding us back from being the best we can be since the very beginning. It is time to reflect and do the hard work of resolving the differences.

We have known all along what the answer is. Now is the time to square with it.

It was openness to the markets of the world that built up China. We gave them openness and they ran with it. But they didn’t go far enough. You cannot do so with an autocratic regime that hinders the political freedom of individuals.

If we gave China openness, why can’t we give it to our own?

China’s challenge is a call to reassess who we are.

Our land has had freedoms, yes, but in allowing profound racial disparities to fester we have blocked ourselves. The challenge of China forces us to ponder and discover where those repressed energies may lie.

It is not hard to find out.

They lie in the relationships that have not been fostered. They lie, trapped, in the prejudices that we have held so dear.

But understand them, work through them, and we will be on our way to enlarging our minds and souls and increasing our creativity. We will be on our way to freeing the giant in us.

Virtue lies in the Browning of America. Which is the unRacing of America.

Move confidently in that direction and we will confront our fears, and as we do we will grow stronger and richer, kinder and gentler.

The Browning of America will do that for us.

Then, as China and other countries witness our gradual transformation, they, too, will act again to emulate us. And the Uighurs will be grateful. And the Hong Kongers and the Taiwanese, and all the peoples of this earth on whose necks the crushing boot of repressive authority has come to rest.

Leadership carries great responsibilities but also great benefits.

Do we want to lead? Do we want to breathe the lofty air that comes to those who strive to become the best they can be?

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Dear Amy

You’ve made your decision. And I think you are wrong.

The cruelty of some police officers has brought to the surface one aspect of the repression under which we live. There is a measure of freedom in our country but there is much political repression as manifested by the vast differences in the quality of our schools and the profound disparity in longevity, access to health care, housing and opportunity between sectors of our nation.

Racial differences are a way to direct that repression, and African Americans bear the brunt of it. That does not mean, however, that it should fall to an African American to lead the effort to remedy the problems.

That distinction should fall to the person presently most qualified.

The reason you were in contention to be the Vice Presidential candidate owed to your performance during the primary campaign. You had distinguished yourself by your pugnacity and balanced approach to difficult matters.

That has not changed.

Other candidates came and went but you persisted.

So why disqualify yourself?

A fair allocation of resources is an urgent matter in our country, and it will take contending with reluctant and entrenched interests to push through the needed changes and make them stick.

That’s where your pugnacity comes in.

Though Trump continues to make one error after another, it is not a certainty that Biden will become the next president so we will need a strong ticket that appeals to a majority of Americans to elect him.

Your performance as a prosecutor in Hennepin County in Minnesota proved to be flawed when you declined to file charges against officers involved in the death of African Americans. That was 20 years ago. You then embodied strong community biases. But you now convey the sense of having evolved.

That quality is essential to persuade all of those who have yet to evolve, to adopt a fair and non discriminating frame of mind which will be needed to push through critical reforms.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Canada wore a black face at a party when he was younger and later apologized. So have others.

There is no purity. There is, instead, the willingness to accept our mistakes, confront the prejudices we grew up with and work with them.

I think you have done that and are doing that. The task never ends.

So don’t take yourself out of the contest to become Biden’s VP. Put yourself back in. Call him back and say you’ve reconsidered. Great saints were great sinners.

It is laudable that you wish to defer to an African American woman insisting that there are plenty who’re qualified for the job, and I agree that there are. But you have been in the thick of the fire and learned a good deal along the way.

Given the polarization Mr Trump has fostered, a white woman in the Democratic ticket will have greater appeal for the undecided voters than an African American woman would.

Democrats need to win in November. We have to do that first.

Should that happen, the woman candidate Biden chooses will get a chance to pick an African American woman to be her running mate in 2024, should Biden not wish to run again, or in an environment more receptive to women candidates, face an African American challenger.

There is a profound sense of renewal flowering in our country. The brave youth of this nation is leading a vigorous movement. They will need people with much experience and a commitment to reform so that their efforts are not wasted.

You have a chance to be a leading figure in the tough task ahead. Don’t sit this out. Fight the good fight. Biden will make his choice but don’t you step back.

Later today, some of the best our country has to offer will be protesting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the President will hold a rally. He has already warned that protesters will not be treated with a kind hand. It is difficult to accept that our president is so willing to ignore the spirit of justice that animates the protests. He can do so, because he seems incapable to accept their courage. When he sees the protesters, instead of being struck by their willingness to step front for what they believe, he is filled with envy.

I say envy because it is unacceptable that, in the face of protests across this nation, he has yet to muster the strength to address us all and say, ‘we will do what we must to bring justice to our land’.

As I write this blog, just hours before the protesters convene in Tulsa, it is my fervent hope that no one is injured or killed.

Oscar Valdes is the author of ‘Psychiatrist for A Nation’, available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

The Atlanta Killing of a Black Man. The Failure of Imagination.

Rayshard Brooks was shot Friday night (6/12/20) outside a Wendy’s restaurant in Atlanta.

Yes, he had a Taser gun in his hands,

Yes, he had fought with the police moments before,

Yes, he should not have.

But Rayshard Brooks was running away from the officers when he was shot.

He was not a threat to them.

Why did the two white officers,

As they approached Rayshard Brooks in his car where he had fallen asleep And where he sat intoxicated with alcohol (he failed a sobriety test),

Not say, to themselves, under their breaths,

‘Let us not kill a black man today.’

Why did the two white officers not say,

‘Let us consider the offense as we approach this man asleep in his car,

Let us consider the offense before we react.’

Why did the two police officers not say,

To themselves, not to anyone, just to themselves,

‘Let us not kill a black man today.’

They could have said it,

And if they had, maybe Rayshard Brooks might be alive today.

There was a failure of imagination in the police department in Atlanta.

A profound failure.

When the entire force gathered at their stations before going out on their shift,

Those in charge should have said to the officers,

‘Our reason for being is to protect the lives and property of the city of Atlanta,

But let us not kill a black man today.

Please, not again.

Let us think before we use our weapons,

Let us ask ourselves, are we really in danger?

Let us not overreact because our pride has been hurt,

And let us never forget that a man running away is not a threat to us.

So please,

Let us not kill a black man today.’

There was and is a failure of imagination in the police department of the city of Atlanta,

A failure of imagination that led to the excessive use of force,

A failure of imagination that didn’t allow the officers confronting Rayshard Brooks,

To ask themselves,’ now why would a man be asleep in his car, drunk, and blocking the drive thru lane? What could possibly be happening in the life of this man?’

If there had been imagination in the police department of the city of Atlanta,

Then maybe the officers approaching Rayshard Brooks might have said to him,

‘Say young man, good evening, you have fallen asleep at the wheel,

And you’re blocking the lane,

Seems like you’re needing some help.’

Rayshard Brooks was not hurting anyone, but himself,

And who knows what pressures he was under that he had taken to overdrinking.

Imagination opens the door to compassion,

And we all need a little of that, don’t we?

Even the two officers who approached Rayshard Brooks.

Imagination and compassion.

And let us not kill a Black man today.

Masking Forward. And the Risk of Denial.

Financial markets reacted sharply today with a sell off as news surfaced of a pickup in new cases of Covid-19 infections and the dampening impact it may have in the reopening of the economy.

I think it is an overreaction.

The greater incidence of new cases may well reflect enhanced testing capacity. The trend on the number of deaths continues to be downward. Furthermore, we know more about the illness and are better prepared.

That said, a real increase in infections may be at work, and the reopening of the economy a factor.

Still, I favor the continued and gradual reopening so long as it is done cautiously.

There is no reason for example, for dispensing with the protection of masks. We need only turn to the example of Japan – South Korea also – for a salutary reminder.

The pandemic continues to rage through the world but, as of this writing, the number of deaths in Japan does not even reach 1000. By contrast we have nearly 114 thousand here at home. Much of the difference can be ascribed to cultural differences, i.e. the Japanese custom of bowing to greet instead of shaking hands, and their long standing acceptance of mask wearing.

There can be a continued reopening of all sectors of the economy while maintaining the basic triad of prevention – mask wearing – social distancing – frequent disinfecting.

But it appears that sectors of our population are choosing to ignore such measures.

To not follow them is an instance of massive denial.

I fault principally our current leadership for not setting a clear example of what should be done.

It was an act of grand denial to begin with, for us to have reacted slowly to the arrival of the virus. And here we are again repeating the same behavior.

Denial is an enormously destructive force.

I see its effects every day in the field of mental health, where I work. Patients with severe illnesses get well from the taking of meds, then once they feel recovered, they stop taking them and promptly get sick again. You’d think that since it happened once, that would be enough to learn the lesson. But no, they make the same mistake a second, third, fourth or fifth time, with the cumulative effects having serious consequences.

Reason seems difficult to accept.

And so it appears to be with Covid-19.

In the absence of leaders who prefer not to set an example for the nation by wearing a mask, we are on our own.

Good luck.

Oscar Valdes is the author of ‘Psychiatrist for A Nation’. Available on Amazon.

See Oscarvaldes.net for other titles.

My Definition of Racism

Racism is a false belief, born out of a desire to prematurely close the inquiry into what makes each of us human. At the root of such desire is fear – fear of knowing the other – which when unexamined leads to their devaluing, their mistreatment, their abuse and death.

Oscar Valdes is the author of ‘Psychiatrist for A Nation’, available on Amazon.

The President Self Destroys. The Virus and George Floyd.

There had been one blunder after another during his disruptive tenure, and yet the economy had held up.

Then came the virus.

The President failed to take measures to protect us against it. Over 106,000 deaths later, the best he can do is to point the finger at China and say that it was their fault. It has to rankle him that China, with a population over 3 times larger than us, has had only a little over 4,600 deaths.

But the President is doing what he’s best at, deflecting blame.

To this day, he remains unable to admit that he was late in responding, unable to admit that he was distracted with the impeachment and that the challenge to his authority was what concerned him the most. Never mind that, with a clear majority in the Senate, there was no doubt he would be acquitted of the charges.

Then came George Floyd.

And the President lost it.

To this day, he has been unable to address the nation. A nation riven by protests and looting. A wounded nation in search of clear guidance and support. A nation bleeding from a deep wound to its soul.

And there the President stands, watching over us as we bleed.

The moment a person becomes elected to the highest office in the land, they become the person to turn to for answers to our deepest troubles. It may be too much to expect for one person to have all the answers, but we look to that person because even if they don’t have the answers, they will have access to our best and brightest, to our wisest and most serene.

But our President appears unable to take such responsibility.

And so he fails us.

It is a profound failure.

A blatant shirking of his duty.

When protesters circled the White House, he was hurried to his bunker. Please. No. Don’t you hide from your fellow Americans.

With every day that passes and you don’t address us as a nation, the greater the sense that we are truly leaderless. Someone is in the White House, sleeping and eating… we hear him rant, tweet, insult, call for the Army to take over our cities and silence the protests.

But we don’t hear a man take us into his heart and say to us, ‘I am deeply pained… that during my tenure, in this great land, a police officer had the audacity to pin down and slowly kill a man while others who were watching, begged him to stop. But it happened, happened here in this great land, on Memorial Day, in the great city of Minneapolis. To the extent that I have not endeavored to heal this nation, I, too, am guilty of what happened to George Floyd. And so I am deeply sorry that I have failed you. In this day of sorrow for our nation, I ask that we forgive each other… and forgive me… forgive so we can come together and work as the great family that we are… and join in the effort to not let this happen again.’

Our President, however, cannot say that.

To do so he would have to shed a tear for George Floyd.

And yet… still we look to the White House… only to realize that it is empty… and as we shed a tear for George Floyd… we shed a tear for ourselves.

Oscar Valdes is the author of ‘Psychiatrist for A Nation’. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

The Protests. The Looting. What is Justified?

The protests are. The looting is not.

African Americans are justified in their rage at how they have been treated by the police. They are justified in clamoring for fairness, for dialogue, for the end of prejudicial behaviors. They are justified in their call for prompt review of cases where improprieties or sheer cruelty have been present.

Yes, they are.

But as riots and wanton destruction spread across our land, I am disturbed by the lack of leadership to call the nation to its senses.

Why hasn’t our President been a President?
Why hasn’t he held a national broadcast calling for whatever actions are needed to stop the unfairness from continuing? Why hasn’t he called for police reform on a national level? Why hasn’t he looked us in the eye and acknowledged that something has been very wrong for George Floyd to have died as he did in Minneapolis.

And why hasn’t the African American leadership of the country stepped front and asked that the looting stop right now?

That is a responsibility that should not be shirked.

We need action now.

We need dialogue.

People have the right to protest, and loudly so, but not to loot, not to steal, not to destroy.

We do not need silence from our leaders, whatever their color. What is the point of letting a deeply flawed President continue to embarrass himself by his repeated blunders?

The nation is in flames and he has yet to step up and say, ‘Yes, protesters, there is something wrong, yes, and I too watched the video of George Floyd’s death. I, too, fellow Americans, felt the suffocating pain of his last moments as he lay pinned down by the knee of an officer with no regard for the damage his action might be inflicting. I too felt the anguish.’

But our President cannot say that because he lacks that depth of feeling. It is simply not in him.

Calls have gone out for him to address the nation, but as of this writing he has yet to do so.

There is a huge void of leadership in the country.

Someone has to step in. If we feel at a loss then let us reach back into our recent history.

And so I assure you, that Marin Luther King would have by now, stood up on a doorstep somewhere in Minneapolis and addressed the entire nation, whites, blacks, Latinos, Asian, vehemently asking, with all the power he could muster, that we show restraint, that the difficult time we are now living calls for reflection, for feeling the fullness of our hurt, asking that we reflect on how all of us have been deeply offended by the violence of some police officers and, even beyond that, that we are deeply offended by the institutionalized violence that leads to lack of opportunity in our land, uneven health care and education.

Martin Luther King would not have played it safe, holding back to see how much more our flawed President will do in his path to self destruction.

So, please, dear leaders, someone, no matter what your color, step up and call upon the spirit of the man who gave us the glorious words, ‘I have a dream, that one day in America we will be judged by the strength of our character and not the color of our skin.’

Someone, please, in this hour of need, someone with access to the media, please step up and do the right thing.

Oscar Valdes is the author of ‘Psychiatrist for A Nation’ available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Demonize Others and you Dehumanize Yourself. The George Floyd Case.

The knee… there it was… pressed hard against George Floyd’s neck as he lay prone on the ground, his hands cuffed in back.

‘Mama… please… I can’t breathe…’ said Floyd as he lay helpless, pinned in place by the pressure of the officer’s knee.

But the officer seemed deaf. He couldn’t hear the plight of the man he had completely neutralized. He couldn’t hear the call for help of a man who, at no point, had been a threat to him.

George Floyd had been drunk and had bought cigarettes with a fake 20 dollar bill. The store clerk called the cops.

George Floyd did not put up a fight, having allowed himself to be cuffed, but then objected to going in the back of the police car. So the officers pulled him out and George fell or was thrown to the ground.

And there he lay. With the officer’s knee taking away his life. Moment by moment.

The other officers, meanwhile, swirled around, not one of them, not a single one of them, having the common sense to tell the officer pressing down on Floyd’s neck to ease up, please, you might kill the man.

Ease up, you don’t know what kind of shape that man under you is in.

Ease up, you don’t know what damage you are inflicting.

Ease up, we’re here over a fake 20 dollar bill.

Ease up, the man under you hasn’t physically hurt anyone.

Ease up, please, because you might take his life away.

No.

The other officers kept swirling about, just as onlookers videoed the scene and tried to persuade the officer pressing on Floyd’s neck to come to his senses, to please realize what he was doing.

But the officer didn’t get it.

And then George Floyd was dead.

It happened on Memorial Day in Minneapolis, a liberal American city, with excellent universities and sound institutions. A city with lots of good people.

But the accumulated wisdom of the city’s citizens had not passed through to the leadership of their police department.

For that officer’s knee to have stayed so long on George Floyd’s neck, that officer had to have demonized him. Yes, Floyd had to be a very bad man. He deserved to be punished on the spot. Never mind waiting for his day in court.

George Floyd had bought cigarettes with a 20 dollar fake bill, so that’s what you get for it in the city of Minneapolis, a knee on the back of your neck, so watch out people.

What the officer pinning George Floyd down chose to ignore, or never bothered to look into, or was never told about, or just wasn’t within his reach, was that as he demonized George Floyd he dehumanized himself.

None of the officers’ higher ups had made a point of making that clear, or maybe they thought that knees that pinned people down were good deterrents.

Maybe the Minneapolis police department had a department of psychology, maybe not. If they did, then they hadn’t been showing up. They hadn’t gone out to see the troops in action, and spot potential problems.

George Floyd was killed by an officer of the Minneapolis police department. It happened on Memorial Day, the 25^th of May, 2020. Four days later, on the 29^th, the officer was charged with murder and he began to be referred to as a former officer. But the whole department is responsible for George Floyd’s death.

The greatest fault ought to lie with the leadership. The ones at the very top. The ones entrusted with the task of thinking about the value of human beings, about the importance of not demonizing others.

It is very easy to single out the officer with the knee and put all the burden of wrongdoing on him.

To single him out is to divert attention from those who, having the responsibility of selecting and educating the officers, have failed to do their jobs.

It falls to the leaders of the department, to continually be reminding their troops that their task is to restrain, not punish, and that the more force at their disposal, the more careful they have to be so as not to inflict harm.

We’re all at risk for demonizing others. It’s the easier path. It does not require much thought.

The higher task, on the other hand, is to acknowledge the value of every human being, and as we do, we will likely find value in ourselves.

The officer pinning down George Floyd, had not found much to value in himself and so, he thought, there could not be much of value in George Floyd.

Oscar valdes is the author of ‘Psychiatrist for A Nation’, available on Amazon.

oscarvaldes.net

Joe and Jill go Up the Hill

The big question to answer is, should Biden select an African American woman for the vice presidential spot?

To try and find out I transformed myself into a fly and flew into the Bidens’ living quarters. Becoming a fly allowed me to pass through the many secret service checks. A few times they swatted at me and even sprayed some nasty mist in my direction but I managed to dodge till, finally, was able to find a spot up on the ceiling of their living room. I anchored myself in such fashion that I could hear all they said, without seeing any of what they did. Respecting their privacy is important to me.

They had just stepped in from their bedroom when I first heard them. They sat down.

Joe – That is the question. Will African Americans feel disappointed and cool on me if I don’t choose one of them?

Jill – It’s a lot of pressure you’re under.

Joe – I wouldn’t be where I am if it hadn’t been for their showing up in great numbers in the South Carolina primary.

Jill – But still you worry about it, don’t you?

Joe – I do.

Jill – Why?

Joe – My main task is to win and remove Trump. The nation cannot endure four more years of this man. The African American vote alone won’t get us there. We need votes from every sector, from the Right to the Left, the poor to the rich and from all minorities. Whites are a majority in this country. I have to appeal to those who voted for Trump and are disappointed with his performance. Race played a big part in Trump’s victory. So I have to reach out to those voters and say to them, ‘look at me, brothers and sisters, I am a white man. Throughout all my political career I have defended the rights of African Americans, and guess what? Doing so has not diminished me but, instead, made me a better person and a better politician for all Americans. Had I not made the choices I made, Obama would not have chosen me as his running mate, and I would not have been able to serve the nation as I did.

Jill – I like that, Joe.

Joe – Thanks, baby.

Jill – It speaks to the need for continued integration, and that new strengths will arise from our coming together… not pulling apart.

Joe – Yes.

Jill – I worry, though, that the various camps… Warren’s, Harris’, Klobuchar’s… and the women governors who believe they might be picked… all keep striving to find favor with you… the people they represent thinking that what they stand for should be put up front on the national agenda, that their views should have a stronger voice, and their candidate being selected would make that more likely.

Joe – I understand. My task, though, is to convey to the nation, that I will be a President for everyone. I will be a president for the Trump supporter who will vote against me, and I will be a president for him because I will listen to what he has to say. I will also be a president to those who have given up on going to the polls, because they no longer believe their plight will ever be heard. Having been a life long supporter of African American causes, has helped me acquire the strength required.

Jill – You don’t feel you have to prove it by choosing an African American…

Joe – Right. Color alone will not sway me. Character will. How can we forget the good Reverend?

Jill – Indeed.

Joe – When you go to the polls and vote for me, you will be voting for what I stand, and my pledge to devote the rest of my life to making this country all it can be. And I will show you my taxes, too.

Jill laughs.

Jill – Joe… have you made up your mind, already?

Joe – I have.

Jill – I had a sense.

Joe – It wasn’t a difficult decision, once I thought about it in detail.

Jill – You feel good about it?

Joe – Very good.

Jill – Any hint?

Joe – I’ll give you one… it is one of the women who ran for president.

Jill – Why?

Joe – Because they put themselves out… they went for it with all they had. I value that.

Jill – That narrows it down quite a bit.

Joe – Yes. Who was your favorite?

Jill – I don’t want to tell you, it might influence you.

Joe – I’ve made up my mind.

Jill – I’ll wait till you announce. When will you?

Joe – At the convention. Keeping to tradition.

Jill – Something to look forward to.

Joe – Yes.

They are quiet for a moment.

Jill – Here’s another question for you… don’t answer if you don’t want. In multiracial America, is there room for an all white presidential ticket?

Joe – You’re nipping close, aren’t you?

Jill – You don’t have to answer.

Joe – Yes, there is. There’s room for an all white ticket.

Jill leans back in her seat and as she does she looks up and notices the fly on the ceiling.

Jill – There’s a fly up there. Wonder how it got in. Joe… Trump will not go down quietly.

Joe – I know. And neither will the voices that preach disunion, privilege and enmity. Look… this race is mine to lose… only I offer the hope for a government that is open to all… and to which I will bring the best and brightest to the White House… from the Right, the Left and the Center, and steer a path to reconciliation and healing.

Jill – And I will be there at your side.

Joe – Ah… what else can a man ask for? Come over here, baby.

At which point, thinking the rest was none of my business, I flew away so I could record what you have just read.

Oscar Valdes is the author of ‘Psychiatrist for a Nation’, available on Amazon and Oscarvaldes.net.